Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c5.s2.29

c5.s2.29

¹ The phrase *sva-sampradāya* at the beginning of his commentary need not be interpreted to mean Viṣṇusvāmin Sampradāya. Jīva Gosvāmin (*Tattva-sandarbha*, ed. Berhampore, p. 68) dogmatically asserts that Śrīdhara, whose opinion is accepted as authoritative in the Bengal school, was a true Vaiṣṇava who only tempered his Vaiṣṇavism with Advaita doctrines in such a way as to make it acceptable to the Advaita schools. But there is no evidence to support this statement. On the contrary, at the commencement of his commentary on the *Bhagavad-gītā*, Śrīdhara distinctly acknowledges the views of the Bhāṣyakāra (*i.e.* Saṅkara), and in many places refrains from further explanation by simply referring the reader to Saṅkara's interpretation. Although Bhakti is his main theme, the Advaita trend of his writings is too obvious to be mistaken. See Amar Nath Ray in *Udbodhana*, Caitra 1336, pp. 162-3.