Advaita Kalanala (; ) is a Sanskrit work on

Dvaita Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST: ''Tattvavāda''), is a sub-school in the Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') trad ...

philosophy written by

Narayanacharya Narayanacharya Vaishvanathi (IAST:Nārāyaṇācārya Vaisvānati; was a 16th century Indian scholar and philosopher of Dvaita Vedānta tradition. He was the disciple of Vedavyasa Tirtha of Uttaradi Math and is the most celebrated name in the ...

. It is a refutation work for the theological controversies provoked by

Appayya Dikshita Appayya Dikshita (IAST '), 1520–1593 CE, was a performer of yajñas as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy but with a focus on Shiva or Shiva Advaita. Life Appayya Dikshitar was bo ...

's on Madhva Siddhanta. It runs to 8000 granthas (stanzas).

Overview

According to

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma, The first chapter of the work deals with certain initial defects of Advaita metaphysics such as its disrupt of

Pramana ''Pramana'' (; IAST: Pramāṇa) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".

s and non-acceptance of any fundamental criteria of validity and truth determination upon which the conduct of practical life is based; it's the arbitrary distinction of reality into absolute, phenomenal and apparent and the mutual divergence of views among the authorities of the school, on many crucial points of doctrine and detail. The second chapter is a spirited reply to certain miscellaneous allegations of Appayya against the trustworthiness of and acceptability of

Madhva Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ...

's interpretation of the Sutras such as, (i) his indifference to and misrepresentation of the principles of Vedic interpretation and

Mīmāṃsā ''Mīmāṁsā'' (Sanskrit: मीमांसा; IAST: Mīmāṃsā) is a Sanskrit word that means "reflection" or "critical investigation" and thus refers to a tradition of contemplation which reflected on the meanings of certain Vedic tex ...

exegesis; (ii) his fondness for untraceable Srutis and Smritis in support of his peculiar interpretations; and (iii) his glaring metrical flaws and lapses from correct grammar and usage of words. Nārāyaṇā refutes these charges with the solid array of facts and figures, indicating the correctness of Madhva's interpretations and their loyalty to genuine traditions of Vedic interpretations. The authenticity of the metrical forms and soundness of the grammatical forms impugned by the critic are upheld. The next two chapters are devoted to the justification of Purvapaksha of the opening Adhikarana of Brahma Sutras as developed by Madhva and his commentators against the refutations attempted by the critic. The last chapter deals with the criticisms on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Adhikaranas of

Brahma Sutras The ''Brahma Sūtras'' (), also known as the Vedanta Sūtra (Sanskrit: वेदान्त सूत्र), Shariraka Sūtra, and Bhikshu-sūtra, are a Sanskrit text which criticizes the metaphysical dualism of the influential Samkhya philos ...

and is wound up with a general review of criticisms on the rest of the Brahma Sutra Bhashya. Sharma says, it may be said that Narayanacharya has successfully repelled the criticisms of Appayya and shown them to be quite shallow and sentimental and based on irrelevant considerations. He has tried to put up an unexpurgated case for the soundness and acceptability of Madhva's interpretations of the Sutras. His intimate knowledge of several branches of learning and familiarity with the literature of Advaita and mutual differences of views among its exponents enable him to corner the critic at inconvenient angles and show that the criticisms leveled against Madhva's interpretations have no more than a "nuisance value" and are powerless to cause any permanent damage to their structure.

Legacy

B. N. K. Sharma Bhavani Narayanrao Krishnamurti Sharma (9 June 1909 – 2 July 2005), commonly known as B. N. K. Sharma or B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma, was an Indian writer, scholar, professor, and Indologist. Sharma was a professor and Head of the Department o ...

writes, "The ''Advaitakālānala'' is a scathing criticism of the ''Madhvamatamukhamardana'' of Appayya. The carping criticisms and bitter personal attacks of the Dikshita are vigorously returned by Narayana. He loses no opportunity to pay the critic in his coin and with compound interest. The tone of the work is thus retaliatory and bitingly sarcastic". American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Anthony Grafton Anthony Thomas Grafton (born May 21, 1950) is an American historian of early modern Europe and the Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University, where he is also the Director the Program in European Cultural Studies. He i ...

and

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Glenn W. Most Glenn Warren Most (born June 12, 1952 in Miami) is an American classicist and comparatist originating from the US, but also working in Germany and Italy. Most studied classics at Harvard University from 1968 on and received a B.A. Summa Cum L ...

considered the work ''Advaitakālānala'' along with the Abhinava-Gada of

Satyanatha Tirtha Satyanatha Tirtha (also known as Satyanatha Yati) (Sanskrit:सत्यनाथा तीर्थ); IAST:Śrī Satyanātha Tīrtha) (1648 – 1674), also called ''Abhinava Vyasaraja'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, theologian, logici ...

as a new mace which broke the heads of non-dualists like

References

Bibliography

* *{{Citation, title=Canonical Texts and Scholarly Practices: A Global Comparative Approach, first1=Anthony, last1=Grafton, first2=Glenn W., last2=Most, publisher=Cambridge University Press, year=2016, isbn=978-1107105980 Dvaita Vedanta Religious philosophical literature 17th-century Sanskrit literature