Essay name: Bhakti-rasayana by Madhusudana Sarasvati
Author:
Lance Edward Nelson
Affiliation: McMaster University / Religious Studies
This is a study and English translation of the Bhakti-rasayana by Madhusudana Sarasvati (16th century)—one of the greatest and most vigorous exponents of Advaita after Shankara-Acharya who was also a great devotee of Krishna. The Bhaktirasayana attempts to merge non-dualist metaphysics with the ecstatic devotion of the Bhagavata Purana, by asserting that Bhakti is the highest goal of life and by arguinng that Bhakti embodies God within the devotee's mind.
Page 385 of: Bhakti-rasayana by Madhusudana Sarasvati
385 (of 553)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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NOTES: INTRODUCTION 373 22 Ganganatha Jha, trans. The Advaitasiddhi of
Madhusudana Sarasvatī (Allahabad: The Belevedere Steam
Printing Works, 1917), vol. I, pt. 1., "Preliminary Note."
23M. Hirayanna, Outlines of Indian Philosophy
(Bombay: George Allen & Unwin [India] Private Ltd., 1973),
p. 341.
24 vanśībhÅ«á¹£itakarÄn navanÄ«radÄbhÄt pÄ«tÄmbarÄd
aruṇabimbaphaladharoá¹£á¹hÄt pÅ«rṇendusundaramukhÄd
aravindanetrÄt kṛṣṇÄt param kim api tattvam aham na jÄne.
This verse, which is frequently quoted, is also found at the
end of the GAD (Pan, p. 775). BrahmÄnanda, a disciple of
NÄrÄyaṇa TÄ«rtha, writes in his LaghucandrikÄ on this portion
of the AS: "Even though a jIvanmukta the teacher remembers
Śrī Kṛṣṇa because of the impressions of worship acquired
previously; hence this verse" (jIvanmukto 'pi ÄcÄryaá¸�
pÅ«rvasañcitabhajanavÄsanayÄ Å›rÄ«kṛṣṇam smarati--vaṇśītyÄdi,
quoted by Mishra, p. 233 [my trans.]). Though these remarks
are evidence that the verse was indeed an original part of
the text, the idea expressed seems to miss the point.
Madhusūdana taught, as we shall see, that bhakti was a
natural and highly desirable enhancement of the state of
liberation-in-life, not a mere hold-over from the previous
condition of ignorance.
25I am indebted to Venkateswaran for his analysis of
the implications of the appearance of this verse at this
point in the Advaitasiddhi (T. K. Venkateswaran, "RÄdhÄ-
Krishna Bhajanas of South India: A Phenomenological,
Theological, and Philosophical Study," in M. Singer, ed.,
Krishna: Myths, Rites, and Attitudes [Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1968], pp. 148-151.
26 dhyÄnÄbhyÄsavas Ä«ká¹›tena manasã tan nirguṇam
niṣkriyam jyoti� kimcana yogino yadi param paśyanti paśyantu
te / asmÄkam tu tad eva locanacamatkÄrÄya bhÅ«yÄc ciram
kÄlindÄ«pulinodare kim api yan nilam maho dhÄvati, GAD 13,
invocation; Pan, 522.
27 For a discussion of the authenticity and
chronology of Madhusudana's works, see Divanji, pp. ii-xiii;
Gupta, pp. vii-xvi; Modi, pp. 27-54. Following Modi, his
major works may be ordered as follows: VKL, SB,
Mahimnastotraá¹Ä«kÄ, SSSS, BR, BhÄgavatapurÄṇaprathamaÅ›loka-
vyÄkhyÄ, AS, GAD, ARR.
28 The Vallabhadigvijaya, a biography of the great
Vaiṣṇava theologian, is generally hostile towards Advaita.
Nevertheless, it includes an account of an amicable meeting
between Madhusūdana and Vallabha. "Madhusūdana shows him the
