MS Hiriyanna
The definitive modern scholar of Indian philosophy - his systematic expositions of the darshanas remain the clearest English-language entry point into Hindu metaphysics and epistemology - rigorous without being reductive.
One of the greatest philosophers of modern India, M S Hiriyanna was a polymath who wrote on almost every important discipline of Indian Knowledge Tradition. His history of Indian philosophy and art are incomparable contributions to contemporary literature. His deep understanding of tradition along with a great grasp of the philosophical disciplines of the West made his prose unique. He explains our tradition lucidly to the contemporary generation and provides necessary comparisons with rival civilizations, philosophies and theologies.
Select Works
- Outlines of Indian Philosophy (1932) – Standard introductory survey of Indian philosophical systems.
- The Essentials of Indian Philosophy (1948) – Condensed companion to Outlines.
- Art Experience (1951) – Seminal work on Indian aesthetics and rasa theory.
- Popular Essays in Indian Philosophy (posthumous) – Accessible treatments of ethics, metaphysics, and worldview.
- The Concept of the Vyavaharika in Advaita Vedanta – Technical study of empirical reality in Shankara’s system.
