Materialien zur Geschichte der Rāmānuja-Schule VI

The sixth volume of the “Materialien zur Geschichte der Rāmānuja-Schule” deals with the development of a theology of the Goddess (Lakṣmī/Śrī) in the Rāmānuja school in the period between Rāmānuja and Veṅkaṭanātha. The study examines all extant texts of the school’s Sanskrit tradition that contain teachings on the Goddess, presenting the specific passages in Sanskrit and in their first German translation, and attempts to understand the statements of the texts in their historical context and to interpret them from the point of view of religious hermeneutics. The description starts with a fragment of the lost Ṣaḍarthasaṃkṣepaḥ of Śrīrāma-miśra (appr. 1100 C.E.), which already contains an internal scholastic discussion of a central theme of this theology, namely, the doctrine of the Goddess’ being śeṣī. Then Vatsyavaradaguru’s (appr. 1200 C.E.) Prapannapārijātam is investigated, in which its author evolves a theology of the Goddess from text passages of the religious tradition of Pāñcarātra. Vatsyavaradaguru’s main endeavour is to show that the Goddess has the same nature as her husband Viṣňu-Nārāyaňa and in which manner. Meghanādārisūri (appr. 1300 C.E.), who is dealt with subsequently, advocates a different theology of the Goddess.