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{{short description|School of thought in Hinduism}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Hindu philosophy}}
{{DvaitaInfobox}}
[[File:Madhvacahrya.jpg|alt=|thumb|272x272px|[[Madhvacharya]] (1238-1317 CE), the main proponent of Dvaita Vedanta]]
'''Dvaita Vedanta''' (originally known as '''{{IAST|Tattvavāda}}''') ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|v|aɪ|t|ə|_|v|ɪ|ˈ|d|ɑː|n|t|ə}}), is a sub-school in the [[Vedanta]] tradition of [[Hindu philosophy]]. Alternatively known as ''Bhedavāda'', ''Bimbapratibimbavāda'', ''Pūrnabrahmavāda'' and ''Svatantra-Advitiya-Brahmavāda'', the Dvaita Vedanta sub-school was founded by the 13th-century scholar [[Madhvacharya]].<ref name="Fowler2002p342"/> The Dvaita Vedanta school believes that [[God]] and the individual souls ([[jiva|jīvātman]]) exist as independent realities, and these are distinct, being said that Vishnu (Narayana) is independent, and souls are dependent on him. The Dvaita school contrasts with the other two major sub-schools of Vedanta, the [[Advaita Vedanta]] of [[Adi Shankara]] which posits [[advaita|nondualism]] – that ultimate reality ([[Brahman]]) and human soul ([[Ātman (Hinduism)|Ātman]]) are identical and all reality is interconnected oneness, and [[Vishishtadvaita]] of [[Ramanuja]] which posits qualified nondualism – that ultimate reality ([[Brahman]]) and human soul are different but with the potential to be identical.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRlB4v85S1EC|year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-94-3|pages=238–243, 288–293, 340–343}}</ref><ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 1 & 2, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, pages 12-13, 213-214, 758-759</ref> [[Sanyasi]]'s of Dvaita Vedanta order belongs ēkadaṇḍi tradition.{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=525}}

==Etymology==
''Dvaita'' (द्वैत) is a Sanskrit word that means "duality, dualism".<ref name=mmwsat507>Sir Monier Monier-Williams, [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/0500/mw__0540.html Dvaita], A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), {{ISBN|978-8120831056}}, page 507</ref> The term refers to any premise, particularly in theology on the material and the divine, where two principles (truths) or realities are posited to exist simultaneously and independently.<ref name=mmwsat507/><ref name="Fowler2002p342">{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRlB4v85S1EC|year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-94-3|pages=340–343}}</ref> Indologist [[B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma]] says, "The English term 'Dualism' is inadequate to express the full content and depth of meaning that Madhva has put into term "Dvaita", as it is to be implied to his system. Even the Sanskrit word "Dvaita" is not literally capable of expressing more than the fundamental principles accepted. {{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=5}}{{Sfn|Chang|1991|p=36}} B. N. K. Sharma suggested the term ''Svatantra-Advitiya-Brahmavāda'' as an alternative term to Madhva's system. Sharma says, [[Satyadhyana Tirtha]] of [[Uttaradi Math]] approved this. [[B. N. K. Sharma]] says, "the term ''Svatantra-Advitiya-Brahmavāda'' is capable of conveying directly rather than by implication or defination, the highest reach of its thought and its metaphysical ideology do often stressed by Madhva and so well expounded by [[Jayatirtha]]". It may be seen that such a term would do justice to both the aspects of reality - the finite and the infinite". Quoting the term "Advitīyatva", Sharma also says, "the term 'Advitīyatva' has been interpreted by Madhva, in the Chandogya Bhashya, in terms of 'absence of peer and superior' to 'Brahman', conceding by implication, the existence, the reality of 'lesser reals' like matter and souls under the aegis of God. The first part of the text has been taken to emphasize the unity of God-head by excluding internal distinctions of substance and attributes in Brahman in conformity with text like ''नेह नानास्ति किंचना'' which are understood as nagating some internal distinctions (nānātva) alone in Brahman. The only internal distinctions that are logically conceivable in Brahman, are those of attributes. This is negated by the way of significant negation. The adjunct 'Svatantra' would thus serve to emphasize the transcendence of the supreme over the other reals and its immanence in them and show how the conception of Brahman, here, differs from the 'Nirviśeṣādvaita' of [[Adi Shankara|Samkara]]. Quoting the term 'Svatantra-Advitiya-Brahmavāda', Sharma also says, "It would also stand terminologically balanced with the distinctions of other Vēdantic systems like 'Nirviśeṣādvaita', 'śuddhādvaita', and 'Viśiṣṭādvaita'. It would also lay direct emphasis on the primacy of the supreme as the 'Para-Siddhanta' of the Madhva's thought, and put the teachings about the finite in their proper place as constituting the 'Apara-Siddhānta' (subsidiary truths)".{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=5}}

