History of Indian Philosophy

SR No.: 007593
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Surendranath Dasgupta
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Year: 1922
Total Pages: 2517
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 125 MB

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438 Jiva Gosvāmi and Baladeva Vidyābhūsana [CH. types of God's incarnation in accordance with the testimony of the Purānas: Krsna is, of course, regarded as the highest God. His elder brother Sanātana also wrote a work, Brhad-bhāgavatā-mrta, with a commentary on it, the Dig-darśana, in which he narrates the episodes of certain devotees in quest of God and their experiences.
The Philosophy of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa. Baladeva was Vaisya by caste and born in a village near Remuna in the Balesvar subdivision of Orissa; he was a pupil of vairāgi Pītāmvara Dāsa, and was generally known as Govinda Dāşa. He was the disciple of a Kanouj Brahmin, Rādhā Dāmodara Dāsa, the author of Vedānta-Syamantaka. Rādhā Dāmodara was a disciple of Nayanānanda, the son of Rādhānanda, and a pupil of his grandfather, Rasikānanda Murāri, who was a disciple of Syāmānanda, a junior contemporary of Jiva Gosvāmī. Syāmānanda was a disciple of Hțdaya Caitanya, who in his turn was a disciple of Gaurīdāsa Pandita, a disciple of Nityānanda. Baladeva himself had two well known disciples, Nanda Miśra and Uddhava Dāsa; he wrote his commentary on Rūpa Gosvāmi's Stava-mālā in the Saka era 1686 (or A.D. 1764). He is known to have written at least the following fourteen works: Sāhitya-kaumudī and its commentary, Krsnānandi; Govinda-bhāsya; Siddhānta-ratna; Kāvya-Kaustubha; Gītā-bhūşaņa, a commentary on the Gită; a commentary on Rādhā Dāmodara's Chandah-Kaustubha; Prameya-ratnāvali and its commentary, Kānti-mālā; a commentary on Rūpa's Stava-mālā; a commentary on Rūpa's Laghu-bhāgavatā-myta; Nāmārthasuddhikā, a commentary on Sahasra-nāma; a commentary on Jaya Deva's Candrāloka; Siddhānta-darpana; a commentary on Tattvasandarbha; a commentary on Rūpa's Nätaka-candrikā. He also wrote commentaries on some of the important Upanişads?.
Baladeva's most important work is his commentary on the Brahma-sūtra, otherwise known as Govinda-bhāsya. This has a subcommentary on it called Sūkşma; the name of the author of this commentary is not known, though it has been held by some to be a work of Baladeva himself. Baladeva has also summarized the
1 M. M. Gopinath Kavirāja's introduction to Siddhānta-ratna, Part 11. A. K. Sastri, in his introduction to Prameya-ratnāvali, strongly criticizes the view that Baladeva was a Vaisya. No satisfactory proofs are available on either side.