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Vedanta-sutras

Hindu text
Also known as: “Brahma-sūtras”

Quick Summary

The Vedanta-sutras are a foundational text in Hindu philosophy, forming one of the three core scriptures of Vedanta, alongside the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Composed of brief, aphoristic verses, the sutras aim to reconcile and systematically explain the teachings found in the Upanishads.123

The text is organized into four books, each with four chapters, addressing the nature of brahman (the absolute reality), the relationship between the individual self (atman) and brahman, and the path to liberation (moksha) from the cycle of rebirth. Various schools of Vedanta, such as Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita, have developed different interpretations of these texts, focusing on varying degrees of identity or difference between the individual and the absolute.412

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