Vāchaspati Miśra | |
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| Personal life | |
| Born | 9th/10th century CE[1][2][3] |
| Died | unknown, 9th/10th century CE[1] |
| Spouse | Bhamati |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Advaita Vedanta, Hinduism |
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Vachaspati Mishra (IAST: Vācaspati Miśra), was a ninth or tenth century[1][2][3]Indian Hinduphilosopher of theAdvaita Vedanta tradition, who wrotebhashya (commentaries) on key texts of almost every 9th-century school ofHindu philosophy.[4][3] and harmonised Shankara's thought with that of Mandana Miśra, who until the 10th century was the most authoritative exponent of Advaita Vedanta. He also wrote an independent treatise on grammar,Tattvabindu, orDrop of Truth, which focuses onMīmāṃsā theories of sentence meaning.
Vāchaspati Misra was born into aMaithil Brahmin family inAndhra Tharhi,Madhubani,Bihar.[5][3] Little is known about Vāchaspati Miśra's life, and the earliest text that has been dated with certainty is from 840 CE, and he was at least one generation younger thanAdi Śaṅkara.[2] However, an alternate date for the same text may be 976 CE, according to some scholars; a confusion that is based on whetherHindu Śaka orVikrama era calendar is used for the dating purposes.[3]
He was a student ofMaṇḍana Miśra, who was his main inspirator. He harmonised Shankara's thought with that of Mandana Miśra.[6][web 1] According to Advaita tradition, Shankara reincarnated as Vachaspati Miśra "to popularise the Advaita System through hisBhamati."[7]
He wrote so broadly on various branches of Indian philosophy that later Indian scholars called him the "one for whom all systems are his own", or in Sanskrit, asarva-tantra-sva-tantra.[8]
Vāchaspati Miśra was a prolific scholar and his writings are extensive, includingbhasyas (commentaries) on key texts of almost every 9th-century school ofHindu philosophy, with notes on non-Hindu ornāstika traditions such asBuddhism andCharvaka.[4][3]
Vāchaspati Miśra wrote theBhamati, a commentary on Shankara'sBrahma Sutra Bhashya, named after his devout wife,[9][10][a] and theBrahmatattva-samiksa, a commentary on Mandana Mishra'sBrahma-siddhi. The Bhamati Tika was explained byAmalananda Swami in his sub commentary calledKalpataru during 1300 AD. Similarly the sub commentary Kalpataru was explained byMahapandit Appaya Dikshit explained in his sub commentary calledParimal during 1600 AD.[12] In 1983, Dr Ishwar Singh ofMaharshi Dayanand University published a research book on Bhamati Tika known as "Bhamati: Ek Adhyayana". This book is an evaluation of Vachaspati Mishra in the context ofVedanta philosophy.[13]
Other influential commentaries areTattvakaumudi onSāṃkhyakārika;[14]Nyāyasucinibandha onNyāya-sūtras;[1]Nyāyakānika (an Advaita work on science of reason),Tattvasamikṣa (lost work),Nyāya-vārttika-tātparyaṭīkā (a subcommentary on theNyāya-sūtras),Tattva-vaiśāradī onYogasūtra.[3]
While some known works of Vāchaspati Miśra are now lost, numerous others exist. Over ninety medieval era manuscripts, for example, in different parts of India have been found of hisTattvakaumudi, which literally means "Moonlight on the Truth".[3] This suggests that his work was sought and influential. A critical edition ofTattvakaumudi was published by Srinivasan[who?] in 1967.[3]
InTattvabindu Vachaspati Mishra develops principles ofhermeneutics, and discusses the "Theory of Meaning" for the Mīmāṃsā school of Hindu philosophy.[3] This is an influential work, and attempted to resolve some of the interpretation disputes on classical Sanskrit texts. Vāchaspati examines five competing theories of linguistic meaning:[8][15]
The Bhamati school, orBhāmatī-Prasthāna,[16][17][18] is named after Vāchaspati Miśra's commentary on Shankara'sBrahma Sutra Bhashya,[web 1][web 2] but several distinctive can be traced back toMaṇḍana Miśra'sBrahmasiddhi. It sees theJiva as the source or locus ofavidya.[web 1] According to the Bhamati School, while "Brahman is the object of Avidya."[19] In the beginning of the Bhamati Tika, Vachaspati Mishra refers two kinds ofAvidya. There are as many ignorances (Avidya ) as living beings. This school acceptsAvchedavada (Excluding Distinction) regarding the nature of soul and God. Vachaspati Mishra considered that the Brahman bound by Maya (illusion) or Avidya is the living being, while the Brahman beyond Maya is God.[19]
It sees meditation as the main factor in the acquirement ofliberation, while the study of the Vedas and reflection are additional factors.[20] Vachaspati Mishra belonged to a tradition of Advaita Vedanta known asPrasankhyanavada which believed in the "Dhyana Theory". It is the theory of continuous meditation. According to this theory, unlike the theory propounded by theSamuccayavādins, the performance of Karmas does not contribute to the attainment of "Brahman-Knowledge". According to this theory one should renounce performances of all the Karmas before going to start the practice of meditation. The practice of meditation is on the meaning of themahavakya(great sentence) "Tat Tvam Asi" ofUpanishad text. Vachaspati Mishra similar toMandan Mishra believed that there should be no injunction during the practice of meditation because right knowledge ofVedantic teaching may be sublated by incorrect knowledge during the ordinary life.[21]
