SRI APPAYYA Dikshita was born in the Krishna Paksha of the Kanya month of Pramateecha Varsha 1544 A.D.) on the auspicious hour and day under the Uttaraproshtapada constellation. His Jayanthi is celebrated every year on 2nd October.
Sri Appayya, the greatest name in the 16th century annals of South India, is the reputed author of more than 104 books, representative of all branches of knowledge in Sanskrit literature. He attained greatness mainly by his works on Vedanta. All the schools of Vedanta have drawn unique and unrivalled authority and support from his pen.
Of his Vedantic work, the Chaturmata Sara Sangrah is justly famous for the impartial justice with which he has expounded the tenets of the four great schools, namely, the Dwaita, Visishtadwaita, Shivadwaita and the Adwaita. This exposition is given in his Nyaya Muktavali, Nyaya Mukhamalika, Nyaya Manimala, and Nyaya Manjari (all these together form the Chaturmata Sara Sangrah).
In almost all branches of Sanskrit learning and literature—poetry, rhetoric, philosophy—his name was peerless among his contemporaries, or for that matter, for decades after him and till today. His Kuvalayananda is generally the first work of rhetoric that is taken up for study. As is usual, Pundit Jagannatha, his contemporary and rival, levelled some criticism on it in his RasagangadharaHis poems in praise of Lord Shiva are great favourites among the worshippers of Shiva. He has also written a learned commentary entitled Parimalam on Vedanta; this is an outstanding monument of his philosophic erudition.
He had a gigantic intellect. Great was the reverence paid to him in his own lifetime; even today he is greatly revered. Once he went to the village which was the birthplace of his wife. A grand reception was accorded to him by the villagers who were proud of calling him one of themselves. There was great excitement. All hailed him with the words, “The great Dikshita is coming amongst us!”. There was no other talk among the villagers for days before the event. The day came, and the distinguished guest, Appayya Dikshita, was greeted by crowds of people who flocked to have a sight of the grand lion of learning.An old lady, curious to a degree, came out, staff in hand, to see the phenomenon; with the freedom that is conceded to one of her age, she made her way easily through the crowd and looked at him steadily for some minutes. Dim recollections of a face, floated in her mind.
Definitely recalling the face, she exclaimed, “I have seen this face somewhere. Wait. Oh yes! are you not the husband of Achha? ”The great scholar confirmed her surmise with a smile.
The good old lady was disappointed. With her face and spirits fallen, she retraced her steps homeward, remarking, “What ado to make—just over Achha’s husband! ”Appayya summarised a world of wisdom when he perpetuated the incident in a half verse: “Asmin grame achha prasiddha—In this village the name and precedence are Achha’s! ”Appayya is considered as an Avatara of Lord Shiva. When he went to Tirupati temple in South India, the Vaishnavas refused him admission. The next morning they found the Vishnu murti in the temple changed into a Shiva murti. The spiritual head of the temple was most astonished and startled. He begged pardon and prayed to Appayya to restore the original form of Vishnu.
Appayya flourished in the middle of the 16th century. He was a great rival of Pundit Jagannatha in the field of poetry. Appayya had no independent views on the doctrinal side of Shankara’s Vedanta, but carried on fierce controversies with the followers of Vallabha at Jaipur and other places. He summarised his views in the Siddhantalesha, which is the most admirable digest of the doctrinal differences among the followers of Shankara.No doubt, he is among the greatest of the spiritual luminaries that India has produced. Though a detailed account of the history of his life is lacking, his works are sufficient testimony of his greatness.
On this great day (2nd October) when you celebrate the birthday of Appayya Dikshita, pray and worship the Lord and your Guru. Study Appayya’s works, especially his great devotional work, Atmarpana Stuthi.
