A STUDY OF RATNAPRABHA

Vedanta Philosophy ,the philosophy based on the concluding part of the Vedas, i.e. . Upanishads occupies a prominent place among the orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy. The edifice of the entire Vedanta system is built mainly upon the trio of works, viz. The Upanishads, The Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad-Gita which are also known as Prasthana Traya.

Taking the above works as the basis, Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva and others established their own theories such as Advaita , Visistadvaita, Dwaita. The greatness of Advaita is well known. The essence of Advaita Vedanta can be summarized as

“Brahman is the reality

The world is unreal and

Jiva is not other than Brahman Itself”

The commentary of Sankara on Brahma-sutras was itself commentated by many scholars. Padmapada wrote a commentary, viz, Panchapadika which was further elaborated by Prakasatmayati of Vivarana school of thought. Vachaspati Misra wrote an excellent commentary, viz. Bhamati which was later commentated by many scholars and which also stands as a main source of Bhamati school of thought. Though there a re some theoretical differences between these two schools they are one in respect of the uniqueness of Brahman.

Among the many Commentaries on Sankara’s Bhasya on the Brahma Sutras, Ramananda’s Ratnaprabha is unique. Ramananda the author of Ratnaprabha was a versatile Scholar in many disciplines such as Nyaya, Mimansa, and Vedanta. His Ratnaprabha, being a comprehensive commentary, is studied with appreciation by both students and scholars of Advaita Vedanta. Ramananda studied all the commentaries of his time and he himself wrote a treatise meant for those who cannot study all the works in order to understand for the doctrine of Advaita. In writing Ratnaprabha the VIVARANA school of thought was followed. The author not only appears to be a follower of Vivarana but also an opponent of Bhamati.

In this present work a humble attempt was made to bring out the origin and development of Advaita Vedanta , the main concepts of Advaita like Adhyasa, Khyati, nature of Maya and Avidya, removal of Avidya, means of knowledge ,Concepts of Moksha and Jivanmukthi in the light of Ratnaprabha Confining to chatussutri portion. The commentaries on Ratnaprabha, Purnandiya and Bhagadipika are also introduced.

Dr. ch. Durga Prasada Rao