Dvaita Philosophy Resource Centre

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)

Faculty of Humanities, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Manipal Centre for European Studies
Dvaita Philosophy Resource Centre

Dvaita Philosophy Resource Centre (DPRC) was established as part of the Manipal Centre for European Studies (MCES) in 2009 with the funding from the Delegation of the European Union to India. MCES offers a multidisciplinary platform for studies and research in the areas of Europe-Asia (India) Interactions, Higher Education, Multiculturalism and Multilingualism, Socio-politics as well as Indian Philosophy and Sanskrit Studies, which helps to understand the Indian perspectives historically, culturally and philosophically through its centres, programs and activities.

Overview

For thousands of years, the vast Sanskrit literature, which also deals with Vedic and other philosophical schools of thoughts, has contributed greatly to Indian knowledge system. Over the years, different schools of philosophy have added different dimensions and offered hermeneutic explanations and interpretations to this repository of knowledge. Among them, three schools of Vedanta gained popularity and commanded the support of intellectuals. One of them is called Tatvavada (Realism) or Dvaita philosophy, advocated by Madhvacharya (Anandatirtha) of 13th century. Tatvavada emphasizes on empirical approach to scientific inquiry. Considered to be a realist, Madhvacharya was profound in his knowledge of logic and offered scientific explanations to Vedic understanding.

The temple town of Udupi situated near the birthplace of Madhvacharya and known for its philosophical and cultural heritage serves as the citadel of Dvaita philosophy for more than 700 years. Several academic discussions and hundreds of publications take place in Dvaita philosophy. However, most of them are in Sanskrit or other regional languages. Several manuscripts that are hundreds of years old are available in small study and research centres and Sanskrit colleges around Udupi. Most of them are not preserved due to the lack technological know-how required to maintain these precious resources. Unfortunately, these remain unexplored by the global academia.

Manipal being a part of Udupi, it was but natural that Dvaita became a focal point of philosophical discussions. The commitment of the University to preserve the philosophical and spiritual heritage of this region led to the establishment of DPRC.

Vision

The Centre focuses on creating academic platforms for philosophical discourses focusing on Dvaita Vedanta. The larger idea is to integrate the Indian knowledge system into that of the world.

Mission

DPRC strives to be the Centre of excellence among Dvaita centres and encourage the academic approach to Dvaita School offering programs, conducting research and bringing out publications.

Objectives

• To preserve the rich philosophical, spiritual and cultural heritage of India
• To open the doors of Indian philosophy to the scholars of the world
• To provide the platform for knowledge sharing and employ the best research practices
• To bridge the gap between traditional and modern academia with the help of technology
• To intensify philosophical discussions worldwide based on scientific temperament
• To mainstream the discourses in philosophy and social sciences with focus on contemporary relevance

Activities 

• Courses on Indian philosophy and Dvaita, Vedic and Sanskrit studies
• Research projects and PhD programs
• Translations and publications of scholarly works into English
• National and international collaborations
• Academic and cultural events: conferences, short-schools and workshops
• Development of library
• Digitisation of rare resources such as manuscripts
• Development of Sanskrit Digital Humanities

Since its inception, the Centre has brought out scholarly publications, and organised summer schools, workshops and seminars. Presently, it is working on a research project on Mahabharata with a young team of tradtional scholars under the guidance of scholars of national and international repute. It also conducts courses on Bhagavadgītā, and Indian ethics and epics.

Courses offered

a) Introduction to Indian Ethics and Epics
b) Certificate Course in Bhagavadgita

Research project 

Grammatical Analysis and Contextual Tagging of Mahabharata and Tatparyanirnaya

Publications

• Valmiki Ramayana – Critical Essays by M R Parameswaran 2015
• The Language of Logic – Navyanyaya Perspectives by Tirumala P Kulkarni and Jaideep Joshi 2014
• The Ramayana of Valmiki – A condensed version of Valmiki’s epic by M R Parameswaran 2013
• A Modern Introduction of Madhva Philosophy by B H Kotabagi 2012
• The Path of Proofs – Pramanapaddhati of Sri Jayatirtha with English rendering by Shrinivasa Varakhedi 2011; reprint 2017

Summer schools

The Word and the World – A Philosophical Inquiry
July 13-25, 2015
Jointly organised with Chinmaya International Foundation
Course Directors: Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Karnataka Sanskrit University and Prof Ashok Aklujkar, University of British Columbia, Canada

