Vijnanabhiksu

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Vijñānabhikṣu (also spelled Vijnanabhikshu) was a Hindu philosopher from Bihar, variously dated to the 15th or 16th century,^[1][2] known for his commentary on various schools of Hindu philosophy, particularly the Yoga text of Patanjali.^[3][4] His scholarship stated that there is a unity between Vedānta, Yoga, and Samkhya philosophies,^[5][6] and he is considered a significant influence on Neo-Vedanta movement of the modern era.^[7]

Philosophy

Vijnanabhiksu wrote commentaries in the 15th century on three different schools of Indian philosophy:

According to Andrew Fort, Vijnanabhiksu's commentary is Yogic Advaita, since his commentary is suffused with Advaita-influenced Samkhya-Yoga. Vijnanabhiksu discusses, adds Fort, a spiritually liberated person as a yogic jivanmukta.^[6][9]

Influence

Nicholson mentions Vijnanabhiksu as a prime influence on 19th century Indology and the formation of Neo-Vedanta.^[7] According to Nicholson, already between the twelfth and the sixteenth century,

... certain thinkers began to treat as a single whole the diverse philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, epics, Puranas, and the schools known retrospectively as the "six systems" (saddarsana) of mainstream Hindu philosophy.^[10]

The tendency of "a blurring of philosophical distinctions" has also been noted by Mikel Burley.^[11] Lorenzen locates the origins of a distinct Hindu identity in the interaction between Muslims and Hindus,^[12] and a process of "mutual self-definition with a contrasting Muslim other",^[13] which started well before 1800.^[14] Both the Indian and the European thinkers who developed the term "Hinduism" in the 19th century were influenced by these philosophers.^[10]

Works

Little good work has been written in English on Vijñānabhikṣu, and most of the texts in his large corpus have yet to be edited and published in Sanskrit, let alone translated into English.^{[citation needed]}

Major works

Some major texts attributed to Vijnanabhiksu include:^[15]

• Vijnanamritabhashya ("The Nectar of Knowledge Commentary", commentary on
  Badarayana's Brahma Sutras
  )
• Ishvaragitabhashya ("Commentary on the Ishvara Gita")
• Sankhyasara ("Quintessence of the
  Sankhya
  ")
• Sankhyasutrabhashya ("Commentary on the
  Sankhya Sutras" of Kapila
  )
• Yogasarasamgraha ("Compendium on the Quintessence of Yoga")
• Yogabhashyavarttika ("Explanation of the Commentary on the
  Yoga Sutras" of Vyasa
  )

• Ganganatha Jha, Yogasarasamgraha of Vijnanabhiksu, New Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1995.
• José Pereira, Hindu Theology: A Reader, Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. Includes translated excerpts from Vijnanamritabhashya and Sankhyasutrabhashya.
• T. S. Rukmani, Yogavarttika of Vijnanabhiksu, New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1981.
• Nandalal Sinha, The Samkhya Philosophy, New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1979. Contains a complete translation of Vijnanabhikshu's Sankhyasutrabhashya.
• Shiv Kumar, Samkhyasara of Vijnanabhiksu, Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1988.

See also

• Unifying Hinduism (book)

References