Appayya Dikshitar
Encyclopedia
Appayya Dikshita 1520–1593 CE, was a performer of yajñas
as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta
school of Hindu philosophy
but however, with a focus on Shiva
or Siva Advaita.
district, in the Krishna Paksha of the Kanya month of Pramateecha Varsha under the Uttara Proushthapada constellation of the Hindu calendar
. His father’s name was Rangarajudhwari. Appaya had the name Vinayaka Subramanya after the Namakarana
or naming ceremony took place. Acharya Dikshitar or Acchan Dikshitar was the younger brother of Appayya. Appayya studied the Hindu scriptures under his Guru
, Rama Kavi. He completed the fourteen Vidya
s while he was quite young.
Dikshitar travelled widely, entering into philosophical disputations and controversaries in many centres of learning. He had the rare good fortune of being revered and patronised in his own life-time by kings of Vellore
, Tanjore, Vijayanagara
and Venkatagiri
.
a great devotee, in whom the ego has become fully extinct. There is a traditional account of how this work came to be written. It appears once he wanted to test the maturity of his own devotion to the Lord. Hence he swallowed the juice of the `datura' fruit, which introduces intoxication, and told his disciples that they should write down whatever he says, during the stage when his consciousness was disturbed. In the stage of inebriation generally all suppressed ideas would find release and come out into the open. And in his case
it was the Atmarpana-stuti that came out. It is therefore also called Unmatta-panchasati.
learning and wrote as many works, large and small. Only 60 of them are, however, extant now. These include works on Vedanta
, Siva-advaita, Mimamsa
, Vyakarana
, Kavya vyakhyana, Alankara, and devotional poetry. By conviction he was an advaitin and true worship of Lord Siva
was the religion of his heart. Though the followers of the Siva-advaita school claim him as belonging to their school, it is not so easy to determine whether he was more inclined to Sivadavaita or advaita. Sivadvaita is very much akin to Vishishtadvaita
of Ramanuja, except for the role of Vishnu
being taken by Shiva.
, Dikshitar saw no differences between the different manifestations of the Supreme Absolute. Partly because of Vaishnavite
attacks on Shaivism
during the previous century, one of his missions was a reconciliation of creeds, cults, and philosophy. He did not think that rival interpretations of the Vedas
and Puranas
were entirely in the wrong, asking: Who can prevent different interpretations when the Brahma Sutras
themselves are capable of different meanings?
He wrote the Chatur-mata-sara to illustrate the philosophical thoughts of the four prominent schools of interpretation of Brahma sutras. The Naya-manjari deals with advaita, the Naya-mani-mala with Srikanta mata, the Naya-mayukha-malika with Ramanuja
's philosophy, and the Naya-muktavali with Madhva
's philosophy. His remarkable catholicity of outlook, his thoroughness in writing, his impartiality, his unerring sense of values, and his concern for truth are all so evident in these writings that the Vaishnavas have adopted the Naya-Mayukha-Malika as their manual for study, and the Madhvas the Naya-Muktavali.
contrary views properly explained in this work with Appayya Dikshitar's masterly touch. And in his characteristic eclectic style, he answers the question "How can there be contradictory views among the advaita acharyas themselves on the same point?" He says: All the masters agree in affirming the unity of the soul and the unreality of the phenomenal world. For the world of fiction different explanations are given according to the ingenuity of each acharya. What if different explanations are given for a mere fiction?
by Vācaspati Miśra
, which in turn is the famous commentary on the Sutra-Bhashya of Adi Shankara
.
. But this is written from the point of view of Siva-visishtadvaita.. These two works – Sivaarka-mani-deepika and Parimala – are his magnum opus both in bulk and importance. Though both are commentaries on the Brahma sutra, Parimala aligns itself to the advaitic interpretation while the other work expounds the Sivadvaita philosophy of Srikanta-acharya. Dikshitar's patron, King Chinna Bomma Nayak of Vellore made endowments for the maintenance of a college of 500 scholars who studied Sivaarka maniDipika
under Sri Dikshitar himself, thus equipping themselves for the Saivite propaganda work, which had been organised with a view to stemming the tide of Vaishnavite attacks and encroachments.
Sankara in his own bhashya. Srikanta, according to Dikshitar, propagated his cult on the understanding that sagunopasana (Worship of name and form) is only the first step to nirgunopasana (Propitiation of the nameless and formless), and that it was the real intention of Srikanta that the final truth lies only in Shuddhadvaita
. Dikshitar's great dialectical skill is fully reflected in the work called 'Anandalahari chandrika', where he tries to narrow down the differences between the apparently divergent schools of thought and tries to show that the advaita of Sankara is the real eternal truth to which all others try to approximate.
Yajna
In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...
as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
school of Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
but however, with a focus on Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
or Siva Advaita.
