
Sureśvara (also known as Sureśvarācārya, was a 9th-century
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, who studied under
Śankara. Śankara is said to have entrusted to Sureśvara his first monastic institution, the
Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Sureśvara is believed to have founded the
Naduvil Matham in
Thrissur
Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...
. His Maha Samadhi is located near the Sharada temple of Sringeri Mutt in
Sringeri
Sringeri (IAST: Śṛṅgerī; ) also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka.
Sringeri is the site of Sri Sharadamba temple, a part of the Sringeri Sharada Pe ...
Karnataka.
Life
Little is known for sure about Sureśvara's life. According to a persistent but erroneous tradition within
Advaita Vedānta, before he became a disciple of Śankara, Sureśvara was known as
Maṇḍana Miśra, a
Mīmāmsāka. After being defeated in a debate by Śankara, Miśra renounced his life as a householder and became a
sannyāsin. Whether this Maṇḍana Miśra was the same as the author of ''
Brahmasiddhi'' is questioned by modern scholars on the basis of textual analysis.
Sureśvara was the Advaita tradition's ''
Vārttikakāra'' (commentator), meticulously and critically examining Śankara's work. In his non-commentary work, the ''
Naiṣkarmyasiddhi'', he presents Avdaita philosophy clearly and simply.
Identification with Maṇḍana Miśra
Maṇḍana Miśra has often been identified with Sureśvara. Sureśvara (fl. 800–900 CE) and Maṇḍana Miśra were contemporaries of Śankara. Both explained Śankara "on the basis of their personal convictions."
According to Kuppuswami Sastri, it is not likely that Maṇḍana Miśra, the author of ''Brahmasiddhi'', is identical with Sureśvara, but the tradition is correct in describing Maṇḍana Miśra and Śankara as contemporaries. His critical edition of the ''Brahmasiddhi'' also points out that the name Maṇḍana Miśra is both a title and a first name, which is a possible cause for a confusion of personalities. Maṇḍana Miśra's brand of Advaita differs in certain critical details from that of Śhankara, whereas Sureśvara's thought is very faithful to that of Śankara.
According to Sharma, Hiriyanna and Kuppuswami Sastra have pointed out that Sureśvara and Maṇḍana Miśra had different views on various doctrinal points:
* The locus of ''
avidyā'': according to Maṇḍana Miśra, the individual ''
jīva'' is the locus of ''avidyā'', whereas Sureśvara contents that ''avidyā'' regarding ''
brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...
'' is located in ''brahman''. These two different stances are also reflected in the opposing positions of the
Bhamati school and the Vivarana school.
* Liberation: according to Maṇḍana Miśra, the knowledge which arises from the ''
mahāvākya'' is insufficient for
liberation. Only the direct realization of ''brahman'' is liberating, which can only be attained by meditation. According to Sureśvara, this knowledge is directly liberating, while meditation is at best a useful aid.
R. Balasubramanian disagrees with the arguments of Kuppuswami Sastri and others, and argued that there is no conclusive evidence available to prove that Maṇḍana, the author of the ''Brahmasiddhi'', is different from Sureśvara, the author of the ''Naiṣkarmyasiddhi'' and the ''Vārtikas''.
Works
*''Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad-bhāṣya-vārttika'' (commentary on Śankara's works on the ')
*''Naiṣkarmya-siddhi'' (non-commentary)
*''Sambandha-vārttika'' (commentary on Śankāra's introduction to the )
*''Taittirīya-vārttika'' (commentary on Śankāra's work on the ''
Taittirīya Upaniṣad'')
*''Manasollasa'' (commentary on ''
Dakṣiṇamūrti-Stotra'')
*''Pañcī-karaṇa-vārttika'' (commentary on Śankara's ''Pañcī-karaṇam'')
See also
*
Sringeri Sharada Peetham
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
*John Grimes, "Sureśvara" (in
Robert L. Arrington d. ''A Companion to the Philosophers''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001. )
*
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 188817 April 1975; natively Radhakrishna) was an Indian academician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of ...
, ''et al.''
dd ''History of Philosophy Eastern and Western: Volume One'' (George Allen & Unwin, 1952)
External links
Sureshvara’s Taittiriya VartikaEnglish translation by R. Balasubramanian (includes glossary)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suresvara
Advaitin philosophers
9th-century Indian philosophers
Medieval Hindu religious leaders
Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Advaita Vedanta