King Jasvant Singh of Marvar (Rajasthan), ruler of Jodhpur (r. 1638-1678) is a significant political figure from early modern north India. He authored many texts on philosophical topics in Brajbhasha, and this paper focuses on 6 such understudied works: the Ananda Vilasa; the Anubhava Prakasha; the Aparoksha Siddhanta; the Prabodha Nataka; the Siddhantabodha; and the Siddhantasara. Introducing these works, this article shows how their titles, literary genres, and themes fit within the literary production of early modern Advaita Vedanta. Secondly, through the examination of the opening and closing passages of these compositions, I discuss Jasvant Singh’s self-positioning towards his authorial activities. These two steps allow me to suggest that philosophical and spiritual authority were integral to Jasvant’s self-fashioning through his compositions. From the perspective of the history of philosophy, this article explores Advaita Vedanta philosophy through hitherto neglected vernacular sources to call for more research on early modern authors and their participation in Vedantic traditions to reaffirm ideas, challenge them, or give them new interpretations in the vernacular.
Rosina Pastore (Mon,) studied this question.