Śankaráchárya, the great philosopher, the founder of Vedic Monism, the avowed and uncompromising opponent of Buddhism, the commentator on Sutras of Bádaráyana, the Upanisads and the Bhagavadgītá, flourished at the end of the eighth century A.D. His life has been written by his direct disciple Ánandagiri, in Sanskrit prose and also by Sāyanāchārya, the great Sanskrit scholar, who also held the proud position of minister to the state of Vijayānagar.