The Philosophy of the Upanishads c6.s2.17

c6.s2.17

It was undoubtedly on the foundation of older and earlier works that Bâdarâyaṇa formally undertook an epitome of Upanishad doctrine in the *Brahmasûtras*, the foundation of the later Vedânta. He shows that Brahman is the first principle of the world, *samanvayât*, "from the agreement" of the Upanishad texts,² and proclaims the fundamental proposition "that all the texts of the Vedânta deserve credence" (*sarva-vedânta-pratyayam*).³ Which Upanishads, however, were recognised by him as canonical cannot be ascertained from the sûtras themselves owing to their brevity, but only from S'ankara's commentary, and the decision therefore remains in many instances doubtful, since we do not know how far S'ankara followed a reliable tradition. Only in the first *adhyâya* is it possible to determine with greater certainty the Upanishad texts which Bâdarâyaṇa had in his mind, where he undertakes to establish the teaching concerning Brahman in twenty-eight *Adhikaraṇas* (sections) based on as many passages of the Upanishads.