Bhaskararaya

Bhāskararāya Makhin (1690–1785) was a religious exponent and writer known for his contributions to the Shakta tradition of Hinduism. He was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin^[1] family at Hyderabad, Telangana. Bhaskara raya was welcomed by king Serfoji II of Bhonsle dynasty in South India, and thereupon he settled in Tamil Nadu.^[2] According to Douglas Renfrew Brooks, a professor of Religion specializing in Shaktism studies, Bhāskararāya was "not only a brilliant interpreter of Srividya, he was an encyclopedic writer", and that he was a "thinker who had the wealth of Tantric and Vedic traditions at his fingertips".^[2] He belonged to the Srividya tradition of the Shakta Tantrism.^[3]

Bhaskararaya was Lalitaʻs devotee.

Bhāskararāya is the attributed author of more than 40 writings that range from Vedanta to poems of devotion, from Indian logic and Sanskrit grammar to the studies of Tantra.^[4] Several of his texts are considered particularly notable to the Shaktism tradition, one focussed on the Mother Goddess:

• Commentary on Tripura Upanishad and Bhavana Upanishad^[4]
• Commentary on Devi Mahatmya, titled Guptavati.^[5] Bhaskara raya, in his Guptavati, offers comments on 224 out of the 579 verses of the Devi Mahatmya.
• Varivasya Rahasya,^[6] is a commentary on Sri Vidya mantra and worship. The Varivasya Rahasya contains 167 ślokas numbered consecutively. It has an accompanying commentary entitled "Prakāśa", also by Bhaskara raya.
• Setubandha is a technical treatise on Tantric practice. It is his magnum opus. It is a commentary on a portion of the Vāmakeśvara-tantra dealing with the external and internal worship of Tripura Sundari. This work was completed either in 1733 AD or in 1741 AD.
• "Soubhāgyabhāskara"is a commentary (bhāsya) on Lalita Sahasranama.^[7][8] This work was completed in 1728 AD.

His Khadyota ("Firefly") commentary on the Ganesha Sahasranama is considered authoritative by Ganapatya.^[9]

The important events of Bhāskararāya's life is written by his disciple Jagannath Paṇḍitor Umānandnātha in Bhaskaravilas Kavyam.^[10]

References

1. Martin Gaenszle, Jorg Gengnagel (Ed.) (2006). Visualizing Space in Banaras: Images, Maps, and the Practice of Representation. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 90. ISBN 978-3447051873.
2. Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1990). Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. pp. x–xii. ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
3. Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1992). Auspicious Wisdom: The Texts and Traditions of Srividya Sakta Tantrism in South India. State University of New York Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7914-1145-2.
4. Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1990). Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
5. D Kali (2006). Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Goddess. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 18. ISBN 978-81-208-2953-4.
6. Śrī Bhāskararāya Makhin. Varivasyā-Rahasya and Its Commentary Prakāśa. Edited with English Translation by Pandit S. Subrahmanya-Sastri. The Adyar Library Series: Volume Twenty-Eight. (The Adyar Library and Research Center: Adyar, Chennai, 1976) ISBN 81-85141-30-4. First Edition, 1934. This edition provides the full Sanskrit text for the Varivasyā-Rahasya and its associated commentary Prakāśa, both by the hand of Bhāskararāya.
7. Lalitāsahasranāma, With Bhāskararāya's Commentary. English Translation By R. Ananthakrishna Sastry. (Gian Publishing House: Delhi, 1986) This edition provides the full Sanskrit text plus English interpretation.
8. L. M. Joshi. Lalitā-Sahasranāma: A Comprehensive Study of Lalitā-Mahā-Tripurasundarī. (D. K. Printworld Ltd.: New Delhi, 1998) ISBN 81-246-0104-6. Provides an English translation based on Bhāskararāya's Commentary, with references to the Sanskrit source.
9. Gaṇeśasahasranāmastotram: mūla evaṁ srībhāskararāyakṛta ‘khadyota’ vārtika sahita. (Prācya Prakāśana: Vārāṇasī, 1991). Includes the full source text and the commentary by Bhāskararāya in Sanskrit.
10. "25. Shri Lalita Sahasra Nama Stotram Batuk Nath Khiste".