Vedanta (Uttara Mimamsa)

Founder

Maharshi Badarayana (Vyasa)

Era

c. 1st century BCE – 2nd century CE (sutras)

Central thesis

Vedanta — literally "the end (anta) of the Veda" — takes the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, and Bhagavad Gita (the prasthana-trayi) as its authoritative basis and inquires into the nature of Brahman, the ultimate ground of being, and its relation to the individual self (atman) and the world. Multiple sub-schools — Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, Achintya-Bheda-Abheda, and others — offer distinct, internally rigorous interpretations of the same source texts.

Key texts

Upanishads (principal ten)
Brahma Sutras of Badarayana
Bhagavad Gita
Bhashyas of Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, and others

Pramana (accepted means of valid knowledge)

Pratyaksha (perception)
Anumana (inference)
Upamana (comparison)
Shabda (scriptural testimony)
Arthapatti (postulation)
Anupalabdhi (non-apprehension)

View of liberation (moksha)

Moksha — release from samsara through knowledge of Brahman; the precise nature of the liberated state (identity with, qualified union with, or eternal service of Brahman) differs across sub-schools.

Modern exponents

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
T. M. P. Mahadevan
Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Arsha Vidya)

Key concepts

Prasthana-trayi (Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita)
Brahman (ultimate reality)
Atman (individual self)
Maya / lila (world appearance or divine play, per sub-school)
Jivanmukti (liberation while embodied, accepted by some sub-schools)