Appayya Dikshita is one among greatest thinkers of Southern
India, when there was an intellectual fight of debates between Dvaita, Advaita,
Vishistadvaita and Shivadvaita schools of philosophical thought. He lived between 1520-1593, most part of his life spent
in and out of Tiruvannamalai, Chidambaram, and adjacent parts of Tamil Nadu,
and visited Andhra Pradesh on tour also. Born as Vinayka Subrahmanya to his
pious parents, he rose to the height of a celebrity soon with little support
from local Telugu nayaka ruler Chinnabomma Nayak of Vellore Nayaks, of the
province. His father Rangaraja Adhvari was a noted Yajnika who performed full
time yagas for kings and public. Appayya is probably a pet name at home, which
became popular later.
Deekshitar or Deekshitendra, as he is usually addressed by
his followers, was a poet of high order and a logician of fame also. He generally
picked up fights with local greats like Vijayindra Tirtharu, Doddacharya, and
Tathacharya. His debates with Vijayindra Swamiji find reference in works of both
stalwarts. He took risk of fame as grihasta, arguing with a great Yati like
Vijayindra, student of the great Vyasatirtha. He shook roots of Shankara’s Advaita,
by forming his own school of thought, ‘ Shivadvaita’, based on Kashmir Shaivism
to some extent and his own theory of knowledge.
He composed great poetry on Shiva, Devi and Vishnu also. His ‘ Durga Chandrakala Stuti’ is well known. Appayya composed treatises like Chaturmatasara, a digest of Dvaita, Advaita, Ramanuja and his own school of thought. ‘ Sidhantalesha Sangraha’ is a primer on Indian Philosophy. His Kuvalayanandam is a treatise on poetics. ‘Shivarka Manidipa’ is a book on his own school of thought trying to compromise philosophical thoughts and theories.Deekshitar had a large family of priests and disciples. Some say he gave a unique form of Shiva worship at Nataraja temple, Chidambaram, and Tiruvannamalai. The priests here sport a tuft near their forehead similar to Nambudiris of Kerala.
Some belonging to his direct family line are noted scholar- writer Nilakanta Dikshita of Kalividambanam,a Sanskrit satire, his grandson, and Venkatadhwari of Vishvagunadarsha fame as a travelogue writer, more recently (Dr) Swami Sivananda ( Divine life Society) of Himalayas, C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, noted writer.
Appayya Deekshitar passed away in 1593, after assuming Sanyasa by himself. Some say his Samadhi is at Chidambaram, others at Adayapalam, near Arani which is very curious unlike those of other Sannyasins.
