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Sāyaṇa (सायण, with honorific Sāyaṇācārya ; the name is said to be Dravidian^[1]; died 1387) was an important commentator on the Vedas. He flourished under King Bukka I and his successor Harihara II, in the Vijayanagar Empire of South India. He was the son of Māyaṇa, and the pupil of Vishnu Sarvajna and of Samkarananda. More than a hundred works are attributed to him, among which are commentaries on nearly all parts of the Veda; some were carried out by his pupils, and some were written in conjunction with his brother Mādhava or Vidyāraṇya-svāmin.

Contents 1 Works 2 References 3 Literature 4 See also 5 External links

Sayana's major work is his Vedartha Prakasha (literally, "the meaning of the Vedas made manifest"), or commentary on the Vedas. His commentary on the Rigveda was edited by Max Müller, 1849-1875. The core portion of the commentary was likely written by Sayana himself, but it also includes contributions of his brother Mādhava, and additions by his students and later authors who wrote under Sayana's name. "Sayana" (or also Sāyaṇamādhava) by convention refers to the collective authorship of the commentary as a whole without separating such layers.

He has also written many lesser manuals called Sudhanidhis treating Prayaschitta (expiation), Yajnatantra (ritual), Purushartha (aims of human endeavour), Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), Sangit Sara (The essence of music), Prayaschitra, Alankara, Sarvadarshanasangraha and Dhatuvrddhi (Sanskrit grammar)^[2]

• B R Modak , Sayana, Sahitya Akademi (1995), ISBN 8172019408.
• Max Müller, Rig-Veda Sanskrit-Ausgabe mit Kommentar des Sayana (aus dem 14. Jh. n. Chr.), 6 vols., London 1849-75, 2nd ed. in 4 vols. London 1890 ff.
• Siddhanatha Sukla The Rgveda Mandala III: A critical study of the Sayana bhasya and other interpretations of the Rgveda (3.1.1 to 3.7.3) (2001), ISBN 8185616736.

• Vijayanagara Empire Literature
• Speed of light#Medieval and early modern theories

• Article on Sayana at everything2.com