Jainism from the View Point of Vedantic Acaryas

Author(s): Yajneshwar S Shastri
Publisher: B J Institute

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Jainism from the view point of Vedāntic Acāryas
that he is prior to Sankara and even earlier to Gaudapāda. R. G. Bhandarkar thinks that Nimbārka lived shortly after Rāmānuja. Even scholars like Rādhākrishnan, R. Ghosh, P. Chaturvedi, P. Bhattācārya also consider him to be post-Rāmānuja commentator (Kathiyababa, p. 47-55). S.N.Dasgupta, dates him roughly about the middle of the 14th century A.D. (H.I.Philo., Vol. III, pp. 399-402). Some scholars think that Nimbārka refers to the Srisampradāya and Brahmasampradāya of Rāmānuja and Madhva, respectively in his Brahmasūtrabhāsya, so, he must have lived after Rāmānuja and Madhva. (H.I.Phil., Vol. II. J. Sinha, p. 70; C.D.Sharma, Critical Survey of Indian Philo., p. 375).
It seems, on the basis of several works attributed to Nimbārka of which their authenticity is in question in which there are references to Srisampradāya of Rāmānuja and Brahmasampradāya of Madhva, concept of prapatti and Gurūpasatti, and cult of Rādhākrsņa worship, several scholars are forced to assign Nimbārka to post-Rāmānuja and post-Madhva period.
Scholars who think that Nimbārka is post-Madhva Vedāntin, argue that, the work Madhvamukhamardana (Ms of which is not available at present) is attributed to Nimbārka. He might have refuted Madhva in this work, so, he flourished after Madhva. Secondly, Madhavācārya (14th A.D.) in his sarvadarśana-sangraha does not mention Nimbārka school, though he deals with all the then existing important schools of Vedānta