Shaivism/Tantra/Nath New movements Kashmir Shaivism Gaudapada Adi Shankara Advaita-Yoga Nath Kashmir Shaivism Neo-Vedanta Inchegeri Sampradaya Contemporary Shaivism/Tantra/Nath Neo-Advaita Hinduism Buddhism Modern Advaita Vedanta Neo-Vedanta Vidyaranya (IAST: Vidyāraṇya), usually identified with Mādhavācārya, was the jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from ca.

[3][4] Madhavacharya is known as the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha, a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu philosophy and Pañcadaśī, an important text for Advaita Vedanta.

The historical accuracy of this account is doubtful, and may have originated as late as 200 years after the events, as a "political foundation myth, an ideological attempt to represent the authority of the Vijayanagara state as deriving directly from that of the Sultanate.

[3][4] According to Slaje, "[t]here is positive epigraphical evidence that he must have been in charge as the head of Sringeri from at least 1374/75 - as the successor to Bharatitirtha who died in 1374 - until 1386, the year of his own death.

"[10] Vidyaranya, who is thought to have been named Madhava before taking ordination as a sannyasin,[9] is usually identified with Madhavacharya, the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha and the Shankara Digvijaya.

[13] According to the Sringeri account, the brothers Madhava and Sayana came to Vidyaranya to receive his blessings, and completed his unfinished Veda bhashyas.

[14] The Andraha or Telugu version depends on Sanskrit sources written 200 years later, and is often repeated in historical works, such as Nilakanta Sastri's A History of South India.

The date of 1336 for the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire is unreliable, based on copperplate inscriptions from the 16th century, forged by Sringeri math "when the Vijayanagara kings shifted their interest from the Saivite matha to the Vaisnavite sect, and the leaders of the matha wanted to reassert their prestige by connecting themselves directly with the founding of the empire.

"[26] In this view, 1346 is more likely, based on an inscription mentioning the manotsava, or great festival, of Harihara and Bukka, held at Sringeri matha.

The contemporary Muslim records refer to Harihara (as "Harip" or "Haryab"), but do not mention anything about his conversion to Islam, although they contain details of other converts from Deccan.

[1] The Vidyashankara temple in Sringeri is the samadhi of Vidya Shankara , Guru of Vidyaranya, which was built over his grave by his disciple Harihara.

[1] The key event according to the Kannada narrative is the manotsava of 1346, which marks the beginning of Vijayanagara patronage of Vidyatirtha, the Shankaracarya of Sringeri math, who legitimized their kingdom with his blessings, receiving a land grant in return.

[15] Advaita Vedanta's position as most influential Hindu darsana took shape as Advaitins in the Vijayanagara Empire competed for patronage from the royal court, and tried to convert others to their sect.

[34] Vidyaranya's works have been explained as a response to the devastation caused by the Islamic Delhi Sultanate,[15][16][17][18] but his efforts were also targeted at Srivaisnava groups, especially Visistadvaita, which was dominant in territories conquered by the Vijayanagara Empire.

[35][36] Sects competed for patronage from the royal court, and tried to convert others to their own sectarian system, and Vidyaranya efforts were aimed at promoting Advaita Vedanta among Srivaishnavins.

Vidyaranya and his brothers wrote extensive Advaitic commentaries on the Vedas and Dharma to make "the authoritative literature of the Aryan religion" more accessible.

[38][31] The Vaishanava traditions of Dvaita and Visitadvaita were placed just above Buddhism and Jainism, reflecting the threat they posed for Vidyaranya's Advaita allegiance.

While best known for his Advaitic works, Vidyaranya also wrote on dharmasastric legal texts, ritual performance and Purvamimamsa, and does not seem to have perceived Mimamsa and Vedanta as being opposite to each other.

Cannibhatta was a younger contemporary of Sāyaṇa and Madhava, author of a sub-commentary on the Pañcapadikavivarana, and worked in the Vijayanagara court under the patronage of Harihara Maharaja.

[43]According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha "sketches sixteen systems of thought so as to exhibit a gradually ascending series, culminating in the Advaita Vedanta (or non-dualism)."

Vidyaranya depicts and quotes directly from the works of their founders or leading exponents,[46] picturing himself (with mental detachment) as an adherent of each of the sixteen distinct philosophical systems.

[11] While positioning himself as an Advaita Vedantin, Vidyaranya departs from Shankara's insistence on Brahma-jnana as the sole and sufficient means for attaining moksha.