Of course, the references that Prof. Paturi gave to Śaṅkarācārya's etymological interpretations of the word māyā, drawn from his father's commentary on the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi, do not come from the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi. They come from Śaṅkarācārya's commentary on the Bhagavadgītā, chapter 15, verse 16, and from Śaṅkarācārya's commentary on the Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad and Gauḍapāda's Kārikā, chapter 3, verse 24. Both of these commentaries are regarded by scholars such as Sengaku Mayeda as being by the same Śaṅkarācārya who is the author of the Brahmasūtrabhāṣya.

"The Authenticity of the Bhagavadgītābhāṣya Ascribed to Śaṅkara," Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Süd- und Ostasiens, vol. 9, 1965, pp. 155-197.

"On the Author of the Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad- and the Gauḍapādīya-bhāṣya," Adyar Library Bulletin, vols. 31-32, 1967-68, pp. 73-94.

Best regards,

David Reigle
Colorado, U.S.A.


On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 1:21 PM Hartmut Buescher via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

But what, dear Nagaraj Paturi, has the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi to do with Śaṅkara,

the author of Brahmasūtrabhāṣya?

 

Better hesitate, investigate and be careful with your reply.

 

Best wishes, Hartmut

 

PS: Not to speak of contemporary, trans-national scholarship, but has your

respected father not been acquainted with (or perhaps rejected) the research

of Śrī Saccidānandendrasarasvatī of Holenarsipur?

 


On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 7:00 PM Nagaraj Paturi via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
>  māyāvāda indeed does not to belong to the many vādas alluded to by Śaṅkara himself, and especially
 to those by which he refers to his own teaching (veda-, vedānta-, brahma-, ātma-vāda). As pointed out by Paul Hacker, 
Śaṅkara has no specific theory of māyā (at least in the Brahmasūtrabhāṣya), but mostly uses the term in similes (much like the Buddhists).

--- Not to contradict the view " Śaṅkara has no specific theory of māyā" , but just to remember occasions where he gives meaning of the word, resorting to his favourite etymological approach, picking up from my father (Sitaramanjaneyulu Paturi)'s notes to his Telugu commentary on Viveka Chudamani,

अक्षरः - भगवन्मायाशक्तिः - क्षराख्यस्य ( वैराजस्य ) पुरुषस्य उत्पत्तिबीजम् - अनेक्संसारिजन्तुकामकर्मादिसंस्काराश्रयः ( गीताभाष्य -15 अध्यायः ) 

मायाभिः - इंद्रियप्रज्ञाभिः - अविद्यारूपाभिः ( भाष्य गौडपादकारिका  - अद्वैतप्रकरण कारिका 2) 

He seems to have taken माङ् - माने as the dhaatu for माया . In words such as निर्माण it has meanings related to  उत्पत्तिबीजम् ,  कर्मादि . as in गीताभाष्य above. 

In words such as प्रमाण, it has meanings related to  प्रज्ञा ,  विद्या  as in गौडपादकारिकाभाष्य above.