Nelson, Lance E. 1988.

“Madhusudana Sarasvati on the ‘Hidden Meaning’ of the Bhagavadgita:

Bhakti for the Advaitin Renunciate.” Journal of South Asian Literature 23 (2): 73–89.

MADHUSUDANA SARASV ATI ON THE "HIDDEN MEANING" OF THE

BHAGAVADGir...f: BHAKTI FOR THE ADVAITIN RENUNCIATE <

Lance Nelson

Introduction: Advaita and Bhakti.

The tension between the spiritual paths of knowledge and devotion has been a key
internal problem for the Hindu tradition since the rise of the devotional schools in the
second half of the first millennium C.B. Popular Hindu piety centers on bhakti, a religion
of devotion and grace, of loving surrender to a personal God. From the seventh century,
the time of Shankara, however, Hindu metaphysical thought has been deeply impressed and
often dominated by the doctrine of salvation through knowledge of the radical oneness of
the individual self with an impersonal ultimate reality, brahman. The Advaita, or "non­
dualistic" Vedanta, taught by Shankara, though well-grounded in the impersonalistic vision
of the Upanishads, seems to undercut the idea of a personal relationship with a divine
Other, so essential to devotional spirituality. If the "Thou art That" of the Upanishads means
identity with the Supreme Being, and all difference is based on false perception, where is
scope for bhakti, especially when the ontological status of the personal God is at best no
greater, and sometimes appears to be less, than that of the individual's own Self?

Though modem Advaitins, sympathetic to devotion, have tried to portray Shankara

as a sincere devotionalist, they rely in this endeavor on texts and devotional hymns that
informed scholarly opinion now regards as the work of other, mostly much later authors.
The Shankara of the great commentaries was uniformly disdainful toward devotionalism,
regarding it as an expression of ignorance to be eschewed by the enlightened few who were
pursuing the path of knowledge. The attitude that posits difference between the Self and
God (lltmefvarabheda) and a sense of dependence on an external power (paratantrya) was
regarded as a serious hindrance on the steep ascent to Advaitic realization. I

Not surprisingly, the teachers of the devotional schools felt considerable hostility
towards Shankara's views and considered it their duty to criticize, indeed to denounce, them.
A significant portion of the vast literature of theistic Vedanta, much of which is still
inadequately studied, was in fact made up of polemics against Advaitic metaphysics.

A socio-religious dimension was added to the conflict by the fact that, while the
bhakti schools tended to be relatively egalitarian in their social practice, admitting women
and members of lower castes into the circle of devotees and even into positions of
leadership, Shankara unhesitatingly supported the elitist attitudes of his fellow orthodox
brahmins. The great tictirya of Advaita taught that salvation (moksha) was directly available
only to those following the path of knowledge. Since this demanding discipline, and the
study of the "great sayings" (mahlivllkyas) of the Upanishads, which was its indispensable
final step, was open only to renunciates (sannyasins), and since only male brahmins were,
according to widely accepted tradition, eligible for renunciation, the circle of those who
could hope for liberation in their present life was a very exclusive one indeed. To others,

<Research for this paper was supported, in part, by a grant from The Canada Council.
Portions of the Gii4hlinhadfpikii were translated with the help of Prof. R. D. Laddu,
formerly of the University of Gwalior.

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Shankara offered only kramamukri ("liberation by stages"), i.e., the attainment after death
of the highest heaven and final release with the cosmic dissolution at the end of the current
world-age, or--failing this--the hope of rebirth as a male brahmin.2

The devotionalists' response, at least in traditions influenced by the BhiigavatapurlifJa

(ninth-tenth century; hereafter Bp), was twofold. First, they denied that moksha was, in fact,
the highest spiritual goal (paramapuTWiiinha), claiming that bhakti itself held that honor.
Second, they asserted that, though he or she did not seek after it, a devotee was assured of
moksha anyway, as a kind of incidental by-product of the path of bhakti.3

Madhusudana Sarasvati: Non-Dualist and Devotee.

From their side, the theoreticians of orthodox non-dualism made no serious attempt
at a rapprochement with the devotional movements--though the latter were becoming
increasingly popular--for some 800 years after Shankara.4 The first and most important
contribution to discussion in this area was made in the sixteenth century by Madhusudana
Sarasvati (ca. 1540-1647),sone of the greatest and most forceful exponents of post-Shankara
Advaita. Dominating the scholarly world of his time with his vast learning and formidable
polemical skills, Madhusudana was known for his brilliant and uncompromising defense of
monistic Vedanta in works such as the Siddhiina
t bindu and especially the Advairasiddhi
("Vindication of Non-dualism"), which became a classic of the Shankara tradition.

Given the long history of conflict between the various devotional schools and Advaita,
it is interesting that the argument of the Advaitasiddhi, which was expressly intended to
refute the views of the Madhva theist Vyasaraja (1460-1539), is interrupted by a verse that
is highly devotional in nature. In the midst of his efforts to prove, against the Vaishnava
position, that brahman is pure knowledge and bliss (jlfiIrultvanandarva), devoid of any form
(akara) or form, he wrote: "I know of no higher reality than Krishna, whose hand is
adorned by the flute. His complexion is like a fresh dark cloud laden with water, and he
wears beautiful yellow silk. his reddish lips are like the bimba fruit, his face is as beautiful
as the full moon, His eyes are like lotuses. ,,6 Paradoxically enough, Madhusudana combined
his strict adherence to, and advocacy of, Shankara's non-dualism with fervent devotion to
Krishna, the Lord of ecstatic bhakti.

Verses expressing devotional sentiments appear in his works with a frequency that
is singularly uncommon--or, more accurately, unprecedented--in the writings of the great
teachers of Advaita.7 Madhusudana, in fact, wrote several works dealing with bhakti, the
most important of which were the Bhakrirasayana (hereafter BR; "Elixir of Devotion"), the
only independent treatise on the subject ever written by one of the great preceptors of
Advaita, and the BhagavadgiriIg£itjhanhadipika (hereafter GAD), an extensive commentary
on the "hidden meaning" (g£itjhanha) of the BhagavadgiriI (hereafter BG). The teaChing of
the latter will be the central focus of the present study. 8

Madhusudana's Reputation as a Champion of Devotionalism.

