Shiva Advaita

Śrīkaṇṭha Śivācārya (also known as Nīlakaṇṭha Śivācārya) composed the Srikanta Bhashyam,^[10] a commentary on the Brahma Sutras, which became known as Śivādvaita.^[11] The time frame of Śrīkaṇṭha's work is not exactly known, but it is argued to fall somewhere between the 11th and 11 century,^{[3][4][2][5][6][7]} with the 14th to 15th century being more likely, according to Duquette.^[12][a] Sri Appayya Dikshita (16th century CE^[8]) contributed further to Shiva Advaita by expounding Śrīkaṇṭha's philosophy in his Sivarka Mani Dipika.^[11]

The theory of Śivadvaita resembles very closely Ramanuja's Viśiṣṭādvaita non-dualism doctrine,^[b] but differs in who is considered Supreme. While Ramanuja considers Vishnu to be supreme, Śrīkaṇṭha considers Shiva supreme.^[11][2][11] While Śrīkaṇṭha does not deny Nirguna Brahman, which is central to Advaita,^[12] he affirms the supremacy of Saguna Brahman, typical of qualified non-dualism. However, Appayya affirms a form of pure non-dualism, and recasts Śrīkaṇṭha's work in an effort to establish Shiva Advaita in his Śivādvaitanirṇaya.^[12]