[INDOLOGY] Fw: Mandan Misra -SureshwarAcharya

[David and Nancy Reigle]

Dear Alakendu Das,

Since the story of Maṇḍana Miśra becoming Sureśvara is only found in some
religious biographies of Śaṅkarācārya, we cannot know for certain whether
it is fact or fiction. Therefore some scholars have tried to determine this
by comparing the writings of Maṇḍana Miśra and Sureśvara, and finding
references to them in other writings.

The first person to call into question the accepted tradition of their
identity seems to have been M. Hiriyanna in two articles, “Suresvara and
Mandana-Misra,” published in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain and Ireland, 1923, pp. 259-263, and 1924, pp. 96-97. After
some intervening articles on this topic by others, S. Kuppuswami Sastri, in
his long English Introduction to his 1937 Sanskrit edition of Brahmasiddhi
of Ācārya Maṇḍanamiśra, pp. xxiv-lvii, provided considerably more evidence
that the two are different individuals. Yet in the Foreword to that same
1937 book, pp. vi-ix, P. P. Subrahmanya Sastri countered this evidence and
maintained the traditional identity of the two. The debate has continued
ever since. Suffice it to give two examples.

R. Balasubramanian in his article, “Identity of Maṇḍanamiśra” (Journal of
the American Oriental Society, vol. 82, 1962, pp. 522-532), did not accept
as definitive Kuppuswami Sastri’s evidence that the two are different
individuals. He concluded, p. 532: “We can settle this question only if
there is more definite evidence than we have at present in favour of either
of the two views.”

Allan Wright Thrasher in his book, The Advaita Vedānta of Brahma-siddhi
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1993), wrote, p. 121: “I do not wish here to
reopen the debate on Maṇḍana’s identity with Sureśvara, which I consider to
have been settled once for all against their identity by Kuppuswami Sastri
in his introduction to the BS.” Thrasher gives a bibliography of the debate
in note 36 on pp. 155-156, with fuller references found in the Bibliography
to his book, including dates of publication. He also counters
Balasubramanian’s article in note 37, pp. 156-157.

Best regards,

David Reigle
Colorado, U.S.A.

On Fri, Mar 23, 2018 at 2:31 AM, alakendu das via INDOLOGY <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

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> -- Original Message --
>
> From: "alakendu das"mailmealakendudas at rediffmail.com
> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
> Subject: Fw: Mandan Misra -SureshwarAcharya
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: alakendu das <mailmealakendudas at rediffmail.com>
> To: <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date:
> Subject: Fw: Mandan Misra -SureshwarAcharya
> Note: Forwarded message attached
>
> -- Original Message --
>
> From: "alakendu das"mailmealakendudas at rediffmail.com
> To: INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk
> Subject: Mandan Misra -SureshwarAcharya
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: alakendu das <mailmealakendudas at rediffmail.com>
> To: <INDOLOGY at liverpool.ac.uk>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date:
> Subject: Mandan Misra -SureshwarAcharya
>
> To All,
>
> Can anybody may kindly enlighten me on the question as to whether the
> names Mandan Misra and
> SureshwarAcharya refer to the same person.? History has to say that Mandan
> Misra engaged himself in an
> ardous argumentation with Shankaracahrya ,while utimately accepting
> defeat, and was Re christened as
> SureshwaraAcharaya. Is this fact or fiction?
>
>
> ALAKENDU DAS.
>
>
>
>
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