Appayya Dikshitar was born as Vinayaka Subramanian in Adayapalam, near Arani in the Tiruvannamalai district, in the Krishna Paksha of the Kanya month of Pramateecha Varsha under the Uttara Proushthapada constellation of the Hindu calendar. He belonged to the Vadadesa Vadama subsect .
His father’s name was Rangarajadhwari. Appaya had the name Vinayaka Subramanya after the Namakarana or naming ceremony took place. Acharya Dikshitar or Acchan Dikshitar was the younger brother of Appayya. Appayya studied the Hindu scriptures under his Guru, Rama Kavi. He completed the fourteen Vidyas at his young age.
Dikshitar travelled widely, entering into philosophical disputations and controversies in many centers of learning. He had the rare good fortune of being revered and patronized in his own lifetime by kings of Vellore, Tanjore, Vijayanagara, and Venkatagiri.
He was well-read in every branch of Sanskrit learning and wrote as many works, large and small. Only 60 of them are, however, extant now. These include works on Vedanta, Shiva Advaita, Mimamsa, Vyakarana, Kavya vyakhyana, Alankara, and devotional poetry. He was a member of the Advaita school and a devotee of Shiva.[1] Though the followers of the Shiva Advaita school claim him as belonging to their school, it is not so easy to determine whether he was more inclined to Shiva Advaita or Advaita.[1] Shiva Advaita is very much akin to Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja, except for the role of Vishnu being taken by Shiva.[2]: 67
Dikshitar wrote the Chatur-mata-sara to illustrate the philosophical thoughts of the four prominent schools of interpretation of Brahma sutras. The Naya-manjari deals with Advaita, the Naya-mani-mala with Srikanta mata, the Naya-mayukha-malika with Ramanuja's philosophy, and the Naya-muktavali with Madhva's philosophy. He wrote a commentary on Vedanta Desika's Yadavabhyudaya.
Siddhanta lesha-sangraha
Among the Vedantic works of Appayya Dikshitar, the Siddhanta-lesha-sangraha is most famous. In this elaborate and original treatise, he brings together in one place, all different dialectical thinking belonging to the advaitic school. Traditional students of Vedanta begin their study of Vedantic commentaries only after studying this Siddhanta Lesha sangraha. All the different views of different subschools of advaita, like those of `eka-jiva-vada', `nana-jiva-vada', `bimba-pratibimba vada' `sakshitva-vada' etc. are all discussed and the contrary views properly explained in this work with Appayya Dikshitar's masterly touch.[2]: 89–90
Parimala
It is a Vedantic work, an extremely readable commentary on the very difficult commentary called Kalpataru by an advaitic teacher named Amalananda. That Kalpataru is itself a commentary on Bhāmatī by Vācaspati Miśra, which in turn is the famous commentary on the Sutra-Bhashya of Adi Shankara. While the Parimala follows the advaitic approach, Dikshitar has written another commentary Sivaarka-mani-deepika on the Brahmasutras. But this is written from the point of view of Siva-visishtadvaita.. These two works – Sivaarka-mani-deepika and Parimala – are his magnum opus both in bulk and importance. Though both are commentaries on the Brahma sutra, Parimala aligns itself to the advaitic interpretation while the other work expounds on the Sivadvaita philosophy of Srikanta Shivacharya. Dikshitar's patron, King Chinna Bomma Nayak of Vellore, made endowments for the maintenance of a college of 500 scholars who studied Sivaarka maniDipika under Sri Dikshitar himself, thus equipping themselves for the Saivite propaganda work, which had been organized with a view to stemming the tide of Vaishnavite attacks and encroachments.[citation needed]
Other schools as approximations to advaita
Dikshitar graphically describes Shivadvaita and Advaita, which are very close to each other as the highest steps. He makes it clear in his work that Srikantha-Bhashya on the Brahmasutra has been written in very close approximation to the trend of thought of Adi Sankara in his own bhashya. Srikanta, according to Dikshitar, propagated his cult on the understanding that sagunopasana (Worship of name and form) is only the first step to nirgunopasana (Propitiation of the nameless and formless), and that it was the real intention of Srikanta that the final truth lies only in Advaita. Dikshitar's great dialectical skill is fully reflected in the work called 'Anandalahari chandrika', where he tries to narrow down the differences between the apparently divergent schools of thought.
Devotional hymns
Among his works in devotional hymns, the 'Durga Chandrakala Stuti' is a profound work, and hailed by sages as a hymn, which if chanted with devotion, would invoke the blessings of Goddess Durga.
References
^ abDuquette, Jonathan (1 March 2016). "Reading Non-Dualism in Śivādvaita Vedānta: An Argument from the Śivādvaitanirṇaya in Light of the Śivārkamaṇidīpikā". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 67–79. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9231-x. ISSN 1573-0395. S2CID 254568153.
^ abRamesan, N. (1972). Sri Appayya Dikshita. Srimad Appayya Dikshitendra Granthavali Prakasana Samithi; [sole distributors: B. G. Paul, Madras].
