Description
The Vivekachudamani (Sanskrit: विवेकचूडामणि; IAST: Vivekacūḍāmaṇi) is an introductory treatise within the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, traditionally attributed to Adi Shankara. It is in the form of a poem in the Shardula Vikridita metre, and for many centuries has been celebrated as a prakaraṇa grantha (teaching manual) of Advaita. Vivekachudamani literally means the "Crest-jewel of discrimination". The text discusses key concepts and the viveka or discrimination or discernment between real (unchanging, eternal) and unreal (changing, temporal), Prakriti and Atman, the oneness of Atman and Brahman, and self-knowledge as the central task of the spiritual life and for Moksha. It expounds the Advaita Vedanta philosophy in the form of a self-teaching manual, with many verses in the form of a dialogue between a student and a spiritual teacher. Through the centuries, the Vivekachudamani has been translated into several languages and has been the topic of many commentaries and expositions.
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