Shiva Advaita

Samkhya	Kapila;
Yoga	Patanjali;
Vaisheshika	Kaṇāda, Prashastapada;
Secular	Valluvar;

Shiva Advaita (Devanagari:शिवाद्वैत, Tamil: சிவாத்துவிதம், Śivāttuvidam, Kannada: ಶಿವಾದ್ವೈತ, Śivādvaita), also known as Śiva Viśiṣṭādvaita or Shaivite qualified nondualism,^[1]^[2] refers to Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya's (dated 11th-15th century CE^[3]^[4]^[2]^[5]^[6]^[7]) Southern India Shaivite commentary on the Brahma Sutras, which considers Shiva supreme,^[5] and to Appayya's 16th century CE^[8] commentary on Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya's stance.^[9]

Origins

Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya (also known as Nīlakaṇṭha Śivācārya) composed the Srikanta Bhashyam,^[10] a commentary on the Brahma Sutras, which became known as Śivādvaita.^[11] The time frame of Śrīkaṇṭha's work is not exactly known, but it is argued to fall somewhere between the 11th and 11 century,^[3]^[4]^[2]^[5]^[6]^[7] with the 14th to 15th century being more likely, according to Duquette.^[12]^[a] Sri Appayya Dikshita (16th century CE^[8]) contributed further to Shiva Advaita by expounding Śrīkaṇṭha's philosophy in his Sivarka Mani Dipika.^[11]

Tenets

The theory of Śivadvaita resembles very closely Ramanuja's Viśiṣṭādvaita non-dualism doctrine,^[b] but differs in who is considered Supreme. While Ramanuja considers Vishnu to be supreme, Śrīkaṇṭha considers Shiva supreme.^[11]^[2]^[11] While Śrīkaṇṭha does not deny Nirguna Brahman, which is central to Advaita,^[12], he affirms the supremacy of Saguna Brahman, typical of qualified non-dualism. However, Appayya affirms a form of pure non-dualism, and recasts Śrīkaṇṭha's work in an effort to establish Shiva Advaita in his Śivādvaitanirṇaya.^[12]

Notes

^ Kasivasi Senthinatha Iyer places it in the 7th century, arguing that it appeared before all the Bhashyams like Shankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva.^[13]
^ Compared to the Smārta tradition of Advaita, which regards Shiva as a manifestation of saguṇa Brahman ultimately dissolving into the impersonal nirguṇa Brahman, Srikanta’s Shiva Advaita is more sectarian and theistic, emphasizing Shiva as the unique and supreme Parabrahman.

References

^ Chaudhuri 1962, p. 2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Subramuniyaswami 2003, p. 1223.
^ ^a ^b Radhakrishna 1960, pp. 66.
^ ^a ^b Chaudhuri 1962, p. 7.
^ ^a ^b ^c Johnson 2009.
^ ^a ^b Dalal 2014.
^ ^a ^b Duquette 2016, p. 68, note 2.
^ ^a ^b Duquette 2016, p. 67.
^ Duquette 2016, p. 68, note 1.
^ Kantha 1897.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ramesan 1972, p. 67.
^ ^a ^b ^c Duquette 2016.
^ தமிழில் காசிவாசி செந்திநாதையர் (2005). பிரமசூத்திர சிவாத்துவித சைவபாடியம்.

Sources