Author:
Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara was a scholar who lived in Vārāṇasi in the later half of the 17th century, famous for his commentary on the Mahābhārata named Bhārata-bhāva-dīpa.
He was son of Govindasūri, from a Marāṭhi-speaking Deśastha Ṛgvedi Brāhmaṇa family that had been established at the temple town of Karpūragrāma (now called Kopargaon in the Ahmadnagar district of Maharashtra) on the banks of the river Godāvarī. He moved to Vārāṇasī, where he studied Veda and Vedaṅga, Mīmaṃsā, Śrauta, Yoga, Śaiva texts, Tarka, and especially Advaita-Vedānta from several teachers, before beginning his literary career. His teachers and mentors at Vārāṇasī, which was then a hub of śāstric learning, included his guru referred by him as Lakṣmaṇārya, and Nārāyaṇa Tīrtha. His Vedānta writings were influenced by Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, Nṛsiṃhāśrama, and Appayya Dīkṣita. Nilakaṇṭha had also composed a commentary on the Devī-Bhāgavata-Purāṇam among a dozen other works.
Work:
His commentary, Bhāratabhāvadīpa, is the only one that is widely used in Sanskrit studies today. His commentary was from the viewpoint of Advaita Vedānta. He quotes from the commentaries of Devbodha, Vimalabodha, Arjuna Miśra, Ratnagarbha, & SarvajñaNārāyaṇa.