Vidyaranya

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For Madhvacharya the proponent of Dvaita philosophy, see Madhvacharya.

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Vidyāraṇya (also known as Mādhavācārya or Mādhava Vidyāranya) is variously known as being a king maker, patron saint and high priest to Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I, the founders of the Vijayanagar empire. He was born to Māyaṇācārya and Śrīmatīdevī in Pampakṣetra (modern day Hampi) in 1268 CE. Another account has it that he was born in Ekasila nagari (modern Warangal). He helped the brothers establish the empire sometime in 1336 AD. He later served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over the Vijayanagar empire. Vijayanagara or Hampi, the capital of the empire, has a temple dedicated to this saint. People offer their prayers to this day. He is the author of Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha (सर्वदर्शनसङ्रह, aka Sarvadarsanasangraha, Sarvadarshanasamgraha), a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu thought and Pañcadaśī, an important text in the Advaita Vedanta tradition

1 As Mādhavācārya
- 1.1 Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha
- 1.2 As Founder of VijayaNagara empire
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] As Mādhavācārya

Mādhavācārya (aka Madhavacharya or Madhava Vidyaranya, not to be confused with Madhvacharya) fl. C. 1380 CE was an exponent of the Advaita school of philosophy in Hinduism. He is said to be the brother of Sāyaṇācārya who wrote a commentary on the four Vedas. Mādhavācārya was elected, in 1331 CE, the head of the Smarta order in the Math of Sringeri in Mysore territory, founded by Ādi Śaṅ̇kara (aka Adi Shankara), the great Vedantist teacher of eighth century. He was a Hindu statesman and philosopher who lived at the court of Vijayanagara, the Southern Hindu kingdom. He is believed to have served as a minister under King Bukka of Vijayanagara empire. His younger brother Shyapa (d. 1387) was associated with him in the administration and was a famous commentator on the Rigveda. Shyapa's commentaries were influenced by and dedicated to Mādhava.

[edit] Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha

Mādhavācārya's most famous works are PārāśaraMādhavīya and the Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha (Compendium of Speculations - a compendium of all the known Indian schools of philosophy)(1380). Mādhavācārya wrote in Sanskrit. To quote Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, the Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha “sketches sixteen systems of thought so as to exhibit a gradually ascending series, culminating in the Advaita Vedanta (or non-dualism).” The Sixteen systems of philosophy expounded by him are:

The Cārvāka System
The Buddha System
The Arhata or Jaina System
The purna-prajna System
The Nakulisa-Pasupata System
The Saiva System
The Pratyabhijna System
The Rasesvara System
The Vaiseshika or Aulukya System
The Akshapada or Nyaya System
The Jaiminiya System
The Paniniya System
The Sankhya System
The Patanjala or Yoga System
The Vedanta or System of Adi Shankara

It is to be point out here that Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha itself doesn’t contain the 16th chapter (Advaita Vedanta or the System of Sankara), absence of which is explained by a paragraph at the end of the 15th chapter (The Patanjali-Darsana). It says: “The system of Sankara, which comes next in succession, and which is the crest-gem of all systems, has been explained by us elsewhere, it is therefore left untouched here”

Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha is one of the few available sources of information about Lokayata, the materialist system of philosophy in ancient India. To propound his own system of philosophy, he tries to refute, chapter by chapter, the other systems of thought prominent in his day. However, it also has to be added that in this work, with remarkable mental detachment, he places himself in the position of an adherent of sixteen distinct philosophical systems. In the very first chapter, The Cārvāka System, of the book he critiques the arguments of Lokayatikas. While doing so he quotes extensively from Cārvāka works. It is possible that some of these arguments put forward as Lokayata point of view may be a mere caricature of Lokayata philosophy. Yet in the absence of any original work of Lokayatikas (all of which seems to have been destroyed by their opponents) these are the only very few sources of information available today on materialist philosophy in ancient India. Madhava also wrote a commentary on the Mimalps Sutras. He died as abbot of the monastery of Sringeri.

[edit] As Founder of VijayaNagara empire

There is a story behind the formation. HariHara Raya and Bukka Raya were serving under Prataparudra, the last king of Kaakatiya dynasty of Warangal. After the Kakatiyas were defeated by Muslim sultans, HaraHara and Bukka were forced to convert to Islam. Vidyaranya swamy identified them, reconverted them back and asked them to identify a place to establish an Hindu empire. When they were traveling, they found a place where a rabbit was chasing a dog. So, when the Guru(Vidyaranya swamy) was told about the miracle seen at this place, the Guru planned to establish the kingdom there. Vidyaranya swamy was also a great astrologer. He as identified a Muhoorthat(auspicious time) for laying the foundation stone, so that the empire will last for 2000 years. When everything was set for the D-day, the guru told the Sishyas that he will go over the next hill, observe the selestial star positions and blow the Sankham. At that moment the sishyas should lay the foundation stone. After some time, the sishyas heard a sound of Sankham and the laid the foundation stone. After a few minutes, the sishyas heard one more sound. Later the Guru asked the sishyas for which sound they laid the stone, the sishyas said the first one. The Guru calculated the horoscope for the time at which the first sound was heard. He predicted that the empire will last for over two hundred years only. The first blow of sankham was blow by a JangamDevara(one who begs). It is said that before the whole thing had happened, Vidyaranya Swamy seeing the Muslim genocide on Hindus, did Tapass(Meditation) for Bhuvaneswari Devi (the goddess of earth). When She appeared, He asked the Devi for a Hindu empire for 2000 years, but she (said that the time does not favor Hindus and) gave the boon for 200 years only. Later incidentally, the Guru came across the two warriors.

[edit] References

The Sarva-darsana-sangraha: Madhavacharya, Motilal Banarasidas Publishers, Delhi
Indian Philosophy - a Popular Introduction: Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, People's Publishing House, New Delhi, 7th edition 1993
Indian Philosophy-Volume I: Dr.S.Radhakrishnan- Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 11th impression, 2004