[[Aluru Venkata Rao]] opines that the term Dvaita is not suitable for Madhva's philosophy, hence it should not be used.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Critique of Indian Dualism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqPWAAAAMAAJ|author=Shivnarayan Joshi Shivji|publisher=Scientific Publishers|date=1 January 1992|isbn = 9788172330224|quote=Alur Venkat Rao opines that the term Dvaita is not suitable for Madhva's philosophy, hence it should not be used.}}</ref> Instead he suggests the name "Pūrnabrahmavāda".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aktdBheKI-IC|title=A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra|page=36|author=Chen-chi Chang|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1991|isbn=978-8120809369|quote=Alur Venkatarao of Dharwar gave Madhva's philosophy the name "Pūrnabrahmavāda".}}</ref>

== Philosophy ==
{{Vaishnavism}}
Dvaita Vedanta is a dualistic interpretation of the [[Vedas]] which espouses dualism by theorizing the existence of two separate realities. The first and the only independent reality (svatantra-tattva), states the Dvaita school, is that of [[Vishnu]] as Brahman.{{sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=340-344}} Vishnu is the supreme [[Self]], in a manner similar to the [[Monotheism|monotheistic]] God in other major religions.<ref>Michael Myers (2000), Brahman: A Comparative Theology, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0700712571}}, pages 124-127</ref> He is believed to be almighty, eternal,<ref name="glasenapp-einleitung-1-2">[[Helmuth von Glasenapp]]: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, Geistesströmungen des Ostens vol. 2, Bonn 1923, Einleitung (p. *1-2).</ref> always existing, everlasting, all-knowing, and compassionate.<ref>Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 32.</ref> The second reality is that of dependent (asvatantra-tattva) but equally real universe that exists with its own separate essence. Everything that is composed of the second reality, such as individual soul, matter, and the like exist with their own separate reality. The distinguishing factor of this philosophy, as opposed to monistic [[Advaita Vedanta]], is that God takes on a personal role and is seen as a real eternal entity that governs and controls the universe.{{sfn|Etter|2006|pp=59-60}}

Like [[Ramanuja]], Madhvacharya also embraced [[Vaishnavism]]. Madhvacharya posits God as being [[personal god|personal]] and ''saguna'', that is endowed with attributes and qualities (in human terms, which are not believed to be able to fully describe God).<ref name="glasenapp-30-31">Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 30–31.</ref> To Madhvacharya, the metaphysical concept of Brahman in the Vedas was Vishnu. He stated "''brahmaśabdaśca Viṣṇaveva''", that Brahman can only refer to [[Vishnu]]. Scriptures which say different are declared as non-authoritative by him.<ref name="glasenapp-28-29">Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 28–29.</ref> To him, Vishnu was not just any other [[deva (Hinduism)|deva]], but rather the one and only [[Supreme Being]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Edwin |last= Bryant| title=Krishna : A Sourcebook (Chapter 15 by Deepak Sarma)| publisher= Oxford University Press| year= 2007| isbn= 978-0195148923| page=358}}</ref><ref name=stokeriep>{{cite web|title=Madhva (1238-1317) |first= Valerie| last= Stoker| publisher= Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|year=2011 |access-date=29 February 2016| url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/madhva/}}</ref> According to him, the devas are souls of deceased persons who were rewarded for good deeds by being reincarnated into the heavenly worlds and becoming following organs of God's will,<ref name="glasenapp-67-68">Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 67–68.</ref> which would also be the case with [[Vayu]] and [[Lakshmi]].<ref>Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 75.</ref> He also believes that they are mortal, and that some of them could sink into lower stages of existence after death.<ref name="glasenapp-67-68"></ref> Therefore, he believes that only God shall be worshipped through them, and that worshipping them [[Polytheism|on their own behalf]] is an [[apostasy]] which emerged during [[Treta Yuga]], and did not yet exist during [[Satya Yuga]].<ref name="glasenapp-71">Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 71.</ref> According to him, this must also be noticed regarding [[murti]]s.<ref name="glasenapp-85">Glasenapp: Madhva's Philosophie des Vishnu-Glaubens, p. 85.</ref>

Dvaita Vedanta acknowledges two principles; however, it holds one of them (the sentient) as being eternally dependent on the other. The individual souls are depicted as reflections, images or shadows of the divine, but never in any way identical with the divine. [[Moksha]] (liberation) therefore is described as the realization that all finite reality is essentially dependent on the Supreme.{{sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=340-344}} God is believed to have shown the way to attain moksha through several [[avatar]]s.<ref name="glasenapp-einleitung-1-2"></ref>

Five fundamental, eternal and real differences are described in Dvaita school:{{sfn|Fowler|2002|pp=340-344}}<ref name=stokeriep/><ref>James Lochtefeld (2002), Madhva, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0823931798}}, page 396</ref>
# Between the individual souls (or jīvātman) and God (paramathma or Vishnu).
# Between matter (inanimate, insentient) and God.
# Between individual souls (jīvātman).
# Between matter and jīvātman.
# Between various types of matter.

