Preface

Srimad Ānandathērtha was a 12th century saint who re-established the Vēdānta doctrine of 'tatvavāda', the doctrine 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".

Gīta Bhāshya, a commentary on Bhagavad Gīta, is his first work, composed probably in his teens. The reception he received for the scholarly work prompted him to write other commentaries and establish 'tatvavāda', the Vēdānta doctrine based on real principles. The focus of "Gīta Bhāshya" is to establish the doctrine of 'tatvavāda', by refuting the commentaries written by earlier commentators, primarily Sri Sankara and Sri Ramanuja. Thus, knowledge of these earlier commentaries is required to follow the Bhashya.

For those who are interested only in understanding Gita, he composed Gīta Tātparya, i.e. purport of 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.

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.

- Madhukrishna Sudhindra