By Swami Harshananda
The Vedānta-darśana, one of the six systems of philosophy, is based mainly on the Brahmasutras, which again is a work that systematizes the philosophical ideas occurring in the Upaniṣads.
Rāmānuja (A.D. 1107-1137) wrote an admirable commentary, the Śrībhāsya on the Brahmasutras according to the Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy and Vaiṣṇava religion. He is said to have acquired a copy of the Vrtti (gloss) on the Brahmasutras written by an ancient teacher Bodhāyana. The copy of Vrtti was quite voluminous and was faithfully followed by Rāmānuja while composing the Śrībhāsya.
Who this Bodhāyana was, is not known; nor is his work available. He is sometimes identified with Upavarṣa (also called Vṛttikāra), who again had been known as Kṛtakoṭi and Halabhuti also. He is said to have written a vṛtti on the Purvamimānsā-sutras also. However none of these has been universally accepted by the scholars in these fields. It is generally conceded that Bodhāyana was, historically speaking, the founder of Vaiṣṇava schools of philosophy.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore