The Age of Sankara – The Theosophical Library

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Ex Orientale lux; Ex occidente frux-from the East light; from the West fruit-is a suggestive old saying. ‘Spiritual light has always come from the east and the fruit of materialistic science has been the gift from the west. India has produced a host of intellectuals among whom Sankara takes the place of eminence. His life has been a miracle of thirty-two years which to relate is not history but a piece of poetry and will sound like a legend. He was a sublime -actor on the stage of the world who knew what he was -thinking of when he unflinchingly said :

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‘I expound in half a verse, what has been spoken of in million volumes-Brahman is the Truth and the world is mere illusion ; the soul is none other than Brahman.’ This

-great luminary did save our Sanatana dharma at a critical juncture of religious unrest and he was its most virile and -combative exponent. We reckon Sankara as an avatar with

a practical mission in an age of delusion and decadence. Unique in the achievements of his own life, his greatness an the more is enhanced by the rich legacy of thought be had ‘left behind and the stable institutions he had founded for -individual salvation and knowledge. Centuries have rolJed by, still he shines in the row of renowned teachers of the world.

My father, who was engrossed in this intense study about ·sankara for twenty long years, produced this biography -of the Loka-Guru in 1916, which sta~ds as his chef·d’oeuvre.

As originally planned he could not bring out all the suppl~ ments he promised to incorporate. Death overtook him at the prime of life and prevented him from fulfilling his. Intentions.· The manuscripts containing valuable matter were lost, leaving no trace behind. Our revered Jagadguru· ·Sri Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakotipitha has

graciously accorded his willingness to include my father’s work in the Kosasthanam book series. Destiny has resuscitated my father’s work at last after half a century of oblivion~ Now the second . edition has been enlarged with three· appendices, one of which is a reproduction of my father’s ‘ Successors of Sankaracharya ‘. The publication or

•. this . second edition happily synchronises with the birth centenary of its author. I render my sincere pranamam to· . His Holiness, Sri Acharya Swaniigal of Kanchi Kamakoti.;. pitha without whose munificence this work would not have· come to light at all. To Sri Neelakanta Iyer of B. G. Paul & Co~, Madras, I am very much indebted for the keen· Interest he took in this project and for his valuable advice. I will not forget 1he Liberty Press people who did this job·

promptly with typographic excellence.

–

It is my earnest hope that my father’s method of approach to the problem of Sankara will stimulate· other scholars to bring to light more facts about our· World-Teacher. Lastly, my part here Is very insignficant;:

I can say with the poet ‘ ~’f srft:er6″ m-if fCfi’ ‘f liTRf fqc{)fwilfiT ? •

·•·

1-Block, 17 Flat, Tumbulls Rd.} T. N. Kum.araswamy,.MADRAS-35.

Author’s son.

Pausha Purnima, 9-2-1971

AUTHOR’S FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION

“The Age of sankara,” herewith submitted to the public, is intended to be published in Two Parts, each consisting of .about 400 Pages (16 mo. Double Crown) with a number of Appendices added to each part. Part I consists of a General Introduction and four Chapters and six Appen~ . dices. Chapter I deals with the Method of Investigation followed in the book ; and Chapter 11 enumerates the various chief Eras of Indian Chronology with their res~ pective dates as settled and assumed in this work. Chapter HI is a very long chapter dealing with all the. main incidents connected with the life of Sr!mad Adi . . sankara.cha:rya or sankara as he is uniformly called here,.·· -the first sankara who was born at Kalati in the year 2593 of the Kali Yoga, corresponding to 509 B. C. of A.rya.mba: .and Sivaguru, and who, .after establishing the Advaita Philosophy throughout the whole of India, finally attained. his Brahm!bhava at Ka.nch! in the year 2625 of the Kall Yuga corresponding to 477 B. C. In this chapter, is also’ given a short and succinct sketch of ·the various works <:omposed by him· and of the occasions on which they were composed. Chapter IV deals with the various sankara• ·

cha.ryas or successors of Sankara in the five great Mutts established by him for the preservation and propagation of the Advaita-Vedanta Darsana. As at present written, :it consists of four sections. In section 1 is given a detailed and critical account of the 67 successors of Sankara in the Kama-1 kotiP1tha established by sankara at Kanch! on Vaisakha .Sukla Purnima: of the year Siddharthin in 2620 of tho

