Śāstrasiddhāntaleśasaṅgraha
From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia
By Swami Harshananda
Śāstrasiddhāntaleśasaṅgraha is a well-known and popular work of Appayya Dikṣita[1] It is also known as Siddhāntaleśa-sañgraha. It is a comprehensive survey of the doctrinal interpretations and arguments as formulated by post-Śaṅkara advaitins. Though called as a ‘saṅgraha’[2] it is quite exhaustive. There are four paricchedas or chapters. A very brief summary of the four paricchedas is:
Content of Śāstrasiddhāntaleśasaṅgraha[edit]
First Pariccheda[edit]
It includes the following topics:
- Nature of Brahman
- Distinction between īśvara and jīvas
- Problem of causality of the world
- Nature and locus of avidyā and māyā
- Nature and scope of vidhi[3] in respect of Vedāntic study.
Second Pariccheda[edit]
It delineates the following topics:
- Relative importance of Śruti[4] and pratyakṣa[5]
- Acceptance of authority of the Śruti
- Nature of svapna or dream and bhrama or erroneous cognition
- Dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda
- Refutation of the theories that a jīva[6] is aṇu[7] and is different from Brahman.
Third Pariccheda[edit]
It includes the following topics:
- Means of mukti or liberation
- Utility of karma or duties
- Need for sanyāsa or monastic life
- Discussion about mulā-jñāna[8]
Fourth Pariccheda[edit]
This section includes the following:
- Jīvanmukti
- Dispelling of avidyā or ignorance
- Permanence of mokṣa or liberation
- Nature of liberation in the context of ekajīvavāda and anekajivavāda
Commentary on Śāstrasiddhāntaleśasaṅgraha[edit]
The work has an excellent commentary in the name of Kṛālañkāra by Acyutakṛṣṇānanda Tīrtha.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore