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]

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

^ Martin Gaenszle, Jorg Gengnagel (Ed.) (2006). Visualizing Space in Banaras: Images, Maps, and the Practice of Representation. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 90. ISBN 978-3447051873.
^ ^a ^b Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1990). Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. pp. x–xii. ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Douglas Renfrew Brooks (1990). Secret of the Three Cities. University of Chicago Press. pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 978-0-226-07570-9.
^ D Kali (2006). Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Goddess. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 18. ISBN 978-81-208-2953-4.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ Gaṇeśasahasranāmastotram: mūla evaṁ srībhāskararāyakṛta ‘khadyota’ vārtika sahita. (Prācya Prakāśana: Vārāṇasī, 1991). Includes the full source text and the commentary by Bhāskararāya in Sanskrit.
^ "25. Shri Lalita Sahasra Nama Stotram Batuk Nath Khiste".

[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.

[Brooks1990-2] 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.

[brooksxiii-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".

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