Vedanta means literally "the end of the Veda", or "Dogmas of the Veda" or "Final Aim of the Veda". Max Muller declares himself in favour of the latter view but this presupposes an appreciation of the dogmatic approach at the expense of the ritual part, which it is difficult to accept for the time at which the word arose. Hence the first view recommends itself as the simplest and most natural. The book provides an analysis of the contents of the Brahmasutra’s which is useful not only for the exposition of the system, but also in the study of the original work. The work falls into four Adhyaya’s (Lectures) of four Pada’s (Feet or Quarters) each a division which calls to mind the four fourfold feet of Brahman and the sixteenfold spirit. The numbers at the beginning of the lines indicate the 555 sutra’s of the work, their unions the Adhikaranas or chapters, of which, following the appended Adhikaranamala we count 192 (instead of 191). The author has considered the work as an indivisible whole for the purpose of systematic exposition and quoted it in the sequel either with three numbers according to Adhyaya, Pada and Sutram or with two numbers.
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