Abstract

In the last few years, several scholars have attempted to analyze the historical circumstances of Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita and the development of his specific stances in the area of Pāṇinian grammar. This paper seeks to broaden that investigation by exploring Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita’s relationship to Appayya Dīkṣita. Appayya Dīkṣita’s works, such as the Madhvatantramukhamardana, were the direct source of inspiration not only for the critique of the Mādhva Vedānta that appears in Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita’s Tantrādhikārinirṇaya and Tattvakaustubha. They may also be seen as the ideological source for Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita’s grammatical fundamentalism, in rejecting any views that are not strictly in agreement with the views of the three founding sages of Sanskrit grammar, namely Pāṇini, Kātyāyana and Patañjali