The Brahma Sūtras (), also known as the Vedanta Sūtra (Sanskrit: वेदान्त सूत्र), or as Shariraka Sūtra, and Bhikshu-sūtra (latter two in monastic traditions), are a Sanskrit text which criticizes the metaphysical dualism of the influential Samkhya philosophy, and instead synthesizes and harmonizes divergent Upanishadic ideas and practices about the essence of existence, postulating Brahman as the only origin and essence of everything. It is attributed to the sages Bādarāyaṇa, who is also called Vyāsa (arranger), but probably an accumulation of incremental additions and changes by various authors to an earlier work, completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE. The oldest version may be composed between 500 BCE and 200 BCE, with 200 BCE being the most likely date.
The Brahma Sūtras consist of 555 aphoristic verses (sutras) in four chapters, dealing with attaining knowledge of Brahman. Rejecting the smriti as a base of knowledge, it declares that the Vedic Upanishads are the only acceptable source of truth, infallible revelations describing the same metaphysical Reality, Brahman, which cannot be different for different people. The text attempts to synthesize and harmonize diverse and sometimes apparently conflicting vidyas ("knowledges") of, and upasanas (meditation, worship) of the essence of existence, stating they are actually synonyms for Brahman. It does so from a bhedabheda-perspective, arguing, as John Koller states: "that Brahman and Atman are, in some respects, different, but, at the deepest level, non-different (advaita), being identical."
The first chapter rejects Samkhya's view on pradhana, stating that an inert first principle cannot account for a universe which reflects purpose and intelligence. It harmonizes different views of Absolute Reality found in the Upanishads, subsuming them under the concept of Brahman. The second chapter reviews and addresses the objections raised by samkhya and other competing orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, Nyaya, Yoga, Vaisheshika and Mimamsa, as well as heterodox schools such as Buddhism and Jainism. The third chapter compares the vidyas and upasanas found in the Upanishads, deciding which are similar and can be combined, and which are different. The last chapter states why such a knowledge is an important human need.
The Brahma Sūtras is one of three most important texts in Vedanta along with the Principal Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
The Brahma Sūtras text is dated to centuries that followed Buddha and Mahavira, because it mentions and critiques the ideas of Buddhism and Jainism in Chapter 2. The text's relative chronology is also based on the fact that Badarayana quotes all major known orthodox Hindu schools of philosophy except Nyaya. The exact century of its composition or completion in final form is unknown. 200 BCE seems to be the most likely date for its initial composition, with scholars such as Lochtefeld suggesting that the text was composed sometime between 500 and 200 BCE, while Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Dasgupta independently suggest the 2nd century BCE as more likely.
Hermann Jacobi in early 20th century suggested that Madhyamaka Buddhist concepts such as Sunyavada, acknowledged in the Brahma Sūtras, may be a late invention, and suggests that both Sunyavada and Brahma Sūtras may therefore have emerged between 200 and 450 CE. According to Hajime Nakamura, the Brahma Sūtras were likely complete in the current form between 400 and 450 CE. The existence of earlier versions of the Brahma Sūtras, and multiple authors predating Badarayana, is supported by textual evidence.
Some scholars, such as Sengaku Mayeda, state that the Brahma Sūtras that have survived into the modern times may be the work of multiple authors but those who lived after Badarayana, and that these authors composed the currently surviving Brahma Sūtras starting about 300 BCE through about 400-450 CE. Nakamura states that the original version of Brahma Sūtras is likely very ancient and its inception coincides with the Kalpa Sutras period (1st-millennium BCE).
Natalia Isaeva states, "on the whole, scholars are rather unanimous, considering the most probable date for Brahma Sūtras sometime between the 2nd-century BCE and the 2nd-century CE. He explains the mention of different philosophies and their criticism in the Brahma Sūtras as refutations of general ideas, which are eternal, and not of specific schools of thought like Buddhism etc. So, there is no necessity to assign a later date.
Structure
The Brahma Sūtras consist of 555 aphorisms or sūtras, in four chapters (adhyāya), with each chapter divided into four parts (pāda). Each part is further subdivided into sections called Adhikaraņas with sutras. Some scholars, such as Francis Clooney, call the Adhikaraņas as "case studies" with a defined hermeneutic process.
