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".

Sri Madhvāchārya has composed ten essays called 'Prakarana granthas' which touch on philosophical points. Their intent is to clarify the specific philosophical aspect of the tatva vāda doctrine. 'Tattva Saṅkhyānam' is a short composition of 11 verses that deals with the metaphysics that extends beyond the traditional snakhya darshana. As the title of the work indicates (tatva = principles; sānkhyāna = numbers), it is the enlisting of all tattvas, the metaphysical entities as per 'tattva-vāda' doctrine.

- Madhukrishna Sudhindra