Drstisrstivada - An Analysis and Critical Appraisal
Summary
This scholarly article examines the Advaita Vedānta doctrine of dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda, which holds that the world is created with and depends entirely on perception. After introducing the idea that external objects have no independent reality, Ram Murti Sharma surveys post-Śaṅkara Advaitin writers – notably Prakāśānanda and Sureśvara – and shows how they attempted to reconcile the Upaniṣadic teaching of non-duality with the empirical multiplicity experienced in waking and dream states. The author contrasts dṛṣṭi‑sṛṣṭi‑vāda with other Advaitic explanatory models such as abhāsa‑vāda (appearance theory), avaccheda‑vāda (limitation theory) and pratibimba‑vāda (reflection theory), and notes that critics like S.N. Dasgupta and Hiriyanna view the doctrine as a later development influenced by Buddhist Vijñānavāda. He discusses passages where Śaṅkara himself seems to both support and deny the parity of waking and dream experience, creating interpretive tension for later commentators. By situating dṛṣṭi‑sṛṣṭi‑vāda within the larger Advaitic project of proving that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory, the article explains why perception is considered the instrument that both projects and dissolves the universe. Sharma closes with reflections on whether the doctrine should be taken literally or read as a pedagogical device, and emphasises its role in guiding seekers from the empirical to the absolute level of reality.
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Conclusion
Sharma concludes that dṛṣṭi‑sṛṣṭi‑vāda is best understood as an interpretive strategy used by Advaitins to underscore the unreality of the phenomenal world rather than a rigidly held metaphysical dogma. By treating perception as the key to both creation and dissolution, the theory bridges the gulf between empirical experience and non‑dual truth. Nevertheless, the author reminds readers that Advaita ultimately transcends all conceptual models; once self‑realisation dawns, the apparatus of theory falls away.