Aft oat fea —
— tt eiverratipa dia afta
PDF Creation and Uploading
by: Hari Parshad Das (HPD)
on 15 November 2014.INTRODUCTION.
A unique feature of the Advaita philosophy
as taught by Sri Sankaracharya is that it can bear
summing up in the shortest compass. In the words
of the late M. N. Dvivedi it can be expressed
“in half a verse or a quarto volume of many
hundred pages.” This philosophy which in the
words of Dr. Theodore Goldstucker “tis the subli-
mes machinery set in motion by oriental thought”
yet rests upon a minimum number of postulates and
needs for its defence but a few simple arguments
based upon the facts of our daily experience.
It is this profound simplicity which has enabled
Vedanta writers to compose those gems of short
treatises or Prakaranas as they are styled which so
richly abound in the literature of the Advaita
Vedanta and which in a few telling but homely
verses bring home the cardinal doctrines of Advaita
even to the unlettered multitude. The Advaita-
makaranda of Lakshmidhara is one of these price-
less gems. Its marvellous brevity and the com-
pelling force of its arguments remind one of theii
sill more wonderful Dasasloki of Sri Sankaracharya.
In the short compass of 28 clean-cut anushtubh
slokas the entire philosophy of the Advaita is dealt
with, with a comprehensiveness, simplicity and
precision which are simply admirable. The closely
reasoned thesis contained in each sloka can well be
expanded into a volume. The commentator is
therefore thoroughly justified when he states “‘aa-
aq gine ag ameanita ait aeeggiamearat
aqaeart svaq war aeuaseqmanargqan”?
In fact the Advaitamakaranda must be got up by
heart by those who want to provide themselves with
an armoury of arguments in defence of the Advaita
position.
Of Lakshmidhara Kavi the author -of the
Advaitamakaranda we have very little information.
Besides the Advaitamakaranda he has composed
Amritatarangini a commentary on the . Srimad
Bhagavata and Bhagavannamakaumudi. At the
end of the latter work he says: 34 nradaeareat
sagaarinol aganaee sg dseiraasaeta ul (vide
p. 878 of the Triennial Catalogue of Mss. collected
for the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library
Madras). From the . Bhagavannamakqumudiiii
we also learn that Lakshmidhara was the disciple of
Anantananda Raghunatha Swami.
Regarding his date no positive information is
forthcoming. Mahamahopadhyaya Vasudeva Sastri
Abhyankar of Poona, in his valuable edition of
Sarvadarsanasangraha (p 538) assigns Lakshmi-
dhara to 1320 a. p. No ground is however stated
for this statement. Bodhendra Sarasvati the re-
nowned devotee and apostle of the namakirtana
cult in South India states in his Bhagvannamamri-
tarasodaya that Lakshmidhara flourished in the
reign of King Bhojaraja of the 11th Century a. p.
(ataai ara qraasadraetira:). This
statement also requires confirmation, coming as it
does from a writer who flourished so late as the
second half of the [8th century a.p- A critical
examination of Bhagavannamakaumudi and
Bhagavata tika may furnish details regarding
Lakshmidhara. As we have at present no access
to these works we shall simply content ourselves
with determining the latest date beyond which
Lakshmidhara cannot be placed-
Firstly Lakshmidhara’s Bhagavannamakau-
mudi was commented upon by Anantadeva (oriv
Nandadeva as is found in some Mss.) son of the
celebrated Mimamsa writer Apadeva and the
author of Smritikaustubha, Bhattalankara (a
commentary on his father’s Mimamsanyayapraka-
sa) and Siddhantatattva a treatise on Advaita
Vedanta. In his Smritikaustubha Anantadeva
states that he was a protege of Baj Bahadur king of
Kurmachala who flourished between 1644 and 1664
A.D. Hence Lakshmidhara could not have flourished
later than the beginning of the 17th Century A. D.
