Mādhva
- LAST REVIEWED: 24 April 2012
- LAST MODIFIED: 24 April 2012
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0064
- LAST REVIEWED: 24 April 2012
- LAST MODIFIED: 24 April 2012
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0064
Introduction
Mādhva Vedānta is a tradition of Vedānta that was developed in the 13th century in southwestern India at modern-day Udupi, by Madhvācārya (1238–1317 CE). The Mādhva school (also known as the Dvaita school) posits that the relationship between Brahman (Vishnu) and the ātman (individual self) is dvaita (dual). Furthermore, Madhvācārya, a realist, claims that the universe is governed by pañcabheda (five types of differences that are real and not illusory): “The universe has five [intrinsic] differences. There is a difference between [each] jīva (enduring self), and Lord [Vishnu]. There is a difference between Lord [Vishnu] and jaḍa (insentient material entities). There is difference between the individual jīvas. There is a difference between jīvas and jaḍas. There is a difference between one jaḍa and another. The [difference among these five] is real.” (Madhvācārya, Viṣṇutattva(vi)nirṇaya). Knowing this, and exhibiting the proper bhakti toward Vishnu, adherents can eventually obtain mokṣa (liberation) from saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and rebirth). While the Mādhva school is not as well known in the West as the school of Advaita founded by Śaṃkarācārya (788–820 CE), or the school of Viśiṣṭādvaita founded by Rāmānujācārya (1017–1137 CE), it is very well known in India, and the Udupi Śrī Kṛṣṇa temple, founded by Madhvācārya himself, is an important pilgrimage site.
General Overviews
The philosophical and historical overviews vary significantly in terms of depth, availability to non-Sanskritists, and academic and theological orientation. Glasenapp 1922 is the first methodical analysis of the tradition and is excellent. Dasgupta 1991, a comprehensive five-volume study of Indian philosophy, includes an excellent technical introduction to Mādhva Vedānta. Sarma 2003 is a systematic introduction for an English-speaking audience. Sharma 1981 is the most comprehensive overview of the Mādhva school and is an indispensable and encyclopedic reference source. Sharma’s other works (Sharma 1986, Sharma 1979) contain a great deal of information, though this is sometimes obfuscated by his polemical style. Siauve 1968 is a clear and in-depth characterization of Mādhva Vedānta that has yet to be surpassed by other Western scholars. While there are other overviews, many are written as hagiographies by non-experts or are sufficiently disorganized to make them less than useful. While most overviews consider the dialogue between the Advaita and Mādhva schools of Vedānta, Hebbar 2004 is unusual in that it considers the dialogue between the Viśiṣṭādvaita and Mādhva schools. There are other overviews in Kannada that have a significant audience but are not mentioned here.
Dasgupta, Surendranath. A History of Indian Philosophy. Vol. 4, Indian Pluralism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1991.
Good technical introduction with special reference to the debates between the Advaita and Mādhva schools. Dasgupta tends to view the Mādhva tradition through an unsympathetic Advaita perspective.
Glasenapp, Helmuth von. Madhva’s Philosophy of the Viṣṇu Faith. Translated by Shridhar B. Shrothri. Edited by K. T. Pandurangi. Bangalore: Dvaita Vedanta Studies and Research Foundation, 1992.
Detailed and meticulous analysis of every aspect of the Mādhva position. A superb overview that is comprehensive. For scholars unable to read the text in the original German (Bonn, Germany: Schroeder, 1923), this is a good translation.
Hebbar, B. N. Viśiṣṭādvaita and Dvaita: A Systematic and Comparative Study of the Two Schools of Vedanta with Special Reference to Some Doctrinal Controversies. New Delhi: Bharatiya Granth Niketan, 2004.
Offers an excellent comparison of the Mādhva and Viśiṣṭādvaita schools of Vedānta.
Sarma, Deepak. An Introduction to Mādhva Vedānta. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2003.
An overview of the Mādhva position with detailed citations from Mādhva texts. Includes translations of the Māyāvādakhaṇḍana, Upādhikhaṇḍana, and Kathālakṣana.
Sharma, B. N. K. Madhva’s Teachings in His Own Words. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1979.
