Madhvacharya's Dvaita Vedanta (Tatvavada) and translation of Sarvamoola containing Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and Brahmasutra.

Srimad Ānandathērtha was a 12th century saint and a philosoher who re-established the Vēdānta doctrine of tatvavāda, the doctrine relating to the fundamental principles of reality. His doctrine is based on realism and theism. His tatvavāda philosophy is mostly famous as Dvaita, the Dualistic Vēdānta. He is usually referred to as Madhvāchārya. However, his signature in many of his writings refers to him as Srimad Ānandathērtha Bhagavad Pādāchārya.

It is customery in Indian tradition to write commentary on Prasthana-Triya, three foundational texts of Vedānta, i.e. Bhagavad-Gita, Upanishads, and Brahma Sutra, in order to establish a new doctrine claiming authenticity from a Vedic perspective. Gīta-Bhāshya, a commentary on Bhagavad-Gīta, is his first work, composed in his teens. The focus of Gīta-Bhāshya is to understand the Bhagavad-Gīta in its true essence, all the while re-discovering the doctrine of tatvavāda. To do so, it not only becomes nessessary to explain the meaning of some of the Vedic terms, but also to refute the commentaries written by earlier commentators, such as Sri Sankara and Sri Ramanuja. Thus, at times, it becomes nessessary for the reader to have knowledge of these earlier commentaries to understand the context.

For those who are interested in understanding Gita and not concerned about refuting other doctrines, he composed Gīta Tātparya, i.e. purport of Bhagavad-Gita. As the name suggests, it gives the purport of Gita and it does not require the prior knowledge of Sri Sankara or Sri Ramanuja commentaries.

Madhvacharya is always cognizant of the hermeneutic horizon of these ancient texts, that are possibly more than 3000 years old, and the possible bias the person may bring to the act of interpretation based on their own beliefs, cultural context, and historical situated-ness. Hence, he quotes extensively from the traditional texts that are near to the original text's hermeneutic horizon to establish his point of view. Such texts include Vedas, Pancharatra, and Puranas. He gives more importance to the unbroken knowledge lineage than to interpret the words in isolation, with possible distorted later context.

It is always a pleasure to listen to Madhvāchārya. His superior rational intellect, crisp to the point comments, his vast encyclopaedic breadth on Vēdic texts, and his unwavering devotion to Sage Vyāsa have always fascinated me. I hope you will enjoy studying this rendering of his work, as much as I enjoyed compiling it.