Shiva Advaita (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...

:शिवाद्वैत, kn, ಶಿವಾದ್ವೈತ, ), also known as or

Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

'' qualified nondualism'' is a

school of philosophy from

Southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

that was founded by Srikanta Sivacharya during the eighth century and followed mostly by Veerashaivas. Entry: "Shivadvaita" According to this doctrine, the

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and the

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

are the one and the same. Srikanta Sivacharya (also known as Nilakantha Sivacharya) wrote a commentary on

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...

, which became known as ''Śiva Viśiṣṭādvaita''. The time-frame of Srikanta's work is not exactly known, but believed to be somewhere between 12th and 14th century. The theory of ''Śiva Viśiṣṭādvaita'' follows very closely Ramanuja's '' Viśiṣṭādvaita'' non-dualism doctrine, but differs in who is considered Supreme. Srikanta considers Shiva supreme. It is not known whether Srikanta Sivacharya's work was completed before or after Ramanuja's. Sri Appayya Dikshita contributed further to Shiva Advaita by expounding Srikanta's philosophy in his Sivarka mani dipika. Srikanta does not deny

nirguna Brahman ''Para Brahman'' ( sa, परब्रह्म, translit=parabrahma, translit-std=IAST) in Hindu philosophy is the "Supreme Brahman" that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations. It is described as the formless (in the sense th ...

, which is central to

Advaita ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (l ...

. In contrast to Srikanta, who considers his Brahma Sutra Bhasya '' Viśiṣṭādvaita'' (qualified non-dualism), which affirms the supremacy of saguna Brahman, Appayya affirms a form of pure non-dualism and recasting Srikanta's work in an effort to establish Shiva Advaita in his ''Śivādvaitanirṇaya''.

References

Hindu philosophy Advaita Shaivism Movements in ancient Indian philosophy Advaita Shaivism {{Hindu-philo-stub