[Advaita-l] A note on Sri Appyya Dikshitar

[V Subrahmanian]

दीक्षितेन्द्राणामाशयः (The Psyche of Srimad Appayya Dikshitar, the most
incisive exegete of two schools of Vedanta- Advaita Vedanta and Sivadvaita
Vedanta)

In the opening verse of the Sivarkamanidipika, a commentary to
Srikanthacharya's Brahmasutra Bhashyam, Appayya Dikshitendra proclaims that
Advaita-vada is the consensus of all the Vedic literatures.

यद्यप्यद्वैत एव श्रुतिशिखरगिरामागमानां च निष्ठा
साकं सर्वैः पुराणैः स्मृतिनिकरमहाभारतादिप्रबन्धैः।
तत्रैव ब्रह्मसूत्राण्यपि  विमृशतां भान्ति विश्रान्तिमन्ति
प्रत्नैराचार्यरत्नैरपि परिजगृहे शङ्कराद्यैस्तदेव॥
तथाप्यनुग्रहादेव तरुणेन्दुशिखामणेः।
अद्वैतवासना पुंसामाविर्भवति नान्यथा॥

TRANSLATION (by AV Gopalachariar):

‘Although the Upanishads and the Agamas together with all the Puranas,
Smrtis and Itihasas like Mahabharata are centered in Advaita alone,
although the Brahmasutras also convey to mature thinkers the same idea,
although Advaitism was the religion embraced by the great teachers of old
like Sankara, still an inclination for the Advaita is produced by the Grace
of Lord Siva and by that alone.’

(This is an allusion to the famous verse:

ईश्वरानुग्रहादेव पुंसामद्वतवासना
महाभयकृतत्राणात् द्वित्राणामेवोपजायते - Avadhūtagītā )

A.V. Gopalachariar writes further-

"The above is an apology for His writing a commentary on the Sutra-bhashya
of Nilakantha which inculcates the worship of Siva as the means of
salvation. Dikshita’s faith in Advaitism did not prevent His entering
sympathetically into the heart of the Saiva cult- which is dramatically
opposed to the Unity of the Advaita- and expounding it more powerfully than
any Saivacharya has ever been able to do. This is only the small part of
the liberalism of Dikshita."

(REFERENCE: A short biography of the Dikshitar in English by A.V.
Gopalachariar, M.A, B.L. Dikshitendra’s commentary to Vedanta Deshikar’s
Yadavabhyudaya Mahakavyam; VOL II; Published by Sri Vani Vilas Press,
Srirangam 1909.

Contributed by:
--Gokul Krishna Iyer.