These five differences are said to explain the nature of the universe. The world is called ''prapañca'' (''pañca'' "five") by the Dvaita school for this reason.

Madhva differed significantly from traditional Hindu beliefs owing to his concept of eternal [[damnation]]. According to him, there are three different classes of souls: One class, ''[[Mukti-yogyas]]'', which would qualify for [[Moksha|liberation]], another, the ''[[Nitya-samsarins]]'', which would be subject to [[Saṃsāra|eternal rebirth or eternal transmigration]] and a third class, ''[[Tamo-yogyas]]'', which would be condemned to eternal [[hell]] ([[Naraka (Hinduism)#Description of hells|Andhatamisra]]).<ref>Tapasyananda, Swami. ''Bhakti Schools of Vedanta'' pg. 177.</ref> No other Hindu philosopher or school of Hinduism holds such beliefs. In contrast, most Hindus believe in universal salvation, that all souls will eventually obtain moksha, even if after millions of rebirths.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

== Influence ==
* Dvaita Vedanta and [[Madhvacharya]]'s historical influence in Hinduism, state Kulandran and Kraemer, has been salutary, but not extensive.<ref name=skhk177>Sabapathy Kulandran and Hendrik Kraemer (2004), Grace in Christianity and Hinduism, James Clarke, {{ISBN|978-0227172360}}, pages 177-179</ref>
* According to Sharma, the influence of Dvaita Vedanta ideas have been most prominent on the Chaitanya school of [[Bengal]] [[Vaishnavism]],{{Sfn|Sharma|1962|pp=22-23}} and in [[Assam]].{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|pp=xxxii-xxxiii, 514-516}}
* Madhva's theology influenced later scholars such as [[Nimbarka]], [[Vallabha]] and [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]. B.N.K. Sharma notes that Nimbarka's theology is a loose ''réchauffé'' of Madhva's in its most essential aspects.
* Dvaita Vedanta's discussion of the eternal differences and the gradation between the concept of God, human beings and the observed nature led some early colonial-era Indologists such as [[George Abraham Grierson]] to suggest that its founder, the 13th-century Madhva was influenced by [[Christianity]],<ref name=skhk177/> but later scholars rejected this theory.{{Sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=266}}{{Sfn|Sarma|2000|pp=19-21}}

==See also==
* [[Madhvacharya]]
* [[Madhwa Brahmins]]
* [[Dvaita literature]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Etter|first=Christopher|title=A Study of Qualitative Non-Pluralism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jW2pcWpXY8wC&pg=PA59|year=2006|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-39312-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Fowler|first=Jeaneane D.|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C&pg=PA340|year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6}}
* {{Citation | last1 =Jones | first1 =Constance | last2 =Ryan | first2 =James D. | year =2006 | title =Encyclopedia of Hinduism | publisher =Infobase | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC| isbn =9780816075645 }}
* {{cite book|title = Philosophy of Śrī Madhvācārya|first = B. N. Krishnamurti| last = Sharma| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (2014 Reprint) |isbn = 978-8120800687| year= 1962 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Philosophy.of.Sri.Madhvacarya/Philosophy.of.Sri.Madhvacharya#page/n0/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book|title = A History of the Dvaita School of Vedānta and Its Literature, 3rd Edition|first = B. N. Krishnamurti| last = Sharma| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass (2008 Reprint) |isbn = 978-8120815759| year= 2000 }}
* {{cite journal| title= Is Jesus a Hindu? S.C. Vasu and Multiple Madhva Misrepresentations|first= Deepak| last= Sarma| journal= Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies| year= 2000| volume = 13| doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1228 | doi-access= free}}
* {{cite book| title= Epistemologies and the Limitations of Philosophical Enquiry: Doctrine in Madhva Vedanta|first= Deepak| last= Sarma| publisher= Routledge| year= 2005}}
* {{cite book| title= Introduction to Madhva Vedanta|first= Deepak| last= Sarma| publisher= Ashgate World Philosophies Series| year= 2003}}
*{{Cite book|title=A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy, Part 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asNLliQHDNQC|first=Hajime|last=Nakamura|author-link=Hajime Nakamura|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1983|isbn=978-8120806511}}
*{{Citation|title=A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aktdBheKI-IC|first=Chen-chi|last=Chang|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|year=1991|isbn = 9788120809369}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tatvavada.org Tatvavada]

{{Hindudharma}}
{{Indian Philosophy}}

[[Category:Dualism in cosmology]]
[[Category:Dvaita Vedanta]]
[[Category:Vedanta]]
[[Category:Movements in ancient Indian philosophy]]
[[Category:Hindu mythology]]

Dvaita Vedanta - Revision history

ImportMaster at 16:25, 26 January 2022