About this project
Wisdom that has guided humanity for three thousand years — made conversational.
What is Shastras?
Shastras is a Sanskrit word that means sacred teaching. This app uses AI to let you talk directly with India's great sages and teachers — anyone who wants to can ask them a question, any time.
Here's how it works: when you ask a question, the app first searches thousands of real scripture passages to find the ones that match what you're asking. Then it hands those exact passages to the teacher, so every answer is grounded in real text — not just general knowledge.
You pick a teacher. You ask what's on your mind — about purpose, loss, fear, duty, relationships, or who you really are. The teacher answers in their own voice, drawing from the actual scriptures they lived and taught.
Every answer is grounded in real passages. You see exactly which ones. Nothing is made up.
Our Intention
The texts behind this app — the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Dhammapada, the Complete Works of Vivekananda — have guided people for thousands of years. They speak to nearly every human struggle, with a clarity that most modern self-help doesn't come close to.
But most people never actually read them. They're written in old Sanskrit, buried under dense scholarly commentary, or feel like they need a teacher and years of study just to begin.
We built Shastras because we don't think that has to be true. The questions these teachers answered are the same questions people carry today. That conversation should be available right now, in plain language, with whichever teacher feels right for you.
We're not trying to replace tradition. We just want to make it easier for someone in the middle of a hard week to find a two-thousand-year-old verse that speaks directly to what they're facing — and feel a little less alone because of it.
How It Works
When you ask a question, Shastras searches thousands of scripture passages to find the ones that best match what you're asking. Those passages are handed to the teacher, who answers entirely in character — in their own voice, from their own experience.
The sources appear alongside every answer. You can read the exact verse the teacher drew from, trace it back to where it came from, and dig deeper if you want to.
Behind the scenes: your question is compared against over 1,000 scripture passages to find the ones that match its meaning — not just matching words, but the actual idea you're asking about. The best matches go to the teacher, who is powered by Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic, and answers fully in character.
The Teachers
Twelve teachers are available right now, drawn from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Buddhist tradition, and more recent Indian teachers:
From the Mahabharata
The divine teacher of the Bhagavad Gita. On duty, letting go of outcomes, who you really are, and taking right action.
The archer-prince at Kurukshetra. On feeling frozen, grief, friendship, loyalty, and finding the will to act when everything is on the line.
The elder who lay on a bed of arrows and taught for days before he died. On vows, regret, doing right in impossible situations, and dying well.
The minister who told kings the truth, even when they didn't want to hear it. On integrity, standing up to those in charge, and the cost of honesty.
From the Ramayana
The ideal king and son. On duty, exile, loss, leadership, and the cost of doing what's right no matter what it takes.
A picture of quiet inner strength. On staying resilient, holding onto who you are under pressure, and dignity in the face of injustice.
Rama's devoted servant, whose love knew no limit. On devotion, selfless service, strength that comes from surrender, and finding real purpose.
The brilliant scholar-king who conquered the three worlds — then lost everything to one desire he never mastered. On ambition, and the gap between knowing what's right and actually doing it.
Buddhist Tradition
The awakened one. On suffering, change, desire, the middle way between extremes, and the path to freedom.
Modern Teachers & Strategists
The monk who brought Hindu philosophy to the modern world. On strength, fearlessness, the greatness already inside every person, and the point of a human life.
The sage of Arunachala. On who you really are, the practice of asking 'Who am I?', silence, and finding real stillness.
The strategist behind the Mauryan empire. On leadership, power, being ethical without being naive, decision-making, and surviving office politics.
The Scriptures
All source texts are public-domain translations. No copyrighted material is used.
- Bhagavad Gita — 700 verses — the core of Krishna's teaching
- Mahabharata — Passages from the Shanti Parva and narrative sections
- Shrimad Bhagavatam — Selected teachings and stories of Krishna
- Valmiki Ramayana — The foundational Sanskrit epic — Sundara Kanda and others
- Ramacharita Manas — Tulsidas's Hindi retelling — devotional and lyrical
- Aditya Hridayam — The solar hymn taught to Rama before battle
- Hanumad Purana — Teachings and episodes of Hanuman
- Shiva Tandava Stotram — Ravana's hymn to Shiva, composed beneath Kailasha
- Dhammapada — 423 short verses of the Buddha's teachings
- Swami Vivekananda — Complete Works — Lectures, letters, and teachings (Vol. I–VIII)
- Ramana Maharshi — Collected Teachings — Who Am I?, Talks, and selected writings
- Arthashastra & Chanakya Niti — Chanakya's writings on leading and governing well
A Note on Guidance
Shastras is a tool for reflection, not a replacement for real help. The teachers here speak from their scriptures, with care and in character — but they don't know you personally, and they can't replace a real relationship with a living teacher.
If you're facing a serious personal crisis, a mental health struggle, or a decision with real consequences, please talk to a real person. Traditional teachers, trained counsellors, and people you trust exist for exactly these moments.
Use Shastras to reflect, to explore, to be reminded of what these traditions have always known. Then take it into your life with the help of real people around you.
Privacy
Shastras doesn't keep a memory of you. Your conversations are not stored, saved, or logged once your session ends. Every conversation starts fresh. No account or sign-up is needed.
We collect anonymous usage data — things like page views and how many people talk to each teacher — through a tool called PostHog, just to understand what's useful. None of it identifies you personally.