PANCHADASHI

Not all the best classics in Vedic literature are known in the West.  One such classic is Swami Vidyaranya’s Panchadashi written in the 14^th century.  

The fifteen chapters of Panchadashi--the word panchadashi means fifteen in Sanskrit-- fall naturally into three sections of five chapters each.  The three sections correspond to sat-chit-ananda, an epithet of Brahman.  Sat means absolute existence; chit means absolute consciousness; and ananda mean absolute bliss.

Some scholars hold that only the first ten chapters are from Swami Vidyaranya, the remainder written posthumously by a former pupil of his, using Vidyaranya's notes.  The book is an instruction on the metaphysics of non-dualistic Advaita Vedanta and a guide on Advaita meditation.

Since the subject of Panchadashi is Advaita Vedanta, it is often mentioned in conjunction with Shankara’s Crest Jewel of Discrimination written six centuries earlier.  The topic of Crest Jewel is also Advaita but it differs from Panchadashi in form.  Crest Jewel is a dialogue between a master and a disciple, where the master teaches the disciple the nature of the Atman and how to access it.