The Living Philosophies and Cultures of India
July 24 to August 7, 2014
Jointly organised with Chinmaya International Foundation Shodh Sansthan
Course Directors: Prof Dr Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Karnataka Sanskrit University and Prof Dr Arindam Chakrabarti, University of Hawaii, USA

Workshops/seminars 

• Four-day international workshop on Sanskrit Computational Linguistics: linking Sanskrit grammar and texts with modern science and technology (as part of Mahabharata research project) on January 2-5, 2017 hosting scholars like Prof Gerard Huet, Prof Amba Kulkarni, Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Prof Malhar Kulkarni, Prof Peter Scharf and Dr Pawan Goyal
• Two-day workshop on E-text Encoding of Mahabharata (as part of Mahabharata research project) hosting scholars Prof Amba Kulkarni, Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi and Vidvan Vijayasimha on November 14-15, 2016
• Two-day workshop on Mahabharata annotation and SCL applications on October 21-22, 2016 
• Panel discussions (and presentations) on Context Identification for Mahabharata Annotation hosting scholars like Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Prof Veeranarayana Pandurangi, Prof Tirumala Kulakarni, Dr Nirmalya Guha and Dr Mrinal Kaul on October 11, 2017 and November 14, 2016
• Launch of 40-month research project on Grammatical Analysis and Contextual Taggingof Mahabharata and Tatparyanirnaya at DPRC on October 11, 2017
• Seminar on Bridging worlds – religion and cosmology in Jainism by Dr Meera Baindur in two-week Lancaster University Summer School Explore India: A Cultural Encounter on September 6, 2016 at Karkala Jain temple
• Seminar on Introduction to Dvaita philosophy by Srinivasa Kumar N Acharya in two-week Lancaster University Summer School Explore India: A Cultural Encounter on September 6, 2016
• Seminar on Traditional schooling – Gurukula in India by Srinivasa Kumar N Acharya in two-week Lancaster University Summer School Explore India: A Cultural Encounter on September 6, 2016
• Seminar on Philosophy of Advaita by Dr Nirmalya Guha in two-week Lancaster University Summer School Explore India: A Cultural Encounter on September 1, 2016 at MCPH
• Seminar on Introduction to Continental Philosophy by Dr Apaar Kumar on August 25, 2016 
• Seminar on Introduction to Indian Philosophy by Dr Nirmalya Guha on August 24, 2016 
• Seminar on Revisiting Indian Epics: Understanding Dharma and Niti by Srinivasa Kumar N Acharya on August 18, 2016 
• Two-day workshop on Revisiting Indian Philosophical Texts and Textual Translationsjointly with MCPH hosting scholars Prof Stephen Philips, Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Dr Hugo David, Mr Naresh Keerthi and Dr Nirmalya Guha on April 12-13, 2016
• Two-day workshop on Ganaka-Samskritam (Sanskrit Computers)
• Straight from the Horses’ Mouth (Author meets Readers) interaction with the Shrinivasa Varakhedi, author of The Path of Proofs
• Releases of MUP-DPRC publications (books): Pramanapaddhati; The Ramayana of Valmiki; The Language of Logic
• Seminar on Dvaita Philosophy in the Contemporary World and Inauguration of DPRC 

Advisory board

An Advisory Board with luminaries ensures active guidance and support to the Centre. Following are the members of this Board:

• Prof Dr Krishnacharya Tammannacharya Pandurangi
• Padmashri Dr Bannanje Govindacharya
• Prof Dr Prahlada Char D
• Prof Dr Anandatirtha V Nagasampige
• Prof Dr Shrinivasa Varakhedi
• Prof Dr Vadirajacharya Raghavendracharya Panchamukhi
• Prof Dr Parthasarathi Raghavendra Panchamukhi
• Prof Dr Vyasanakere Prabhanjanacharya
• Vidvan B Gopalacharya
• Prof Dr Parthasarathi Aralumallige

• The Path of Proofs – Pramanapaddhati of Sri Jayatirtha with English rendering by Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi
• A Modern Introduction of Madhva Philosophy by Prof B H Kotabagi
• The Ramayana of Valmiki– A condensed version of Valmikis epic by Prof M R Parameswaran
• The Language of Logic – Navyanyaya Perspectives by Prof Tirumala P Kulkarni and Jaideep Joshi
• Valmiki Ramayana – Critical Essays Prof M R Parameswaran