As a result of these works, Madhusudana gained renown as a great devotee of

Krishna and a strong advocate of the inclusion of bhakti within the spirituality of Advaita.
His fame in this respect soon spread even beyond the Shankara school, as witnessed by the
Nijavana, a sectarian biography of the Krishnite theologian Vallabha. In this work
Madhusudana is reported as having recited the verse from the Advairasiddhi, "I know of no
higher reality than Krishna ... ," for the great Vaishnava acarya, at which the latter was

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highly pleased. The text freely acknowledges that Madhusudana, though a maylivlidin
("illusionist"), was a great bhakta of the Lord.9

The author of the BR continues today to enjoy much the same reputation as both a
devotee and a champion of devotional spirituality. This recognition is due largely to the
pioneering efforts in English of P. M. Modi, who in his 1929 study concluded: "In his
[Madhusudana's] opinion the Path of Devotion was as good as that of knowledge, and as
such he himself followed that path, though he did not adversely criticize the Jl!iinamlirga
[way of knowledge]."10 More recently, the great scholar and interpreter of Advaita, T. M.
P. Mahadevan, wrote that to Madhusudana "must be given the credit of reconciling the
philosophy of Advaita with the experience of a bhakta*." Understanding Madhusudana's
work on bhakti as an effort to "liberalize" Advaita by including devotion along with
knowledge as an independent means to salvation--thereby introducing a path available to
all without discrimination as to caste or gender--Mahadevan agreed with Modi that "to
II
Madhusiidana Sarasvatl, devotion is as good a means to release as knowledge."

Although modem writers on post-Shankara Advaita have thus commonly paid

homage to Madhusudana for his contribution in this area, his thought on this subject has
received little careful study. What work has been done has been cursory and largely
uncritical.12 Close examination of the BR and the GAD, however, reveals that, whatever
may have been the depth of their author'S devotional experience, his efforts to "reconcile"
bhakti and Advaita, if that indeed was what he was about, were less than complete. I will
not here undertake an examination of the theoretical problems inherent in what
Madhusudana was attempting to do in these works, the metaphysical questions raised by the
fact that he was speaking on bhakti as an Advaitin.13 More significant in terms of our
present focus (the BG is, after all, preeminently a text on religious practice) is the fact that
Madhusudana was not consistent in his support of the "liberal" doctrine that devotion is an
independent spiritual path capable of opening up the possibility of final salvation to all
persons.

The Theology of Bhakti in the BR.

A summary of the teachings of the BR, Madhusudana's earliest work on devotion, is

an essential preliminary to our study of his exposition of the BG. The text seeks to expound
the ecstatic bhakti religion of the BP in terms of the non-dualism of Shankara Vedanta.
Unlike most works on Advaita, which use the Upanishads as their primary source of proof­
texts, the BR relies almost totally on the BP, from which it quotes literally hundreds of
verses.14 The core thesis of the work can without serious misrepresentation be reduced to
several essential points.

The first is the idea, already mentioned in reference to its important social and
religious consequences, that bhakti is an independent spiritUal path and not a mere
preliminary to Vedantic gnosis. While it most certainly would have been rejected by
Shankara, this was a cardinal doctrine of all the Vaishnava devotional schools, which had,
in the centuries since Shankara, grown considerably in popUlarity and influence. At BR 1.1
(pp. 5-6), accordingly, Madhusadana indicates that, after the mind has been purified by the
practice of karmayoga ("yoga of selfless action"), two alternate, equally valid options open
up, according to the psychological make-up of the aspirant. These are: (1) bhaktiyoga, the
path of devotion, for those of emotional nature attracted to devotional practices, and (2)
jfllinayoga, the way of knowledge, for those of dispassionate temperament who are prepared
to renounce the world.

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 The second important teaching of the BR, also borrowed from the devotionalists, is
equally unorthodox from the traditional Advaitic point of view. Bhakti, says Madhusudana,
is not only an independent spiritual path, it is also in itself the supreme goal of life
(paramapurusartha), the ultimate spiritual attainment. The four "goals of life" (puTWjanha)
classically recognized by the Hindu tradition--religious duty, material prosperity, sensual
pleasure, and spiritUal emancipation--are so only figuratively, i.e., insofar as they serve as
means to bliss. But bhakti is itself nothing less than supreme bliss, at least on par in this
respect with Advaitic moksha. Being such, it is also the paramapurusartha (BR 1.1; pp. 11-
16).15

The third and last point that must be mentioned here is the BR's insistence that
bhakti itself leads to and includes realization of the atman, the standard goal of Advaita.
At BR 1.34-36 (p. 93), Madhusudana presents a list of eleven stages of devotion. Stage six
is somewhat peculiar in that, though it is a product of the incipent devotion of the preceding
stage, it is not in itself a devotional experience. Rather. it turns out to be nothing less than
the immediate intuition of the ultimate that is the goal of Advaita, in Madhusudana's words,
"the direct realization of the essential nature of the inner Self (pratyaglItman)" (BR 1.35; p.
126). Called "The Realization of the Essential Nature" (svariipadhigati), it includes, without
the necessity of direct study of the upanishadic text, the knowledge of the fundamental
identity of ;Iva (individual soul) and brahman taught by the "great saying" of the Chandogya
upani�ad, "That thou art." "When, in this way," Madhusudana writes, "that which is
designated by the word 'thou' is realized in its purity, there arises knowledge of its non­
difference from what is designated by the word 'That'" (BR 1.35; p. 128). This realization,
in turn, generates the intense non-attachment required for the more complete manifestation
of bhakti in the stages yet to come. "Without it," Madhusudana says, "love (rati), even
though it is present, will not reach its full development due to the distractions of the body
and senses (BR 1.35; pp. 126-27).

Madhusudana is teaching, therefore, that the higher levels of devotion are only
experienced by the }lvanmukta ("Iiberated-in-life"), the one who has attained Self-realization
while still dwelling in a human body. In other words, we must understand the state of
Iiberation-in-life, which includes knowledge of one's identity with brahman, to be a
prerequisite for the full development of bhakti. For a respresentative of Advaita, who must
understand the realized soul as being beyond all duality, including atmesvarabheda, the
distinction between the Self and God, the full implications of this teaching appear radical.
But Madhusudana has already, in his commentary on BR I.l,asserted that "even saints who
are liberated-in-life experience devotion to the Blessed Lord." His authority is BP 1.7.10,
a verse dear to the Vaishnava tradition but seeming at first unlikely in an Advaitic context:
"Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of Ignorance], practice selfless
devotion to the Wide-strider [Krishna], such are the qualities of Hari! ,,'6 It is important
to remember that Madhusudana regards himself as a jivanmukta as well as a bhakta, and
to be aware of the certainly not unrelated fact that this doctrine of devotion in the state of
liberation-in-life is a key teaching of his commentary on the BG, as we shall soon see.

The fact that the state of Self-realization described in the BR is attained through
bhakti is significant especially in that it seems to open non-dual realization to all classes of
aspirants. Madhusudana states the universality of the path of bhakti in the most emphatic
terms possible. "All living beings," he says, "are qualified for devotion. ,,11 The orthodox
Advaitic insistence on the necessity of hearing the "great sayings" of Vedic scripture (Sruti)
is absent. Though hearing of scriptural recitation plays an important role in the path of
devotion, the text in question is not the Upanishads, access to which is hedged about with
restrictions, but the holy BP, which may be heard by all, even "women and shudras" (See BG
9.32).

