ajAti vAda

ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result
of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know brahman. Thus, the
pUrva mImAm.sA, with its emphasis on the karma kANDa of the vedas, is meant for the
first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the vedAnta, with its
emphasis on the jnAna kANDa, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient
pleasures.
As a mImAm.sA, vedAnta has a function of textual exegesis, with its uniquely Indian
views on the origin, relevance and scope of revelation. In itself, any school of vedAnta
can be considered to be a philosophy and also as a religion, there being no distinct line
that can be drawn between the two, at least in the Indian context. vedAnta literally
means "the end of the vedas." This can be interpreted in more ways than one. From the
textual point of view, the upanishads, the source books of the vedAnta, are considered to
be the end of the vedas. From a philosophical point of view, vedAnta is the fruit or the
goal of all the vedas. The philosophical interpretation is more preferable in the tradition.
This is because the vedic texts are considered to be eternal, revealed scripture, so that
they have no definable chronological beginning or end. advaita vedAnta is the oldest
living school of vedAnta. It is also generally considered to be the premier school of
vedAnta,and the word vedAnta is used synonymously with advaita in most literature.
vedAnta bases itself mainly upon three sets of texts, called prasthAna trayI. These are
the upanishads (Sruti prasthAna), the bhagavad gItA (smRti prasthAna) and the
brahmasUtras of bAdarAyaNa (nyAya prasthAna). A working definition for a Hindu
tradition to be called vedAnta is that it should have definitive commentarial texts on the
three prasthAnas. Consequently, the following brief description overlooks important
traditions like those of Kashmir Saivism and southern Saiva siddhAnta.
An essential identity between Atman and brahman is upheld in advaita vedAnta. The
personality of SankarAcArya and the force of advaita teaching is so strong that most
post-Sankaran schools of vedAnta consciously define their doctrines against advaita
thought. A number of pre-Sankaran vedAntins seem to have been proponents of
bhedAbheda (bheda+abheda, or identity in difference). The earliest post-Sankaran
school of vedAnta is also one of bhedAbheda. This is seen from the commentaries of
bhAskarAcArya, which are still available, although the number of followers of this
school is quite small. In the 14th century, SrIpati paNDita, a commentator from the
vIraSaiva tradition, also identifies himself as a bhedAbhedavAdin. However, in general,
the vIraSaiva school does not pay much attention to vedAntic questions. Some early
advaita vedAnta influence on the monistic schools of Kashmir Saivism is also
postulated. However, these schools base themselves upon an independent set of texts,
namely the Saiva Agamas, and do not consider themselves to be vedAntic in origin.
A body-soul relationship between Atman and brahman is upheld in the school known as
viSishTAdvaita. Here, the highest brahman is considered as a "person" with a body
consisting of souls and matter. Theistic devotion to this highest brahman is held to be the
sole means to final moksha. The viSishTAdvaita schools split on the question of
identifying the highest brahman with Siva or vishNu, the Great Gods of Hinduism. The