Vedanta philosophy acknowledges the
Prasthana Trayi as its three
authoritative primary sources. The texts comprising the Prasthana
Trayi are the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita and the Brahma
Sutra. The Upanishads are the sruti
prasthana, the revealed texts (sruti
- that which is heard); the Bhagavadgita is the smriti
prasthana, composed by sages based on their understanding
of the Vedas (smriti - that which is
remembered); the Brahma Sutra is the nyaya
prasthana, the logical text that sets forth the
philosophy systematically (nyaya -
logic/order). No study of Vedanta is considered complete without
a close examination of the Prasthana Trayi.
While the Upanishads and the
Bhagavadgita are authoritative Vedanta texts, it is in the
Brahma Sutra that the teachings of Vedanta are set forth in a
systematic and logical order. The Brahma Sutra is known by many
names: it is also called the Vedanta Sutra, Uttara-mimamsa
Sutra, Shariraka Sutra and the Bhikshu Sutra.
The Brahma Sutra consists of 555
aphorisms or sutras, in 4 chapters,
each chapter being divided into 4 sections each. The first
chapter (Samanvaya: harmony)
explains that all the Vedantic texts talk of Brahman, the
ultimate reality, which is the goal of life. The second chapter
(Avirodha: non-conflict) discusses
and refutes the possible objections against Vedanta philosophy.
The third chapter (Sadhana: the
means) describes the process by which ultimate emancipation can
be achieved. The fourth chapter (Phala:
the fruit) talks of the state that is achieved in final
emancipation.
Indian tradition identifies
Badrayana, the author of the Brahma Sutra, with Vyasa, the
compiler of the Vedas. Many commentaries have been written on
this text, the earliest extant one being the one by Adi Sankara.
Later commentators include Bhaskara, Yadavaprakasha, Ramanuja,
Keshava, Neelakantha, Madhva, Baladeva, Vallabha, Vijnana
Bhikshu, Vacaspati and Padmapada. Among all these, and other
commentaries, Sankara's commentary is considered as an exemplary
model of how a commentary should be written, and most
commentators are influenced by it, even when they disagree with
Sankara's interpretations.
This website has the aphorisms of
the Brahma Sutra together with Sankara's commentary. The texts
are in Sanskrit and can be viewed in any of 11 language scripts:
Assamese, Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam,
Oriya, Punjabi, Roman, Tamil and Telugu. We hope to put up
English translations of the Sutras as well as Sankara's
commentary very soon. An Index to the Sutras is also planned.
The 2-Book View allows you to open two copies of the text
simultaneously for a comparative study of different
chapters/sutras of the book. The Related Links section provides
an annotated list of related websites on the Brahma Sutra. A
list of other websites created by us is also given. PDF files
for download of the texts have been provided. At present this
feature is available only for the Devanagari script; we hope to
include printable versions in other language scripts soon.
Dynamic fonts have been used on
this site, so no download of fonts is required. However, if you
face problems viewing the site, first look at the sections on
Technical Requirements and Fonts
Troubleshooting. If the problem
persists, please send us email. We will appreciate any other
feedback/comments.
We wish you joy, and invoke the
blessings of Vyasa and Sankara on your study of Vedanta!
