Sarva-Darsana-Sangraha

In the course of his sketches Madhava frequently explains at length obscure details in the different systems. The systems are arranged from the Advaita-point of view. According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha "sketches sixteen systems of thought so as to exhibit a gradually ascending series, culminating in the Advaita Vedanta (or non-dualism)."

Author

The Text is usually attributed to Mādhavāchārya. Mādhavāchārya is usually identified with Vidyāranya, the Jagadguru of the Śringeri Śarada Pītham from ca. 1374-1380 until 1386. According to tradition, Vidyaranya helped establish the Vijayanagara Empire sometime in 1336, and served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over the Vijayanagara Empire. Vidyaranya is thought to have been named Madhava before taking ordination as a sannyasin. However, Vidyaranya's authorship of the text has been contested by various scholars.

Some accounts identify Madhavacharya or Vidyaranya with Madhava, the brother of Sāyaṇa, a Mimamsa scholar from the Vijayanagara Empire. In his attempt to clarify the identification of Madhava with Vidyaranya, Narasimhachar (1916, 1917) named this Madhava [B], distinguishing him from Madhava [A], a device also followed by Rama Rao (1930; 1931; 1934), and Kulke (1985). Mid 14th century, Madhava [B] served as a minister in the Vijayanagara Empire, and wrote several works, including, according to Rama Rao, the Jivanmuktiviveka, a work usually attributed to Vidyaranya, due to his identification with Madhava [B]. According to the Sringeri account, the brothers Madhava and Sayana came to Vidyaranya to receive his blessings, and completed his unfinished Veda bhashyas.

While usually attributed to Madhava [B], and thereby to Vidyaranya, Madhava [B] was probably not the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha. According to Clark, the author may have been Channibhatta (Chinna or Chennu):

...a most insightful analysis by Thakur (1961) indicates that the author of the SDS was Channibhatta (Chinna or Chennu), son of Sahajasarvajña Vishnu Bhattopadhyaya, who was also a preceptor to Sāyaṇa and Mādhava [B]. Channibhatta was a younger contemporary of Sāyaṇa and Madhava, author of a sub-commentary on the Pañchapadikavivarana, and worked in the Vijayanagara court under the patronage of Harihara Maharaja. The SDS shares many passages and quotations from Channibhatta’s other works. Thakur suggests that the plan of the work may have originated with Madhava, and been written by Channibhatta, with the help of Sāyaṇa and Madhava.