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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The Sankara School of Vedānta [CH. (though probably the last great work on Vedānta) is the Advaitasiddhi of Madhusūdana Sarasvati who followed Dharmarājādhvarindra. This has three commentaries known as Gaudabrahmanandi, Vitthaleśopadhyāyī and Siddhivyākhyā. Sadānanda Vyāsa wrote also a summary of it known as Advaitasiddhisiddhāntasära. Sadānanda wrote also an excellent elementary work named Vedāntasära which has also two commentaries Subodhini and Vidvanmanoraujini. The Advaitabrahmasiddhi of Sadānanda Yati though much inferior to Advaitasiddhi is important, as it touches on many points of Vedānta interest which are not dealt with in other Vedānta works. The Nyayamakaranda of Anandabodha Bhattārakācāryya treats of the doctrines of illusion very well, as also some other important points of Vedānta interest. Vedāntasiddhāntamuktāvalī of Prakāśānanda discusses many of the subtle points regarding the nature of ajñāna and its relations to cit, the doctrine of drstisrstivāda, etc., with great clearness. Siddhāntalesa by Apyayadikșita is very important as a summary of the divergent views of different writers on many points of interest. Vedāntatattvadi pikā and Siddhantatattva are also good as well as deep in their general summary of the Vedānta system. Bhedadhikkära of Nrsimhāśrama Muni also is to be regarded as an important work on the Vedānta dialectic.
The above is only a list of some of the most important Vedānta works on which the present chapter has been based.
Vedānta in Gaudapāda. It is useless I think to attempt to bring out the meaning of the Vedānta thought as contained in the Brahma-sūtras without making any reference to the commentary of Sankara or any other commentator. There is reason to believe that the Brahmasūtras were first commented upon by some Vaisnava writers who held some form of modified dualism! There have been more than a half dozen Vaisnava commentators of the Brahma-sútras who not only differed from Sankara's interpretation, but also differed largely amongst themselves in accordance with the different degrees of stress they laid on the different aspects of their dualistic creeds. Every one of them claimed that his interpretation was the only one that was faithful to the sūtras and to
This point will be dealt with in the 2nd volume, when I shall deal with the systems expounded by the Vaisnava commentators of the Brahma-sútras.