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 Although Madhusudana gives us only a sketchy exposItion of the higher levels of
devotional experience, it is clear that he regards them as further and more blissful
developments than the state of Self-realization attained at stage six. The devotee goes on
beyond the traditional goal of Advaita to experience higher and increasingly more rewarding
levels of spontaneous, esctatic love of God, plumbing the full range of premabhakti ("love­
devotion") as it was enjoyed by Prahlada, the gopfs (the young cowherd women of
Vrindavana), and other great devotees famed in the BP.

Bhakti in the GAD.

In scholarly discussions of Madhusudana's contribution to Advaita, his commentary

on the BG is commonly mentioned along with the BR as his other important contribution
to the debate on the place of bhakti in that system. Since it cites the BR three times, the
GAD is clearly the later of the two works. It was probably written at about the same time
as Madhusudana' s mature masterpice the Advaitasiddhi, as both works refer to each other.

Shankara, Madhudana's great predecessor, had focused his commentary on the BG

on efforts to establish his relatively new teaching of the superiority of knowledge and
renunciation in fact of the already well-entrenched opposition of the orthodox Mimamsakas,
who proclaimed a gospel of salvation through ritual action in the householder's ciSrama.
Madusudana, on the other hand, was writing not to establish but to expand his by-that-time
centuries-old, highly respected tradition, to include new elements of an extremely popular
religious movement, Krishnite devotional ism. The latter had, in fact, just undergone a
widely influential revival in Madhusudana's native Bengal, under the leadership of the great
sixteenth-century saint Caitanya.

The Devotional Flavor of the Text.

The devotional tone of the GAD is obvious from the outset. In the introduction,
Madhusudana proclaims that devotion is essential at every stage of spiritUal development,
since it removes the obstacles that stand in the way of progress (GAD intro.; p. 6). In the
final chapter, he comments that, while bhakti is the means to success in the paths of both
knowledge and action, it is at the same time the fruit (phala) of both,18 being Krishna's
highest teaching.19 We have already noted that the possibility of devotion in the state of
jivanmukti is a key theme of the text. Madhusudana asserts this belief emphatically at
several points, most notably in verses 37-39 of the introduction. In this passage we find
Madhusudana again quoting BP 1.7.IO,this time in conjunction with, interestingly enough,
BG 7.17, a verse central to Shankara's attempt to assimilate bhakti tojlliina:

In the state of liberation-in-life there is no idea that devotion has any further
end [i.e.,it is experienced as an end-in-itself]. Worship of Hari is natural to
such persons, like the virtues such as lack of hatred, and so on [enumerated
at BG 12.13-20].

"Sages who delight in the Self, who are free of the knots [of ignorance],
practice selfless devotion to the Wide-strider [Vishnu-Krishna], such are the
qualities of Hari!" [BP 1.7.10]

"Of these, the person of knowledge (jifiinin), constantly disciplined, who has
single-minded devotion, is the best" [BG 7.17]. According to such
declarations, he is foremost of those who are devoted with ecstatic love.2o

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At several points in the course of the GAD,21 the author refers to the example of devotees
such as Sridharnan, Ajamila, Pralada, Dhruva, Ambarisa, and the gopis, all of whom are
prominent in the lore of the BP but are rarely mentioned in the writings of Advaitins. For
a more detailed explanation of the experience of these individuals, Madhusudana refers his
readers to the discussion of devotional theory in his BR.22

The text of the GAD is embellished with devotional verses found, for the most part,
at the beginning and end of each chapter. The following are representative:

If some yogins, with their minds controlled by the practice of meditation, see
that attributeless, actionless, supreme Light, let them see it. But as for me,
may that wondrous blue Effulgence that runs and plays on the banks of the
Yamuna long be the delight of my eyes. [GAD on BG chap. 7; invocation ( p.
522)]

Some persons who are pure in body and mind strive [for liberation] by
restraining their senses, abandoning worldly enjoyments, and resorting to yoga.
But I have become liberated [simply by] tasting the essence of the ambrosia
which is the endless and limitless glory of Narayana. 23

I adore that darling son of Nanda, the supreme bliss itself, who is worshiped
by all the yogins and without devotion to whom there can be no liberation.
[GAD on BG chap. 7, invocation ( p. 341))

The devotional tone of the work is, then, at least comparable to that of the BR.

Surrender to God the BG's Key Teaching.

Madhusudana pays respect to Shankara and claims to be faithfully following his lead
in interpreting the BG. 24 Nevertheless, he has a basic disagreement with his great
predecessor regarding the centrality of sannyasa. While Shankara argues at great length that
renunciation is the central teaching of the BG, Madhusudana disagrees, believing, and
asserting repeatedly, that the most essential message of the text is surrender to God, or
bhagavadekaSara1}ll tlJ, literally, "the state of having the Blessed Lord as one's sole refuge."
He is not afraid to state his disagreement with Shankara openly:

Only the state of having the Blessed Lord as one's sole refuge is the means
to moksha, not the performance of action or the renunciation of action.
(GAD on 18 .57; p. 746)

It is not renunciation that is enjoined here [as Shankara asserts). Rather, the
state of having the Lord as one's sole refuge is prescribed generally for the
student, the householder, the retiree, and the renunciate. . .. The state of
having the Lord as one's sole refuge is itself the highest secret of all the
scriptures; it is the final teaching of the BG. Without it, even renunciation
will not lead to its proper end. . . . Hence, the Lord intends to teach only the
state of having him as one's sole refuge with disregard for the path of
renunciation. (GAD on 18.66; pp. 753-54)

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The Resurgence of Advaitic Exclusivism.

The GAD's insistence that the universally available option of devotional surrender
is the single most important determinant of an individual's spiritual destiny helps to cushion
the impact of its author's conservative views on eligibility for sannyasa. The purification of
the mind through karmayoga, says Madhusudana, culminates in taking refuge in the Lord.
Brahmins who have done so may renounce, but kshatriyas and others may not. 25
Referring, for example, to the fact that Shankara interprets BG 18.6 6 as an argument in
favor of sannyasa, Madhusudana, who takes it as a call to surrender to the Lord, complains:
"The teaching of renunciation to AIjuna who is a kshatriya and not eligible for renunciation
is not proper.,,26 Thus, while rejecting Shankara's understanding of that particular verse
in favor of his own theory of bhagavadekasaranata, Madhusudana accepts without question
the great Advaitin's view that only brahmins may renounce. Yet at the same time he seems
to admit that non-brahmins may obtain moksha.

The relevant passages are the following:

Whoever has purified his mind by the actions previously described necessarily
becomes one who has the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge, since the
purification of the mind invariably leads to that state. If a brahmin is such,
let him renounce all action, since he is free of any obstacle to renunciation.
He, having the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge, will attain liberation from
samsara by the power of the Blessed Lord's grace alone. If a kshatriya is
such, since he does not have eligibility for renunciation, let him preform
action, but with me [Krishna] as his refuge . ... By the grace bestowed by me,
the Lord, he attains the eternal, imperishable place of Vishnu through the
arising of knowledge of me [without renunciation], like Hiranyagarbha. Such
a one who has the Blessed Lord as his sole refuge would not perform
prohibited actions, but even if he should, by my grace with no obstacle would
attain liberation. (GAD on 18.5 6; pp. 745-4 6).

