Bhaskararaya
Bhaskara raya (Bhāskara rāya Makhin) (1690–1785) was a religious exponent and writer best known for his contributions to the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. He was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin[1] family at Hyderabad, Telangana. Bhaskara raya was welcomed by king Serfoji II of Bhonsle dynasty in South India, and thereupon he settled in Tamil Nadu.[2] According to Douglas Renfrew Brooks, a professor of Religion specializing in Shaktism studies, Bhaskara raya was "not only a brilliant interpreter of Srividya, he was an encyclopedic writer", and that he was a "thinker who had the wealth of Tantric and Vedic traditions at his fingertips".[2] He belonged to the Srividya tradition of the Shakta Tantrism.[3]
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Bhaskara raya is the attributed author of more than 40 and range from Vedanta to poems of devotion and from Indian logic and Sanskrit grammar to the studies of Tantra.[4] Several of his texts are considered particularly notable to the Shaktism tradition, one focussed on the Mother Goddess:
- Commentary on Tripura Upanishad and Bhavana Upanishad[4]
- Commentary on Devi Mahatmya, titled Guptavati.[5] Bhaskara raya, in his Guptavati, offers comments on 224 out of the 579 verses of the Devi Mahatmya.
- Varivasya Rahasya,[6] is a commentary on Sri Vidya mantra and worship. The Varivasya Rahasya contains 167 ślokas numbered consecutively. It has an accompanying commentary entitled "Prakāśa", also by Bhaskara raya.
- Setubandha is a technical treatise on Tantric practice. It is his magnum opus. It is a commentary on a portion of the Vāmakeśvara-tantra dealing with the external and internal worship of Tripura Sundari. This work was completed either in 1733 AD or in 1741 AD.
- "Soubhāgyabhāskara"is a commentary (bhāsya) on Lalita Sahasranama.[7][8] This work was completed in 1728 AD.
His Khadyota ("Firefly") commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama is considered authoritative by Ganapatya.[9]
The important events of Bhaskara raya's life is written by his disciple Jagannath Pandit or Umanandnath in Bhaskaravilas Kavyam.[10]
References
- Martin Gaenszle, Jorg Gengnagel (Ed.) (2006). Visualizing Space in Banaras: Images, Maps, and the Practice of Representation. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 90. ISBN 978-3447051873.
- Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1990). Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. pp. x–xii. ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
- Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1992). Auspicious Wisdom: The Texts and Traditions of Srividya Sakta Tantrism in South India. State University of New York Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7914-1145-2.
- Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1990). Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
- D Kali (2006). Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Goddess. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 18. ISBN 978-81-208-2953-4.
- Śrī Bhāskararāya Makhin. Varivasyā-Rahasya and Its Commentary Prakāśa. Edited with English Translation by Pandit S. Subrahmanya-Sastri. The Adyar Library Series: Volume Twenty-Eight. (The Adyar Library and Research Center: Adyar, Chennai, 1976) ISBN 81-85141-30-4. First Edition, 1934. This edition provides the full Sanskrit text for the Varivasyā-Rahasya and its associated commentary Prakāśa, both by the hand of Bhāskararāya.
- Lalitāsahasranāma, With Bhāskararāya's Commentary. English Translation By R. Ananthakrishna Sastry. (Gian Publishing House: Delhi, 1986) This edition provides the full Sanskrit text plus English interpretation.
- L. M. Joshi. Lalitā-Sahasranāma: A Comprehensive Study of Lalitā-Mahā-Tripurasundarī. (D. K. Printworld Ltd.: New Delhi, 1998) ISBN 81-246-0104-6. Provides an English translation based on Bhāskararāya's Commentary, with references to the Sanskrit source.
- Gaṇeśasahasranāmastotram: mūla evaṁ srībhāskararāyakṛta ‘khadyota’ vārtika sahita. (Prācya Prakāśana: Vārāṇasī, 1991). Includes the full source text and the commentary by Bhāskararāya in Sanskrit.
- "25. Shri Lalita Sahasra Nama Stotram Batuk Nath Khiste".