A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c19.s1.31

c19.s1.31

The literature of Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified monism) philosophy may be said to start with the *Yogarahasya* and the *Nyāyatattva* by Nāthamuni, or Ranganātha-muni (824-924), the first of the great *ācāryas* of Vaishnavism who followed the *āḻvārs*. Then came the somewhat more systematic exposition of Yāmunācārya (*b.* 917), the grandson of Nāthamuni, in his works *Siddhitraya*, *Gītārthasangraha* and *Āgamaprāmāṇya*. He also wrote other works like *Stotraratna*, a devotional poem. The true founder of the system in its entirety was of course Śrī Rāmānuja (*b.* 1018) whose *Śrībhāṣhya* on the *Brahma-sūtras* is its great classic. He also annotated the *Bhagavadgītā* from his point of view, and wrote the *Vedārthasangraha* to demonstrate that the Upanishads support his system rather than that of Śankara. His *Vedāntasāra* and *Vedānta Dīpa* are simple commentaries on the *Brahma-sūtras*. Parāśara Bhaṭṭa, who succeeded Rāmānuja in the pontificate at Śrīrangam in 1137, wrote the *Tattvaratnākara*, no longer in existence, and a commentary on *Viṣṇusahasranāma*. The *Nītimālā* of Nārāyaṇārya, composed some time before 1200, and the *Prameya-mālā* and *Tattvasāra* of Naḍādūr Ammāl (*b.* 1155) are important restatements of the system, while the latter's *Prapannapārijāta* develops the doctrine of *prapatti* (surrender) with great elaboration. Sudarśana Bhaṭṭa, a pupil of Naḍādūr Ammāl, wrote the celebrated commentary known as *Śrutaprakāśikā* on Rāmānuja's *Śrībhāṣhya*. Tradition avers that he was born in A.D. 1175 and that he fled from Śrīrangam, burying his commentary in the sands of the Kaveri, when the place was sacked by the Muslim invader; both these statements, however, cannot be true. The commentary is a voluminous and erudite work and has been itself much commented on since. Sudarśana also wrote Śrutapradīpikā, and commentaries on Rāmānuja's Vedārthasangraha and the Bhāgavata, the last work bearing the name Śukapakshiya. Another pupil of Naḍādūr Ammāl was the famous Piḷḷai Lokācārya, author of Vacanabhūshaṇa, Ācārya Hridaya, and Tattvaviveka, besides many works in Tamil, and founder of the Tengalai (southern branch) sampradāya. A third pupil of Naḍādūr Ammāl was Ātreya Rāmānuja (b. 1220), author of Nyāyakuliśa which seeks to establish doctrines of general Vedānta, and emphasizes the differences between Advaita and Viśishtādvaita only in some of its chapters. His other works have not survived. A nephew (sister's son) and pupil of Ātreya Rāmānuja was the famous Vedānta Dēśika (1268-1369) who wrote commentaries on Rāmānuja's Śrībhāshya (Tattvatīkā) and Gītā-bhāshya (Tātparyacandrikā) besides independent treatises on Viśishtādvaita like Nyāyasiddhāñjana, Sarvārthasiddhi and Tattvamuktākalāpa. His Śatadūshaṇī is a polemic against Advaita. In spite of his decided preference for Tamil, the famous Tengalai saint Maṇavāḷamahāmuni (b. 1370) wrote some philosophical works in Sanskrit such as Tattvatraya, Rahasyatraya, Śrīvacanabhūshaṇa, Jñānasāra and Prameyasāra. Vaishnavism waxed strong under the patronage of Vijayanagar rulers, but though many authors wrote, there was little real advance in philosophic thought.