Hinduism · Origins & people
Shankara develops Advaita interpretation
c. 8th century CE
Shankara articulated an influential form of Advaita Vedanta through interpretation and philosophical argument. He read the Upanishads as teaching the nonduality of the self and brahman. His writings became a central reference point for later debates about knowledge, liberation, and reality.
Why it matters
Reading his work alongside other commentators reveals that the same scriptural passages can sustain sharply different philosophical explanations of religious experience.
About the date
Dates disputed: proposals include c. 700–750 and 788–820. The plotted century is approximate.