A term for ultimate reality developed in the Upanishads and central to later Vedanta — understood very differently across schools.
Brahman is one of the most important — and most easily confused — terms in Indian philosophy. In its developed sense it names ultimate or absolute reality: whatever underlies and grounds everything else. It becomes a central preoccupation of the Upanishads and, later, of Vedanta.
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A body of philosophical texts that shifted attention from ritual toward questions about the self, reality, and liberation.
The oldest layer of Vedic literature — a large collection of hymns preserved orally for centuries before being written down.
A term for the innermost self explored in the Upanishads — its nature, and its relation to ultimate reality, are debated across traditions.
Liberation or release, framed as the ultimate aim in several Indian traditions — with each defining what it means differently.
An influential philosopher associated with a non-dualist reading of Vedanta and with extensive commentarial work — with much of his biography known through later tradition.
A family of interpretive schools centered on the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.