[Advaita-l] [advaitin] Request for Review: 21 Foundational Axioms of Advaita Siddhānta

[H S Chandramouli]

Namaste Sudhanshu Ji,

The following response may not be in exact sequential order.

Reg  // This is wrong. aham-adhyAsa is not anAdi. It is absent in sushupti
and is the first kArya-adhyAsa in waking and dream. It is sAdi //,

Following is from VivaraNa Prameya Samgraha

//  तर्ह्यहङ्कारः किमुपादानः ? किंनिमित्तः ? किंस्वरूपः ? किम्प्रमाणकः ?
किंकार्यः ? किमिति सुषुप्तौ नास्तीति चेत्, उच्यते –
*अहङ्कारस्याऽनाद्यनिर्वचनीयाऽविद्या **उपादानम्*, अविद्यायाः
परमेश्वराधिष्ठितत्वं निमित्तम्, ज्ञानशक्तिक्रियाशक्तिद्वयं स्वरूपम्,
कूटस्थचैतन्यं प्रमाणम्, *कर्तृत्वभोक्तृत्वादिकं* *च* *कार्यम्* । //

//  tarhyaha~NkAraH kimupAdAnaH ? kiMnimittaH ? kiMsvarUpaH ? kimpramANakaH
? kiMkAryaH ? kimiti suShuptau nAstIti chet, uchyate –
*aha~NkArasyA.anAdyanirvachanIyA.avidyA
upAdAnam*, avidyAyAH parameshvarAdhiShThitatvaM nimittam,
j~nAnashaktikriyAshaktidvayaM svarUpam, kUTasthachaitanyaM pramANam,
*kartRRitvabhoktRRitvAdikaM
cha kAryam* |//

Highlighting is mine. This may be read in conjunction with the following
citation from SiddhAnta Bindu , Shloka 1. This further clarifies what the
previous quotes above convey.

//  तस्मात्पूर्वपूर्वाध्यासमूल एवायमुत्तरोत्तरोहङ्काराध्यासः बीजांकुरवदनादिः
। अविद्याध्यासच एक एवानादिः । //  tasmAtpUrvapUrvAdhyAsamUla
evAyamuttarottaroha~NkArAdhyAsaH bIjAMkuravadanAdiH | avidyAdhyAsacha eka
evAnAdiH  //.

The same meaning is conveyed by the citation from Prabodha-Parishodhini
commentary on Panchapadika given by you.

These confirm my understanding. They also address some other points made by
you. For the benefit of readers not familiar with Sanskrit, I request you
to give the exact translations for the portion cited by me. While I can
give the summary meaning to the extant I understand, I may not be able to
give exact translation.

I am not sure what Vikram Ji wanted to convey by L1-2  //
अनाद्यध्यासोऽविद्यैव; अधिष्ठानज्ञानेन बाध्या। //. The quote from Siddhanta
Bindu I have cited above ** अविद्याध्यासच एक एवानादिः । ** (avidyAdhyAsacha
eka evAnAdiH ) is practically the same.
Regards

On Tue, Mar 10, 2026 at 9:36 PM Sudhanshu Shekhar <sudhanshu.iitk at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste Chandramouli ji.
>
> Certainly I am not denying sAdi adhyAsa and anAdi adhyAsa. But all adhyAsa
>> should not be classified as effect, and hence *follows* cause, in terms of
>> time. There is anAdyadhyAsa which is not an *effect* meaning that it
>> *follows* a cause in terms of time.
>>
> There are two types of adhyAsa. One, kAraNa-adhyAsa and second
> kArya-adhyAsa. When I say that adhyAsa is kArya, I meant kArya-adhyAsa
> only.
>
> The adhyAsa of ajnAna in AtmA is kAraNa-adhyAsa. It is anAdi and is hence
> not an effect. Hope it is clear.
>
> Aham-adhyAsa basically is jIva. And jIva is anAdi.
>>
>
> This is wrong. aham-adhyAsa is not anAdi. It is absent in sushupti and is
> the first kArya-adhyAsa in waking and dream. It is sAdi.
>
> Further, I am not sure how you equated jIva with aham-adhyAsa. JIva is
> pratibimba of chaitanya in avidyA.
>
> This is how I have framed my understanding of BhAshya. As for the
>> references you have cited, I certainly believe they should be understood in
>> the particular context in which they are made. I am unable to offer any
>> comments at this stage as my knowledge of Sanskrit is limited, and I may
>> not be able to understand those portions in a reasonable time. If and when
>> I am in a position to do so, I will refer back.
>>
> Ok.
>
> Regards.
> Sudhanshu Shekhar.
>
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