Preceptors of Advaita
23
ANUBHUTISVARUPA
by
L. VASUDEVA SARMA
M.A.
Anubhutisvarupa has been well-known in the history of grammar, if not in that of Advaita. His Sarasvata grammar has long been in print. The identity and the several works of Anubhutisvarupa in the field of Advaita have been discussed by Dr. V. Raghavan in his paper on Anubhutisvarupa published in the Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute1. Anubhutisvarupa wrote mainly commentaries. All the three Prakaranas of Anandabodha received his attention and we have manuscripts of his glosses on the Nyaya-makaranda (the Sangraha), the Nyayadipavali (Chandrika) and the Pramanamala (Nibandha). Among other standard authors whose works Anubhutisvarupa has commented upon are Sankara, Vimuktatman and Sri-Harsha. On Sankara’s Brahma-sutra-bhashya, Anubhutisvarupa wrote the commentary called Prakatartha-vivarana, and on his bhashya on the Mandukya-karikas of Gaudapada a brief tippana was written by Anubhutisvarupa; and three manuscripts of this work are known to exist. On the Ishta-siddhi of Vimuktatman, he wrote an extensive commentary called Ishta-siddhi-vivarana which is available in manuscript in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras (Chennai). His commentary on Sri-Harsha’s Khandana-khanda-khadya also is not printed and it is available in a single manuscript in the Big Bhandar at Jessalamere. In the Gita-prasthana, Anubhutisvarupa made his contribution in the form of a brief gloss on Sankara’s Gita-bhashya which is still in manuscript2.
Anubhutisvarupa for all that he wrote became a forgotten author in the history of Advaita. But it should not be supposed that there was no trace left at all of him in the writings of the later Advaitins. His commentaries on Vimuktatman, Sri-Harsha and Anandabodha, no doubt fell into oblivion; but his commentary on the bhashya of Sri Sankara on the Brahman-sutra, namely, the Prakatartha-vivarana was remembered in the Advaitic tradition. Even in this case his real identity was lost and he was remembered only as Prakatartha-kara or the author of the Prakatartha.
To begin with, Anubhutisvarupa is very critical about Vachaspatimisra3. Amalananda-Vyasasrama wrote in the later part of the 13th century his Kalpataru on the Bhamati of Vachaspatimisra; and without mentioning the name of Anubhutisvarupa he defended Vachaspati against his criticism. The reference in Amalananda’s work could easily be identified as one to Anubhutisvarupa. An express identification of the reply in Amalananda as directed against the Prakatartha-kara is to be had in the Ratnaprabha of Govindananda4.
Appayya Dikshita, the most noteworthy and versatile writer among the later Advaitins makes more than one reference to Prakatartha-kara in his Siddhanta-lesa-sangraha.
The above references have been pointed out to show that some of the criticisms and specific views of our author had not been completely forgotten.
Date of Anubhutisvarupa
Sri-Harsha on who’s Khandana-khanda-khadya, Anubhutisvarupa has commented flourished in the middle of the 12th Century A.D. Amalananda, the commentator on Vachaspati’s Bhamati, replies, without mentioning the name, to Anubhutisvarupa’s criticisms of Vachaspati. At the end of his Kalpataru, Amalananda mentions that he wrote under the Yadava King of Devagiri, Krishna, (1248–1259 A.D.) and his brother Mahadeva. So we may take Anubhutisvarupa as having flourished between the middle of 12th Century and the first half of the 13th Century.
Anubhutisvarupa’s important contribution to Advaita lies in his view regarding avidya. In Advaita, the supreme lord, the individual soul, and the phenomenal world are but the appearances of the transcendent Reality, Brahman. The principle that accounts for this seeming diversification of Brahman is avidya or maya.
