The Sri Bhashya () is the most famous work of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

philosopher

Ramanuja Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...

(1017–1137). It is his commentary on Badarayana's Vedanta/Brahma Sutra.

Description

In his commentary, Ramanuja presents the fundamental philosophical principles of

Vishishtadvaita Vishishtadvaita (IAST '; ) is a school of Hindu philosophy belonging to the Vedanta tradition. Vedanta refers to the profound interpretation of the Vedas based on Prasthanatrayi. Vishishta Advaita, meaning "non-duality with distinctions", is a ...

based on his interpretation of the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

and other Smriti texts, the previous acharyas, and the Vedanta-sutra itself. This is done by way of refuting Shankara's Advaita Vedanta and in particular his theory of maya. In this work, he describes the three categories of reality (tattvas): God, soul, and matter, which have been used by the later Vaishnava theologians such as

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 ...

. He explains the relationship between the body and the soul. The principles of

bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

as a means to liberation (moksha) were also developed. Ramanuja wrote the Vedanta-Dipa and Vedanta-Sara to aid in the overall understanding of the Sri Bhashya.

Purvapaksha

In Sri Bhashya 1.1.1, Ramanuja states and then refutes the Advaitic position that pure, undifferentiated consciousness, or Brahman, is the sole reality, equated with Being itself. In this view, the apparent plurality of the world is attributed to avidya (ignorance), a beginningless and inexplicable force that conceals Brahman's true nature and creates the illusion of distinction. Everything apart from Brahman, including acts of knowledge and objects, is deemed false and conceptual constructs. Ramanuja criticizes this view for invalidating ordinary experience.

References

Sources

*Hajime Nakamura and Trevor Leggett, ''A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy'', Vol 2, New Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass (1983) *Advaita Ashrama (2003). Brahma-Sutras According to Sri Ramanuja.

External links

Overview of Sribhashya by S.S. Raghavachar

Translation of Sribhashya by George Thibaut
* '' Sruta Pradipika, ''Sanskrit commentary on Sribhashya by Sudarsana Suri with detailed English introduction Hindu texts 11th-century books Vedanta Vishishtadvaita Vedanta Hindu philosophy {{Hindu-philo-stub

Description

Purvapaksha

See also

References

Sources

External links