Prasthanatrayi
Three canonical texts of Vedanta theology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prasthanatrayi (Sanskrit: प्रस्थानत्रयी, IAST: Prasthānatrayī), literally, three sources (or axioms), refers to the three canonical texts of theology having epistemic authority, especially of the Vedanta schools. It consists of:
- The Upanishads, known as Upadeśa Prasthānam (injunctive texts), and the Śruti Prasthānam (the starting point or axiom of revelation), especially the Principal Upanishads.
- The Bhagavad Gītā, known as Sādhana Prasthānam (practical text), and the Smṛti Prasthānam (the starting point or axiom of remembered tradition)
- The Brahma Sūtras, known as Sūtra Prasthānam (formulative texts) or Nyāya Prasthānam or Yukti Prasthānam or Tarka Prasthānam (logical text or axiom of logic)
The Mukhya Upanishads consist of ten, twelve or thirteen major texts, with a total of 108 texts described in Muktikopanishad. The ten Upanishads are Īśā, Kena, Kaṭha, Praṣna, Muṇḍaka, Māṇḍūkya, Taittirīya, Aitareya, Chāndogya and Bṛhadāraṇyaka.
Etymology
The term prasthantrayi is derived from the Sanskrit words prasthan (prasthāna; starting point or source) and trayi (trayī, three).[1] This term refers to the three foundational scriptures that establish the Vedanta darshans (darśana; school of thought). These three scriptures are the Upanishads, the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, and Brahmasutras.[2]