By Swami Harshananda
Maṇḍana Miśra lived in circa CE 750-800. According to the traditional biographies of Śaṅkara (CE 788-820) like the Sañkaravijaya of Mādhava-Vidyāraṇya (CE 1350), Maṇḍana Miśra was a disciple of the well-known Mīmāṅsā scholar Kumārila Bhaṭṭa (8th century CE). He was defeated by Śaṅkara in disputation and became his disciple. After taking Sanyāsa, he was given the name Sureśvarācārya. His wife also became a sanyāsinī disciple of Śaṅkara under the name Ubhayabhāratī.
However, this has been disputed by the modern scholars. Since Maṇḍana Miśra was the author of a well-known work on Advaita Vedānta, the Brahmasiddhi. It is possible that he also was a Vedāntin, though holding views different from those of Śaṅkara.
According to these scholars, Sureśvarācārya was a different person whose original name was Viśvarupa. The works attributed to Maṇḍana, all on the Mimāñsā, are:
Umbeka, a disciple of Kumārila, has written a commentary on Bhāvanāviveka.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore