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_ From the fourteenth century, however, we have a large number of Vedanta writers in all the succeeding centuries; but with the notable exception of Prakasananda, Madhusiidana Sarasvati in his Advaita-siddhi (in which he tried to refute the objections of Vyasa Tirtha against the monistic Vedanta in the sixteenth century) and probably Vidyaranya’s Vivarana-prameya-samgraha and Dhar- marajadhvarindra’s Paribhasa, and its Sikhamani commentary by Ramakrsna, there are few writers who can be said to reveal any great originality in Vedantic interpretations. Most of the writers of this later period were good compilers, who revered all sorts of past Vedantic ideas and collected them in well-arranged forms in their works. The influence of the Pafica-padika-vivarana, however, is very strong in most of these writers, and the Vivarana school of thought probably played the most important part in Vedantic thought throughout all this period. These Vedantic writers grew up in particular circles inspired by particular teachers, whose works were carried on either in their own families or among their pupils; a few examples may make this clear. Thus Jagannathasrama was a great teacher of south India in the latter half of the fifteenth century; he had a pupil in Nrsimh- asrama, one of the most reputed teachers of Vedanta in the early half of the sixteenth century. He was generally inspired on the one hand by the Vivarana and on the other by Sriharsa and Citsukha and Sarvajfiatma Muni: he wrote a number of Vedanta works, -such as Advaita-dipika (his pupil, Narayanasrama, wrote a com- mentary called Advaita-dipika-vivarana on it), Advaita-parica- 54 The Sankara School of Vedanta [cH. ratna, Advaita-bodha-dipika, Advaita-ratna-kosa, Tattva-bodhini, a commentary on the Samksepa-sariraka, Tattva-viveka (which had two commentaries, Tattva-viveka-dipana of Narayanasrama and Tattva-vivecana of Agnihotra, pupil of Jfianendra Sarasvati), Pan- ca-padika-vivarana-prakasika, Bheda-dhikkara, Advaita-ratna-vya- khyana (a commentary on Mallanarodiya’s Advaita-ratna), and Vedanta-tattva-viveka. The fact that he could write commentaries both on Sarvajiiatma Muni’s work and also on the Vivarana, and also write a Bheda-dhikkara (a work on dialectic Vedanta on the lines of Sriharsa’s dialectical work) shows the syncretistic ten- dencies of the age, in which the individual differences within the school were all accepted as different views of one Vedanta, and in which people were more interested in Vedanta as a whole and felt no hesitation in accepting all the Vedantic ideas in their works. Nrsimhagrama had a pupil Dharmarajadhvarindra, who wrote a Vedanta-paribhasa, a commentary called Tarka-cidamani on the Tattva-cintamani of Gangega, and also on the Nyaya-siddhanta- dipa of Sagadhara Acarya, and a commentary on the Pafica-padika of Padmapada. His son and pupil Ramakrsna Diksita wrote a com- mentary on the first, called Vedanta-stkhamani; and Amaradasa, the pupil of Brahmavijfiana, wrote another commentary on this Sikhamani of Ramakrsnat. Ramakrsna had also written a com- mentary on Rucidatta’s Tattva-cintamani-prakasa, called Nydya- sikhamani, and a commentary on the Vedanta-sara. Other authors, such as Kaginatha Sastrin and Brahmendra Sarasvati, had also written separate works bearing the name Vedanta-paribhasa after the Vedanta-paribhasa of Dharmaraja in the seventeenth century. Under the sphere of Nrsimha’s influence, but in the Saiva and Mimamsaka family of Rangaraja Adhvarin,was born Appaya Diksita, who became one of the most reputed teachers of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. His works have all been noted in the section devoted to him. He again was a teacher of Bhattoji Diksita, who in addition to many works on grammar, law and ritual (smrti) wrote two important works on Vedanta, called Tattva-kaustubha and Vedanta-tattva-dipana-vyakhya, the latter a commentary on the commentary, Tattva-viveka-dipana, of Narayanagrama (a pupil of Nrsimhasgrama) on the latter’s work, Vedanta-tattva-viveka. This Narayanasrama had also written another commentary on * Petta Diksita, son of Narayana Diksita, also wrote a commentary on the Veddanta- paribhasa, called Vedanta-paribhasa-prakasika. x1] Teachers and Pupils in Vedanta g5 Nrsimhagrama’s Bheda-dhikkara, called Bheda-dhikkara-satkriya ; and later on in the eighteenth century another commentary was written on Nrsimha’s Bheda-dhikkara, called Advaita-candrika, by Narasimha Bhatta, pupil of Ramabhadragrama and Nagegvara in the eighteenth century. Bhattoji Diksita’s son Bhanuji Diksita was a commentator on the Amara-kosa (Vyakhya-sudha or Subodhini). Bhattoji was, however, a pupil not only of Appaya, but also of Nrsimhasrama Muni. Bhattoji’s younger brother and pupil, Ran- goji Bhatta, wrote two works, the Advaita-cintamani and the