Bhava Prakashika literally means revelator of purport. There are many commentaries known by this title. In Advaita literature alone, eleven commentaries bear this name, of which Citsukha (13th century CE) wrote three – on Naishkarmya Siddhi, on the bhashya of Shankara on Brahma Sutra and on Khandana-khanda-khadya of Sriharsha (12th century CE).
Citsukha’s commentary on Adi Shankaracharya’s bhashya
(commentary) on Brahma Sutra follows a syncretic approach. There are two
prominent schools in Advaita, the Vivarana School and the Bhamati School.
Though both agree on the fundamentals of Advaita, viz., oneness of the Brahman
and liberation through knowledge of the self, they differ in some minor
details. While avidya is of many types for Vachaspati, the author of Bhamat, it
is one of Prakashatman, the author of Vivarana. In the same way, the Bhamati
School holds a jiva (a living being) to be delimited, as the locus of avidya,
while the Vivarana School holds the atman to be the locus and content of
avidya. Unlike the Bhamati School, the Vivarana School tries to criticize the viewpoints of opponents as well.
Citsukha, as an Advaita polemicist, follows the Vivarana
line of thinking in this Tattva Pradipika. But in his commentary on Adi
Shankaracharya’s Bhashya on Brahma Sutra, he tries a synthesis of the two
schools. This is known by the liberal use of bhamati and vivarana phrases in
his commentary. Citsukha tries to establish in his commentary that atoms cannot
be construed to be the basis of creation, as they could not have combined with
others to produce an effect.