BHASKARA

(c. ninth century C.E.)

   Vedantic philosopherBhaskara was one of the most important phi-losophers of VEDANTA. He accepts the notions of non-duality—the unity of reality—as argued by the earlier SHANKARA, but does not accept their notion that the phenomenal universe, the every-day world, is illusory. He instead argues that the universe is a real evolute of the Supreme Reality BRAHMAN, regarded not as a person but as an entity. Only one of his books is extant, a commentary on the Vedantic text the VEDANTA SUTRA.

   Further reading: S. N. Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy. Vol. 3 (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975); A. B. Khanna, Bhaskaracarya: A Study with Special Refer-ence to His Brahmasutrabhasya (Delhi: Amar Granth, 1998).