Kali Yoga corresponding to 481 B. C. with Sr! Sankara-_ Bhagavatpada himself as its first A.cha:rya. It also briefly notices other works of importance written by them, and other· great men or poets who were contemporary with them together with the dates of their Abhisheka or installation on the P1tha, and Brahm1bhava or mysterious union or· departure ·from this mundane existence. In section 2 is. given a similar account of the successors of sankara in the Sarada Pitha at sringagiri established by sankara at: Sringeri on P~usha s ukla Purnima of the year Pin gala in· 2618 of the Kali Yoga corresponding to 483 B. C. with HasHimalalcacharya or Prithv!dhara (Prthv1dhava) as its first A.cha;rya. It consists of only 33 A.charyas from thebeginning of its establishment up to the present day, as. given in the list of A.charyas of the Sringeri Mutt as at present published. Evidently the records of the Sringed Mutt before the time of Sri Vidyaranya must have been, lost, and a. vain attempt has been made by some of the .A.charyas to trace up their predecessors or supposedl predecessors up to the time of Adi Sankara and in the· attempt they have ignominiously failed and ended in assuming a wrong date for A.di sankara himself by mistaking the year 2625, the date of his Brahmlbhava as referring to 1he Yudhishthira saka as understood by the Buddhists and’ Jains, which. according to them began 468 years after the· commencement of the Kali Yoga, instead of taking that year 2625 as referring to the Era of Kali Yoga, itself, and thereby wrongly placing sankara in the first century B. C.,_ while all the other four Mutts are uniform in their accountsin placing him in the 6th century B. C. Section 3 deals with the 142 successors of Sankara in the Govardhana Matha at Jagannath established by sankara on Vaisakha sukla Dasaml of the year Nala in 2617 of the Kali Yoga corres•

vii

ponding to 484 B. C. with Sri Padmapadacharya orSanandana as its first A.charya. Section 4 similarly deals. with the 73 successors of Sankara in the Saradapltha at

Dwaraka established by sankara on Magha Sukla Saptam’i

in the year Sadha:ral}.a in 2611 of the Kali Yoga corresponding to 490 B. C. with Sri Brahmasvarupacharya or· Visvarupa, the brother of the famous Suresvara:charya orMandana Misra, as its first A.cha:rya. I intended to devote· a firth section to a description of the successors of Sankaraln the Jyotir Matha at Badarika~rama on the Himalayas established by Sankara on Pausba sukla Puri)ima of the· year Raksbasa in 2616 of the Kali Yuga corresponding to. 485 B. C. with Sri Totakacharya or A.nandagiri as its first A.charya ; but I was n~t able to get any account whatsoeverof the said Mutt. It appears that the Jyotir Mutt ceased to exist for the last two or three centuries; and lt has nothing: to do with the Joshi Mutt which now exists in its. vicinity. I was told that the records of the said Advaitik Mutt were with the Maharajah of Theri who in answer to· my query has been pleased to direct me to enquire from the· PalJ<;].ah of the temple at Badarinath founded by Sankara ~

I but he has not been pleased to furnish me with any account of the said Mutt in spite of several requisitions made to him. Ifany one will be pleased to furnish me with some information as to the said Jyotir Matha, I shall be glad to devote one more section to an account of the said Mutt, which, I am glad to. bear form His Holiness Sankaracbarya of the Govardhana Mutt, is attempted to be revived. With this, the main body of the substance of Part I of the Age of Sankara closes.

As stated above, Part I consists of six Appendices. Appendix A deals with the age of Sri Krisb~a. of the Mahabharata War and of the Kali Yuga, wherein the various conflicting theories are discussed pro and con, and viii

the birth of Sri Krish~a is placed 195 years, and the Mahabha.rata War 37 years, before the commencement of the Kali Yuga, which itself is fixed in the year 3102 B. C. Appendix B dealing with the age of Gautama Buddha and after refuting the various theories propounded by Western and Eastern scholars fixes his birth in the year 1862 B. C. and his Nirva.Y.la or death ia the year 1782 B.C. Appendix C deals with the chronology of the Kings of Kashmir as given in the various Ra.jatarangii).’iS, and· shows how they have been systematically misrepresented and misinterpreted both by Occidental and Oriental scholars, and how their interpretation must lead to the absurd result of placing Kalhana himself some 400 years after our own times, if the genuineness of Ra.jatarangii).1 is to be accepted. Appendix D deals with that important and vexed question as to the identity of Chandragupta Maurya with the Sandracottus of the Greek historians, first suggested by Sri William Jones, proposed by Colonel Wilford and seconded by Professor Max Muller and blindly followed by all scholars as it were an axiom that Chandragupta Maurya lived about 322 B. C. Herein is torn to pieces the so-called ‘anchor-sheet ‘ of Indian Chronology, pointing out in detail the absurdities of their arguments-how they are opposed to all Indian and Buddhistic works and traditions, and how the description of Sandracottus as given by the followers ·of Alexander the Great will only tally with Chandragupta (Xandramus) and his son Samudragupta (Sandracottus) of the Gupta Dynasty and how such identification will completely harmonise and perfectly accord with an the Buddhistic and Hindu traditions and accounts. Appendix E deals with the dynastic list of the Nepalese kings from the very end of Dva.para Yuga up to a very recent date; and Appendix F deals with the dynastic ,Ust of the Kings of Magadha from the very commencement