Kshatriyas and members of other castes, however, are not eligible for
renunciation. ... Such individuals, having the Lord as their sole refuge, will
attain liberation [I] owing to the fructi fication of renunciation performed in
a previous life or [2] by the arising of knowledge of reality simply by the grace
of the Blessed Lord, without renunciation, along with Hiranyagarbha or, [ 3]
having been born as a brahmin in the next life, by the arising of knowledge
preceded by renunciation. (GAD on 18.6 3; pp. 749-50)

What are we to make of such teaching? Several things should be noted, the first
being that the orthodox doctrine that liberation comes through knowledge, not devotion, is
here accepted as a matter of course. Second, renunciation remains an important factor even
for non-brahmins, either as a carry-over from a previous life, as in alternative (I), which
conveniently rationalizes any remarkable spiritUal gifts that may be possessed by a non­
renunciate, or as the hope of a future life, as in alternative ( 3). Third, in the absence of
renunciation, as in option (2), salvation can only be attained by the power of divine grace.
The mention ofHiranyagarbha (a name of the demiurge, Brahma) and the "place of Vishnu"
is intended to indicate the locus of the operation of this grace by recalling Shankara's
commentary on Brahmasutra 4.3.10,the relevant portion of which reads as follows: "When
the reabsorption of the effected brahman world [brahmaloka] draws near, the souls in which
meanwhile perfect knowledge has sprung up proceed, together with Hiranyagarbha the ruler
of that world, . . . to the pure highest place of Vishnu. This is the release by successive
steps [kramamukti]. ,,27

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 The conclusion is as inescapable as it is surprising. In the final analysis, the GAD is
offering the non-brahmin, not the salvation through an independent path of devotion as
presented in the BR, but the same limited fare set out by Shankara. To be sure, it is made
more palatable by the lavish use of the language of bhakti, but it is still in effect either
kramamukti--gradual liberation, involving rebirth in the world of Hiranyagarbha and a delay
of countless years until the end of the cosmic age--or waiting for rebirth as a male
brahmin.28 Devotion and surrender to God may be open to all, but moksha is not. Despite
the pervasive devotional tone of the text, the liberal view of the BR has been abandoned
and, on this important question at least, Madhusudana has returned to the fold of orthodoxy.
This retreat may not be total, but as the following passage indicates, it goes to the extent
of restoring the Vedic revelation to its privileged place as the final mediator of salvation and
saving knowledge, even for the devotee who has taken recourse to God's grace:

The supreme liberation . ..is attained by those who have cast off all obstacles
by contemplation on the unqualified at the end of their enjoyment of celestial
powers in brahmaloka. This is occasioned by the rise of knowledge of reality
and the cessation of ignorance and all its effects through the medium of the
Vedanta sayings, which manifest themselves spontaneously by the Lord's
grace, without the necessity of instruction by the guru and the difficulty of the
practice of hearing (SravalJa), reflection (manana), and deep meditation
(nididhylisana). (GAD on 12.6-7; p. 507)

That the hearing of the "great sentences" (mahavakya) is essential even for the bhakta
is reaffirmed in a particularly perplexing passage at GAD 18.65. Madhusudana begins by
quoting BP 7.5.23-24,the classical source of the nine-fold "disciplines of the Lord's devotees"
(bhligavatadhannas), the efficacy of which is much stressed in the BR. Then, having referred
his readers back to the earlier text for a more detailed explanation of those practices, he
writes: "Thus constantly having your mind absorbed in me because of the arising of
attachment to me through the practice of the disciplines of the Lord's devotees, you will
come to me, the Blessed Lord Vasudeva, i.e., you will attain me by the realization of me
produced by the Vedanta sayings.,,29 Apart from the continuation here of the close
identification of bhagavat ("the Blessed Lord") and brahman found in the BR, these remarks
are completely contrary to the spirit of the author's earlier work.

Devotion for the Renunciate.

This certainly does not sound like the path of bhakti presented in the BR, where
there is no mention of the necessity of knowledge or the Vedic sentences. The fact is that
the GAD presents a style of devotion very much adapted to the mood of the Vedantic
sannyasin, not a path designed, as in the BR, "for the contentment of all.,,30 Thus, in
Madhusudana's explanation of the meaning of the compound brahmabhuta ("having become
brahman") at BG 18.54, we read:

"Having become brahman" means having attained, through hearing sravana

and reflection (manana), the firm conviction "lam brahman" [BU 1.4.IO],and
having acquired, through the practice of equanimity and self-control, a
tranquil nature and a pure mind. . .. Being thus, an escetic following the
path of knowledge attains devotion to me, the Blessed Lord, the pure supreme
Self.

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And then comes the startling declaration:

Devotion is upasana, a repetition of the mental modification having my form

known as deep meditation (nididhyasana), the fruit of the practice of hearing
(sravana) and reflection (manana) . This devotion is the supreme, the best,
the last of the four types of devotion described [at BG 7. 17] thus: "Four-fold
31
are they that worship me." Or, it is knowledge itself.

In the BR, bhakti is an independent path which attains the ultimate goal with no
reference to the Vedic path of knowledge. In the GAD, on the other hand, though bhakti
has a prominent place, it is ultimately made subordinate to the path of knowledge and, in
deference to orthodoxy, forced to accommodate itself to traditional Vedantic discipline and
pass through the final bottleneck of the mahavakyas.

The first eight verses of BG 12 are crucial to the discussion of the relation of
devotion and knowledge. The author of the GAD chooses to follow Shankara in regarding
the denigration of meditation on the "Imperishable" (i.e., the path of jnana) in that passage
as nothing more than a pedagogical device designed to emphasize the efficacy of devotion .
"Seeing that Arjuna is eligible only for the knowledge of the qualified [brahman]
(saguQavidya), " Madhusudana writes, "the omniscient Lord will teach that to him, since the
means (sadhana) must be graded according to one's eligibility (adhikiira)." Interestingly
enough, the devotion to the saguQa brahman described here involves merging the mind into
the Lord "like the color vermilion into lac" (GAD on 12.2; pp. 501-2). This analogy figures
prominently in the description of bhakti given in the BR. Its use in this context may indicate
the level at which Madhusudana places the spirituality expounded in that text, relative to
the kind of Vedantic bhakti he is championing here. Quoting Amalananda's versified put­
down of the "dull-minded" devotees who are unable to realize the unqualified brahman
(quoted in GAD on 12.13; p. 512), and, once again, the BG praise of the jnanin-devotee at
7 . 1 7-18, Madhusudana concludes: "From the highest perspective (paramiinharal), the most
well-versed in yoga are those who meditate on the Imperishable" (GAD on 12.13; p. 512).
He is not making this remark simply out of deference to Shankara' s interpretation, for at
1 8 . 66 , as we have seen, and in other important instances, he is not afraid to openly disagree
32
with the great commentator. Madhusudana's final advice to Arjuna--and through him all
other non-brahmins who seek spiritual realization--is that of a conservative Shankarite:
Krishna's pupil should follow the path of knowledge, having first "attained the proper
33
qualification" (adhikiiram asadya). Of course, Madhusudana neglects to mention that
such competence cannot be obtained by a kshatriya in his present birth.

