Indian Philosophy v2.c26.s2.7

v2.c26.s2.7

The Sūtra alludes to the views of the Sāṃkhya and the Vaiśeṣika schools and the Jains and the Buddhists. Śaṃkara, Rāmānuja, Madhva and Vallabha are unanimous in understanding references to the Gītā (xv. 7; viii. 24), in ii. 3. 45 and iv. i. 10 respectively, and the first three see a similar reference to the Gītā (vii. 11) in iv. I. 10. Many of the names mentioned in the Sūtra are also found in the Śrauta Sūtra, Āśmarathya in the Āśvalāyana, Bādari, Kārṣṇajini and Kāśakṛtsna in the Kātyāyana, Ātreya in the Taittirīya Prātiśākhya Sūtra. Ātreya, Kāśakṛtsna, Bādari are mentioned in Bodhāyana’s Gṛhya Sūtra and Ātreya in Bhāradvāja Gṛhya Sūtra as well. Kāśakṛtsna is a very old Vedic commentator. Auḍulomi is referred to in the Mahābhāṣya on Pāṇini.³ Garuḍa Purāṇa, Padma Purāṇa and Manu refer to the Vedānta Sūtra and Hariwaṃśa, assigned by Hopkins to A.D. 200, contains clear references to it. Keith holds that Bādarāyaṇa cannot be dated later than A.D. 200.⁴ Indian scholars are of opinion that the Sūtra was composed in the period from 500 to 200 B.C. Fraser assigns it to 400 B.C.⁵ Max Müller says: “Whatever the date of the Bhagavadgītā is, and it is a part of the Mahābhārata, the age of the Vedānta Sūtra and of Bādarāyaṇa must have been earlier.”⁶