In news : The Vice President of India while Delivering the first P. Parameswaran Memorial Lecture organised by Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram in Thiruvananthapuram mentioned about the sage Vidyaranya
About the Sage Vidyaranya
- The sage Vidyaranya connected with Sringeri Mutt greatly influenced the founders of Vijayanagara Empire Harihara and Bukka Raya
- He received the Sannyasa diksha from Vidyashankara Tirtha
- He was the 12th Jagadguru of the Śringeri Śarada Pītham from 1380-1386.
- He later served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over the Vijayanagara Empire. Vijayanagara (Hampi), the capital of the empire, had a temple dedicated to Mādhavācārya.
- Some people identifies him as Madhavacharya, the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha, a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu philosophy and Pañcadaśī, an important text for Advaita Vedanta
Story of establishing Vijayanagara Empire
- According to one narrative, the empire’s founders Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I were two brothers in the service of the Kampili chief.
- After Kampili fell to the Muslim invasion, they were taken to Delhi and converted to Islam. They were sent back to Kampili as the Delhi Sultan’s vassals.
- After gaining power in the region, they approached Vidyaranya, who converted them back to the Hindu faith
His literary works
Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha
Vidyaranya’s most famous works are Pārāśara-Mādhavīya and the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha “Compendium of school of philosophies”, a compendium of all the known Indian schools of philosophy(sixteen systems).
The sixteen systems of philosophy expounded by him are: Cārvāka,Buddhism,Arhata or Jainism, Ramanuja System or Sri Vaishnavism, Purna-Prajña Darsana or Tatva-vaada or Dvaita Vedanta, Nakulisa-Paśupata, Shaivism, Pratyabhijña (Kashmir Shaivism) or Recognitive System, Raseśvara or Mercurial System, Vaisheshika or Aulukya, Akshapada or Nyaya, Jaimini, Pāṇiniya, Samkhya, Patanjala or Yoga, Vedanta or Adi Shankara
Pañcadaśī:
Vidyaranya’s Pañcadaśī is a standard text on the philosophy of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. It consists of fifteen chapters which are divided into three sections of five chapters each, which are designated as Viveka (Discrimination), Deepa (Illumination) and Ananda (Bliss). The text elucidates many Vedantic concepts, such as, the five sheaths of individuality, the relation between Isvara (God), Jagat (world) and Jiva (individual), the indistinguishability of cause and effect.
Madhavia Shankara Vijaya(Samkshepa-Sankara-Vijaya)
The book is about the life and achievements of Shankara Bhagavat-Pada (Adi Sankara).
Sringeri matha(Peetham)
- Located amongst the lush green mountain ranges of the Sahyadri, Sringeri is located in the modern day district of Chickmagalur in the state of Karnataka in India.
- The Peetham is the first and foremost of the four Peethams established by the renowned 8th century philosopher saint Sri Adi Shankara, the principal exponent of Advaita (non-dualism).
- The Divinity of Knowledge, Goddess Sharada, installed at Sringeri by Sri Adi Shankara, graces the Peetham as the presiding deity.