The teaching of the GAD is perhaps best epitomized in the following verse found at
the conclusion of its ninth chapter:

Those whose hearts are puri fied by the taste of the nectar which flows from
the lotus-feet of Govinda quickly cross over the ocean of samsara and see the
perfect Effulgence. They comprehend the highest beatitude (paramat]1 sreyas)
by means of the Upanishads, cast off error , know that duality is like a dream,
and find the untainted bliss. [GAD on BG 9, concluding invocation (p. 441)]

Note that devotion here serves a purificatory function, while the final realization comes
through the standard orthodox means.

On a more theoretical plane, the following passage from GAD 7. 14 provides a

fascinating example of the way in which Madhusudana applies his great genius to the

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problem of infusing the spirituality of his beloved BP into the sannyasins' path of knowledge.
It is well worth quoting in full:

The jiva, because it is limited by the mind, cognizes by means of the eyes, etc.,
only that which is connected with the mind and becomes restricted in its
knowledge, knowing only a little. Thus arises participation in hundreds of
evils [that begin with ideas] such as "I know," "I do," and "I enjoy." The
Blessed Lord, who is the original (bimba) is possessed of infinite powers. He
is the controller of maya, omniscient, the bestower of all results [of actions],
sleepless, having a form of pure bliss. The supreme guru, he assumes
numerous incarnations in order to grace his devotees. If the jiva pays homage
to him by offering all its actions to him, it will attain all the goals of life,
because what is offered to the original is also returned to be imaged in the
reflection (pratibimba). This is what was intended by Prahlada when he said:

"The compassionate Lord, who is innately full of the wealth of

the Self, does not seek the esteem of humans who are ignorant.
Whatever regard they may offer to him, the Blessed Lord, is
[really returned] to themselves, as the auspicious mark [placed]
on the face [appears] in its reflection" [BP 7.9.11].

If it is wished that a face reflected in a mirror acquire an auspIcIous mark

such as the tilaka, the mark must be placed on the face, which is the original.
[Then] it will quite spontaneously be reflected in the image. There is no
other way of achieving this. In the same way, the jiva, who is the reflection,
acquires that which is offered to the Lord, who is the original. There is no
other means for it to attain the goal of life. This is the meaning of the
illustration [given by Prahlada].

The mind of one who constantly pays homage to the infinite Blessed Lord
becomes devoid of sin, which is an obstacle to knowledge, and full of merit,
which is conducive to knowledge. Then, refined by the service of the guru
and [the discipline of] hearing, reflection on, and deep meditation on, the
sayings of the Upanishads, which [discipline] is preceded by renunciation of
all action and [the acquisition of] tranquillity, self-control, and the other
virtues, it [the mind] becomes completely clear like a spotless mirror. In such
a mind there arises the mental mode which is an immediate realization of the
form of unconditioned Consciousness and is free of the forms of anything that
is not the Self. This is [the realization] "lam brahman" caused by the saying
of the Upanishad "Thou are That" that has been imparted by the guru.
Consciousness, reflected in that mode, immediately destroys ignorance, which
has Consciousness as both its object and its support, just as a light destroys
darkness. (GAD on 7.14; p. 360)

Thus far it is apparent that, through devotion, the mind of the renunciate follower
of jnanayoga is prepared for the final vision of unity. But is there anything more that can
be said of bhakti, or is it now reduced to its former instrumental function as a purifier of
the mind, a mere preliminary to knowledge? At this point, we remember that the GAD
agrees with the BR and deviates from orthodox Advaita, at least to the extent of accepting
the teaching that the experience of devotion is available in the state of Iiberation-in-life,
after knowledge has dawned. Hence we are not overly surprised to find that there follows
in this same passage a description of devotional experience of the personal God. This

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statement is indeed more explicit and more extravagant than anything we have seen in the
BR, which relies in this respect perhaps too heavily on quotations from the BP. After a brief
exposition of the three-fold Vedantic discipline of hearing, reflection, and deep meditation,
Madhusudana states its result: "With the dropping off of all limiting adjuncts, they [those
who resort to Krishna] remain with the form of pure being-consciousness-bliss" GAD on
7.14; p. 361). Then the mood of the discourse changes abruptly:

So the intended meaning of "resort" [in BG 7.14] must be "see." Those saintly
ones who have me as their sole refuge see "me alone," the Blessed Lord
Vasudeva, the complete essence of infinite beauty, the abode of all
refinements, the glory of whose two lotus feet is greater than the beauty of a
fresh lotus, Gopala, who delights in uninterrupted playing on the flute, whose
heart is attached to playing in Vrndavana, who held the Govardhana
mountain aloft in sport, by whom a host of wicked persons such as Sisupala
and Kamsa were slain, whose feet steal all the beauty of a fresh lotus, whose
form is a mass of supreme bliss, who transcends the world created by Brahma.
Meditating constantly on me as such, they spend their days. Because their
minds are immersed in the great ocean of bliss which is ecstatic love of me,
they are not overcome by all the fluctuations of maya and the material
qualities (gU1)QS). (GAD on 7.14; p. 361)

This, we must assume, is intended as a description of the experience of the jivanmukta.

The GAD's presentation of the glory of bhakti is certainly impressive. The devotional
poetry suggests deep attachment to Krishna, and the descriptions of the liberated soul's
vision of the Blessed Lord evoke an ecstatic mood reminiscent of the BP. Yet at the same
time the unqualified support of devotional spirituality expressed in the BR is missing. We
discover here a style of bhakti designed to be compatible with, and included within,
jnanayoga, the path of Advaitic knowledge. Not only does the GAD reject the earlier text's
understanding of bhakti as an independent spiritUal path, leaving the devotee to wait for
liberation in Brahma's highest heaven, where the mahavakyas manifest spontaneously at the
end of the cosmic age, it also drops the theme, so important in the BR, of bhakti as the
highest goal of life (paramapurusartha). The idea is simply not mentioned. While the
possibility of bhakti in the state of liberation-in-life is admitted, even celebrated, this can
hold little interest for those not qualified to renounce. The GAD's renewed emphasis on
the conservative social teaching of the Shankara tradition renders them ineligible for the
discipline that leads to this blissful experience.