·of the Magadha kingdom by Brihadratha, the father of the ‘famous emperor Jarasandha up to the end of the Gupta Dynasty, as per the authority of the Purai).as and Itihasas,

inscriptions and coins, and other materials.

Part 11 of the Age of Sankara deals with the vexed questions of the date of Sankara and of his system of Philosophy and Religion as revealed in his famous Bhashyas ·Or Commentaries on the Veda.nta Prastha.natraya, and in his various minor works and Prakarai).aS. It consists of Ten ‘Chapters. Chapter I deals with the review of current opinons on the date of .Adi Sankara. Chapter 11 shows bow the year 788 A. D. the commonly accepted date for the birth of Sankara is quite untenable and unfounded. ·Chapter Ill deals with the two great sankaras-A.di sankara and Abhinava Sankara-and shows how they have been confounded with each other by later biographers, and how 1he year 788 A. D. is really the date of the birth of Abhinava .sankara who adorned the Kamakotipitha at Kanch1 as the 38th successor of A.di Sankara. Chapter IV refutes all the ,other theories regarding the date of Adi Sankara. Chapter V deals with the external evidence relating to the date of .sankara such as the various sankara-Vijayas, Pun.yasloka~ Manjans, Ta.mrapatra.nusasanas, Guru-Paramparas, etc. ·Chapter VI deals with the internal evidence relating to the date of Sankara. Chapter VII determines the true age of sankara by placing his birth in the year 509 B. C. and his death in 477 B.C. Chapter VIII gives a short account of the theoretical Philosophy and Religion of Sankara as revealed in his commentaries on the U panishads, Bhagavadglta and Brahmasutras. Ch!ipter IX deals with the practical

·Philosophy and Religion of Sankara as is evidenced by his numerous minor works-Stotras and Prakaranas. Chapter X ·summarises the author’s conclusion.

The second Part also contains four Appendices. Appendix A deals with the soDcalled Edicts and Inscriptions of Asoka and shows how these edicts and inscriptions have nothing to do whatever with Asoka or Asokavardhana, the grandson of Chandragupta, the founder of the Maurya Dynasty. AppendiJ£ B deals with the Lunar Dynasties of Kings. Appendix C deals with the Solar Dynasties of Kings; and Appendix D gives a short bibliographical account of ali the works of Adi sankara.

Such then, in brief, is the description ofthe nature and scope of the work. The whole book is ready in manuscripts. and perhaps requires a slight revision as it is being given to the press. As the whole book with illustrations would cost T something like 4,000 Rupees, I thought of issuing the book I in 8 parts, each part containing about 112 pages ; and the

publication of the whole work depends entirely upon the· patronage of the philanthropic public, the Zamindars and Maharajas : and I sincerely hope that this work, which embodies the result of my researches and labours for the last 20 years in the field of Samskrit Literature. will be patronised by all patriotic Indians by subscribing liberally for separate parts or for the whole work in advance, and in doing so, they will be doing a golden piece of service to Mother India by enabling the author to publish the whole book which will certainly disabuse the minds of several of our educated countrymen of the numerous wrong notions and ideas engendered by foreign savants and their followers in India, regarding the age of the greatest intellect that the world has ever produced.

‘SUNDARI SADANAM,’} ~

16, Coral Merchant St., ~0 t:/ A-1 ~

MADRAS A4..u;~ /~/p,;.v•..,/,.-“( ~9th October 1916. /

High Court Vakil.

