[Advaita-l] Appayya dikshitha

Antharyami sathvatha at gmail.com
Fri Aug 25 11:23:21 CDT 2006


*Hari Om,*

*S.N.Shastri ji,*
*I bow unto your feet first of all, you are my mAnasIka guru. Let me not
counter your views but I humbly submit my opinions for open discussion.  Unlike
vAchaspati misra, who commented only on Sankara Bashya cannot be set as an
example to argue Appayya dikshita had similar interpretative intention.
Appayya dikshitha inherits a new system of sri kanta, commonly known as
Siva-visishtAdvaita, wherein he diplomatically attempts to accommodate
kanta's system into that of advaita. Still followers of appayya dikshitha
are happy about saying that the former propounded only siva-visistAdvaita
and not advaita. As far as vAchaspathi vyAsa yOga Bashya, an advaitin would
noway have any objection because Adi Sankara renders great reverence unto
the latter. This is not incase of Appayya dikshitha who choses the sutras
that is alien to prasthAna thrayi establishments of Adi Sankara. It is
important that we note Sri Kanta was post Sankaran scholar to whom prAcIna
advaitins makes no reference including MadusUdana saraswati who belonged to
post Dikshitha period. Further, about yAdavAbyudayam, it is true that
dikshitha reached the peak fame on writing the vyakyAna on the stated
DesikA's work. This in turn indicates that, appayya dIkshitha was consistent
enough to toggle between siva and Vishnu deities, not excluding his attempt
to establish hari-hara aikya, in addition to creative innovations of stating
*that Siva is really the *Parabrahma,* that it is the *Sivasakti* in the
female form that is known as *Parvati*, and that it is the same sakti which
is known as Narayana in the male form, and that on account of these, *Hari,
Hara *and *Ambika*, all the three have *Brahmatva*. I adore, Shasthri ji's
concern to nullify the blazing hatred towards siva and Vishnu. Ironically,
appayya dikshitha was smart enough to affirm that Ramayana and mahA bhAratha
talks about the greatness of lord shiva and not about NarAyana. He boldly
issues such invalid statements. After all these, appayya dIkshtha, goes one
step ahead to say, that bagavad gIta too speaks the greatness of Shiva and
not Vishnu as such. I reclaim once again that appayya dIkshitha is not at
all an advaitin. By his attempts, he may be regarded as shaivite & not more
than that.
-- 
Antharyami
[J.Devanathan]



More information about the Advaita-l mailing list