{| class="wikitable floatright" align=center style = " background: transparent; "
|+ Sutras distribution in the Brahma Sūtras
|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=70px style="background: #ffad66;" | Section
| width=50px style="background: #ffcc80;" | 1st Pada
| width=50px style="background: #ffcc80;" | 2nd Pada
| width=50px style="background: #ffcc80;" | 3rd Pada
| width=50px style="background: #ffcc80;" | 4th Pada
| width=50px style="background: #ffad66;" | Total
|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=70px | Adhyaya 1
| width=50px | 31
| width=50px | 32
| width=50px | 43
| width=50px | 28
| width=50px | 134
|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=70px | Adhyaya 2
| width=50px | 37
| width=50px | 45
| width=50px | 53
| width=50px | 22
| width=50px | 157
|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=70px | Adhyaya 3
| width=50px | 27
| width=50px | 41
| width=50px | 66
| width=50px | 52
| width=50px | 186
|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=70px | Adhyaya 4
| width=50px | 19
| width=50px | 21
| width=50px | 16
| width=50px | 22
| width=50px | 78
|-style="text-align: center;"
| colspan=5 style="text-align: right;" | Total Sutras:
| width=50px style="background: #ffad66;" | 555
|}
Each Adhikaraņa of Brahma Sūtras has varying numbers of sutras, and most sections of the text are structured to address the following:
- Sangati (सङ्गति): connection between sections, synthesis, or coming together of knowledge. Setting the context.
- Vishaya (विषय): subject, issue or topic
- Vismaya (विस्मय): doubt, uncertainty or perplexity. Also called Sandeha (संदेह)
- Purva-paksha (पूर्वपक्ष): prima facie view, or prior part and arguments
- Siddhanta (सिद्धान्त): theory and arguments presented, proposed doctrine, or conclusions
The Brahma Sūtras text has 189 Adhikaranas.
This Brahma Sūtras chapter asserts that all the Upanishads primarily aim to and coherently describe the knowledge and meditation of Brahman, the ultimate reality. According to Mayeda, "the Brahmasutra made a special point of refuting the dualism of the then prevailing Samkhya school which posited Purusha (Spirit) and Prakriti (Matter) as the independent causes of the Universe. The Brahmasutra maintained instead that Brahman alone is the absolute ultimate cause of the Universe." Brahman is the source from which the world came into existence, in whom it inheres and to which it returns. The only source for the knowledge of this Brahman is the Sruti or the Upanishads.
The first word (atha - now, then) of the first sutra has occasioned different interpretations. Ramanuja and Nimbarka argue that it refers to the position of knowledge of Brahman as coming "after the knowledge of karman and its fruits". Shankara takes it as referencing the "acquisition of the four requisite" qualities: "discrimination between eternal and non-eternal things, aversion to the enjoyment of the objects of sense here and in the next world, possession of self-restraint, tranquillity etc., and the desire to be absolutely free". Vallabha disagrees that one needs the four qualities before entering into an inquiry about Brahman, and interprets "atha" as merely initiating the beginning of a new topic.
The sutras 1.1.5-11 address the Samkhya school's view that pradhana (prakriti) is the primal matter and the cause of the world, and that the Principle of the world is unconscious. The text refutes this claim by using scriptural references to establish that the Principle of the world is conscious and the Brahman itself. The remaining sutras in Pada 1.1 and all sutras in Padas 1.2 and 1.3 assert that Brahman is the primary focus of the Upanishads, is various aspects of empirical reality, quoting various verses in support, from Taittiriya Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Prashna Upanishad.
The first chapter in sutras 1.4.1-15 presents the Samkhya theories on Prakriti, and rejects its theories by demonstrating that they are inconsistent with and misinterpretations of the Katha, Brihadaranyaka, Shvetashvatara and Taittiriya Upanishad. The second chapter consists of 157 sutras, with thirteen Adhikaranas in the first Pada, eight in second, seventeen Adhikaranas in third, and nine in the fourth Pada. Whereas the entire first chapter is focused on demonstrating that the Samkhya doctrine that the world created by the unconscious pradhana is wrong, and that the Upanishads substantiate the conscious Brahman as the cause of the world, the second chapter is engaged in responding to objections against the doctrine of Brahman raised in other schools. The first Adhikarana argues that when a smriti (texts of speculative reasoning) conflicts with the sruti (the Vedas), only that which is supported by the Vedas must be affirmed.
