Essay name: Srikara Bhashya (commentary)

Author: C. Hayavadana Rao

The Srikara Bhashya, authored by Sripati Panditacharya in the 15th century, presents a comprehensive commentary on the Vedanta-Sutras of Badarayana (also known as the Brahmasutra). These pages represent the introduction portion of the publication by C. Hayavadana Rao.

Page 280 of: Srikara Bhashya (commentary)

Page:

280 (of 953)


External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)


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Warning! Page nr. 280 has not been proofread.

INTRODUCTION 219 identifies Siva with Parabrahman, thus subordinating all
other deities to Siva. (See I. 1. 17-20; I. 2. 5; I. 2. 8;
I. 3. 2; III. 2. 35-36; III. 3. 15-17; IV. 4. 9; etc.)
The
superiority to Siva is sought to be established by him in
his commentary on III. 2. 35, Tathā'nyapratishēdhāt and in
III. 2. 36, Anēna sarvagñatatva māyāmaśabdādibhyaḥ. At
the same time, he endeavours to avoid the extreme, irrecon-
cilable points of view. Thus, in commenting on II. 3. 42
Apicha smaryate, though he protests against the view of
some that the Vēdas establish the supremacy of Vishnu, he
remarks that matters of this kind are best left undiscussed
(avichārita ramaṇīyam). While the very position occupied
by Sripati differentiates him from Srīkantha, it is clear that
Srīpati was well acquainted with the Bhashya of Srīkantha.
Often the verbal similarity is so great as to make one infer
that he had Srikantha's work before him as he wrote his
own. But there is, however, enough evidence in Srīpati's
own work that he was no mere literary imitator or a common
verbal copyist. He adopts the arguments of Srikantha for
his particular purposes but he goes his own way whenever
Srikantha's theory is opposed to his own. In some places,
Sripati expands the arguments of Srikantha though he does
thus only to suit his own object, i.e., for elaborating his
special interpretation of the Sutras. The following sūtras
may be quoted in illustration of this observation :-III. 3. 29
and 30; III. 3. 32; III. 3. 33; III. 3. 34; IV. 1. 3.; IV.
2. 13; IV. 3. 14 and IV. 3. 15.
In III. 3. 32, the Chchandogya text merely referred to
Srīkantha is actually quoted by Sripati, while the very
words of Srikantha are adopted in places. The adaptation
is, however, subject to the qualification that it is limited to
his own needs; for Sripati refers to Lingadhāraṇa as a
necessary qualification. Though it is only mentioned in
one place, Lingadhārana should be taken, he says, to be
gunaguninōriva cha visishtādvaita vādinaḥ prapancha brahmaṇōranan-
yatvam nāma mrudghatayōriva gunaguninōriva kāryakāraṇatvēna
visēshaṇa visēshyatvēna vinābhāvarahitatvam ||

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