Mok¿adharma and pre-ved¿nta philosophy

The present text is the first translation into English of some fragments of the "Mok¿adharma Parvan". The "Mok¿adharma", inserted within the twelfth book of the Sanskrit epic "The Mah¿bh¿rata", configures one of the first sources of legitimization for the emerging doctrines among which are the "s¿¿khya", yoga, as well as the ved¿nta in ancient India. The present work exposes some mentions where the First Principle is described as the neutral entity brahman, spirit or puru¿a, matter or "prak¿ti", the imperishable or "ak¿ara", as well as the unmanifest or "avyakta". These notions come close, in their philosophical sense, to the acceptance of a personalized God and the birth of "bhakti", or devotion, towards the god N¿r¿yäa. The study conducted finds that the conceptual variants present in the "Mok¿adharma" legitimized the doctrinal tenets of important philosophical schools in ancient India, including classical ved¿nta.