Madhusudana's commentary on the BG makes, in other words, a rather surpnsmg

reversal of devotionalist thinking. It claims for sannyasins the right to enjoy the highest
states of bhakti without, as did the BR, granting non-renunciate devotees a corresponding
access to Self-realization and moksha. Neither in this life, nor at the time of death, nor for
a considerable time thereafter is it possible for anyone but the sannyasin to attain liberation.
This lack of reciprocity is rendered particularly inequitable by the fact that the experience
of realization and jivanmukti is, according to the BR itself, an essential prerequisite of the
full flowering of the devotional experience. But again bhaktas, unless as male brahmins they
qualify for sannyasa, are not eligible for the discipline that leads to jivanmukti. So the
somewhat ironic result is that Madhusudana, in borrowing Krishna-bhakti from the
devotionalists, has excluded the latter from the highest levels of their own path, which have,
in effect, been preempted for sannyasins alone. The teaChing of the GAD therefore
represents in certain crucial respects not an accomodation but actually a betrayal of the
devotional ethos of the BP.

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Madhusudana's Final Intention.

It is difficult to say what the reason for this change of attitude toward devotional
spirituality might have been. One possibility is that the BR represents a rash outburst of
youthful enthusiasm, and the GAD the more sober views of a later period. But the BR when
written already constituted a departure from the thoroughly sober teachings of earlier works
such as the VedantakalpalatikiI and Siddhantabindu. Madhusudana, moreover, was still
dabbling in the unorthodox (from the strict Vedantic point of view) teachings of the
Yogasutras and the Yogavasi�!ha in late works such as the GAD and the Advaitararnara4a1}a.
The fact that Madhusudana in the GAD repeatedly refers his readers back to the BR
disallows the simple explanation that, having changed his mind, he had repudiated the
teaching of his earlier work. So we must find another explanation.

My suggestion is that Madhusudana is in the BR and the GAD simply speaking to

different audiences and adj usting his discourse accordingly. In the former, he is writing "for
the contentment of all," perhaps with the intention of recommending the viewpoint of
Advaita to educated bhaktas34 that stood outside the exclusive tradition of Shankara
sannyasins. He, therefore, presents the teachings of Advaita in a form adapted to the
egalitarian ethos of BP devotionalism, with which, as the result of his own predilection
toward bhakti, he has considerable sympathy. In the GAD, however, he is speaking from
within the Shankara tradition,3S and trying to recommend bhakti to his fellow sannyasins.
Although, as we have seen, he subordinates renunciation to surrender to God, he still argues
clearly for the superiority of path of knowledge.

Just as the BR opts for the path of pure love, and speaks from a point of view proper
to it, so the GAD chooses the path of wisdom. It picks up, as it were, the way acknowledged
but neglected by the earlier text. As did Shankara, Madhusudana here speaks out of the
significantly different set of values belonging to the sannyasins to whom, like Shankara's
commentary, the GAD is primarily addressed. Yet, unlike the earlier interpretation of the
BG, the GAD strives to show the relevance of bhakti to the path of knowledge.

We know that Madhusudana himself was a member of one of the most prestigious
orders of Shankara sannyasins and a disciple of highly respected orthodox teachers. It
seems certain that during his novitiate he had followed the traditional disciplines of the
Shankara school. The relatively conservative brand of devotional Advaita taught in the
GAD is likely, therefore, to be more representative of his own personal spirituality than the
more "liberal" vision of the BR. It is significant that, even in the latter work, Madhusudana
identifies himself with renunciate devotees such as the legendary saint Sanaka, and in a
dramatic departure from Vaishnava tradition, asserts that the devotion of such sages is
superior even to that of the gopis of Vrndavana (See BR 2.46, 2 .64-65,2.73).

Since Madhusudana, despite his change of position in the GAD, nevertheless

continues to recognize and refer to the BR, it is possible that the earlier text was the
product of a sense of noblesse oblige, his feeling as a sannyasin of a duty to instruct the
unenlightened in terms acceptable and comprehensible to them, to speak for the "welfare
of the
3
world" (lokasturJgraha). 6 This would be compatible with the notion, already
suggested, that the BR was designed to encourage Krishna devotionalists to come closer to
the true views of the Shankara school , as modified by Madhusudana to make room for
devotion. In his Prasthlinabheda (actually a portion of his commentary on the
Mahimnastotra), Madhusudana enunciates the principle that those teachers who advocate
viewpoints inconsonant with the highest truth of Advaita are not necessarily ignorant. They
are only, he says, seeking to capture the minds of those whose awareness i s not sufficiently

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developed to comprehend non-duality, hoping thereby to prevent the latter from embracing
heterodox doctrines .37 Was the BR part of a similar stratagem? If so, the theory that
Madhusudana was seriously attempting to modify the exclusivistic stance of Advaita would
be subject to serious question. Against this understanding, it could be argued that his
sympathy for devotional spirituality was, indeed , so great that his concession to orthodoxy
in the GAD was just that, a concession designed to make his presentation of the value of
bhakti in the path of knowledge more acceptable to his conservative fellow sannyasins. It
would, however, be more difficult to find support for this alternate hypothesis.

In view of his tradition and training, as well as the orthodox nature of his major
works ,38 I am inclined to the conclusion that the teachings of the GAD, and not the BR,
are closer to Madhusudana's own personal experience as a jnanin-devotee and more
indicative of his final outlook. The result is that Madhusudana's reputation as a champion
of devotion must be qualified . To be sure, his status as the foremost advocate of the
inclusion of bhakti within the Advaitic spiritUal experience remains intact. But it must be
recognized that his was a type of bhakti much different in spirit from that of the Krishnite
devotional schools. Certainly, Madhusudana's reputation as a liberal who sought to open
Advaita to all by making devotion an independent path to non-dual realization has been
shown to be almost entirely undeserved . Despite his encounter with the Lord of the
cowherds, Madhusudana remains an orthodox Advaitin and, as such, an incurable spiritUal
elitist.

ABBREVIAnONS

BG Bhagavad Gitli

BR Sribhaktirasiiyanam of Madhusudana Sarasvati, ed. with the author's tika and Hindi
anuwida by Janardana Shastri Pandeya (Varanasi: Motilal Banarsidass , 196 1 ).

BS Brahmasiitra

BSSB Brahmasutrafa1[lkarabhlifYam

BP Bhagavata purii1}a

CC Caitanyacaritam.na

GAD Bhagavadgftligiiljhlinhadipikli of Madhusudana Sarasvati, ed. with six other

commentaries by Wasudev Laxman Shastri Panshikar under the title
Srfmadbhagavadgitli (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvl. Ltd . , 1978).

TV Taitirfya upani�ad

NOTES

1. See Shankara's comments on BG 12.12.

2. See Shankara on BG 2.10, 3.1, 3.4, 18.55; BS 3.4.20;P. V. Kane, History of Dhanna-

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 sl/stra, 2nd. ed. (poona: Bhandarkar Or iental Research Inst itute, 1974), 2:2, 942-44.

3. See, e. g.,BP 10.14.4,1 1.20.34,12. 1O.6;Rupa Gosvam in's BhaJairasamrtasindhu 1. 1 . 1 7,

1 . 1 .38, 1.2.22-57. Tulas idasa's Rlunacaritamiinasa, UrrarakalJ{ia 1 1 8.2-4.

