Maṇḍana Miśra has often been identified with Sureśvara. Sureśvara (fl. 800–900 CE) and Maṇḍana Miśra were contemporaries of Śankara. Both explained Śankara "on the basis of their personal convictions." According to Kuppuswami Sastri, it is not likely that Maṇḍana Miśra, the author of
Brahmasiddhi, is identical with Sureśvara, but the tradition is correct in describing Maṇḍana Miśra and Śankara as contemporaries. His critical edition of the
Brahmasiddhi also points out that the name Maṇḍana Miśra is both a title and a first name, which is a possible cause for a confusion of personalities. Maṇḍana Miśra's brand of Advaita differs in certain critical details from that of Śhankara, whereas Sureśvara's thought is very faithful to that of Śankara. According to Sharma, Hiriyanna and Kuppuswami Sastra have pointed out that Sureśvara and Maṇḍana Miśra had different views on various doctrinal points: • The locus of
avidyā: according to Maṇḍana Miśra, the individual
jīva is the locus of
avidyā, whereas Sureśvara contents that
avidyā regarding
brahman is located in
brahman. These two different stances are also reflected in the opposing positions of the
Bhamati school and the Vivarana school. • Liberation: according to Maṇḍana Miśra, the knowledge which arises from the
mahāvākya is insufficient for
liberation. Only the direct realization of
brahman is liberating, which can only be attained by meditation. According to Sureśvara, this knowledge is directly liberating, while meditation is at best a useful aid. R. Balasubramanian disagrees with the arguments of Kuppuswami Sastri and others, and argued that there is no conclusive evidence available to prove that Maṇḍana, the author of the
Brahmasiddhi, is different from Sureśvara, the author of the
Naiṣkarmyasiddhi and the
Vārtikas. ==Works==