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I MEmOD OF INVESTIGATION 5 CHAPTER 11 THE CHIEF ERAS OF INDIAN CHRONOLOGY • •• 15 CHAPTER 111 MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’s LIFE 31

APPENDIX I CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF ADI SANKARA’S LIFE 181

I . APPENDIX 11

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JAGATGURU PARAMPARA STOTRAM 185″ APPENDIX Ill SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACBARYA 193

-: -~-·

THE AGE OF

SANKARA

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I •

THE AGE OF SANKARA

INTRODUCTION

In the whole history of Religion and Philosophy, ancient or modern, no name deserves to be written higher than that of Satikara. He is beyond question “the mightiest intellect the world has ever seen.” None, can

CORRIGENDA

equal him in loftiness of soul, in calmness of spirit, in firmness of mind, or in keenness of intellect. None can vie PAGE 183, line 28-read Brahmaswarupacharya with him in versatility of genius, in sublimity of thought, in for Hastama1aka.

rigidity of logic and in comprehensiveness of philosophic vision. Not even the compassionate Prince of Kapilavastu,PAGE 184, line 17-read Prithvidharacharya nor even the miraculous Carpenter of Galilee can approach for Sureswaracharya.

this holy Ascetic of Kalati in depth of Philosophy and in earnestness of Religion. The boldness of his conception, his sweeping grasp of the multifarious systems of doctrine and practice that obtained in his day, the impartiality with which he solved the national problems of his time, the wonderful adaptability of his philosophy to meet all possible interpretations of ancient texts and all possible inquiries of advancing thought, above all, the clearness of his exposition,

its beauty, simplicity and unassailable reasonableness-those have been the wonder of successive generations of sages and

1 I

scholars, poets and philosophecs, critics and thiDkers, tha~ came after him.

Philosophy, from of old, has been defined as the search I after the One in the Many, and if any one ever successfully .solved the problem of “the One in the Many” in its

INTRODUCTION

metaphysical as well as physical, in its ethical and religious, in its social and political applications, it is, beyond doubt, the great Satikara · who expounded the Advaita Darsana or the Philosophy of the Absolute. Philosophers from Plato to Bain are unanimous in their testimony to the elevating and alleviating influence of his philosophy. ‘ It is the source of much needed peace and happiness to mankind; it is the law. and life of every great nation ; it is the balm of aU evil.’ Referring to it, a great Indian scholar says: 1 ~’The Absolute Philosophy is the Gospel of Nature;Nature, not as understood by dogmatic materialism, but Nature, the source and support of all life and all love. It throws a bridge across the. wide gulf of country and cou~try, nation and nation, caste and caste, individual and

· individual. It melts all shadows of separateness into the substance of unity. One touch of it ‘ makes the whole world kin.’ It puts new life in action, new meaning in words new vitality in forms, new things in thought.”

‘ ‘ The Philosophy of Satikara, and the wonderful manner in which he applied it to the practical conditions of his time have truly saved India from superstitious ritualism on the one hand and from the sceptic materialism on the other. It has, since its first exposition, exercised a magical charm over the mind of India; it has begun to exercise the same charm over the mind of the rest of the whole civilized world. It has been the Saviour of India and it is destined to be the

Saviour of the World. The complete triumph of his Universal Philosophy over contending systems of thought has made him the One J agad-Guru, the Universal Acharya, the High-Priest of Philosophy to the world in general.

J Vide M. N. Dvivedi’s cc Imitation of Safikara,” Introduction, p~ :xii.

INTRODUCTION

· The period when this Master-Philosopher Jived is, therefore. of the most vital interest not only to the chronicler of ·Indian thought in particular, but to the historian of the Worl~’s P~ilosophy in general. His date is also of great help m fixmg the dates of several other writers that lived both before and after him. It is a great pity that no critical ·search has yet been made about the history of Satikara about the time when he lived and wrote his wonderfui

·commentaries on the Prasthana-Traya-the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gfta and the Brahma-Sutras-the glory of his literary activity, to say nothing of the numerous other works ·composed by him in prose and poetry, in elucidation of his Philosophy and Religion. Speaking of his works in general t~~ same .great ~ndian scholar remarks : 2 “Fascinating, weud music ; lucid, chaste, powerful, balanced expression · universal, unsectarian, fearless, loving exposition ;-thes; are some of the characteristics of his varied literary style. He was a real master of the philosophy be preached ; he can

express it in half a verse or a quarto volume of many hundred pages. He would readily break a lance with any adversary, atheist, materialist, ritualist, magician, ascetic !)’ogin or tilntrik. His writings largely reflect the spirit of th~ age . he lived in ; but the magic of the master, whose wand

·can wield all differences into the homogeneous unity of his spell, is unmistakable throughout.”

This lack of any satisfactory inquiry with regard to the age of Sankara is the more to be regretted when we find that I the dates of other great teachers such as Ramanuja and

Maddhva s have been ascertained with tolerable accuracy.

