Prasthana Trayi (प्रस्थानत्रयी)

Prasthana-trayi (Samskrit:प्रस्थानत्रयी) include the three fundamental texts of Indian Philosophy required to understand the import of every system of Vedanta. Every system of Vedanta declares that it derives its doctrines from three texts (Prasthana-traya), namely, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Vedanta-Sutras or Brahmasutras. Each school holds that its interpretation of the texts is the only correct version and those of the others wrong. Thus we have the different systems of Vedanta being fastened on to one and the same text. This has been possible because of the presence of more than one way of looking at the texts.

There are six systems of philosophy known as Shad Darshanas of which Vedanta is one. They accept the Vedas as authority but they have different interpretations of what the Vedas mean. Shankaracharya established that Vedanta is the concluding portion of the Vedas (gives actual conclusive import of the Vedas).

Prasthana means a textual composition which establishes principles or by which one is led and trayi is indicative of the quantity three. Pandey & Navare (2018) mention: Hindu tradition acknowledges the Prasthānatrayī as its three primary sources. The texts comprising the Prasthānatrayī are the Upaniṣada , the Bhagavad-Gītā, and the Brahmasūtra.

The Three Prasthanas

Indian philosophy has had a life-oriented approach since ancient times. Indian philosophical texts have made valuable contributions to the spiritual, metaphysical and ideological aspects of human life. In Indian philosophical traditions, there has been extensive thinking about the three elements, Atman/Brahman, Jagat and Ishvara. All major Vedantic teachers, like Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, and Madhvacharya, have composed extensive commentaries on the three texts. The three prasthanas include

1. Upanishads - form the Shruti Prasthana (related to Shrutis or Vedic texts or revealed texts)
2. Vedanta Sutras or Brahma Sutras - form the Nyaya Prasthana (logical texts)
3. The Bhagavad Gita - forms the Smrti Prasthana (related to Smritis or remembered texts )

Upanishads are the first authoritative texts dealing with the doctrines of Vedanta, namely Atman and Brahman. The Vedas and their end portions, Upanishads are regarded Apourusheya, meaning "not of human origin" and are regarded as divine revelations. The Upanishads are also called as Uttara Mimamsa and Vedanta purely designated by their being located at the end of Vedic text. Adi Shankaracharya has given commentaries on at least eleven Upanishads, which were later called as Mukhya Upanishads. The goal of Upanishads is to lead the seekers to Brahmajnana and the path to that goal is expounded variously based on the Vedanta school.

Second authoritative work is “Brahmasutra”, which is said to have been authored by Badarayana Vyasa. It contains sutras, and all the three leading philosophical schools of Hinduism, Advaita (non-dualism), Visishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism), and Dvaita (dualism) have learned treatises written by the leading proponents and teachers of these schools, commenting on the sutras found in this text. The commentaries of these three Acharyas (teachers) on Brahmasutra are the foundation of philosophy of these schools.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita is the third authoritative text given by Vyasa Maharshi in the Mahabharata. Even though Mahabharata is an Itihasa text, the teachings given by ShriKrishna to Arjuna are considered to be Apaurusheya like the Vedas because it spontaneously emerged from ShriKrishna regarded as Paramatman, the Supreme Being. That is why this text is also a scripture expounding Brahmavidya. To attain Brahman, the means of selfless action (nishkama karma), devotion (bhakti) and knowledge (jnana) have been prescribed.

Unanimous acceptance

S Radhakrishnan writes the following:

"The three Prasthanas or divisions of Vedanta are: The Upanishads, Brahma Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita. The three Prasthanas answer roughly to three stages of faith, knowledge and discipline. The Upanishads embody the experience of the sages. Logic and discipline are present in them though these are not the chief characteristics of those texts. The Brahma Sutra attempts to interpret in logical terms, the chief conclusions of the Upanishads. The Bhagavad Gita is primarily a Yoga Sastra giving us the chief means by which we can attain the truly religious life. These three form together the absolute standard of the Hindu tradition".

The system (that particular structure) of Prasthan trayi was accepted by subsequent acharyas also. Sri Madhvacharya, Sri Ramanujacharya, Sri Baladev Vidyabhushan and others have all commented on this Prasthan trayi and through that way they established the authenticity of their sampradayas.