Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana’s first commentary on the Vedanta-sutra has now been released for the first time. The Brahma-sutra-karika-bhasya is a unique composition in many respects. Besides being one of the most concise commentaries on the whole Brahma-sutra, it may be the only extant versified (karika) commentary on every single aphorism. Versified commentaries are rare, given that versification substantially increases the level of difficulty, and only a few authors ventured to write one. Madhvacarya’s Anuvyakhyana was probably the major source of inspiration for Vidyabhusana to compose his own karikacommentary, in which he explains all the 552 sutras in merely 750 verses, most of them in anustup (32 syllables). Some aphorisms are glossed with a quarter of a verse (pada), while others are more elaborately commented in several verses. Madhvacarya’s influence is also evident from the very first section, where Vidyabhusana brings the concept of ‘visesa.’ The author also gives original interpretations to several aphorisms all over the text, which also differ considerably from those in his Govinda-bhasya.

There is a strong tradition according to which Vidyabhusana wrote a commentary on the Brahma-sutra in a very short time, although there is divergence regarding how long it took. Some claim it was as quick as three days; some say one week; some say one month; some say three months, and so on. Whatever the case, it is clear from many evidences that the said commentary was indeed the Karika-bhasya, and not the Govinda-bhasya, which was a much longer and later composition.

This edition includes the original in Sanskrit followed by the English translation and extensive notes.

Author: Baladeva Vidyabhusana

Language: Sanskrit with English translation

Satyanarayana Das