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

Page 639

XI Mandana, Sureśvara and Visvarūpa 83 the author of a Vārttika, or commentary in verse, on Sankara’s Brhad-āranyaka Upanişad (which was also summarized by Vidyāranya in a work called Vārttika-sära, which latter was further commented on by Maheśvara Tirtha in his commentary, called the Laghu-samgraha). The Vārttika of Sureśvara was commented on by at least two commentators, Anandagiri in his Šāstra-prakāśikā and Anandapūrņa in his Nyāya-kalpa-latikā. In a commentary on the Parāśara-smrti published in the Bib. Ind. series (p. 51) a quotation from this Vārttika is attributed to Viśvarūpa; but this commentary is a late work, and in all probability it relied on Vidyāraṇya's testimony that Visvarūpa and Sureśvara were identically the same person. Vidyāranya also, in his Vivarana-prameyasamgraha, p. 92, quotes a passage from Sureśvara's Vārttika (iv. 8), attributing it to Visvarūpa. But in another passage of the Vivaranaprameya-samgraha (p. 224) he refers to a Vedānta doctrine, attributing it to the author of the Brahma-siddhi. But the work has not yet been published, and its manuscripts are very scarce: the present writer had the good fortune to obtain one. A fairly detailed examination of the philosophy of this work will be given in a separate section. The Brahma-siddhi is an important work, and it was commented on by Vācaspati in his Tattva-samiksā, by Anandapūrņa in his Brahma-siddhi-vyākhyā-ratna, by Sankhapāņi in his Brahma-siddhi-tikā, and by Citsukha in his Abhiprāyaprakāśikā. But only the latter two works are available in manuscripts. Many important works however refer to the Brahma-siddhi and its views generally as coming from the author of Brahma-siddhi (Brahma-siddhi-kāra). But in none of these references, so far as it is known to the present writer, has the author of Brahma-siddhi been referred to as Sureśvara. The Brahma-siddhi was written in verse and prose, since two quotations from it in Citsukha's Tattvapradipikā (p. 381, Nirnaya-Sāgara Press) and Nyāya-kaņikā (p. 80) are in verse, while there are other references, such as Tattvapradipikā (p. 140) and elsewhere, which are in prose. There is, however, little doubt that the Brahma-siddhi was written by Mandana or Mandana Miśra; for both Sridhara in his Nyāyakandali (p. 218) and Citsukha in his Tattva-pradīpikā (p. 140) refer to Mandana as the author of the Brahma-siddhi. Of these the evidence of Sridhara, who belonged to the middle of the tenth century, ought to be considered very reliable, as he lived within a hundred years of the death of Mandana; whoever Mandana may have been,
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