In the early prose Upaniṣads the gold and clay analogy illustrates the view on Ātman as the substantial basis of all phenomena. In a similar way this analogy is used in the works of Patañjali, Bhartṛhari and Bhavya. However, the authors of the 'Brahma-sūtras' and the 'Gauḍapāda-kārikās' reinterpreted this analogy in order to reconcile it with the philosophical doctrines of the early Vedānta.