Mådhva or Gauḍīya? The Philosophy of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa

Abstract

Kiyokazu Okita’s article probes the often-contested philosophical lineage of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, a pivotal 18th-century thinker whose defense of Gauḍīya Vedānta in Govinda-bhāṣya raised enduring questions about his doctrinal affiliation. Though traditionally held to be a Mādhva sannyāsin—due to Baladeva’s grounding in Nyāya and Mādhva-style logic—Okita presents evidence that his ontological commitments and theological structure align more squarely with Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, especially the acintya-bhedābheda doctrine of Jīva Gosvāmī. The article carefully tracks Baladeva’s citations, philosophical method, and theological vocabulary to argue that his project was not to reproduce Mādhva dualism but to give Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism a form acceptable to Vedāntic orthodoxy in the absence of earlier commentary on the Brahma-sūtra. Okita frames Baladeva as a sampradāyic diplomat, one who embedded Gauḍīya nondualism within a Mādhva rhetorical strategy, thus securing theological legitimacy while remaining true to the devotional core of Caitanyaite thought.