Within the Vedāntic vision reflected in the Brahma Sūtras, the ultimate touchstone of valid knowledge is śruti, the revealed wisdom of the Upaniṣads. The sūtras are crafted precisely to systematize, interpret, and harmonize these scriptural statements about Brahman, ātman, and liberation. When passages appear to conflict, the text leans on established hermeneutical principles—such as attention to context, opening and closing statements, repetition, and eulogy—to discern the intended meaning. Śruti thus functions not merely as citation, but as the governing horizon within which all other pramāṇas are evaluated and subordinated.

Alongside this primacy of scripture, the Brahma Sūtras make sustained use of reasoning in several forms. Anumāna, or inference, is employed to demonstrate the internal coherence of Upaniṣadic teaching and to refute rival systems, arguing for Brahman as the cause of the world and as omniscient on the basis of accepted premises together with scriptural testimony. Yukti, rational argument or critical reflection, is used to clarify difficult points, remove apparent contradictions, and show that interpretations opposed to śruti lead to untenable consequences. Methods such as anvaya-vyatireka (agreement and difference) and samanvaya (harmonization) serve this broader project of discerning the unchanging reality that scripture points to and reconciling diverse passages into a unified doctrine.

The text’s dialectical structure further reveals its commitment to disciplined reasoning in service of revelation. Many sections are framed through the pūrvapakṣa–siddhānta pattern: an objection or prima facie view is carefully presented and then answered by an established conclusion grounded in śruti and supported by tarka, or supportive reasoning. This unfolds within the adhikaraṇa method, which proceeds through a defined sequence—identifying the scriptural topic (viṣaya), articulating the doubt (saṃśaya), presenting the opposing view (pūrvapakṣa), establishing the conclusion (siddhānta), and showing its connection (saṅgati) to what precedes. In this way, scripture remains the final authority, yet is never treated mechanically; it is illumined and defended through a rigorous, reflective use of reason that seeks to make its vision both intelligible and compelling.