Bodhicitta is the defining aspiration of the Mahayana path — the resolve to attain samyaksambodhi (complete perfect awakening) for the liberation of all sentient beings throughout the six realms of samsara. Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara (chapter 1) celebrates it as 'the supreme amrita that overcomes the sovereignty of death, the inexhaustible treasure that eliminates the poverty of beings.' The tradition distinguishes two dimensions: pranidhi-bodhicitta (aspiring bodhicitta, the vow itself) and prasthana-bodhicitta (engaging bodhicitta, the active practice of the six paramitas). In the Yogacara school's Madhyantavibhaga attributed to Maitreya-Asanga, bodhicitta is further analyzed as having both relative (samvriti) and ultimate (paramartha) aspects — the latter being the direct recognition of sunyata inseparable from karuna (compassion).