Sri Bhashya

File:Ramanuja contemplating his philosophy of the one personal god, A.D. 1100.jpg

Painting of Ramanuja, Hutchinson's History of the Nations

Template:Sidebar with collapsible listsTemplate:Short description The Sri Bhashya (Template:Langx) is the most famous work of the Hindu philosopher Ramanuja (1017–1137). It is his commentary on Badarayana's Vedanta/Brahma Sutra.

Description

In his commentary, Ramanuja presents the fundamental philosophical principles of Vishishtadvaita based on his interpretation of the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita 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. He explains the relationship between the body and the soul. The principles of bhakti 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.

See also

• Gita Bhashya
• Narayana sukta
• Shatadushani
• Vedarthasamgraha

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. Template:ISBN

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

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