The second chapter of the Brahma Sūtra has been variously interpreted by various monist, theistic and other sub-schools of Vedanta. The Advaita school for example, states Francis Clooney, asserts that the "identity of Atman and Brahman" based Advaita system is the coherent system while other systems conflict with the Upanishads, or are internally inconsistent, or incoherent with observed reality and cosmos. The monist Advaita school holds that ignorance or Avidya (wrong knowledge) is the root of "problem of evil"; in contrast, dualistic Vedanta schools hold karma and samsara to be the root. while the theories of Jainism are analyzed by the text in sutras 2.2.33 through 2.2.36.
The theories of other orthodox traditions are discussed in 2.2.37 through 2.2.45. Ramanuja and Shankara disagree in their formulation as well as critique of then extant orthodox traditions, in their respective commentaries, but both agree that the theory on emergence of Pradyumna (intellect) in the competing orthodox system is the primary flaw.
The first eight case studies in the third Pada of chapter 2 discuss whether the world has an origin or not, whether the universe is co-eternal with Brahman or is an effect of Brahman (interpreted as dualistic God in theistic sub-schools of Vedanta), and whether the universe returns into Brahman periodically. The last nine Adhikaranas of the third Pada discuss the nature of soul, whether it is eternal, is soul an agent, soul's relationship to Brahman, and states its proof that the soul exists and is immortal.
The last Pada of the second chapter extracts and summarizes the theories of human body, sensory organs, action organs and their relationship to Prana (vital breath) in the various Vedic Brahmanas and Upanishads. The Brahma Sūtras states that the organs inside a living being are independent principles, in the seventh and eighth Adhikarana of the fourth Pada.]]
Third chapter (Sādhana: the means): describes the process by which ultimate emancipation can be achieved. The topics discussed are diverse. The third chapter is the longest and consists of 186 sutras, with six Adhikaranas in its first Pada, eight in second, thirty six in third, and fourteen Adhikaranas in the fourth Pada.
The nature of liberating knowledge
The third chapter focuses on the yearning for knowledge of Brahman, and the means to attain it. karma and importance of conduct and free will, and the connection between Atman (Self, Soul) and the Brahman are discussed in sections 3.1 and 3.2 of the text.
Sections 3.3 and 3.4 describe the need for self-study, reflection of texts read, meditation, etc., as steps while one makes progress and the role of sannyasa (monk, mendicant) in the pursuit of spiritual knowledge. The Upanishads describe many upasanas on Brahman, with considerable similarities, but also with differences, due to the variations in transmission in the different Vedic schools. The Brahma-sutra, in Adhikaranas of third and fourth pada, states Thibaut, assert that there is no contradiction in these teachings and that "the different Upanishads have to be viewed as teaching the same matter, and therefore the ideas must be combined in one meditation".
The most referred to texts in these sections are the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Chandogya Upanishad, the Kaushitaki Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad, and the non-Upanishadic parts of Shatapatha Brahmana and Aitereya Aranyaka.
While upasana may be regarded as a kind of meditation, it is more than dhyana or sitting in meditation; it is a continuous practice of "constant remembrance" of Brahman or the Divine throughout the day, as the culmination of a life of spiritual development.
In sutras 3.4.26 and 3.4.27, the text adds that rituals, however, can spiritually prepare a mind, remove impurities within, empower calmness and distractions from sensory pursuits, and therefore assist in its ability to meditate and gain the ultimate knowledge. The text also discusses, in sutras 3.4.28 to 3.4.31 whether there are restrictions on food (meat) one can ingest, during the spiritual journey. The sutras, translates Thibaut, derive from the Vedic texts that there is "a prohibition of doing harm to any living creature", however, the scriptures state, "only in danger of life, in cases of highest need, food of any kind is permitted to be eaten".
The last three sutras of the chapter 3 assert that a person, pursuing means to spiritual knowledge, should seek a childlike state of innocence, a psychological state that is free of anger, self-centeredness, pride and arrogance. The text declares that according to the Vedic literature knowledge is possible in this life, that one is one's own obstruction in this journey, that liberation and freedom is the fruit of knowledge.
Chapter 4: The benefits of spiritual knowledge
Fourth chapter (Phala: the result): talks of the state that is achieved in final emancipation. This is the shortest chapter with 78 sutras and 38 adhikaranas. The last chapter of the Brahma Sūtras discusses the need and fruits of self-knowledge, the state of freedom and liberation.
The liberated soul, asserts the Brahma Sūtras, is of the nature of Brahman, with inner power and knowledge, free from evil, free from grief, free from suffering, one of bliss and "for such there is freedom in all worlds".
