Vivekacūḍāmaṇi
| Vivekacūḍāmaṇi | |
|---|---|
| Written | 8th century or later |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject(s) | Hindu philosophy |
| Meter | Varies |
| Publication date | 1910 (first print edition) |
The Vivekachudamani (Sanskrit: विवेकचूडामणि, romanized: vivekacūḍāmaṇi, lit. 'Crest-jewel of discernment') is a philosophical treatise within the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism, traditionally attributed to the Vedāntic philosopher Adi Shankara, though this attribution has been questioned and mostly rejected by scholarship. It is in the form of a poem in the Shardula Vikridita metre.
The text discusses key concepts such as the viveka (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 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.