Conceiving the canon in 'Dvaita Vedanta': Tradition and innovation in Madhva's 'R&dotbelow;gbhas&dotbelow;ya'

This dissertation examines the way in which Madhva (1238--1317), a medieval Hindu philosopher and saint who founded the philosophical system commonly called Dvaita Vedanta, interpreted a body of canonical literature known as the Rgvedic hymns. Madhva's controversial interpretation, which claimed that the hymns taught the supremacy of the deity Vis&dotbelow;n&dotbelow;u above all other gods as well as His complete distinction from the individual human soul, was a deliberate attack on established Vedic exegetical norms, particularly Sankara's Advaita Vedanta. Madhva's R&dotbelow;gbhas&dotbelow;ya initiated an era of fierce sectarian debate among members of the Hindu religious elite over the core doctrines of the Vedic canon and the proper means for their elucidation.; By examining how Madhva's exegesis reorients and contests previous notions of Vedic orthodoxy in response to the religious sensibilities of his historic milieu, my work on Madhva's R&dotbelow;gbhas&dotbelow;ya illuminates not only the founding doctrines of the third-largest Brahminical sect of South India but also medieval Hindu perspectives on the issues of orthodoxy, sectarianism, and canonicity. The fact that Madhva's deliberately contentious interpretation of the Veda was refuted by many of his contemporaries yet had appeal among others indicates that while the category of Vedic orthodoxy was of central significance to medieval Brahminical identity, there was no clear-cut definition of that orthodoxy. Instead, the categories of 'normative' and 'non-normative', 'orthodox' and 'unorthodox' were being reconsidered in response to shifting religious sensibilities, shifts which in turn reflected broader social and political change. By looking at Madhva's Vedic exegesis in historical perspective, my dissertation challenges lingering Orientalist presumptions of a monist essence to the Hindu philosophical tradition and contributes to emerging scholarship that seeks to explore the Veda's dynamic and evolving role as a canon in Brahminical Hinduism.