A History Of The Dvaita School Of Ved Nta And Its Literature From The 15th Century To Our Own Time

This study offers a panoramic view of the creative, expository, interpretive, dialectic, polemical, didactic and devotional phases of Dvaita philosophy, and its literature with a clear chronological setting of literary, historical and epigraphic materials. Written in lucid style it presents a vigorous and sparkling historical exposition of the mighty currents of Realistic Theism, originating in the Vedic and post-Vedic sources of Madhva philosophy finding their culmination in the Dvaita Vedanta of Madhvacarya, and the long line of his great commentators and followers, over a period of seven centuries from the thirteenth century onwards.

Deepak Sarma completes the first outline in more than fifty years of India's key philosophical traditions, inventively sourcing seminal texts and clarifying language, positions, and issues. Organized by tradition, the volume covers six schools of orthodox Hindu philosophy: Mimamsa (the study of the earlier Vedas, later incorporated into Vedanta), Vedanta (the study of the later Vedas, including the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads), Sankhya (a form of self-nature dualism), Yoga (a practical outgrowth of Sankhya), and Nyaya and Vaisesika (two forms of realism). It also discusses Jain philosophy and the Mahayana Buddhist schools of Madhyamaka and Yogacara. Sarma maps theories of knowledge, perception, ontology, religion, and salvation, and he details central concepts, such as the pramanas (means of knowledge), pratyaksa (perception), drayvas (types of being), moksa (liberation), and nirvana. Selections and accompanying materials inspire a reassessment of long-held presuppositions and modes of thought, and accessible translations prove the modern relevance of these enduring works.