Mådhva or Gaudiya? The Philosophy of Baladeva Vidyåbhüßa∫a: Journal of Vaishnava Studies

Abstract

The Gau∂îya Vaishnava tradition claims to be the ‘Brahma-MådhvaGau∂îya Sampradåya.’ The first Gau∂îya text to record such a claim is Kavi Kar∫apura’s Gaura-ga∫oddeΩa-dîpikå.3 This claim, however, is given its philosophical basis by Baladeva Vidyåbhüßa∫a in his Govinda-bhåßya and Prameya-ratnåvalî, which is meant to be a summary of the Bhåßya.
In the context of Indian intellectual traditions, a sampradåya consists of a body of philosophical conclusions (siddhånta) and the generations of people who transmit it through the chain of a teacher-disciple relation (guru-paramparå). Therefore, the term ‘Brahma-Mådhva-Gau∂îya Sampradåya’ implies that two traditions—the Mådhva Sampradåya founded by Madhva or Ånanda Tîrtha and Gau∂îya Vaishnavism founded by Krisna Caitanya—share the same philosophical conclusions, and that they are connected through the system of disciplic succession.