SIDDHANTA SOORYODAYAM : Pandit V. Krishnamacharyar; Translated into Tamil by V. Vasudevan, Pub. by Pandit Krishnamacharyar Trust; Copies can be had from T. S. Sriraman, 32, Tank Bund Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai-600034. Price not mentioned.
Sankalpa Sooryodayam (meaning, the dawn of the divine will) is an allegorical drama of Vedanta Desika, the author of some 120 works in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Manipravala. The play also speaks of the effort by a sentient soul to attain Moksha (liberation). Siddhanta Sooryodayam is what Pandit Krishnamacharyar wrote (in Sanskrit) by way of an introduction to an edition of Desika's work published by the Adyar Library in 1948.
Quite appropriately, Krishnamacharyar's work gives a summary of Desika's play and proceeds to present a quick bird's eye-view of the Acharya's writings. What is more, he has made a lucid and objective presentation of the two branches of Vaishnavism, highlighting the 18 cardinal differences between them. This book also carries a Tamil translation of the Sanskrit text, thereby widening the reach of the original work.
In effect, this volume is verily a compendium on Vaishnavism, Visishtadvaita philosophy, and Desika's contribution to both. V. Vasudevan, author of the Tamil version, and the Trust deserve the gratitude of students of oriental studies for this signal service.