Superb introduction with textual evidence from the entire Mādhva canon. Sanskrit sources are translated.
Sharma, B. N. K. History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and its Literature. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1981.
Comprehensive overview of the history of the Mādhva school, its major contributors, and their major works. Superb reference source. Also includes some summaries of relevant arguments and themes. Indispensable.
Sharma, B. N. K. Philosophy of Śrī Madhvācārya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986.
Good introduction, though often polemical. Written for advanced readers who are adept in Sanskrit and already immersed in Vedānta. All citations remain in their original Sanskrit. Important text that includes attacks against Advaita and defenses of Mādhva positions.
Siauve, Suzanne. La Doctrine de Madhva: Dvaita Vedanta. Publications de l’Institut Français d’Indologie 38. Pondicherry, India: Institut Français d’Indologie, 1968.
Textually rich introduction to the Mādhva tradition. Significant reliance upon Madhvācārya’s Anuvyākhyāna and Jayatīrtha’s Nyāya Sudhā. Offers analyses of concepts in Mādhva Vedānta that take into consideration a large part of the Mādhva corpus. First Western scholar to offer such an in-depth analysis.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Āṇṭāḷ
- Imperialism, British Colonialism and
- Śabarimala Pilgrimage
- Abhinavagupta
- Aesthetics
- Africa, Hinduism in
- Śaṅkara
- Amar Chitra Katha
- Architecture
- Ardhanārīśvara
- Artha and Arthaśāstra
- Arya Samaj
- Asiatic Society of Bengal
- Assam
- Astrology
- Astronomy and Mathematics
- Atharva Veda
- Atheism and Rationalism in Hinduism
- Aurobindo
- Avatāra
- Baba Padmanji
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya (Chatterji)
- Bengal and Surrounding Areas, Hinduism in
- Bhagavad Gita
- Bhagavad Gita in Modern India
- Bhagavad-Gita and Bhakti-yoga
- Bhairava
- Bhakti
- Bhakti and Christian Missions
- "Bhakti Movement” Narratives
- Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
- Bhārat Mātā
- Biardeau, Madeleine
- Body, The
- Brahma Kumaris
- Buddhism, Hinduism and
- Bāuls
- Caitanya
- Calendar
- Caribbean, Diaspora in the
- Caste
- Castes, Merchant
- Children and Childhood in Hinduism
- Christianity, Hinduism and
- Classes of Beings
- Comparative Study of Hinduism
- Consciousness and Cognition
- Contemporary Globalized and Commercialized Yoga
- Cosmogony
- Cosmology
- Cārvāka
- Dalits and Hinduism
- Dance and Hinduism
- Dattātreya
- Death
- Defining Hinduism
- Deities
- Democracy in India
- Devī Māhātmya
- Dharma
- Diaspora Hinduism
- Digital Hinduism
- Draupadī
- Durgā
- Eckankar
- Ecology in Hinduism
- Education and Hinduism
- Eknāth
- Epics, Vernacular Oral
- Epistemology (Pramāṇas)
- Ethics
- Europe, Diaspora in
- European Constructions
- Festivals
- Film, Hinduism In
- Gaṇeśa
- Galtā Monastery
- Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand
- Ganga
- Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism
- Gender and Sexuality
- Geography of Hinduism
- German Indology
- Gṛhya Rites
- Goddess
- Goddess Worship and Bhakti
- Gujarat, Hinduism in
- Hanuman
- Harivaṃśa
- Hatha Yoga
- Hindi Theatre
- Hindu Nationalism, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and
- Hindu Philosophy
- Hinduism and Music
