A Glossary of Technical Terms in the Commentaries of Sankara (Shankaracharya), Ramanuja and Madhva on the Brahma - Sutras - Part Two

From the Jacket :

A Glossary of Technical Terms in the Commentaries of Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva on the Brahma-Sutras is a compilation of the meanings and interpretation of important technical terms found in the commentaries of the three eminent acaryas on the Brahma Sutras, which represent the three main trends in the understanding of Vedanta. The aim of this work is to explicate the essential meaning and subtle distinction among these technical terms from the view point of individual doctrines and contexts. It presents the terms both in the devanagari script and roman transliteration arranged in alphabetical order. Reference is made to the chapter, section, number of the sutra, and the respective page. In addition to these, explanations found in important sub-commentaries are also presented wherever necessary.

About the Author :

Dr (Mrs.) K. Jayammal is at present, a U.G.C. Research Associate at the Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in Philosophy, University of Madras. In 1979 she earned her Doctorate Degree from the Department of Sanskrit, University of Madras. She was an honorary Research Associate in the Adyar Library and Research Centre. Her doctoral thesis, Sri Krsnavilasam of Sukumarakavi was published by the Higginbothams and Co., Madras, in 1982. Her research project titled The Sivajnanabodhasangrahabhasya of Sivagrayogin - English Translation with Introduction and Indexes was published by the Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in Philosophy, University of Madras, in 1993 under the Madras University Philosophical Series-50. Her another project entitled A Glossary of Technical Terms in the Commentaries of Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva on the Brahma Sutras, Part I, has been published by the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, in 1997.

Preface

This monograph attempts to present in a systematic and synoptic way the technical terms which occur in the three principal commentaries of Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva on the Brahma-sutras. The main purpose of this volume is to explicate the main imports and subtle distinctions of these three main schools, considering each one individually in its own light and in its own context. In this objective attempt, no trace of bias may be detected, as each school is given its due importance, in its own traditional background.

This book - a compilation of Consonants is a companion to Part I. Part I consists of Vowels and has already been published by the Indian Council of Philosophical Research in 1997. It is probably for the first time that an attempt is made to present the technical terms along with their meanings and interpretations delineating the fundamental doctrines of the three illustrious commentators Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva on the Brahma-sutras. In some instances, important details found in the sub-commentaries on the respective texts are also provided so as to make the import as complete and authoritative as possible. Works exclusively devoted to individual systems are already known to the world of scholars. e.g. A Word Index to Sankara's Brahamasutrabhasya in two volumes; the Visistadvaitakosa in three volumes.

It is hoped that this volume serves as an important reference book for scholars working in these three important Vedantic schools, more so, for those working on a comparative basis. It is also hoped that the original commentaries and the Brahma-sutra can easily be followed with the aid of the present work.

Since all the three commentators very often refer to the concepts of other schools of thought like Sankhya, Nyaya, Vaisesika etc., for a systematic analysis and refutation, all these concepts are also presented in this volume for a fuller comprehension of those systems. On the whole, this volume offers, it is believed, a panoramic view of the basic tenets and concepts of many important schools of philosophy, which have enriched the Vedantic philosophy.

I offer my grateful thanks to Professor Dr. Venkatachalam, Chariman, ICPR, New Delhi for including this book in the list of their publications.

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Dr. Ashok Vohra, Member Secretary, ICPR, New Delhi for the kind interest he has evinced to bring out this volume.

I am immensely grateful to Dr. T.S. Devadoss, Former Director, Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in Philosophy, University of Madras, for his initiative and encouragement.

I record my reverential gratitude to my esteemed teacher Bhasyabhavajna Brahmasri Varahoor Kalyanasundara Sastrigal, former Professor of Vedanta, Vivekananda College, Madras. I had the good fortune of studying the whole text of Sankara's Brahmasutrabhasya with him.

I am gratefully indebted to Dr. M. Narasimhachary, Professor and Head of the Department of Vaishnavism, University of Madras, under whom I made the study of the text of Ramanuja's Sribhasya with Sudarsanasuri's Srutaprakasika. I thank him for having made necessary improvements and modifications in this study. He has also gone through the entire material in several stages and offered valuable suggestions.

I express my deep sense of gratitude to Vidyaratna Pandit Sri V. Nagaraja Sarma who taught me the text of Madhva's Brahma-sutra-bhasya with Jayatirtha's Tattvaprakasika.

I am thankful to Dr. Ms. Mercy Helen, Programme Officer, ICPR, New Delhi for the great help she has rendered in publishing this volume.

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, for publishing the present voulme. I am thankful to the authorities of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi for having awarded Research Associateship to me from 1993. I also thank the authorities of the University of Madras for permitting me to do research at the Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Study in Philosophy and express my gratitude to all the members of the faculty of the Department.

CONTENTS

Preface	vii
Guidelines followed in this volume	xi
List of Abbreviations I	xiii
List of Abbreviations II	xiv
Table of Transliteration	xv
Glossary	1
Appendix I Sankara, Ramanuja and Madhva - A Comparative summary of concepts	307
Appendix II Metaphysical Tenets of Advaita, Visistadvaita and Dvaita	310

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