Minkowski, Christopher (2016). "Apūrvaṃ Pāṇḍityam: On Appayya Dīkṣita's Singular Life". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9230-y. S2CID 170955384.
Bronner, Yigal (2016). "A Renaissance Man in Memory: Appayya Dīkṣita Through the Ages". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 11–39. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9251-6. S2CID 153827853.
Rao, Ajay K. (2016). "The Vaiṣṇava Writings of a Śaiva Intellectual". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 41–65. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9260-5. S2CID 170181275.
Duquette, Jonathan (2016). "Reading Non-Dualism in Śivādvaita Vedānta: An Argument from the Śivādvaitanirṇaya in Light of the Śivārkamaṇidīpikā". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 67–79. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9231-x. S2CID 171076332.
McCrea, Lawrence (2016). "Appayyadīkṣita's Invention of Śrīkaṇṭha's Vedānta". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 81–94. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9229-4. S2CID 170783184.
Minkowski, Christopher (2016). "Appayya's Vedānta and Nīlakaṇṭha's Vedāntakataka". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 46 (1): 95–114. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9252-5. S2CID 170190119.
Deshpande, Madhav M. (2016). "Appayya Dīkṣita and the Lineage of Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 46 (1): 115–124. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9254-3. S2CID 170146119.
Other (scholarly journal articles):
Bronner, Yigal (2007). "Singing to God, Educating the People: Appayya Dīkṣita and the Function of Stotras". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 127 (2): 113–130. JSTOR 20297244.
Bronner, Yigal (2014). "South meets North: Banaras from the perspective of Appayya Dīkṣita". South Asian History and Culture. 6 (1): 10–31. doi:10.1080/19472498.2014.969008. S2CID 143713505.
Still other:
N. Ramesan, Sri Appayya Dikshita (1972; Srimad Appayya Dikshitendra Granthavaliu Prakashana Samithi, Hyderabad, India)
External links
Swami Sivananda on Appayya Dikshitar
By Descendant of Appayya, Palamadai Nilakanta Dikshitar
A brief history of Apayya Dikshitar
April 25, 2023
appayya, dikshita, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, need, rewritten, comply, with, wikipedia, quality, standards, help, talk, page, contai. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions May 2009 This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may be written from a fan s point of view rather than a neutral point of view Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality and to make it neutral in tone January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Appayya Dikshita IAST Appayya Dikṣita often Dikshitar 1520 1593 CE was a performer of yajnas as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy but with a focus on Shiva or Shiva Advaita Contents 1 Life 2 Works 2 1 Siddhanta lesha sangraha 2 2 Parimala 2 3 Other schools as approximations to advaita 2 4 Devotional hymns 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksLife Edit Appayya Dikshitar samadhi Appayya Dikshitar was born as Vinayaka Subramanian in Adayapalam near Arani in the Tiruvannamalai district in the Krishna Paksha of the Kanya month of Pramateecha Varsha under the Uttara Proushthapada constellation of the Hindu calendar He belonged to the Vadadesa Vadama subsect His father s name was Rangarajadhwari Appaya had the name Vinayaka Subramanya after the Namakarana or naming ceremony took place Acharya Dikshitar or Acchan Dikshitar was the younger brother of Appayya Appayya studied the Hindu scriptures under his Guru Rama Kavi He completed the fourteen Vidyas at his young age Dikshitar travelled widely entering into philosophical disputations and controversies in many centers of learning He had the rare good fortune of being revered and patronized in his own lifetime by kings of Vellore Tanjore Vijayanagara and Venkatagiri Works EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message He was well read in every branch of Sanskrit learning and wrote as many works large and small Only 60 of them are however extant now These include works on Vedanta Shiva Advaita Mimamsa Vyakarana Kavya vyakhyana Alankara and devotional poetry He was a member of the Advaita school and a devotee of Shiva 1 Though the followers of the Shiva Advaita school claim him as belonging to their school it is not so easy to determine whether he was more inclined to Shiva Advaita or Advaita 1 Shiva Advaita is very much akin to Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja except for the role of Vishnu being taken by Shiva 2 67 Dikshitar wrote the Chatur mata sara to illustrate the philosophical thoughts of the four prominent schools of interpretation of Brahma sutras The Naya manjari deals with Advaita the Naya mani mala with Srikanta mata the Naya mayukha malika with Ramanuja s philosophy and the Naya muktavali with Madhva s philosophy He wrote a commentary on Vedanta Desika s Yadavabhyudaya Siddhanta lesha sangraha Edit Among the Vedantic works of Appayya Dikshitar the Siddhanta lesha sangraha is most famous In this elaborate and original treatise he brings together in one place all different dialectical thinking belonging to the