Secondly Brahmananda Bharati the author of
the commentary on Bharati Tirtha’s Vakyasudha
alias Drigdrisyaviveka quotes Lakshmidhara by
name in his comments on the 46th sloka (31@7
aan: aad areata a a aeaaitaadtt akaag-
weateha waTIAT H ahaait a aaa o-
sanaag feaePaerqurus | Brahmananda Bharati
is also the author of Purusharthaprabodha, a
treatise devoted to the exaltation of Siva in the
light of the Advaita Vedanta. Now Appaya
Dikshita (1554 to 1626 A. Db.) refers to
Purusharthaprabodha in his Sivatattvaviveka “Y-
masa fe qerat: oddtct: § fae war araagd
saraaianta wn ggzaniaa srgicmrasi
a aeig Fags: aasadt aay iy sta | aat
Starear a@ae ara: & ts
ag viaer werugisana:, vam wanlaa: ; Far-
meagieargyed ag & ages, aw aedua-
f, swrmasdiae Haaradia aegutsaqra-
qanag: ; a aaTMesaontaaa fava
aa a afadiacafaia army, AHMET
aaa; a a Sanam wee aya’ fe
afvaa arafata aeaq, aarernttesrtarara-
aa, Sarg Aaotisietacafaga arsHiATy-
sae arrafa—
ate wart ave
awa ara Paitsraer
faeasaists arearar-
ga wareaza: 190i
araet sare Par weer aed agar atta,
arsiqaagaaaons: aguretaigay: | aa:
faq? aae—aa gantar | awa weer fa KeasaAHCE: | RR
Rargey aed ar ata sare ae, adr
araaed seeannaragizeag: | adsl eq t eae
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saad Reaataad far aera a duaatead: 1
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wa aieay, ag ar Gaaesara it) ara,
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fier) at aaa, RMereioaqontees-
eqaneataa ag Psa: sara:
qaaifta qaaaistae Aq; a, agra: azar.
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Asatatraa:, ar qedaraaea, ada
aaa, wanisaga | age adage:
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waa quanta: nu? aft | aaeaaeaias eaaR ASABE: |
dary aft asa) agra asaqeararaargs-
aiarpateraa sarong) aga Baaq—
‘adr farqeragi saad Maradtsda ad
sqay | warahaqqedgaraaaqiweraaaged
peasy? fe Farsrenseaaa, ae qaqa
fam: qeanar, waa: afgata ead: | aaay Aart
agiiearada fairaitesiarse faatrad: |
age faworqay: TaaMsas— ‘Faswirg-
aeqai witcaarg arzar | a talegdisraisha
aaare He aay’ fu oi
ag eqsisey, Sse’, “BetsER’, ‘Aiser’,
‘qatsey, ‘quiadises , Refadiseg’, “arareq’,
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aq Rencammicnaga gaetamacad sas
araafa—
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aaa a wat a at |
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qrarseanaraa: nc iBLIMBCE: | a4
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agile saad gone se 1 am: asaata: |
aa: daaeaaq | digietewaritasr | edger
aevafe: sae Gara: | a aera gfecaear:
qaant qarat staeara gad: | HI ga ore —
wavaiizar | anaaiecsueary, waaal wate ger
qtreqeneieigaad, wstsaanea araqt
zea: sige:, waleadivienaag, gighety
qaatzad: | aazagad faaq—‘aaqa:
aaa waargermafggiateares
aantaq’ ga Bisarar Biigarageaq’; “itz.
FTAA: STARFSAT 5 “UNS AAT ATTRA.
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waa Sahaqhs areq, aeTe varias: | az
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faaq, ata gat: wtieteaga: daraa-
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aga cansrre |
araeernaggeiat
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afgenigat | att simeaagyitat atat ger,
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aead: | WaTKgaa atgaq — SaRAL ag
qeaqrata wait Hs TTT ET ATMA, at aeataft
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mummers; aa «araarmanqwiaga
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wanna aa: ggiteaaaT: st aq:t a wd.
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