Samnyasasrama is designed exclusively to lead a life-style in pursuit of Self-knowledge. It demands a dispassionate mind that does not desire progeny, wealth or pleasures of higher worlds (BU III.5.1). Having renounced the ephemeral, a mendicant is to take to the means of Self-knowledge namely, Listening (sravana), Reasoning (manana) and Assimilation (nididhyasana). The scriptures present two kinds of renunciation, one taken by an enlightened person called vidvat samnyasa and the other taken by a dispassionate one for the sake of Knowledge, called vividisa-samnyasa. The Narada-parivrajaka Upanisad classifies renunciation severally:
1. There is a fourfold classification as vairagya-samnyasa, jnana-samnyasa, jnana-vairagya-samnyasa and karma-samnyasa.
2. The karma-samnyasa is further classified as nimitta and animitta samnyasa, wherein the nimitta is atura-samnyasa, and animitta is krama-samnyasa.
3. A sixfold classification as kuticaka, bahudaka, hamsa, paramahamsa, turiyatita and avadhuta are also described.
The formal renunciation undertaken as prescribed in the Veda-s is called as bahya-samnyasa or asrama-samnyasa. A mendicant is considered to be the mukhya-adhikari for Self-knowledge that involves the stages of Listening etc.
In the Avatarikabhaṣya to the Maitreyi-brahmana (BU II.4), Samkaracarya introduces the anecdote as the enjoinment of renunciation as part of the pursuit of Self-knowledge. Later, in the Maitreyi-brahmana (BU IV.5.15), Samkaracarya establishes both vidvat and vividisa samnyasa as means for establishing in Self-knowledge and gaining Self-knowledge respectively. In the Chandogya Upanisad (II.23.1), the word brahma-samstha is interpreted in two ways, wherein in the first interpretation the Acarya points out that the samnyasa-srama is meant for one who is established in Brahman.
Thus, in the Upaniṣadic context, Acarya presents a mendicant life as the primary means for gaining Self-knowledge and remaining established in it.
Krsna defines a sthitaprajna in the Gita (II.55) as one who renounces everything. Acarya comments as it is referring to total renunciation highlighting bahya samnyasa, and Anandagiri adds that it not only refers to the external renunciation but also to the internal mental renunciation, i.e. antara-samnyasa.
The Adyar Library and Research Centre is not only dedicated to the preservation and conservation of old palm leaf and early paper manuscripts, but it also aims to bring to light rare works that remain unpublished till date. Since the inception of the Library and Research Centre this task has been undertaken by a set of dedicated and committed scholars.
The Adyar Library Bulletin dedicates a section for publication of works from the palm leaves that are preserved in the Adyar Library. The Samnyasavicarah is an unpublished work which is being brought out as an 'Adyar Library Pamphlet Series' so that it can reach to a larger audience. So far, the pamphlet series consists of 64 such works.
I am happy to introduce the present work which is a Pamphlet Series no. 65. This is a rare work of the Advaita school of thought that is known to be well preserved in the Adyar Library. The only other place the manuscript is found is Varanasi. Samnyasavicarah is available here in palm leaf, in Telugu script, with a transcription into Devanagari which was carried out at this centre in the 1930s-40s.
The tradition of scholars meeting occasionally to exhibit their intellectual acumen and skill of argumentation is well-known and is found to be in practice in several parts of India even today. The polemical works under such discussions and debates spark new dimensions in thinking that add to the intellectual and literary wealth of a particular school of thought. In the past, scholars were known to have recorded such ideas in krodapatra that could not be exactly categorized as a full-fledged work. It contains a specific argument brought forth in a particular debate, mostly on one concept. Since it is not a dedicated work as such, the name of its writer / author goes unrecorded. The Samnyasavicarah seems to fall under this category.
I am happy that we are fortunate to find scholars even today to examine such work, thereby enhancing the field of modern research. In this light, The Adyar Library proudly and humbly associates with the well-renowned scholar of modern times, Mahamaho-padhyaya Shri R. Mani Dravid, whose support is marked by the beginning of this publication. It is also a great pleasure that this work has been published along with the English translation by our Honorary Research Officer Smt. S. Bhuvaneshwari.
Samnyasavicarah was published in the Adyar Library Bulletin no. 78-79, 2014-2015, under the section 'Texts and Studies', and the same is now published in the pamphlet series. It is hoped that it will assist research students and scholars.
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