Brahma Sutra Bhashya

What it is

This is a Sanskrit commentary (bhashya) on the Brahma Sutras, a foundational Vedanta text. It was written by the philosopher Adi Shankara in the early 8th century. The image shown here is the title page of an 1890 English translation by George Thibaut, not the original Sanskrit manuscript.

Why it matters

In this work Shankara lays out his reading of the Upanishads and argues that Brahman is the single ultimate reality behind the world. He also attacks rival schools of thought, including Samkhya, Buddhist and Mimamsa philosophers. The text became the backbone of the Advaita Vedanta tradition and shaped centuries of Indian religious debate.

Look closer

• Why might a philosopher spend as much energy refuting other schools as explaining his own ideas?
• What does it mean that we are looking at a 19th-century English translation rather than the original text?
• How might translation change the meaning of a philosophical argument?