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 or Prasthana-traya. 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 and interpreting the texts.

There are six systems of philosophy known as Shad Darshanas of which Vedanta is one. Astika Darshanas 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.

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. The author of Vedantasara begins his work with an attempt to explain the class of writings included under the heading Vedanta and identifies them as Prasthanatrayam. He mentions the Sharira Sutras which are popularly called Vedanta Sutras. They endeavor to solve the most momentous questions of life and death. The attainment of self-knowledge is the summum bonum of spiritual culture according to the advocates of Vedanta.

All major Vedantic teachers, like Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, and Madhvacharya, have composed extensive commentaries on the three texts. Pandey & Navare (2018) mention: Hindu tradition acknowledges the Prasthānatrayī as its three primary sources. The texts comprising the Prasthānatrayī are

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

Main article: Upanishads (उपनिषदः)

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 concluding or gnostic portion of Vedic text. Adi Shankaracharya has given commentaries on at least eleven (some opine 12 and 13) 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.

“Vedanta,” then, generally refers to the teachings of the principal Upanishads and was later extended to other works about or based on them. Although this makes for a fairly well circumscribed group of Vedantic texts, there is a great variety of viewpoints expressed in them that has fostered a great variety of interpretations.

Brahmasutras

Main article: Brahmasutra (ब्रह्मसूत्र)

Second authoritative work is “Brahmasutra”, which is said to have been authored by Badarayana Vyasa. The Brahma Sutras also called Vedanta Sutras has been written in four chapters, each divided into four quarters or sections. The cryptic sutras are open to a variety of interpretations, resulting in the formation of numerous Vedanta schools, each interpreting the texts in its own way and producing its own commentary. As a consequence, the divergence of views, originally prevalent in the form of seemingly diverse verses of the Upanishads, re-asserted themselves and have continued in more or less the same form even after the composition of the sutra. Thus, all the three leading philosophical schools, 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.

Sutra works can be easily memorized and condensed within themselves a great deal of thought and teaching. They were apparently didactic tools used to teach the tenets of the six Darshanas. Though easily memorized, understanding the full meaning of a sutra work required the help of an explanation from a teacher who had himself studied the sutra from a teacher. Eventually those explanations were transformed into written commentaries and the most authoritative of the commentaries became recognized as the major commentary or bhashya. Through the Brahmasutras, the school of Vedanta distinguished itself from the other developing schools of thought. A number of different sub-schools of Vedanta grew up, each with its own main commentary or bhashya on the Brahmasutra. They later came to be known as different sub-schools of Vedanta based on the school’s position on the fundamental question of the relationship of Brahman (the supreme truth recognized in the Upanishads) to the living being (forms of life). These include Advaita (non-dualism), Visishta-advaita (qualified non-dualism), Dvaita (dualism), Dvaitadvaita (dualism and non-dualism), Suddhadvaita (pure non-dualism), and others.

The first four sutras of Badarayana give us in brief the outlines of the vedanta philosophy. In the first sutra, the spiritual aspirant is exhorted to inquire into the nature of Brahman. Brahman is defined in the second sutra as the originator, sustainer, destroyer, etc., of the Universe. The third sutra states that scripture is the pramana in respect of the knowledge of Brahman. The fourth points out that all the terms in the scripture signify Brahman.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita

Main article: Bhagavad Gita (भगवद्गीता)

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.

In the first six chapters, the secret of Nishkama Karma Yoga has been explained, in the second six chapters, the secret of Bhagavad Bhakti Yoga and in the third six chapters, the secret of Jnana Yoga has been explained.

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.