The Tattvasuddhi and Subjectivism
Summary
This scholarly note analyses the Tattvasuddhi, an Advaita Vedanta treatise sometimes cited as supporting dr̥ṣṭi‑sṛṣṭi‑vāda—the doctrine that perception itself creates the world. Appayya Dīkṣita’s Siddhāntaleśasaṃgraha refers to the Tattvasuddhi as asserting that difference is not cognised in perception and that perception establishes non‑duality. Some scholars therefore interpreted the work as espousing radical subjectivism. Drawing on a newly available manuscript of the Tattvasuddhi, the author demonstrates that this reading is incorrect. The text affirms the existence of an omniscient Īśvara distinct from individual souls and states that Brahman is both the material and efficient cause of the universe. It explains that Māyā transforms into the world according to the karmic potencies of beings and that Brahman witnesses these transformations. Passages cited by Appayya Dīkṣita refer to the non‑cognition of difference in immediate perception but do not deny the empirical reality of the world. The note concludes that the Tattvasuddhi advocates a nuanced form of non‑dualism compatible with theism, not solipsistic subjectivism.
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Conclusion
By examining the Tattvasuddhi manuscript, the author refutes the attribution of dr̥ṣṭi‑sṛṣṭi‑vāda to its author. The treatise affirms a theistic Advaita in which Brahman/Īśvara creates and pervades the world, while perception reveals non‑duality without denying empirical reality. This finding clarifies the diversity of views within Advaita Vedanta and cautions against simplistic classifications.