[Advaita-l] NAISKARMYASIDDHIH

[SUDIPTA MUNSI]

Dear Sir,
 
There is a very useful edition of the Naiskarmyasiddhih (NS) of Sri Suresvaracarya with the hitherto unpublished Bhavatattvaprakasika of Sri Citsukhacarya (BP) gloss thereon, edited for the first time accompanied by detailed notes in Sanskrit and a Hindi translation of the NS along with a Hindi commentary based on the BP by Dr. Swami Prajnanananda Saraswati, Vedantacarya, Vyakaranatirtha, Sastrcakravarti, published by the Daksinamurti Matha, Varanasi.  A second edition of the work was published last year. 
 
This edition is based on Swami Prajnanananda's Ph. D. dissertation of the Banaras Hindu University, where more detailed notes in Sanskrit and an 157-page long Sanskrit introduction (virtually dealing with such important topics of the Vedanta as the positivity of nescience, the testimonies to it, chapterwise summary of the NS, BP, comparison of the BP with the other commentaries on NS, refutation of vital theses maintained by Swami Saccidanandendra Saraswati in his Klesapaharini gloss on NS, which go against the Advaita Vedanta tradition, etc.) are available.  Herein (i.e. in the Introduction) there is a rather long chapter (16 pages) on "Sri Suresvaracaryah", where Swamiji has shown that there were two Mandana Misras - one Mimamsaka, who was defeated in polemics by Srimad Adya Sankaracarya and became Sri Suresvaracarya later on, and another Mandana Misra, who was a Sabdatvaidavadi.  Swamiji supports his contention by quoting from such works
 as the Samksepasariraka, which were well aware of the difference in their identity, as well as from modern works such as those of Anantakrishna Sastri, and others.  The most fascinating finding of Swamiji regarding the difference in the identity of the two Mandanas is, as he has shown, Sri Suresvaracarya himself knew of the existence of another Mandana Misra whose views he refuted in one of his works.  
 
Cordially,
 
Sudipta Munsi