Influence
The impact of Brahma Sūtras text on Vedanta, and in turn Hinduism, has been historic and central:
Upavarsa, and eighteen out of twenty one mentioned by Narayana in Madhvavijaya-bhava-prakashika are considered lost. Of the surviving commentaries, the earliest extant one is by Nimbarkacharya or Adi Shankara.
The diversity of Brahma Sūtras commentaries by various sub-schools of Hinduism attests to the central importance of the Upanishads, that the text summarizes.
{| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" style=" background: transparent; "
|-style="text-align: center;"
! width=100px style="background: #ffad66;" | Commentary
! width=140px style="background: #ffad66;" | Scholar
! width=80px style="background: #ffcc80;" | Date
! width=100px style="background: #ffcc80;" | Tradition
! width=100px style="background: #ffcc80;" | Sampradaya
! width= 440px style="background: #ffcc80;" | Theme / Influence
<!-- ** Nimbarkacharya ** -->|- style="text-align: center;"
| width="100px" | Vedanta-Parijata-Saurabha
| width="140px" | Nimbārkāchārya
| width="80px" | Variously dated from 7th to 12th century<br>(7th c. more likely)
| width="100px" | Svābhāvika Bhedābheda<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width="100px" | Kumara Sampradaya
| width="440px" | Differential monism
<!-- ** Srinivasacharya ** -->|- style="text-align: center;"
| width="140px" | Vedānta Kaustubha
| width="140px" | Śrīnivāsācārya
| width="80px" | Variously dated from 7th to 12th century<br>(7-8th c. more likely)
| width="100px" | Svābhāvika Bhedābheda<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width="100px" | Kumara Sampradaya
| width="440px" | Differential monism
<!-- ** Shankara ** -->|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=100px | Brahmasūtrabhāṣya
| width=140px | Ādi Śaṅkarācārya
| width=80px | 9th century
| width=100px | Advaita Vedanta<br>(Smarta tradition)
| width=100px | Dasanami Sampradaya
| width= 440px | non-duality ("non-secondness") of jivAtman and Atman-Brahman
<!-- ** Bhaskara ** --> |-style="text-align: center;"
| width=140px |
| width=140px | Bhaskara
| width=80px | 9th century
| width=100px | Bhedabheda
| width=100px |
| width= 140px | Aupādhika Bhedābheda (Conditional Difference) dates it to the 7th century CE, arguing that it appeared before all the Bhashyams like Shankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva.
| width="100px" | Shiva Advaita<br> (Shaivism)
| width="100px" | Srauta - Agamic Saiva Siddhanta
| width="440px" | Qualified non-dualism (Śiva - Śakti non-dualism)
<!-- ** Vallabha 16th century ** -->|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=140px | (Aṇubhāṣya)
| width=140px | Vallabhācārya
| width=80px | 16th century
| width=100px | Shuddhadvaita<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width=100px | Rudra Sampradaya Pushtimarg
| width= 440px | Pure non-dualism
<!-- ** Śuka 16th century ** --> |-style="text-align: center;"
| width=140px | Śukabhāṣya
| width=140px | Śuka
| width=80px | 16th century
| width=100px | Bhedavada<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width=100px |
| width= 440px | Revised dualism
<!-- ** Vijnanabhiksu ** -->|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=140px | Vijñānāmrta-bhāsyam
| width=140px | Vijñāna-bhikṣu
| width=80px | 17th century
| width=100px | Ātma Brahmaikya bhedavāda<br>(Theistic-Sāṃkhya)
| width=100px |
| width= 440px | Indistinguishable non-dualism (Avibhaga Advaita)
<!-- ** Baladeva Vidyabhushana ** -->|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=100px | Govinda-bhāṣya & Brahma-sūtra-kārikā-bhāṣya
| width=140px | Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
| width=80px | 18th century
| width=100px | Acintyabhedābheda<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width=100px | Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya
| width=440px | Inconceivable oneness and difference
<!-- ** Panchānana Tarkaratna ** -->|- style="text-align: center;"
| width=100px | Śakti Bhāṣyam
| width=140px | Panchānana Tarkaratna
| width=80px | |20th century (1905)
| width=100px | Vedic - Tantric (Agamic) Śiva - Śakti advaita / Śaktyadvaita<br>(Śaktism)
| width=100px | Smarta Dakshninachara Śakta Sampradaya
| width=440px | Śiva - Śakti non-dualism
