Siddhanta Bindu of Srimat Madhusudana Sarasvati (An Old and Rare Book)

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About the Author Sriman Madhusudana Sarasvati (c. 1520- 1627), the author of the text is one of the classical writers on Advaita Vedanta. His best known work Advaitasiddhi along with the commentary on it by Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati, called Laghucandrika and popularly known as Brahmdnanda is considered the high-watermark of Advaita dialectics.

Foreword The Siddhdnta-bindu of Madhusudana Sarasvati is a valuable introduction to the study of Advaita- It is valuable for two reasons. Being a commentary on Sankara's Dasasloka; it takes the reader to Sankara, the perennial source of inspiration to all those who are interested in Advaita. It also helps the' reader to have a taste of the style and argumentative , skill of Madhusudana, one of the masterminds of the school of Advaita.

The Dasaloka, also known as Cidhnanda-dasa- sloks, which consists of ten verses, brings out the nature of the Self which is no other than Brahman, , distinguishing it from the not-self, which is unreal, insentient, and finite. Sankara says that the Self is one (eka), auspicious (siva), free from attributes (kevala or nirdharmaka) and eternal, i.e. what remains for ever without getting sublated (avastha). The Siddhsnta-bindu written by Madhusudana is a com- mentaryon the Dasasloka- Madhusudana not only explains the meaning of each verse of the 'original text, but also elucidates the• various aspects off’s the Advaita school. Though the commentary is called "Siddhanta-bindu", which means, "a drop of the doctrine", it is indeed a summary or digest of several aspects of the Advaita doctrine. Hence its importance and value.

Swami Acalananda's translation of the Siddhanta- bindu is lucid and faithful to the original. The notes he has provided will be helpful in understanding the technical terms and problems. I am sure that this edition of the text with translation will be useful to both scholars and laymen interested in Advaita.

Introduction Sri Madhusudana Sarasvatt is one of the classical writers on the Advaita Vedanta. His best known work is the Advaita-Siddhi. Together with the commentary on it by Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati, called Laghucandrikii but better known by its popular name Brahmananda, it is considered the high-water mark of Advaita dialectics.

Not much is known about the details of the life of this great saint scholar. But the little that is known is full of interest. Sri P. C. Diwanji of the Bombay Civil Service (judicial) places the date of his birth as 1540 A.D. He tells us also that the name of Madhusudana Sarasvatt is mentioned in the Ain-E-Akbari as the second among the wise men of the Hindus, the first being that of his guru, Madhava Sarasvati. And Sri Rajendranath Ghosh, in the very elaborate introduction to the Bengali translation of the Advaita-Siddhi places the date of his birth Between 1525 and 1530. In view of the fact that when he left for Navadveepa as a very young man determined to enter the monastic order under the guidance of Sri Chaitanya Maha- prabhu (1485-1532) the latter was presumably still alive. it may be necessary to advance the date of birth to 1520. It is agreed by all that he lived for a hundred and seven years.

He was born in a village near Kotalipara in the Far idpur District of East Bengal, now Bangladesh, in a family of erudite scholars, probably followers of the vaishnava faith. The father's name was Pramodana Purandaracarya, The young man, the third of four sons, was named Kamalanayana.

Receiving his early education from his father and making very rapid progress with it, Kamalanayana resolved, even as a very young man, to dedicate his life to the pursuit of truth and to renounce the worldly life, to enable him to concentrate on his aim, without the distraction of having to maintain a family.

**Contents and Sample Pages**