Satyanatha Tirtha

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Satyanatha Tirtha
Dvaita,[note 1] Vaishnavism
Religious career
GuruSatyanidhi Tirtha
SuccessorSatyabhinava Tirtha
Disciples
Literary worksAbhinava Gada, Abhinava Tandava, Abhinava Chandrika[3]
HonorsAbhinava Vyasaraja
Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
Related
Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions
Part of
Dvaita
Saints
Haridasas
Literature
Mathas
Holy places
Hinduism portal

Satyanatha Tirtha (also known as Satyanatha Yati

B.N.K.Sharma wrote, "His energy and determination to crush out the rivalry of Monism is reflected even in the choice of the titles of some of his works, four of which go by the name "Paraśus" (the Axe)".[12]

Born into a family of scholars, Satyanatha Tirtha studied the

Advaita, while simultaneously elaborating upon the Dvaita thought.[12]
His dialectical skill and logical acumen is often compared with that of Vyasatirtha.

Historical sources

Information about Satyanatha Tirtha is derived from

pontiffs of some of the mutts at Udupi and of Satyabhinava Tirtha , Satyanatha Tirtha and others.[17] The Alaṅkāramauktikamālā of Kṛṣṇa is another work which eulogises Satyanatha Tirtha.[18]

Biography

Udupi Sri Krishna Matha, a centre of Madhva Siddhanta

B.N.K. Sharma says,[note 4] Satyanatha Tirtha was originally named Narasimhacharya. He was born into an Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family of scholars in 1648 in Miraj, now in the southern part of Maharashtra. His father's name was Krishnacharya and his mother's name was Rukmini Bai. Author S. K. Badrinath gives Satyanatha Tirtha's former name as Raghunathacharya in his biography on Satyanatha Tirtha.[19][4] Before becoming pontiff of the monastic institution Uttaradi Math, he was known by three names after taking Sannyasa. He was first ordained Sannyasa as an ordinary ascetic with the name Vidyanatha Tirtha by Krishnadwaipayana Tirtha (the disciple of Vedavyasa Tirtha), for second time he was named Ranganatha Tirtha by Dandaparivritti of Vedanidhi Tirtha and finally for the third time by Satyanidhi Tirtha, with the name Satyanatha Tirtha.[19] In 1660 he took the seat of Uttaradi Math as the peetadhipathi, taking the name Satyanatha Tirtha.

According to the account in Sagara Ramacharya's Koñkanasthabhyudaya, Satyanatha Tirtha visited

Gayapalas, who had been converted to Madhvism by his predecessor Vidyadhisha Tirtha.[4] Satyanatha ordained sannyasa to Keshavacharya (the Purvashrama name of Satyabhinava Tirtha) in 1673. In the same year Satyabhinava Tirtha succeeded Satyanatha Tirtha as the pontiff of Uttaradi Math.[6][20] After Satyanatha Tirtha died in 1674, his mortal remains were enshrined in the mutt at Veeracholapuram, a village in Tamil Nadu
.

Works

"He was a powerful and prolific writer and a noted controversialist in logic and theology."

— Indologist

B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma on Satyanatha Tirtha[21]

Satyanatha Tirtha authored twelve works, consisting of

Abhinavamrita is a commentary on Jayatirtha's Pramana-Paddhati. Pramana-Paddhati is an epistemological work that discusses pramanas from the point of view of Dvaita Vedanta. His work Abhinavachandrika
is composed on the same lines of Vyasatirtha's Tatparya Chandrika, which is a commentary on Jayatirtha's Tattvaprakasika, which apart from elucidating the concepts of the source text, criticises the allegations against Madhva raised by
Abhinavatarkatandava is polemical tract written on same lines of Vyasatirtha's Tarka Tandava.[5] Satyanatha Tirtha also wrote glosses on the three Khandanas of Madhva. His commentaries on Dasaprakaranas texts are called Parasu, which is an indication of his intention to cut the opponents arguments to pieces. His works are referred as the Abhinava Granthas and Parashu Granthas.[12]

Name Description References
Abhinava Chandrika Super-commentary on the Tattvaprakāśikā of Jayatirtha, but an independent gloss [22]
Abhinavamrutha
 		Gloss on Pramāṇa-Paddhatī of Jayatirtha [23]
Abhinava Tarka Tandava
 		Independent polemical tract targeted towards the
Mimamsa and Nyaya
schools of Hindu philosophy 		[16]
Abhinava Gada Refutation of the works of Appayya Dikshita [23]
Māyāvādakhaṇḍana Parasu Gloss on Māyāvādakhaṇḍana of
Madhva
 [24]
Mithyatvanumana Khandana Parasu Gloss on Mithyatva-anumana Khandana of
Madhva
 [23]
Upaadhi Khandana Parashu Gloss on Upaadhi Khandana of
Madhva
 [23]
Nyaya Sudha Parashu Commentary on Nyaya Sudha of Jayatirtha [12]
Vijayamala Treatise on disconnected topics of general and special interests by taking certain passages from Brahma Sutra Bhasya, Māyāvādakhaṇḍanaṭikā,
Madhva, Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha
 [16]
Karmaprakashika Gloss on Karmaṅirṅayaṭikā of Jayatirtha [25]
Rupavatara Tippani Commentary on Ṛgbhāṣya Ṭikā of Jayatirtha [19]

