The vicāra candrodaya and the vicāra sāgara

sw. niścaladās, sw. vāsudeva brahmendra and pītāmbar jī.

Swami niścaladās jī (1791-1863) and pītāmbar jī (1846-1899) composed the vicāra sāgara and the vicāra candrodaya. These prakaraṇa texts, composed in khadī bolī hindi, summarize the entire vedānta tradition. They cover all major prakriyās. The two texts form a complete study of the siddhānta. The vicāra sāgara was later refined, expanded and transformed into saṁskr̥ta by sw. vāsudeva brahmendra (p. 1964). He added some additional topics, and incorporated sections of the vicāra candrodaya.

vicāra sāgara

• Sw. jayendra sarasvatī, in the śrīmukha of the publication refers to niścala dāsa with the biruda “paṇḍita-uttama-sādhu”, and says अद्वैतशास्त्र-प्रमेय-बुभुत्सूनां उपकाराय कृतः अतिसुलभया रीत्या अद्वैतशास्त्रप्रमेयान् भगवदत्पादीयभाष्य-तद्व्याख्यान-उपव्याख्यानादि-प्राचीनग्रन्थाविरोधेन सुस्पष्टं प्रदीपवत् अवभासयन् च अयं ग्रन्थः. i.e. This grantha is like a lamp that clearly illumines the viṣaya of the the advaita śāstra, in a simple and fitting manner for those who desire to know it, in accordance with bhagavatpāda’s bhāṣya, the commentaries upon it, the sub-commentaries upon them, and in line with all ancient texts.

• Sw. vivekānanda – “The great niścaladās, the celebrated author of the vicāra sāgar – which book has more influence in India than any that has been written in any language within the last three centuries”.

• Sw. paramārthānanda (a disciple of sw. chinmayānanda and sw. dayānanda) – “One of my favorite texts … niścala dās pandit used this text for teaching vedānta to his students. Instead of upaniṣads, he used this. In the North, this was very famous. The text has all the important ideas. Being comprehensive, it became very popular.”

• Sw. ananta caitanya – “This prakaraṇa grantha lives up to its name of being a sāgara of vicāra, without leaving a single topic of interest to any mumukṣu, so much so that if I have to recommend a single work to study to any kind of adhikārī, it would be vicāra sāgara !”

• Rāmakr̥ṣṇa sw. - “As an introductory text, vicāra sāgara is better than any text … this text has every topic which you can dream of in vedānta.”

vicāra candrodaya

The vicāra candrodaya is composed by the celebrated commentator on the vicāra sāgara, pt. pītāmbar-jī. It is a shorter and highly structured introductory text. It is also more practical, and focuses on practical and detailed techniques for vicāra. In this aspect, it outshines the vicāra sāgara.

Books

Pitāmbar jī’s vicāra candrodaya

The original vicāra candrodaya of pītāmbar jī in khadī bholī hindi. This includes the footnotes by the author himself.

English translation of the vicāra candrodaya by sw. jyotirmayānanda

An english translation by swami jyotirmayānanda from the 1970s. This edition captures the spirit of the original. It is not a literal translation and omits footnotes.

Saṁskr̥ta vicāra sāgara by sw. vāsudeva brahmendra

A pdf version of the text is available here.