Vivekacūḍāmaṇi
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 Adi Shankara of the eighth century, though this attribution has been questioned and mostly rejected by scholarship. It is in the form of a poem in the Shardula Vikridita metre.
| Vivekacūḍāmaṇi | |
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| Written | 8th century or later |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Subject(s) | Hindu philosophy |
| Meter | Varies |
| Publication date | 1910 (first print edition) |
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| Hinduism |
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| Advaita |
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Hindu philosophy |
Vivekachudamani literally means the "crest-jewel of discernment". 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.