Yadava Prakasa

Yadava Prakasa (Sanskrit: यादवप्रकाश, romanized: Yādavaprakāśa) was a Bhedabheda[1] Vedanta scholar and a contemporary of Vaishnava acharya Ramanuja.[2] He was one of the teachers of Ramanuja during the latter's early years in Kanchi. It is said that Ramanuja joined Yadava Prakaasa's school while he was only sixteen years old.[3]

However, severe differences rose between them early on, over the interpretation of several Vedic texts and scriptures of Hinduism like Chandogya Upanishad. This eventually led Ramanuja to break away from Yadava Prakasa and expound his own school of thought known as Vishishtadvaita.[4]

According to the Sri Vaishnava tradition, when Ramanuja was a student under Yadava Prakasa, the latter grew jealous of Ramanuja's rise to fame. So Yadava Prakasa tried to get rid of Ramanuja during a tour to the Ganges in north India. Govinda, Ramanuja's cousin, realised this and warned Ramanuja who then left the group and escaped to Kanchi with the help of an elderly hunter couple. Later, Yadava Prakasa realised his folly and became a disciple under Ramanuja.[5][6]

  1. ^ Nicholson 2010, p. 34.
  2. ^ Jon Paul Sydnor. Ramanuja and Schleiermacher: Toward a Constructive Comparative Theology. Casemate Publishers, 2012 - Religion - 238 pages. p. 21.
  3. ^ Ankur Barua. The Divine Body in History: A Comparative Study of the Symbolism of Time and Embodiment in St. Augustine and Ramanuja. Peter Lang, 2009 - Religion - 253 pages. p. 17.
  4. ^ Madabhushini Narasimhacharya. Sri Ramanuja. Sahitya Akademi, 2004 - Hindu saints - 51 pages. pp. 18–19.
  5. ^ "Ramanuja's Life History". SriVaishnavam.
  6. ^ "Yadava Prakasa plots to kill Ramanuja". Iskcon Times.