- Hinduism, Capitalism and
- Hinduism, East India Company and
- Hinduism in Denmark
- Hinduism in Pakistan
- Hinduism, Tourism and
- Historical Traditions in Hindu Texts
- Holy Persons
- Homoeroticism in Hinduism
- Iconography
- Indian Medicine
- Indo-European Religions
- Indus Civilization
- Inscriptions, Early Historic
- ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
- Islam, Hinduism and
- Iswarchandra Vidyasagar
- Jagannātha
- Jainism, Hinduism and
- Jayadeva and the Gītagovinda
- Jīva Gosvāmin
- Jyotirliṅga Tradition: Pilgrimage, Myth, and Art
- Kabir/Kabir Panth
- Karma
- Karnataka, Hinduism in
- Kashmir
- Kerala Hinduism
- Kingship
- Kālī
- Kāma and Kāmaśāstra
- Kāmākhyā
- Kolkata/Calcutta
- Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār
- Krishna
- Śākta Tantra
- Kumbh Mela
- Kāvya
- Law, Hinduism and
- LGBTQ and Hinduism
- Liṅga and Yoni
- Līlā
- Logic
- Mahadeviyakka
- Mahābhārata
- Mahābhārata in Hindu Tradition
- Maratha Rule (1674–1818)
- Marriage
- Material Religion
- Mathura
- Mādhva
- Māṇikkavācakar
- Mirabai
- Mānava-Dharmaśāstra
- Mokṣa
- Māriyammaṉ
- Mughal Empire (1521–1857), Hindus and the
- Musicology of Religion, Hinduism and
- Natyashastra
- Navarātri (Navarātra)
- Neo-Tantra, Modernity and
- Nimbārka Sampradāya
- Nirañjanī Sampradāy
- North America, Hinduism in
- Nātha Sampradāya
- Nāyaṉmār
- Odisha
- Old Age and Hinduism
- Orientalists and Missionaries
- Pandas/Pilgrimage Priests
- Pandharpur and Vitthal
- Pandits/Wise Men
- Partition
- Peace, War, and Violence in Hinduism
- Pilgrimage
- Pūjā
- Political Hinduism
- Popular and Folk Hinduism
- Possession
- Pradesh, Andhra
- Pratyabhijñā
- Pārvatī
- Prāṇāyāma in Modern Yoga
- Purāṇas
- Puri
- Puruṣārthas
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Radhasoami Tradition
- Āśrama
- Ramakrishna Mission, The Ramakrishna Math and
- Ramanuja
- Rasa and Rasaśāstra
- Śrauta Rites
- Ravidās
- Rādhā
- Rādhāvallabha
- Reform Hinduism
- Rāgamālā
- Rig Veda
- Ritual in Hinduism
- Rāma Jāmadagnya/Paraśurāma
- Rāmakŗşŋa
- Rāmānandī Sampradāya
- Rāmāyaṇa
- Rāmāyaṇa in the Hindu Tradition
- Roy, Rammohun
- Rūpa Gosvāmin
- Rudra-Shiva
- Sacred Trees, Groves, and Forests
- Saints and Hagiography in Hinduism
- Sanskrit
- Sanskrit Grammar and Related Sciences
- Sathya Sai Baba
- Sati
- Secrecy
- Shaiva Siddhanta
- Shaivism
- Shaktism
- Shirdi Sai Baba
- Shiva
- Sikhism and Hinduism
- Sister Nivedita
- Six Systems/Darśanas
- Sāṃkhya and Philosophical Yoga
- Sociological Approaches to Hinduism
- South Asian Rituals of Self-torture
- Southeast Asia, Hinduism in
- Southeast Asia, Yoga in
- Sūrdās
- Sree Narayana Guru
- Sītā
- Swaminarayan
- Tamil Caṅkam Religion
- Tamil Nadu
- Tantra
- Television and Hinduism
- the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas, Yoga in
- The Upaniṣads
- Tilak, Bal Gangadhar
- Trimūrti
- Trinidad, Diaspora in
- Tīrtha
- United Kingdom, Hinduism in the
- Urban Hinduism
- Vaiṣṇava Pāñcarātra
- Vaiśeṣika
- Vaikhānasa
- Vallabha
- Varkaris
- Vedas, The
- Vedic Agni
- Vedic Oral Tradition
- Vedānta
- Virashaivism
- Viṣṇu
- Vivekananda
- Āḻvār
- Vraja/Braj
- Vrātyas
- West Bengal and Bangladesh, Hinduism in
- Women in Hinduism
- Yamunā
- Yoga
- Yoga, Alchemy and
- Yoga, Christianity and
- Yoga, Esotericism and
- Yoga, Islamic Traditions and
- Yoga, Race and
- Yogananda, Paramahansa
- Yoginīs