Adi Shankara
~788–820 CE · Indian (Kerala) · Medieval India
Known for: Unified Hindu philosophy under Advaita Vedanta by age 32 — then died, having done more in 32 years than most do in 80
Adi Shankara was an Indian philosopher who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism) — the teaching that Brahman (ultimate reality) and Atman (individual soul) are identical, and the world of multiplicity is maya (illusion). He established four monasteries across India that still function today.
He achieved this before dying at approximately 32 — making him philosophy's greatest prodigy alongside perhaps only Évariste Galois.
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