Gaudapada

Gauḍapāda
Adi Guru Shri Gauḍapādāchārya
Titles/honours	founder of Shri Gaudapadacharya Math
Philosophy	Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy

Gauḍapāda (c.6th century CE), also referred as Gauḍapādacharya, was an early medieval era scholar of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. While details of his biography are uncertain, his ideas inspired others such as Adi Shankara who called him a Paramaguru (highest teacher).

Gaudapada was the author or compiler of the Māṇḍukya Kārikā, also known as Gaudapada Karika. The text consists of four chapters (also called four books), of which Chapter Four uses Buddhist terminology thereby showing it was influenced by Buddhism. However, doctrinally Gaudapada's work is Vedantin, and not Buddhist. The first three chapters of Gaudapada's text have been influential in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Parts of the first chapter that include the Mandukya Upanishad have been considered a valid scriptural source by the Dvaita and Vishistadvaita schools of Vedanta, but nothing from chapter four with Buddhist flavor has found acceptance or use in the Vedanta school of Hinduism.

The century in which Gaudapada lived and his life details are uncertain. Estimates vary from early 6th to 7th century CE. He is generally dated from estimates for Adi Shankara, whose teacher Govinda Bhagavatpada is presumed to be the direct disciple of Gaudapada. Shankara in some texts, refers to Gaudapada as the "teacher's teacher" who knows the tradition of the Vedānta (sampradāya-vit). Assuming how long each lived and when, Gaudapada is estimated to have lived sometime in the 7th century CE. Alternatively, states Potter, the phrase "teacher's teacher" should not be taken literally, and more in the sense of another phrase he uses for Gaudapada, namely Paramaguru (highest teacher). He may have been the guru of Sankara's teacher, but was likely a more distant guru, states Michael Comans.

Another estimate places him around the early 6th century. This estimate is based on Buddhist literature, and particularly those of scholars Bhavaviveka, Santaraksita and Kamalasila who cite Gauḍapada kārikās. Bhavaviveka was a contemporary of Dharmapala, states Karl Potter, while Chinese texts and travel accounts place Dharmapala in the mid 6th century CE. Assuming the Buddhist and Chinese records are reliable, and for Bhavaviveka to have quoted Gauḍapada kārikās, Gaudapada must have lived around 500 CE, or sometime in the first half of 6th century CE. But, it is certain that Gaudapada lived after the 4th century because he cites some Buddhist views of Nāgārjuna and Asanga, the latter of whom various accounts place in 4th century India.