advaitic school Traditional students of Vedanta begin their study of Vedantic commentaries only after studying this Siddhanta Lesha sangraha All the different views of different subschools of advaita like those of eka jiva vada nana jiva vada bimba pratibimba vada sakshitva vada etc are all discussed and the contrary views properly explained in this work with Appayya Dikshitar s masterly touch 2 89 90 Parimala Edit It is a Vedantic work an extremely readable commentary on the very difficult commentary called Kalpataru by an advaitic teacher named Amalananda That Kalpataru is itself a commentary on Bhamati by Vacaspati Misra which in turn is the famous commentary on the Sutra Bhashya of Adi Shankara While the Parimala follows the advaitic approach Dikshitar has written another commentary Sivaarka mani deepika on the Brahmasutras But this is written from the point of view of Siva visishtadvaita These two works Sivaarka mani deepika and Parimala are his magnum opus both in bulk and importance Though both are commentaries on the Brahma sutra Parimala aligns itself to the advaitic interpretation while the other work expounds on the Sivadvaita philosophy of Srikanta Shivacharya Dikshitar s patron King Chinna Bomma Nayak of Vellore made endowments for the maintenance of a college of 500 scholars who studied Sivaarka maniDipika under Sri Dikshitar himself thus equipping themselves for the Saivite propaganda work which had been organized with a view to stemming the tide of Vaishnavite attacks and encroachments citation needed Other schools as approximations to advaita Edit Dikshitar graphically describes Shivadvaita and Advaita which are very close to each other as the highest steps He makes it clear in his work that Srikantha Bhashya on the Brahmasutra has been written in very close approximation to the trend of thought of Adi Sankara in his own bhashya Srikanta according to Dikshitar propagated his cult on the understanding that sagunopasana Worship of name and form is only the first step to nirgunopasana Propitiation of the nameless and formless and that it was the real intention of Srikanta that the final truth lies only in Advaita Dikshitar s great dialectical skill is fully reflected in the work called Anandalahari chandrika where he tries to narrow down the differences between the apparently divergent schools of thought Devotional hymns Edit Among his works in devotional hymns the Durga Chandrakala Stuti is a profound work and hailed by sages as a hymn which if chanted with devotion would invoke the blessings of Goddess Durga References Edit a b Duquette Jonathan 1 March 2016 Reading Non Dualism in Sivadvaita Vedanta An Argument from the Sivadvaitanirṇaya in Light of the Sivarkamaṇidipika Journal of Indian Philosophy 44 1 67 79 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9231 x ISSN 1573 0395 S2CID 254568153 a b Ramesan N 1972 Sri Appayya Dikshita Srimad Appayya Dikshitendra Granthavali Prakasana Samithi sole distributors B G Paul Madras Sources EditSpecial issue of Journal of Indian Philosophy March 2016 edited by Christopher Minkowski Minkowski Christopher 2016 Apurvaṃ Paṇḍityam On Appayya Dikṣita s Singular Life Journal of Indian Philosophy 44 1 1 10 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9230 y S2CID 170955384 Bronner Yigal 2016 A Renaissance Man in Memory Appayya Dikṣita Through the Ages Journal of Indian Philosophy 44 1 11 39 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9251 6 S2CID 153827853 Rao Ajay K 2016 The Vaiṣṇava Writings of a Saiva Intellectual Journal of Indian Philosophy 44 1 41 65 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9260 5 S2CID 170181275 Duquette Jonathan 2016 Reading Non Dualism in Sivadvaita Vedanta An Argument from the Sivadvaitanirṇaya in Light of the Sivarkamaṇidipika Journal of Indian Philosophy 44 1 67 79 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9231 x S2CID 171076332 McCrea Lawrence 2016 Appayyadikṣita s Invention of Srikaṇṭha s Vedanta Journal of Indian Philosophy 44 1 81 94 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9229 4 S2CID 170783184 Minkowski Christopher 2016 Appayya s Vedanta and Nilakaṇṭha s Vedantakataka Journal of Indian Philosophy 46 1 95 114 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9252 5 S2CID 170190119 Deshpande Madhav M 2016 Appayya Dikṣita and the Lineage of Bhaṭṭoji Dikṣita Journal of Indian Philosophy 46 1 115 124 doi 10 1007 s10781 014 9254 3 S2CID 170146119 Other scholarly journal articles Bronner Yigal 2007 Singing to God Educating the People Appayya Dikṣita and the Function of Stotras Journal of the American Oriental Society 127 2 113 130 JSTOR 20297244 Bronner Yigal 2014 South meets North Banaras from the perspective of Appayya Dikṣita South Asian History and Culture 6 1 10 31 doi 10 1080 19472498 2014 969008 S2CID 143713505 Still other N Ramesan Sri Appayya Dikshita 1972 Srimad Appayya Dikshitendra Granthavaliu Prakashana Samithi Hyderabad India https web archive org web 20070111220640 http www shaivam org adappayya works htmExternal links EditSwami Sivananda on Appayya Dikshitar By Descendant of Appayya Palamadai Nilakanta Dikshitar A brief history of Apayya Dikshitar Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Appayya Dikshita amp oldid 1151213287, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