Life
Appayya Dikshitar was born as Vinayaga Subramanian in Adayapalam, near Arani in the TiruvannamalaiTiruvannamalai
Thiruvannamalai is a pilgrimage Temple city and special grade municipality in Thiruvannamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Thiruvannamalai district. Thiruvannamalai is home to the Annamalaiyar Temple located at the foot of the Annamalai hill and...
district, in the Krishna Paksha of the Kanya month of Pramateecha Varsha under the Uttara Proushthapada constellation of the Hindu calendar
Hindu calendar
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
. His father’s name was Rangarajudhwari. Appaya had the name Vinayaka Subramanya after the Namakarana
Namakarana
Namakarana is the fifth of the 16 saṃskāras performed by the Hindus to name the child. According to the Grhya Sutras, it should be performed on the tenth or the twelfth day after birth. But opinions of the later authorities range from the tenth day to the first day of the second year.-External...
or naming ceremony took place. Acharya Dikshitar or Acchan Dikshitar was the younger brother of Appayya. Appayya studied the Hindu scriptures under his Guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
, Rama Kavi. He completed the fourteen Vidya
Vidya
thumb|[[Sarasvati]], Vidya goddess.Vidya, Vidhya is a Sanskrit name for knowledge. It is frequently used in Hinduism as honorific stemming from the Puranic conception of knowledge and learning. Vidya is an epithet of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati, consort of Brahma according to Hindu beliefs...
s while he was quite young.
Dikshitar travelled widely, entering into philosophical disputations and controversaries in many centres of learning. He had the rare good fortune of being revered and patronised in his own life-time by kings of Vellore
Vellore
Vellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...
, Tanjore, Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
and Venkatagiri
Venkatagiri
Venkatagiri is the fourth largest town and municipality in Nellore district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.Venkatagiri's old name is "Kali Mili".It is famous for its Handloom Cotton Sarees. Venkatagiri is a place for history and handlooms. It was part of a small kingdom that was integrated...
.
Mission against Vaishnava attacks on Shaivism
Dikshitar threw himself heart and soul into this mission for several years and often had to face grave personal danger, which he did with courage and faith. He preached, organised and wrote incessantly, enlisting the cooperation of several enlightened monarchs. He undertook frequent travels and challenged his adversaries to open disputation, as was the custom of those days. He brought to bear on his widespread activities, his resourceful personality and created an atmosphere of tolerance and goodwill, in the place of the prevailing antipathies and narrow-mindedness.The Great Yogi
In addition to his poetic skills and achievements on the philosophical propagations and Saivite missionary work, Dikshitar was a great Siddha-yogi. One of his yogic experiments was as great as it was thrilling. In the later years of his life, he was subject to attacks of colic pain. He was convinced that it was due to his Prarabdha and past karma. Whenever he wanted to meditate deeply or worship the Almighty, he made a bundle of his towel and put it in front of him. By his yogic power he transferred his malady to the towel and sat in meditation. His disciples watched the towel jumping about the place. To them he explained later that he transferred his ailment which was in the form of an evil spirit to the cloth and then took it back soon after his meditation was over.Voluntary adoption of inebriation
About his mystic devotion, there is another story that is related to his work called Atmarpana-stuti. In this small work of fifty stanzas he makes the inner self melt as it were by his exquisite mystic poetry. We can see here the profound maturity of true devotion to the Supreme. It reflects the inner mental state ofa great devotee, in whom the ego has become fully extinct. There is a traditional account of how this work came to be written. It appears once he wanted to test the maturity of his own devotion to the Lord. Hence he swallowed the juice of the `datura' fruit, which introduces intoxication, and told his disciples that they should write down whatever he says, during the stage when his consciousness was disturbed. In the stage of inebriation generally all suppressed ideas would find release and come out into the open. And in his case
it was the Atmarpana-stuti that came out. It is therefore also called Unmatta-panchasati.
Works
He was well read in every branch of SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
learning and wrote as many works, large and small. Only 60 of them are, however, extant now. These include works on Vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
, Siva-advaita, Mimamsa
Mimamsa
' , a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" , is the name of an astika school of Hindu philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas...
, Vyakarana
Vyakarana
The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, ...
, Kavya vyakhyana, Alankara, and devotional poetry. By conviction he was an advaitin and true worship of Lord Siva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
was the religion of his heart. Though the followers of the Siva-advaita school claim him as belonging to their school, it is not so easy to determine whether he was more inclined to Sivadavaita or advaita. Sivadvaita is very much akin to Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita, Dvaita, and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy...
of Ramanuja, except for the role of Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
being taken by Shiva.
Reconciliation of traditions
As an advaitinAdvaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
, Dikshitar saw no differences between the different manifestations of the Supreme Absolute. Partly because of Vaishnavite
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
attacks on Shaivism
Shaivism
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
during the previous century, one of his missions was a reconciliation of creeds, cults, and philosophy. He did not think that rival interpretations of the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
and Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
were entirely in the wrong, asking: Who can prevent different interpretations when the Brahma Sutras
Brahma Sutras
The Brahma sūtras , also known as Vedānta Sūtras , are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. A thorough study of Vedānta requires a close examination of these three texts, known in Sanskrit as the Prasthanatrayi, or the three starting points...
themselves are capable of different meanings?
