In Adoration of the Self (The Haristuti of Sankara with the Commentary Hari-tattva-muktavali of Svayamprakasayati) (An Old and Rare Book)

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About the Book

Sankara in his Haristuti has set forth in forty-four verses the basic doctrines of the Upanisads, the Bhagavad-gita and the Vedanta-sutras. Svayamprakasayati in his commentary Hari-tattva-muktavali on it his given in a lucid and readable style coupled with great erudition and scholarship a detailed, judicious account of Advaita by identifying and discussing the scriptural texts implied in the text. The present work, In Adoration of the Self contains the text of the Haristuti with the commentary Hari-tattva-muktavali along with Introduction, English translation of the verses and Indices.

About the Author

Dr. N. Veezhinathan, former Professor of Sanskrit, University of Madras is at present, a Jawaharlal Nehru Research Fellow.

Foreword

Not only is Advaita a total philosophy, but i is also systematic and edifying. It is a total philosophy, because it deals with all the three metaphysical categories - Brahman, jiva, and he world - which constitute the entire subject matter of philosophy. Instead of dealing, in a piecemeal way, with the three categories, it raises the most basic question - the question of all questions - about Brahman-Atman by knowing which everything is known. Thus the total philosophy it formulates following the Upanisadic tradition is integral. Its analysis of the basic metaphysical categories is supported by a full-fledged, epistemological inquiry, which is both rigorous and systematic. I t is at the same time edifying as it is intended, as Sankara observes at the end of his adhyasa-bhasya, to help the jiva overcome its finitude caused by avidya and achieve spiritual transcendence by realizing Brahman-Atman, which is the sole reality.

Sankara elucidated the teachings of the Upanisads and consolidated the tradition of Advaita through his numerous writings. He wrote commentaries on the prasthana-traya.

Also, he wrote independent manuals such as the Atma-bodha, Upadesa-sahari, and so on, which serve as good introductions to Advaita. In addition to these, he composed hymns of various kinds with a view to help those who are inclined to study shorter works free of arguments, objections, and replies characteristic of standard philosophical treatises. The Haristuti belongs to the third category of the writings of Sarikara.

The present work, In Adoration of the Self, brought out by Professor N. Veezhinathan, a specialist in Vedanta and Nyaya, contains the text of the Haristuti and Svayamprakasayati's commentary on it called Hari-tattva-muktavali along with introduction, English translation of the forty-four verses of the Haristuti, and indices. After introducing the text and its commentary, Professor Veezhinathan explains the teachings of Advaita under three major heads: (1) the Self and the world; (2) jiva and Isvara; and (3) liberation and the means thereto. He supports the doctrines and arguments of Advaita by citing the relevant texts of the Upanisads. The concept of maya-avidya plays an important role in the metaphysics, epistemology, and soteriology of Advaita. Though Brahman is one and non-dual, it is spoken of in two forms as Nirguna-Brahman and Saguna-Brahman for the purpose of metaphysical analysis. One cannot understand the significance and importance of the distinction between the two forms of Brahman without understanding the true nature and function of maya-avidya. After explaining at length the nature of Brahman-Atman and its relation to the world (pp. 8-17), Professor Veezhinathan explains the problems such as the ontological status, locus, and function of maya-avidya (pp. 17- 21) with a view to show how the acosmic Brahman becomes cosmic and also how it gets divided, as it were, into Isvara and jiva due to the work of maya-avidya. Since textual interpretation is necessary in order to formulate and support the arguments for Advaita, Professor Veezhinathan explains the method of interpretation of some important Upanisadic texts.

Preface

It gives me immense pleasure in presenting to the world of scholars this edition of the text, Haristuti of Sankara, with the commentary, Hari-tattva-muktavali by Svayamprakasayati. The Haristuti sets forth in forty-four verses, each one in the Mattamayura metre, the basic doctrines of the Upanisads, the Bhagavad-gita and the Vedanta-sutra.

This edition is based on seven paper manuscripts in Devanagari script, five of which belong to the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, and two, to the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune.

The present edition consists of four parts. In Part I which is the Introduction, the basic doctrines of Advaita, as could be gleaned from the text and the commentary, are presented. Part II contains the English translation of the verses of the Haristuti. Part III consists of the text of the Haristuti with the commentary Hari-tattva-muktavali And, Part IV contains alphabetical index of quotations in the commentary and an index of the verses of the Haristuti.

I offer my most respectful salutations at the lotus-feet of Their Holinesses, The Sages of Kanci, All my activities in the pursuit of my study of Advaita and the publications relating thereto have been possible only through the benign grace of Their Holinesses.

The preparation of the edition of this text of Haristuti with the commentary of Svayamprakasayati, as a-part of the research project “ The Advaita Vedanta of Sankara: A Textual Study of Its Fundamental Concepts” has been possible because of the award of the Jawaharlal Nehru Research Fellowship, for which I am extremely grateful to the authorities of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi.

To my revered preceptor Sri Tediyur Krishnamurti Sastriyar, who initiated me into the Sankrit language in my early childhood and to whom I owe my knowledge of Sankrit, I offer my salutations. To Sri Visvanatha Sarma under whom I have been studying Vyakarana, I express my gratitude for his help and guidance in the preparation of the Sanskrit text.

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