---
type: Reference
bundle: upanishadic-core
id: jivanmuktiviveka
title: "Jīvanmuktiviveka"
description: "Vidyaranya's treatise on liberation while living (jivanmukti) and the discipline that secures it."
tradition: Advaita Vedānta
author: "Vidyāraṇya (Mādhava Āraṇyaka, c. 1296–1386 CE)"
language: Sanskrit
approximate_date: "c. 14th century CE"
key_concepts_in_bundle: [jivanmukti, videhamukti, sakshin, brahmabhavana]
timestamp: "2026-07-01"
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Jīvanmuktiviveka — जीवन्मुक्तिविवेक

"Discrimination regarding Liberation-while-Living." The only classical Advaita text devoted entirely to the concept of Jīvanmukti. By Vidyāraṇya, the same author as the Pañcadaśī. Five chapters covering: (1) the meaning of Jīvanmukti; (2) why Prārabdha continues; (3) the role of Mano-Nāśa (mind dissolution) and Vāsanā-Kṣaya (dissolution of latent impressions); (4) the Yoga methods that support Jīvanmukti; (5) Videhamukti as the final stage.

## Key Passages for Bundle Concepts

| Passage | Concept | Content |
|---------|---------|---------|
| JMV 1.1–15 | Jīvanmukti | Definition and scriptural warrant |
| JMV 1.20–35 | Prārabdha | Why Prārabdha continues post-Jñāna; the archer-arrow simile |
| JMV 2.1–25 | Vāsanā-Kṣaya | The role of dissolving latent impressions |
| JMV 5.1–20 | Videhamukti | The body's death and the final dissolution of Prārabdha |

## Why This Text Matters for OKF

The JMV is essential for the jivanmukti.md and videhamukti.md files because it addresses the exact confusions the OKF flags as high-risk:

1. **Why does the body continue if liberation is achieved?** JMV 1.20–35 gives the fullest classical answer: Jñāna burns Sañcita and stops Āgāmin but cannot retroactively cancel Prārabdha already-in-motion — like an arrow already released.

2. **Is Videhamukti superior to Jīvanmukti?** Vidyāraṇya's view: no hierarchy. Jīvanmukti is complete liberation; Videhamukti is the same liberation without the Prārabdha vehicle. The value of Jīvanmukti is precisely that liberation is possible and demonstrable in embodied life — it is the tradition's strongest response to the view that mokṣa requires death.

3. **What role does Yoga practice play post-Jñāna?** Vidyāraṇya integrates Yoga methods (Prāṇāyāma, Dhāraṇā) as supports for Vāsanā-Kṣaya — not as alternative paths to liberation but as tools that help stabilize Brahma-jñāna by wearing away the habit-layers (Vāsanās) that generate Viparīta-bhāvanā.

## Cross-Bundle Note

The Yoga methods discussed in JMV chapters 3–4 overlap with the yoga-darshana bundle's territory. The OKF treats these as functional supports (upāyas) within Advaita's framework, distinct from Yoga as an independent darshana.

## Recommended Editions

- Swami Mokshadananda translation (Ramakrishna Math)
- Fort and Mumme (SUNY Press — scholarly with commentary)
