Analyzing Assertion (A): Brahman as Absolute Reality

Assertion (A) states: "According to Ādi Śaṁkara, Brahman alone is absolutely real." This statement aligns with the core tenet of Advaita Vedanta, a school of Hindu philosophy founded by Ādi Śaṁkara. Advaita Vedanta posits that the ultimate reality, Brahman, is the sole existent entity. All phenomena perceived through the senses are considered empirically real but ultimately illusory or relatively real, subordinate to Brahman.

Understanding Reason (R): Criteria for Absolute Reality

Reason (R) states: "For something to be absolutely real, it has to be non-sublatable at all three periods of time." This defines the characteristic of absolute reality (paramārthika-satya) in Advaita philosophy. A reality is considered absolutely real if it remains unchanged and uncontradicted across the past, present, and future. It cannot be sublated (negated or proven false) by any subsequent experience or knowledge.

Evaluating the Relationship between (A) and (R)

Ādi Śaṁkara argued that Brahman fits this definition of absolute reality perfectly. Brahman is eternal, unchanging, and not subject to negation by any other experience. The world of multiplicity, on the other hand, is sublatable—it appears and disappears, changes, and is contradicted by the realization of Brahman. Therefore, the criterion presented in Reason (R) directly supports and explains why, according to Ādi Śaṁkara, Brahman alone is absolutely real (Assertion A).

Conclusion

• Assertion (A) is correct: Brahman is identified as the sole absolute reality by Ādi Śaṁkara.
• Reason (R) is correct: The condition of being non-sublatable across past, present, and future is the definition of absolute reality in Advaita Vedanta.
• Reason (R) correctly explains Assertion (A): The philosophical reasoning (non-sublatability) is the basis for Ādi Śaṁkara's claim about Brahman's absolute reality.

Thus, both statements are correct, and (R) provides the correct explanation for (A).