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CHAPTER XXXVI PHILOSOPHY OF SRIKANTHA
Philosophy of Saivism as expounded by Śrīkantha in his Commentary on the Brahma-sutra and the Sub
commentary on it by Appaya Dīksita.
INTRODUCTORY It has often been stated in the previous volumes of the present work that the Brahma-sūtra attributed to Bādarāyaṇa was an attempt at a systematisation of the apparently different strands of the Upanişadic thought in the various early Upanişads, which form the background of most of the non-heretical systems of Indian philosophy. The Brahma-sūtra had been interpreted by the exponents of different schools of thought in various ways, for example, by Sankara, Rāmānuja, Bhāskara, Mādhva, Vallabha, and others, and they have all been dealt with in the previous volumes of the present work. Vedānta primarily means the teachings of the Upanişads. Consequently the Brahma-sūtra is supposed to be a systematisation of Upanişadic wisdom; and its various interpretations in diverse ways by the different exponents of diverse philosophical views, all go by the name of the Vedānta, though the Vedānta philosophy of one school of thinkers may appear to be largely different from that of any other school. Thus while the exposition of the Brahma-sūtra by Sankara is monistic, the interpretation of Mādhva is explicitly pluralistic. We have seen the acuteness of the controversy between the adherents of the two schools of thought, extending over centuries, in the fourth volume of the present work.
As Śrīkaņķha expounded his views as an interpretation of the Brahma-sūtra and accepted the allegiance and loyalty to the Upanişads, the work has to be regarded as an interpretation of the Vedānta. Like many other interpretations of the Vedānta (for example, by Rāmānuja, Mādhva, Vallabha, or Nimbārka), the philosophy of Srīkantha is associated with the personal religion, where Siva is regarded as the highest Deity, being equated with
