Textual Authority in Classical Indian Thought

Theistic Ved¿nta originated with R¿m¿nuja (1077-1157) was an initiate of the ¿r¿vaisnava sectarian tradition in South India. One of the processes by which the authority of the ¿r¿vaisnavas was consolidated was R¿m¿nujäs synthesis of popular Hindu devotionalism with the philosophy of Ved¿nta.This book demonstrates that by incorporating a text often thought to be of secondary importance - the Visnu Pur¿na (1st-4th CE) - into his reading of the Upanisads, which were the standard of orthodoxy for Ved¿nta philosophy, R¿m¿nuja was able to interpret Ved¿nta within the theistic context of ¿r¿vaisnavism. It contributes new insights to broader issues in religious studies such as canon expansion, commentarial interpretation, tradition-building, and the comparative study of scripture.