Śridhara and his Commentary on the Bhāgavata Purăņa

Abstract

Daniel P. Sheridan’s article analyzes Śrīdhara’s Bhāvārtha Dīpikā, a foundational commentary on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, highlighting its role in articulating a distinctive “advaitic theism.” He critiques modern scholarly tendencies to read the Bhāgavata Purāṇa through the lens of Śaṅkara’s Advaita Vedanta, which obscures the text’s devotional and theistic nuances. Sheridan places Śrīdhara in his historical context (14th/15th century CE) and shows how his interpretations, though influenced by Advaita, align more closely with devotional Vedantic thought. He also examines how Śrīdhara’s work became authoritative for later Vaiṣṇava traditions like those of Madhva, Vallabha, and Caitanya, urging a more nuanced hermeneutical engagement with both the Purāṇa and its commentarial legacy.