Swami Dayananda Saraswati approaches the Vedas as a unique and valid means of knowledge whose central purpose is to reveal the non‑dual nature of the self. The Veda, especially in its Upanishadic portion, is treated as a pramāṇa that corrects the fundamental error of taking oneself to be limited and bound, and thus serves primarily as ātma‑vidyā, self‑knowledge. Within this vision, liberation is not the production of a new state but the recognition of the self as already free and non‑separate from Brahman. The Veda is regarded as authorless and timeless, not a product of human speculation, and therefore capable of revealing what cannot be known through ordinary means.

At the same time, his reading of the Vedas is carefully structured around the traditional divisions of karma‑kāṇḍa and jñāna‑kāṇḍa, along with the recognition of upāsanā as an intermediate orientation. The ritual and prayerful portions are not dismissed; they are seen as teaching a life of dharma, inner discipline, and emotional maturity that prepares the mind for the assimilation of Vedānta. Values such as non‑injury, honesty, and responsibility are treated as integral to Vedic teaching, because they create the inner disposition required for subtle self‑knowledge. In this way, ritual, worship, and ethical living are given a meaningful place as steps that culminate in the knowledge unfolded by the Upanishads.

His interpretation is firmly rooted in the Advaita Vedānta tradition associated with Śaṅkara, maintaining that the individual self is in reality non‑different from Brahman and that the world has a dependent, empirical status. Vedic sentences, particularly the mahāvākyas such as “tat tvam asi,” are approached as precise teaching tools whose words and structure are to be unfolded with great care. Attention to Sanskrit grammar, context, and traditional methods of analysis is central, so that the intended vision of non‑duality becomes clear rather than remaining a mere philosophical abstraction. The language of the Veda is thus treated as deliberate and technical, not as vague poetry.

Equally important is the insistence on sampradāya, the living teaching tradition, and the guru‑śiṣya relationship as the proper context for understanding the Vedas. The text is not taken as a field for private, idiosyncratic interpretation, but as a body of revelation that must be systematically unfolded by a qualified teacher. Within this framework, Vedic wisdom is also shown to have practical relevance for contemporary life, guiding relationships, responsibilities, and inner growth without diluting its non‑dual core. The overall vision is of the Vedas as an integrated whole in which ritual, devotion, ethics, and contemplative inquiry all serve a single end: the clear recognition of the self as non‑dual, ever‑free awareness.