He wrote the Chatur-mata-sara to illustrate the philosophical thoughts of the four prominent schools of interpretation of Brahma sutras. The Naya-manjari deals with advaita, the Naya-mani-mala with Srikanta mata, the Naya-mayukha-malika with Ramanuja
Ramanuja
Ramanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
's philosophy, and the Naya-muktavali with Madhva
Madhvacharya
Madhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...
's philosophy. His remarkable catholicity of outlook, his thoroughness in writing, his impartiality, his unerring sense of values, and his concern for truth are all so evident in these writings that the Vaishnavas have adopted the Naya-Mayukha-Malika as their manual for study, and the Madhvas the Naya-Muktavali.
Multi-faceted Vedanta
Among the Vedantic works of Appayya Dikshitar, the Siddhanta-lesha-sangraha is most famous. In this elaborate and original treatise, he brings together in one place, all different dialectical thinking belonging to the advaitic school. Traditional students of Vedanta begin their study of Vedantic commentaries only after studying this Siddhanta Lesha sangraha. All the different views of different subschools of advaita, like those of `eka-jiva-vada', `nana-jiva-vada', `bimba-pratibimba vada' `sakshitva-vada' etc. are all discussed and thecontrary views properly explained in this work with Appayya Dikshitar's masterly touch. And in his characteristic eclectic style, he answers the question "How can there be contradictory views among the advaita acharyas themselves on the same point?" He says: All the masters agree in affirming the unity of the soul and the unreality of the phenomenal world. For the world of fiction different explanations are given according to the ingenuity of each acharya. What if different explanations are given for a mere fiction?
Parimala
It is a Vedantic work, an extremely readable commentary on the very difficult commentary called Kalpataru by an advaitic teacher named Amalananda. That Kalpataru is itself a commentary on BhāmatīBhamati
Bhamati is Vachaspati Misra's commentary on Adi Shankara's Brahmasutra Bhashya. Bhamati School of thought in Advaita vedanta originated from this commentary of Vachaspati Misra.The naming of Vachaspati Misra’s commentary on Brahma Sutras which has become part of Mithila folklore.- References...
by Vācaspati Miśra
Vacaspati Misra
Vācaspati Miśra was an Indian philosopher who founded one of the main Advaita Vedanta schools, the Bhāmatī school , and whose work was an important forerunner of the Navya-Nyāya system of thought.Vācaspati was a Maithili Brahmin who lived near the frontier between India and Nepal Vācaspati Miśra...
, which in turn is the famous commentary on the Sutra-Bhashya of Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (IAST: pronounced , (Sanskrit: , ) (788 CE - 820 CE), also known as ' and ' was an Indian philosopher from Kalady of present day Kerala who consolidated the doctrine of advaita vedānta...
.
Magnum Opus
While the Parimala follows the advaitic approach, Dikshitar has written another commentary Sivaarka-mani-deepika on the BrahmasutrasBrahma Sutras
The Brahma sūtras , also known as Vedānta Sūtras , are one of the three canonical texts of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. A thorough study of Vedānta requires a close examination of these three texts, known in Sanskrit as the Prasthanatrayi, or the three starting points...
. But this is written from the point of view of Siva-visishtadvaita.. These two works – Sivaarka-mani-deepika and Parimala – are his magnum opus both in bulk and importance. Though both are commentaries on the Brahma sutra, Parimala aligns itself to the advaitic interpretation while the other work expounds the Sivadvaita philosophy of Srikanta-acharya. Dikshitar's patron, King Chinna Bomma Nayak of Vellore made endowments for the maintenance of a college of 500 scholars who studied Sivaarka maniDipika
under Sri Dikshitar himself, thus equipping themselves for the Saivite propaganda work, which had been organised with a view to stemming the tide of Vaishnavite attacks and encroachments.
Other schools as approximations to advaita
Dikshitar graphically describes dvaita as the lowest step, vishishtadvaita as the middle step and sivadvaita and advaita which are very close to each other as the highest steps. He makes it clear in his work that Srikantha-Bhashya on the Brahmasutra has been written in very close approximation to the trend of thought of AdiSankara in his own bhashya. Srikanta, according to Dikshitar, propagated his cult on the understanding that sagunopasana (Worship of name and form) is only the first step to nirgunopasana (Propitiation of the nameless and formless), and that it was the real intention of Srikanta that the final truth lies only in Shuddhadvaita
Shuddhadvaita
Shuddadvaita is the "purely non-dual" philosophy propounded by Vallabhacharya , the founding philosopher and guru of the or , a Hindu Vaishnava tradition focused on the worship of Krishna. Vallabhacharya's pure form philosophy is different from Advaita...
. Dikshitar's great dialectical skill is fully reflected in the work called 'Anandalahari chandrika', where he tries to narrow down the differences between the apparently divergent schools of thought and tries to show that the advaita of Sankara is the real eternal truth to which all others try to approximate.
Source
- N. Ramesan, Sri Appayya Dikshita (1972; Srimad Appayya Dikshitendra Granthavaliu Prakashana Samithi, Hyderabad, India)
- http://www.shaivam.org/adappayya_works.htm