<!-- ** Rambhadracharya ** -->|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=100px | Śrī Rāghava Kṛpā Bhāṣyam
| width=140px | Rambhadracharya
| width=80px | 20th century (1998)
| width=100px | Viśiṣṭādvaita<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width=100px | Tulsi Peeth / Ramanandi Sampradaya
| width=440px | Qualified non-dualism
<!-- ** Bhadreshdas Swami ** -->|-style="text-align: center;"
| width=100px | (Brahmasūtra-Svāminārāyaṇa-Bhāṣyam)
| width=140px | Bhadreshdas Swami
| width=80px | 21st century (2017)
| width=100px | Akshar Purushottam Darshan<br>(Vaishnavism)
| width=100px | Swaminarayan Sampradaya
| width= 440px |Five eternal entities: Purushottam, Akshar, Maya, Ishvar, Jiva
|}
Exegesis
The sutras in the text can be, and have been read in different ways. Another example is Shanakra's interpretation of a set of sutras (2.3.19-28) as reflective of the Purva-paksha and Ramanuja's taking the same set of sutras to be reflective of the Siddhanta. Shankara argues that the description of the individual self (jiva) as atomic in size in these sutras marks the Purva-paksha, whereas Ramanuja takes it to be the Siddhanta. A point of disagreement between commentators concerns where to divide the text into Adhikaranas. Although there is a clear division of Adhyayas and Padas in the text, no division of Adhikaranas is universally affirmed, leading to disagreements about how the sutras in each Adhikaranas should be divided.
Another aspect of the sutra text that leads to variance in exegeses is that words in the sutras can mean different things. In sutra 2.3.15, the word antarā is used, which would mean both "without" and "in the midst". Shankara, Ramanuja, and Nimbarka agree that the word means "in the midst", but Madhva argues that the word must mean "without". It is very likely that the interpretations given by Shankara, Ramanuja, Nimbarka, and Madhva did not originate out of nowhere, and their key elements most probably existed even before the Brahma Sūtras themselves were written. It is extremely difficult to determine which of the commentators' interpretations are actually faithful to the original, and there is a possibility that the author of the Brahma Sūtras did not have a philosophical system in mind that Shankara, Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Madhva, and their successors have expressed.
Translations
The Brahma Sūtras has been translated into German by Paul Deussen, and in English by George Thibaut. The Thibaut translation is, state De Bary and Embree, "probably the best complete translation in English".
External links
;Translations and transliteration
- The Vedanta Sutras Part 1, Translated by George Thibaut (English, 1890, Adi Shankara Exegesis, Theistic interpretation)
- The Vedanta Sutras Part 2, Translated by George Thibaut (English, 1890, Adi Shankara Exegesis, Theistic interpretation)
- The Vedanta Sutras Translated by George Thibaut (English, 1890, Ramanuja Exegesis, Theistic interpretation)
- Comparative analysis of traditional commentaries on Brahma Sutras. https://archive.org/download/in.ernet.dli.2015.283844/2015.283844.The-Vedanta.pdf
- Brahma Sutra, The Philosophy of Spiritual Life (English) Translated by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (English, Multiple scholars includes monist and theistic interpretation), - at archive.org
- Brahma sutra in 10 Indian languages and Roman Transliteration IIT Kanpur
;Commentaries
- Sri Bhashya - Brahma Sutra Bhashya by Ramanujacharya (Sanskrit) - at archive.org
- Brahma Sutra Bhashya by Adi Shankaracharya (Sanskrit) - at archive.org
- Brahmasutra Sankara Bhashya, with Ratna-Prabha of Govindananda, Bhamati of Vachaspati Misra and Nyaya-Nirnaya of Anandagari (Sanskrit) - at archive.org
- Brahmasutra Sankara Bhashya, with Bhamati of Vachaspati Misra, Kalpataru of Amalananda and Parimala of Appaya Dikshita (Sanskrit) - at archive.org
- Anubhashya on the Brahma Sutra by Vallabhacharya with Commentaries (4 Volumes Combined) (Sanskrit) - at archive.org
- Brahmasutra Bhasya of Sri Madhvacharya with Glosses (Sanskrit) - at archive.org
- Vedanta-Parijata-Saurabha of Nimbarka and Vedanta-Kaustubha of Srinivasa (English) - at archive.org or Proofread edition including glossary