[Advaita-l] Regarding the Pancharatra, Shankara is one with Purvamimamsa

[V Subrahmanian]

On Sat, Jul 14, 2018 at 12:57 PM, Kalyan <kalyan_kg at yahoo.com> wrote:

> //I was only trying to say that there are some agreements across the three
> schools:  All hold the Vyasa-Badarayana identity. //
>
>
> In the brahmasUtra bhAshya, I remember no place where Shankara says that
> Badarayana is the same person as Vyasa. Shankara does not make any such
> equation as far as I know. It would be interesting to see whether Bhaskara
> makes such an equation.
>

When I said 'Badarayana', I meant the author of the Brahma sutras. While
there is no direct link in Shankara's prasthana traya works between
'badarayana-vyasa', there is enough evidence in his works to show that he
held Veda Vyasa to be the author of both the Mahabharata and the
Brahmasutras:

BSB 2.1.12:

………परिग्रहाः अपरिग्रहाः ; शिष्टानामपरिग्रहाः शिष्टापरिग्रहाः ; एतेन
प्रकृतेन प्रधानकारणवादनिराकरणकारणेन ; शिष्टैर्मनुव्यासप्रभृतिभिः
केनचिदप्यंशेनापरिगृहीता येऽण्वादिकारणवादाः, तेऽपि प्रतिषिद्धतया व्याख्याता
निराकृता द्रष्टव्याः ; तुल्यत्वान्निराकरणकारणस्य………
Here Veda Vyasa is the sutrakara.

In the above, the context is: there are many non-vedantic schools which
claim various entities as the 'cause of the world', like the atoms
(vaisheshika), pradhana (sankhya, etc.) and all of them are refuted by Veda
Vyasa. This has happened only in the Brahma sutras with specific sutra for
each school. Thus, Shankara is clear that the Brahma sutras are of Veda
Vyasa.

The Veda Vyasa connection with Brahmasutra, the Mahabharata, BG is clear in
Shankara's works.

BSB 2.3.47:  The verse Shankara cites as that of Vyasa is traced to the
Mahabharata with some variations in reading:

स्मरन्ति च व्यासादयः — यथा जैवेन दुःखेन न परमात्मा दुःखायत इति ; ‘ तत्र यः
परमात्मा हि स नित्यो निर्गुणः स्मृतः । न लिप्यते फलैश्चापि
पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा । कर्मात्मा त्वपरो योऽसौ मोक्षबन्धैः स युज्यते । स
सप्तदशकेनापि राशिना युज्यते पुनः’ इति ।

Ishavasya bhashya 2:

………विभाषितः’ (मो. ध. २४१ । ६) इत्यादि पुत्राय विचार्य निश्चितमुक्तं *व्यासेन
वेदाचार्येण भगवता* । विभागं चानयोः प्रदर्शयिष्यामः ॥ ………

Gitabhashya introduction:   तं धर्मं भगवता यथोपदिष्टं वेदव्यासः सर्वज्ञो
भगवान् गीताख्यैः सप्तभिः श्लोकशतैरुपनिबबन्ध ॥    Veda Vyasa is the author
of the 700 verse BG.

BGB 2.21:   तथा च पुत्राय आह भगवान् व्यासः — ‘द्वाविमावथ पन्थानौ’ (शां. २४१
। ६) इत्यादि ।………   A verse from MB Shantiparva is cited as that of Vyasa.

In Mandukya Karika bhashya:   तथा च पुत्राय आह भगवान् व्यासः — ‘द्वाविमावथ
पन्थानौ’ (शां. २४१ । ६) इत्यादि ।………  Vyasa is cited as author of MB.

There are many more such instances where Shankara links Vyasa with MB, as
'Vyasasmriti', etc.

Vachaspati Misra in the Bhamati:  invocation:

ब्रह्मसूत्रकृते तस्मै वेदव्यासाय वेधसे  ।

ज्ञानशक्त्यवताराय नमो भगवतो हरेः  ॥५॥     says Vyasa is the Brahmasutra
author.

Bhaskara, in the very first invocation to his Brahma sutra bhashya pays
obeisance to 'Badarayana, the author of Brahmasutras'.  The pdf of his
bhashya available today for download has this verse at the very beginning.

All the three, Shankara, Bhaskara and Vachaspati Misra, are admitted to be
of almost the same period.

Sarvajnatman, 10 CE, in the invocation to the Sankshepashariraka too pays
obeisance to Vyasa. The commentators say that it is to the 'proponent of
the Vedanta Shastra'.  This Shastra is admitted to be the Brahma sutras,
which is in opposition to all other schools.

regards