Abhinava Chandrika

Brahma Sūtras). It is his magnum opus which runs to 12,500 stanzas. It is not in continuation of Tatparya Chandrika but an independent gloss, covering those portions (ch. I-II) commented upon by Vyasatirtha. Satyanatha refers in one of his introductory verses (no. 4) to Padmanabha Tirtha's Sattarkadipavali. 'In contrast to Vyasatirtha's Tatparya Chandrika, Satyanatha Tirtha here sets forth the Purvapaksha and Siddhanta views under each adhikarņa (or chapter), and offer criticisms on the former in accordance with the views of his teacher Satyanidhi Tirtha.[23] B.N.K Sharma wrote, "His dextrous way of explaining the example of "Ahikundala"[a] by constructing the term "vísesha" used by Jayatirtha in Tattvaprakasika in his twin senses of "visesa" and "bheda" is a masterstroke of resourcefulness".[12]

Abhinava Gada

classicist Glenn W. Most says, Abhinava-Gada is like a new mace which broke the heads of non-dualists like Appayya Dikshita.[26] B.N.K. Sharma wrote, "Abhinava Gada is a devastating criticism of Appaya's Madhvamatamukhamardhanam. He takes a bold stand on several points regarding interpretation of original texts he is commenting and anticipates fresh objections against the originals and knocks them down. He is fond of what he calls interpolations and corruptions in the texts and suggests his own emendations and justifies them with gusto".[12]

Abhinava Tandava

Dvaita system and refutes those of rival systems, especially those of Nyaya-Vaisheshikas, on the same lines of the original Tarka Tandava of Vyasatirtha. The work runs to 11,367 stanzas.[27]

Legacy

Gayawal Pandas
are priests

Satyanatha Tirtha is considered to be one of the foremost stalwarts of Dvaita thought. He is revered for his philosophical and dialectical thought, and his role in spreading the school of Dvaita across the subcontinent, especially in

Ramesh Chandra Majumdar wrote that Satyanatha Tirtha, Vadiraja Tirtha and Raghavendra Tirtha were the great scholars who enriched the literature of Dvaita considerably by their numerous contributions.[5]
Valerie Stoker considered Satyanatha Tirtha along with
Vijayendra Tirtha, Vadiraja Tirtha, Raghavendra Tirtha and Narayanacharya as prominent Dvaita intellectuals, who responded to their rivals critiques throughout sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[29]

Spread of Dvaita

B.N.K. Sharma credited Satyanatha Tirtha with converting remaining

Gaya, who had been converted to Madhvism by his predecessor Vidyadhisha Tirtha.[4]

Scholarly influence

Satyanatha Tirtha was significantly influenced by

Madhva, in that he borrowed from their style and method of enquiry.[12][23] He exerted considerable influence on his successors. Satyadhyana Tirtha's Chandrikamandana derives some of its aspects from Abhinava Chandrika.[30] Satyabhinava Tirtha's Durghata Bhavadipa, an exhaustive commentary on the Madhva's Bhagvata Tatparya Nirnaya, borrows some of its aspects from Satyanatha Tirtha's oeuvre.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Example of "serpent and the coil". Ahikundala here means 'coil'.
  1. ^ Dvaita (द्वैत) is a Sanskrit word for "duality" or "dualism".[1]
  2. ^ Some sources also spell the name as Madhvamatamukhamardana or Madhvamatamukhamardanam.[10]
  3. ^ B.N.K. Sharma noted a similarly named work Madhvamatamukhamardana, attributed to Nimbarka. So not to be confused with that.[11]
  4. ^ Abhinava Tarkatandava's Anumanakhandana was published by Kesavacarya in 1968. B.N.K. Sharma took the Bhumika section of this work about Satyanatha Tirtha's early life' as a reference.[19]

References

  1. ^ Monier-Williams 1872, p. 507.
  2. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 194.
  3. ^ Samuel 1997, p. 368.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Sharma 2000, p. 445.
  5. ^ a b c d Majumdar 1974, p. 615.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Sharma 2000, p. 501.
  7. ^ Prabhupada 1975, p. 1229.
  8. ^ Bhatnagar 1964, p. 131.
  9. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 346.
  10. ^ Mesquita 2008, p. xxvii.
  11. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 97.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sharma 2000, p. 446.
  13. ^ Sarma 1956, p. xxxvi.
  14. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 225.
  15. ^ Sarma 1956, p. xxxv.
  16. ^ a b c Sharma 2000, p. 448.
  17. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 573.
  18. ^ Samuel 1997, p. 208.
  19. ^ a b c d Sharma 2000, p. 652.
  20. ^ Glasenapp 1992, p. 240.
  21. ^ Sharma 1986, p. xxiii.
  22. ^ Sharma 2000, pp. 446–7.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Sharma 2000, p. 447.
  24. ^ Nakamura 1983, p. 125.
  25. ^ Lutjeharms 2018, p. 335.
  26. ^ Grafton & Most 2016, p. 108.
  27. ^ Sharma 2000, p. 488.
  28. ^ Sarma 2008, p. 457.
  29. ^ Stoker 2016, p. 162.
  30. ^ Potter 1983, p. 430.

Sources

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Satyanatha_Tirtha&oldid=1192986792"