Some Advaitins draw a distinction between maya and avidya. Bharatitirtha in the Panchadasi distinguishes avidya, the impure sattva-predominant prakriti from maya, the pure-sattva-predominant prakriti. The former is the adjunct of the Lord. In the Vivarana-prameya-sangraha, however, Bharatitirtha follows the Vivarana tradition of not making any difference between maya and nescience (avidya)5. Anubhutisvarupa closely follows the Vivarana School and he does not make any distinction between maya and avidya. He holds that the beginningless, indeterminable primal cause of beings which is present in the pure consciousness is maya. The limited innumerable parts of maya are endowed with the concealing and revealing powers and are called ajnana6. Thus Anubhutisvarupa by referring to ajnana or avidya as the parts of maya considers them to be identical.
As regards the locus and content of maya or avidya, Anubhutisvarupa’s view is not very clear. He closely follows the Vivarana School. This school maintains that Brahman, the pure consciousness is the locus and content of maya or avidya. Anubhutisvarupa says that maya is present in or associated with pure consciousness as such. Form this we may take that according to Anubhutisvarupa Brahman itself is the locus and content of maya or avidya.
As regards the nature of the supreme lord and the individual soul there is difference of opinion between the two main post-Sankara Advaita schools––the Vivarana and the Bhamati. According to the former view, the individual soul is the reflection of consciousness in avidya, and consciousness that serves as the original is the Supreme Lord. This view is known as pratibimba-vada. According to the Bhamati view, consciousness delimited by maya is the individual soul and the consciousness which is not delimited by maya is the Supreme Lord. Anubhutisvarupa follows the pratibimba-vada. He, however, makes some improvement on it. He holds that pure consciousness when reflected in ajnana or avidya which is a part of maya is the individual soul. And the consciousness that transcends maya is the suddhachaitanya7. The parts of maya which are termed ajnana are innumerable. And, since the consciousness reflected in ajnana is the individual soul and since there is a plurality of ajnana, there are many individual souls.
Anubhutisvarupa maintains the distinction of released and bound souls thus:
In the case of an individual soul who has attained to the knowledge of Brahman, his ajnana which is the part of maya is annihilated and thereby he is released. The universe which is the transformation of maya continues to exist; but the released soul is not attached to it, just as a blind man cannot see the colour although it exists. Maya would be annihilated only when all its parts are annihilated, that is when all the individual souls attain to the knowledge of Brahman8.
Appayya Dikshita in his Siddhantalesa-sangraha in the very first topic expounds the view that the injunction as regards the study of Vedanta, reflection, and meditation contained in the Upanishadic text that ‘Atman is to be seen, heard, reflected on and meditated upon’ is an apurva-vidhi; and, this is the view of Anubhutisvarupa9.
It may be added here that the author of the Vivarana maintains that there is niyama-vidhi, while Vachaspatimisra holds that there is no injunction at all.
Anubhutisvarupa flourished in an age when post-Sankara Advaita had to contend against the Bhedabheda-vada of Bhaskara and the Nyaya-Vaiseshika. Anubhutisvarupa attacked bitterly Bhaskara who opposed the philosophy of Sankara. The Nyaya-Vaiseshika realists hold several categories all of which are not acceptable to the Advaitins. And, they form the target of attack for Anubhutisvarupa. By refuting the two schools mentioned above, Anubhutisvarupa rendered a solid service to the cause of Advaita.
1. See S.N. Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, pp. 46163.
2. See New Catalogus Catalogurum, Vol. 1, p. 159.
3. See Gleanings from Prakatartha by Prof. M.Hiriyanna, JORM. Vol. 15.
4. Brahma-sutra Sankara-Bhashya with the commentaries Ratnaprabha, Bhamati and Nyayanirnaya, Nirnaya Sagar Edn. 1904, p. 311.
5. Dr. T.M.P. Mahadevan, The Philosophy of Advaita, p. 229
6. Prakatartha-vivarana, Madras University Sanskrit series No. 9, Vol. I, p. 3
7. Ibid., p. 4.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid, p. 989.
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