Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c11.s7.2

c11.s7.2

He was challenged for a face to face debate by Subrahmanya Shastri of Madras. The meeting was held during December 1816. Rammohun was able to silence his opponent “by the great cogency of his reasoning, as well as by long array of scriptural authorities that he quoted in favour of his views”.⁵⁸ The dispute was reported widely and was attended by a large audience.⁵⁹ *Vedāntacandrikā* by an anonymous author was a public censure for Rammohun. Perhaps the ghost author was Mrityunjaya Vidyalankar.⁶⁰ Radhakanta Dev Bahadur was the man behind the whole campaign against Ram-mohun. An English translation of *Vedāntacandrikā* entitled *An Apology for the Present State of Hindoo Worship* was also published. Roy was criticized by Christian mercenaries for reducing the Christ to a human being. Rammohun gave a strong refutation to *Vedāntavandrikā* in his *Bhaṭṭācārya Sahit Bicār* (in Bengali).⁶¹