Metaphysics

Brahmasūtra Bhāṣya

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Adi Shankara

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The Brahmasūtra Bhāṣya is Shankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras — the tersely aphoristic text that systematises the philosophy of the Upanishads. Regarded as the foundational document of Advaita Vedanta, the commentary argues with formidable logical rigour that Brahman, pure undivided consciousness, is the sole ultimate reality. All apparent multiplicity — the world of things, the gods, individual souls — is superimposed on this non-dual ground through the beginningless power of maya. Shankara refutes the principal rival schools of Vedic interpretation (Samkhya, Mimamsa, Nyaya, Buddhism) point by point, establishing non-dualism not merely as a spiritual position but as the only reading of the Upanishadic texts consistent with reason. The commentary remains the supreme statement of Advaita metaphysics and the text against which every subsequent Vedanta school has defined itself.