4. Shridhara Swam in (ca. 1350-1 450), nominally an Advaitin, was suffic iently influenced
by Va ishnavism to accept a plurality of souls and a more real istic interpretat ion of
saJai than Shankara. He, therefore, cannot be considered a true non-dualist.

5. P. C. Divanji, ed. and trans., Siddhantabindu of MadhusUdafUJ (Baroda: Oriental

Institute, 1933), p. xxv.

6. vturlibh�itakaran fUJvanTradabMt pfUJmbarad arul)t1bimbaphallidharosthat /

purnendusundaramukhad aravindanemIt kr�1JlU parartJ kim api tattvam ahartJ na jane
(NytIytimrtadvaitasiddhi, ed. Svam i Yog indrananda [Varanasi: Saddarsana Prakasana
Sthanam, 1977] , 2, 923). The verse, frequently quoted, is also found at the end of the
GAD (p. 775).

7. See D ivanj i, p. xxviii,note I; P. M. Modi, trans., Siddhanta Bindu (Bhavnagar: P. M.

Modi, 1929; rpt. ed . , Allahabad: Vohra Publishers & Distr ibutors, 1985), Appendix
4.

8. Other wntmgs of Madhusudana that deal with devotion include the

Mahimnaswtra{iklI and the BhligavatapurlIlJil-prathamaSlokavyakhyli.
For a discussion
of the authenticity and chronology of Madhusudana's works, see Divanji, pp. ii-xiii.

9. Modi, pp. 22-23.

10. Modi, p. 175. Appendix 2 and 3 of this work g ives a useful, but largely uncritical,
summary of Madhusudana's views on bhakti.

II. T. M. P. Mahadevan, The Philosophy ofAdvaita (Madras: Ganesh & Co. Private Ltd.,
1969), p. 271. See also Adya Prasad Mishra, The Development and Place of Bhakti
in SartJkara Vedanta (Allahabad: Un iversity of Allahabad, Sanskrit Department,
1967), p. 254; Sanjukta Gupta, Studies in the Philosophy of MadhuslZdana Sarasvaff
(Calcutta: Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, 1966), p. 205.

12. Sisir Kumar Gupta's translation of the GAD, MadhusUdana Sarasvati on the Bhagavad
Gita (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, 1977), while perhaps helpful for the general reader,
is often seriously inaccurate, tending to make the text's presentat ion of devotion
appear more liberal than it is.

13. For an in-depth discussion, see my "BhaJai in Advaita Vedanta: A Translation and
Study of Madhusudana Sarasvati' s BhaJairastIyafUJ, "Ph.D. diss.,McMaster University,
1986), chap. 8.

1 4. The text as we have it consists of some 150 or so stanzas composed by Madhusudana.

It is d ivided into three chapters and includes the author's own commentary ({ilea) on
the first. References to BR I in this paper, unless spec ified otherw ise, are to the
commentary on the ind icated stanza.

IS. Cpo the Bengal Va ishnava notion of bhakti as the "fifth goal of life"

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 (palfcamapu �iinha), enunciated, for example, at CC 1 .7 . 84-85.

16. "AInufriima s ca munayo nirgrantM apy urukrame / kurvanry aha/ukirp bhaktim

ithambhutaguIJo haril) · iryadiniI jivanmuktiinlim api bhagavadbhaktipratiplidanllt," BR
1 . 1 , p. 32. BP 1 .7 . l Oappears as verse 3 8 of Madhusudana's introduction to the GAD
(see note 20). It is an important verse for the Bengal Vaishnava tradition; see
Bhaktirasamrrasindu 1 .2.54 and CC madhyama 6. 1 86, 1 7 . 140, 24. Madhyainll 24 is
devoted to sixty-one different explanations of this text (called the iitmiirama verse) ,
reportedly given by Caitanya himself.

17. Prii1Jimtftrasya bhaktau adhikiiral), BR 1 . 1 (p. 27).

18. GAD on 1 8 .66; see note 32.

19. Guhyatamarp paramarp sarvatal) prakmarp me mama vacal), GAD on 1 8 . 64 (p. 750).
This is glossorial expansion of the BG text.

20. GAD, intro . ; pp. 6-7. BG 1 2 . 13-20 contains a description of the qualities of an
enlightened devotee, whom both Shankara and Madhusudana understand as a
paradigmatic renunciate-jnanin. The first virtue listed is "non-hatred" (adve�!a, BG
1 2 . 13).

21. For example, GAD on 7 . 1 6; 9.26, 30-3 1 ; 1 8 .66.

22. GAD on 7 . 1 6 (p. 363). See also GAD on 1 8 .65 (p. 750) and 1 8 . 66 (p. 754).

23. Kecin nigrhya karaIJani visrjya bhogam tisthtiya yogam amalatmadhiyo yatante /
narilyaIJasya mahimllnam anantapllram tisvMayann amrtastiram aharp tu muktal) ,
quoted by Divanj i , p. xxviii, note 3, as appearing on p. 4 1 7 of the Anandashrama
(Poona) edition of the BG with the GAD and the Subodhini of Shridhara (my trans.).
I have not been able to find it in Panshikar' s edition.

24. GAD , intro . , vs. 1 (p. 1 ) . The author of the GAD refers to Shankara's commentary
at least twenty-three times. See Mainkar, Appendix B ; Divanj i , p. Ii.

25. GAD on 3.20 (pp. 1 59-60), 1 8 .56 (pp. 744-46), and 1 8 .63 (pp. 749-50). See the
following note and the next two quotes in the text.

26. Arjunarp ca Igatriyarrr sarpnyiisiinadhiklirinarp prati sarpnyiisopadesiiyogiit, GAD on

18.66 (p. 754). For the full extent of the author's disagreement, see note 49. In the
GAD on BG 3.20 (pp. 1 29-30), Madhusudana outlines the whole orthodox argument
for this position and explicitly rej ects the more liberal interpretation of Suresvara,
who felt that renunciation should be open to kshatriyas and vaishyas. The question
of eligibility for sannyasa must have been an important issue for Madhusudana. He
discusses it in the two following passages quoted in the text and also under BG 5 . 5-6
(pp. 252-53).

Farquhar reports a tradition that holds that the opening of certain orders of
Shankara sannyasins in North India to kshatriyas and vaishyas was initiated by
Madhusudana, on the advice of Emperor Akbar (J. N . Farquhar, "The Organization
of the Sannyasis of the Vedanta, " Journal of the Royal Asiatic Sociery of Great Britian
and Ireland [July 1925], pp. 482-84). Given the emphatic statement of the

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 impropriety of renunciation for the kshatriya expressed in the GAD however, we may
legitimately doubt that our Madhusudana was involved.