Ad- vatta-sastra-saroddhara, more or less on the same lines, containing a refutation of Vaisesika categories, a determination of the nature of the self, a determination of the nature of ajfiana and the nature of the doctrine of reflection, proofs of the falsity of world-appearance and an exposition of the nature of Brahman and how Brahmahood is to be attained. His son Konda Bhatta was mainly a grammarian, who wrote also on Vaigesika. Again Madhustidana Sarasvati, who .was a pupil of Visvesvara Sarasvati (pupil of Sarvajfia Visvesa and pupil’s pupil of Govinda Sarasvati), lived in the early half of the sixteenth century and was probably under the influence of Nrsimhasgrama, who is reputed to have defeated Madhusiidana Sarasvati’s teacher, Madhava Sarasvati. Madhusiidana had at least three pupils, Purusottama, who wrote on Madhusiidana’s commentary the Siddhanta-tattva-bindu a commentary called Siddhanta-tattva-bindu-tika!; the others were Balabhadra and Sesagovinda (the latter of whom wrote a commentary on Sankara’s Sarva-daréana-siddhanta-samgraha, called Sarva-siddhanta-raha- sya-tika). Again Sadananda, the author of the Vedanta-sara, one of the most popular and well-read syncretistic works on Vedanta, was a contemporary of Nrsimhasrama; Nrsimha Sarasvati wrote in 1588 a commentary thereon, called Subodhini. Devendra, the author of the Svanubhiati-prakasa, was also a contemporary of Nrsimhasgrama. It has already been pointed out that Prakasananda was probably a contemporary of Nrsimhasrama, though he does not seem to have been under his influence. This shows how some of the foremost Vedanta writers of the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries grew up together in a Vedantic circle, many of whom were directly or indirectly under the influence of Nrsim- hagrama and Appaya Diksita. ra Brahmananda wrote on the Siddhdnta-bindu another commentary, called Siddhanta-bindu-tika. 56 The Sankara School of Vedanta [cH. Passing to another circle of writers, we see that Bhaskara Diksita, who lived in the latter half of the seventeenth century, wrote a commentary, Ratna-talika, on the Siddhanta-siddhanjana of his teacher Krsnananda. The Siddhanta-siddhanjana is an excellent syncretistic work on Vedanta, which contains most of the im- portant Vedanta doctrines regarding the difference of dharma-vicara and brahma-vicara, the relation of Mimamsa theories of commands, and the need of Brahma-knowledge; it introduces many Mimamsa subjects and treats of their relations to many relevant Vedanta topics. It also introduces elaborate discussions on the nature of knowledge and ignorance. It seems, however, to be largely free from the influence of the Vivarana, and it does not enter into theories of perception or the nature of the antahkarana and its yrtit. It is thus very different from most of the works produced in the sixteenth century in the circles of Nrsimha or Appaya. Krsnananda lived probably in the middle of the seventeenth century. He had for teacher Ramabhadrananda; and Ramabhadrananda was taught by Svayamprakasananda, the author of the Vedanta-naya-bhisana, a commentary on the Brahma-siitra on the lines of Vacaspati Migra’s Bhamati. This Svayamprakasa must be distinguished from the other Svayamprakasa, probably of the same century, who was a pupil of Kaivalyananda Yogindra and the author of the Rasabhi- vyanjtka, a commentary of Advaita-makaranda of Laksmidhara Kavi. Ramabhadrananda had as his teacher Ramananda Sarasvati, the author of the Vedanta-siddhanta-candrika, on which a commen- tary was written by Gangadharendra Sarasvati (a.D. 1826), pupil of Ramacandra Sarasvati and pupil’s pupil of Sarvajfia Sarasvati, and author of the Samrajya-siddhi with its commentary, the Kaivalya- kalpadruma. Prakasananda was a pupil of Advaitananda, author of the Brahma-vidyabharana, a commentary on Sankara’s Sariraka- bhasya—Advaitananda was a disciple of Ramatirtha, author of the Anvaya-prakasika (a commentary on the Samksepa-sariraka of Sarvajfidtma Muni) and a disciple of Krsnatirtha, a contemporary of Jagannathagrama, the teacher of Nrsimhagrama. Ramatirtha’s Anvaya-prakasika shows an acquaintance with Madhusidana’s Advaita-siddhi; and he may thus be considered to have lived in the middle of the seventeenth century. Svayamprakagananda, again, had for pupil Mahadevananda, or Vedantin Mahadeva, the author of the Advaita-cinta-kaustubha or Tattvanusandhana. It seems very clear that these writers of the seventeenth and the early eighteenth x! Teachers and Pupils in Vedanta Lyi centuries flourished in a different circle of Vedantic ideas, where the views of Vacaspati, Suregvara and Sarvajfiatma Muni had greater influence than the authors of the Vivarana school of Vedanta. Another important syncretistic Vedanta writer is Sadi- nanda Kasgmiraka, author of the Advaita-brahma-siddhi ,wholived in the early part of the eighteenth century.