Shiva Advaita

Shiva Advaita (Devanagari:शिवाद्वैत, Kannada: ಶಿವಾದ್ವೈತ, Śivādvaita), also known as Śiva Viśiṣṭādvaita or Shaivite qualified nondualism is a Shaivite school of philosophy from Southern India that was founded by Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya during the eighth century.^[1][2] According to this doctrine, the Shiva and the Brahman are the one and the same.^[3]

Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya (also known as Nīlakaṇṭha Śivācārya) wrote a commentary on Brahma Sutras, which became known as Śiva Viśiṣṭādvaita.^[4] The time-frame of Śrīkaṇṭha's work is not exactly known, but believed to be somewhere between 12th and 14th century.^[5] The theory of Śiva Viśiṣṭādvaita follows very closely Ramanuja's Viśiṣṭādvaita non-dualism doctrine, but differs in who is considered Supreme. Śrīkaṇṭha considers Shiva supreme. It is not known whether Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya's work was completed before or after Ramanuja's.^[4] Sri Appayya Dikshita contributed further to Shiva Advaita by expounding Śrīkaṇṭha's philosophy in his Sivarka mani dipika.^[4] Śrīkaṇṭha does not deny Nirguna Brahman, which is central to Advaita.^[5] In contrast to Śrīkaṇṭha, who considers his Brahma Sutra Bhasya Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified non-dualism), which affirms the supremacy of Saguna Brahman, Appayya affirms a form of pure non-dualism and recasting Śrīkaṇṭha's work in an effort to establish Shiva Advaita in his Śivādvaitanirṇaya.^[5]

References

1. Roshen Dalal (2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books. ISBN 9788184752779. Entry: "Shivadvaita"
2. Subramuniyaswami, Satguru Sivaya (2003). Merging with Śiva: Hinduism's contemporary metaphysics. Himalayan Academy Publications. pp. 924 pages(see page:844). ISBN 978-0-945497-99-8.
3. W. J. Johnson (2009). A Dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861025-0 – via Oxford Reference.
4. Ramesan, N. (1972). Sri Appayya Dikshita. Srimad Appayya Dikshitendra Granthavali Prakasana Samithi; [sole distributors: B. G. Paul, Madras. p. 67.
5. Duquette, Jonathan (2016). "Reading Non-Dualism in Śivādvaita Vedānta: An Argument from the Śivādvaitanirṇaya in Light of the Śivārkamaṇidīpikā". Journal of Indian Philosophy. 44 (1): 67–79. doi:10.1007/s10781-014-9231-x. ISSN 0022-1791. JSTOR 44157294. S2CID 171076332.