Vijayindra Tirtha

Vijayīndra Tīrtha (also known as Vijayendra Tīrtha) (c.1517 - c.1614) was a Dvaita philosopher and dialectician. A prolific writer and an unrelenting polemicist, he is said to have authored 104 treatises expounding the principles of Dvaita and defending it against attacks from the contemporary orthodox schools of Vedanta. He held the pontifical seat at Kumbakonam under the rule of Thanjavur Nayaks where he participated in polemical discussions with the Advaita philosopher Appayya Dikshita ^[3] Inscriptions from that era record grants of villages received by Vijayindra for his triumph over theological debates .^[4] Legend ascribes to him mastery over 64 arts and his erudition, writes Sharma, "is evident from a few of his works bearing on Purva Mimamsa, Nyaya and Kavya literature".^[1]

Vijayindra Tirtha
Personal life
Born	Vitthalachārya (ವಿಠ್ಠಲಾಚಾರ್ಯ) 1517
Honors	Sarvatantrasvatantra [1]
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Order	Vedanta
Philosophy	Dvaita
Religious career
Guru	Surendra Tirtha, Vyasatirtha [2]
Successor	Sudhindra Tirtha

Life

Almost nothing is known about his early life and family. Most of the information on Vijayindra is derived from a few inscriptions and two hagiographies: Rāghavendra Vijaya and Guruguṇastavana. Born as Vitthalācharya in a Kannada-speaking Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family,^[5] he studied Vedanta, Mimamsa and Nyaya under the philosopher Vyasatirtha. ^[6] He also received training in Kavya (poetics), Natya (drama) and Alankara (rhetoric). Aged 25, he moved to Kumbakonam at the behest of Surendra Tirtha, the erstwhile pontiff of the Dhakshinadi Kavindra mutt. ^{[note 1]} Vitthala eventually succeeded Surendra as the pontiff with the title Vijayīndra Tīrtha.^[7] Inscriptional evidence and traditional accounts note that Vijayindra received patronage from Aliya Rama Raya and grants from Sevappa Nayak of Tanjore. ^{[6] [1]} He was involved in severe polemical discussions with his rival and friend Appayya Dikshita, with several of his works dedicated to refuting the claims of Appayya. ^[8] After his death in 1614, his mortal remains were enshrined in the mutt at Kumbakonam. He was succeeded by Sudhindra Tirtha.

Works

Vijayindra Tirtha is credited with as many as 104 literary works of which many are non-extant. A few that remain mainly consist of commentaries on the works of Vyasatirtha (Laghu Amoda) and Madhva (Tattvaprakasika Tippani), polemical works refuting the works of Appayya Dikshita and several treatises dealing with the issue of compatibility of Dvaita with Mimamsa (Chakra Mimamsa). A few poems and three dramatical works have been attributed to him as well.^[9]

List of notable works

104 works are attributed to Vijayindra of which only sixty are extant. Except for a few notable works, many remain unprinted. The manuscripts are preserved in mutts at Nanjangud, Mantralayam and Kumbakonam.

Name	Description	References
Tattvamanimanekyapetika	Commentary on Brahma Sutra Bhashya of Madhva	[10]
Gudabhavaprakasika	Commentary on Tattvodyota of Madhva	[10]
Tattvaprakasika Tippani	Summary of Tattva Prakasika of Madhva	[10]
Laghu Amoda	Commentary on Nyayamruta of Vyasatirtha	[2]
Nyayamauktikamala	Commentary on Tatparya Chandrika of Vyasatirtha	[11]
Yuktiratnakara	Commentary on Tarka Tandava of Vyasatirtha	[11]
Pramana Paddhati Vyakhyana	Gloss on Pramana Paddhati of Jayatirtha	[12]
Adhikaranamala	Treatise on the Mimamsa elements in Nyayamruta	[12]
Chandrikodahrta Nyaya Vivaranam	Treatise on the Mimamsa elements in Tatparya Chandrika	[13]
Appayya Kapola Chapetika	Refutation of the works of Appayya Dikshita	[13]
Madhva Kantako Dhara	Rebuttal to Madhvatantramukhabhanga of Appayya Dikshita	[14]
Chakra Mimamsa	Defence of mudradharana from the viewpoint of Mimamsa [note 2]	[13]
Bhedavidyavilasa	Polemical treatise emphasising the doctrine of five-fold difference	[15]
Paratattva Prakasika	Criticism of Appayya Dikshita's Sivatattvaviveka	[14]
Brahmasutra Nyayasangraha	Gist of Brahma Sutra distilling elements from Anu Vyakhyana of Madhva	[16]
Siddhanta Sarasara Viveka	Polemical tract against the tenets of Visistadvaita and Shiva Advaita	[17]
Ananda Taratamya Vadartha	Polemical tract against the tenets of Visistadvaita	[17]
Nyayadhvadipika	Manual on the Mimamsa elements in Dvaita	[18]
Upasamhara Vijaya	Rejoinder to Upakrama Parakrama of Appayya Dikshita	[18]
Pistapashu Mimamsa	Treatise arguing for the usage of flour-made animals for rituals	[19]
Mimamsa Naya Kaumudi	The compatibility between the works of Madhva and Mimamsa is explored	[19]
Advaita Siksha	Polemical rebuttal to Advaitadipika of Narasimhasrama	[20]
Shaiva Sarvasva Khandanam	Treatise arguing for the supremacy of Vishnu	[20]
Subhadra Dhananjaya	Drama on the marriage of Arjuna and Subhadra	[21]
Narayana Sabdartha Nirvachana	Monograph on the etymology of the word Narayana	[22]
Turiyasiva Khandana	Polemical tract arguing against the fourth stage of consciousness of Advaita	[23]
Tatparya Chandrika Kuchodya Kuthara	Refutation in favour of Tatparya Chandrika by Vyasatirtha	[citation needed]

Notes

1. According to the songs of Purandara, Surendra, impressed by the brilliance of the young Vitthala, asked Vyasatirtha to gift him Vitthala
2. Mudradharana is the Vaishnavite practice of branding the symbols of Vishnu on the body