27. BSSB 4 . 3 . 1 0 (trans. G. Thibaut, The Vedanta-sutras with the Commentary of

SOl!Jkaracarya [Vols. 34 and 38 of The Sacred Books of the East; rpl. ed . , Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, 1973] pI. II, 391 .)

28. Who could be certain , if they were not already a renunciate, that they had been born
previously as a male brahmin and that, furthermore, in that birth they had taken to
the difficult path of sannyasa?

29. GAD on 1 8.65 (p. 751 ) . Cpo also GAD on 1 2 . 1 0 (p. 509).

30. In stanza I of the BR, Madhusudana declares that the purpose (prayojana) of the
work is such: akhilatWj!yai (p. I).

31. GAD on 1 8 .54 (pp. 740- 1 ) . Modi (p. 1 70) suggests that Madhusudana' s gloss of
bhakti as jlfanalalqalJlIm ("knowledge itself," or "defined as knowledge") represents
nothing more than his submission to the authority of Shankara, who uses the same
phrase in his interpretation of this verse. But Madhusudana feels free to deviate
from the great acarya' s interpretation at other places where the latter glosses bhakti
as jnana. Thus he substitutes premalalqalJa for jnanalaksana at 8.22 (GAD, p . 402)
and priti for his jnana at 1 3 . 1 0 (GAD p. 548). The rest of the present paper will
show that the GAD ' s Vedantic interpretation of bhakti is not merely a concession to
Shankara and Advaitic orthodoxy. Madhusudana, of course, does not wish to follow
Shankara in collapsing bhakti completely into jnana. But he is interested in finding
a way to render Krishnite devotionalism compatible with the traditional disciplines
of the Shankara sannyasin.

32. As Modi emphasizes at some length (pp. 7-9), Madhusudana is the only great teacher
of Advaita to openly differ from Shankara's hallowed commentary on the
Brahmasutras, questioning the great acaryas's interpretation of the meaning of BS
2.28.29. His disagreement with Shankara over the latter's thesis that renunciation is
the key message of the BG has already been discussed. See above, note 3 1 , for his
willingness to diverge from Shankara's interpretation of the term bhakti. Particularly
interesting are Madhusudana's remarks on 1 8 . 66,in which he waxes somewhat ironic:
"In this scripture called the Gira, a tryad of disciplines, related as means and ends,
is intended and expressed many times. Among these, the discipline of action is
summed up as culminating in the renunciation of all action in the verse, 'Worshiping
him through his own action, a man attains perfection' [ 1 8 .46]. The discipline of
knowledge, together with the maturation of the practices of hearing (SravalJa), etc.,
is summarized in the verse: 'Then, having known Me in reality, he enters Me
forthwith' [ 1 8 .55]. The discipline of devotion to the Blessed Lord, being the means
to both and the end of both, is summed up at the end, thus: 'Having abandoned all
dharmas, come to Me as your sole refuge' [ 1 8 . 66]. The author of the Commentary
[Shankara], however, says that 'come to Me as your sole refuge' is the summary of
the discipline of knowledge, with 'having abandoned all dharmas ' serving as a
restatement of the need to abandon all action. [But then] who am I, wretched
person that I am, to expound the intention of the Blessed Lord? Tht> speech of the
Supreme Person called the Gita is the secret meaning of the words of the Veda; who
among those that are not extremely brilliant can explain it? [Yet] somehow I have
managed this childish performance. It will [I hope] invoke the appreciation of great

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 souls who have spontaneous affection [for all, including my humble self]. " GAD on
1 8.66; pp. 754-55. It may be significant that the discipline of action is here said to
lead to renunciation, not the alternative paths of renunciation (i .e. , knowledge) and
devotion, as specified at BR 1 . 1 .

33. See GAD on 1 2 . 1 3 (p. 5 1 2); also GAD on 12.2 (pp. 501-2), both quoted in the text.

34. I am thinking here especially of devotionalists without clear sectarian affiliation, such
as Madhusudana's contemporary and fellow resident of Banaras, Tulsi Das, of whom
the great Advaitin is said to have written: "This moving tulasr plant has leaves of
supreme bliss; its flowers are poetry, kissed by the bee Rama (paramanandapatro
'yaT{! jalfgamas tulasrtarul;z / kavitamalfjarf yasya rlimabhramaracumpitli:' quoted by
Swami Jagadiswarananda, "Sri Madhusudanasarasvati, " Vedanta Kesari, 28 [ 1 94 1 -42] ,
3 1 3 [my trans.]).

35. See above, note 24.

36. See SGB on BG 2 . 1 1 , 3.20-26; also William Cenkner, A Tradition of Teachers:

SaT{!kara and the Jagadgurus Taday (Columbia, MO: South Asia Books, 1983), pp.
1 27-46.

37. "The Sages who promulgated [the various apparently contradictory] systems of
doctrine all had as their final purport the Supreme Lord , the One without second
taught in the Upanishads, and the ultimate truth of the appearance theory [as taught
by Advaita] . Certainly these sages were not deluded, since they were omniscient.
Realizing, however, that persons inclined toward [enjoyment of] external objects
could not be immediately introduced to the supreme goal of life, they taught a
variety of [lesser] forms [of doctrine] with a view to [attract the minds of the ignorant
and thus] ward off heterodoxy" (sarve�tJrr! ca prasthilnakanr!laf!l munfnlu]1
vivanaviJdaparyavasanenadvitfye paramesvare eva vediintapratipadye tatparyam / na hi
te munayo bhriintal;z sarvajllatvat te$aT{!, kintu bahirvi�ayapravat;tiinaf!l apatatal;
paramapu�rmhe praveso na bhavatiti niistikyanirvllrat;taya tail; prakarabhedal;z
pradarsitiil;, Madhusudana' s tika on Mahimnastotra 7 ; Mahimnastotram , Haridasa
Samskrta Granthamala [Banaras: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1949] , pp. 16-
17).

Cpo the following remarks made earlier in the commentary on the same verse: "The
Ganges and Narmada Rivers, following a straight course, reach the ocean directly,
but the Yamuna and the Sarayu, following a crooked course, reach it only indirectly ,
after flowing into the Ganges. Even thus, those devoted to hearing, reflecting on,
[paramesvara] directly, while others
etc . , the great sayings of the Vedanta attain you
attain you only indirectly, according to the relative purity of their minds" (yatha
[jupathajU$af!l gallgllnannada-dtnaf!l salqad eva samudral;z prlipyal; yathii vii
ku{ilapathaj�iiI!z yamnunl1sarayvifdfnaT{! gallgiipravesadvarll paramparaya, evaf!l
vediintavakyasravat;ta-mananlidini�!hiinam salqiit tvaf!l prllpyal;z, anyefiif!l tv
antal;zkarat;taSuddhiUTraramyena paramparaya tvam eva prllpyal;z) , Mahimnastotram, pp.
8-9.

38. Unlike Shridhara and, later, Appaya Diksita, he never abandons his strict Advaitic
metaphysic while writing on devotion.

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