•

2 Vide M. N. Dvivedi’s “Imitation of Safikara,” Introduction,

IX.

a It js quite certain that Riimanuja was born in 1017 A. o.; and Maddhva in 1119 A. D,

4 INTRODUCTION·

With regard to sankara’s date few Orientalists, whetherEastern or Western, are agreed: some place him several centuries before, others several centuries after the Christian. Era-just as it suits their fancy. The author or sukra-Nilif,i., for instance, in his great zeal to assign as ancient a date as. possible, places him 32 years before Sr’i KrshJJa, about 3240 B.C. ; and the author of Kannaif,a Sankara-Vijaya similarly says he was born in the year 934 of the Kali Yuga corresponding to 2169 B.c.’ There are others, and they are. quite numerous, who think with equal zeal that all real philosophy and civilization had been ushered into the world long after the time of Christ, and place sankara, therefore,. just a few centuries before our own time. Thus the autholi of Diibistan (Vol. 11. p. 141) brings sankara down t() 1349 A.D. The discussions of several Orientalists and their new theories based on untrustworthy records have only made confusion worse confounded. The result is that this. historical question remains unsolved practically to this day. Our attempt now is first to review the opinions and methods. of these Orientalists and show how they are untrustworthy and secondly to determine from the materials that we have. been able to gather what date should impartially be assigned to this greatest of philosophers.

4 Vide Jndhra-Bharati, Vol. I. Pt. I. p. 72, under the heading ” Sankaruni-Jivitamu” by V. Ramadas Garu, B.A., B.L,, and also Appendix to Kokkanga Venkatramana Pantulu’s Telugu “SankaraVijaya-Dhvajamu.”

PART I

:REVIEW OF CURRENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE AGE OF S’ANKARA

CHAPTER I

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

It is by no means an easy task to settle the exact date -of an ancient philosopher and writer like sankara. The question ” When did a particular writer live 1 ” presents innumerable difficulties to the historian of Indian Literature. Nor need this surprise us when we see how almost impossible it is for the historian of English Literature to · ascertain the exact date of any writer before Chaucer and ·how the very individuality .of Shakespeare has come to.be .questioned-though Chaucer lived but six centuries, and :Shakespeare but four centuries ago. In the absence, therefore, of definite facts and figures which can be accepted as historically relia’t>le, our only method of investigation· certainly consists in bringing together all possible data and · -determining the hypothesis which best satisfies them ..

In determining the chronology of Ancient India much · valuable Jight is doubtless thrown by (i) Inscriptions which. have been found on rocks and pillars in caves, temples, maths and other buildings, (ii) Inscriptions on plates of· copper found all over India, and (iii) Inscriptions on old coins unearthed in various parts of the land. Of these, the inscriptions found on copper-plates are generally more

THE AGB OF SANKARA

valuable than others inasmuch as they generaUy contain not only the names of the grantor (who is almost always a king) and the grantee (who is s.iinilarly a philospher, poet,. or religious teacher), but also a .long and often complete list of the grantor’s predecessors and some details also of the family or line of the grantee. Nevertheless, without further corroborating particulars, it is difficult to identify the . grantor or be sure of the date (and its era) which the plate may sometimes bear. Hasty inferences by several Orientalists from the apparent story of certain inscriptions. have ·been fruitful of no little confusion and have not

·unfrequently misled the true direction of researches. The :first ·Orientalists had no doubt hard intellectual feats to perform· to reconcile the undeniable antiquity of Indian Civilization with the common traditions of Europea& History which could not trace back to any civilization earlier than that of Greece, nor to a period anterior to a few centuries before the Christian Era. The most liberal minds could not, therefore~ be brought to admit the possibility of any great literary achievement in India before the time of Alexander’s invasion ; and too much has been made of the testimony of foreign travellers, whether Greek or Chinese. We can understand, for instance, that a work or author named by Megasthenes or Hieuen Tsang had existed in or before his time ; but can we infer at the same time that any not mentioned by them had .not so existed-unless we grant ·that the Greek ambassador or the Chinese traveller came to· India for the express purpose of writing out a history of the· civilization and literature, of India in his time, nay had the capacity, means, time and inclination to make an exhaustive research and leave to posterity a perfectly correct record?’ Yet this is exactly the argument throughout used by

METHOD OF INVBS1’lGATION

Alfrecht Weber in his ‘ History of Indian Literature ‘ i.Di fixing th; dates of several Indian authors and works.6

How could Megasthenes or Hieuen Tsang, whose’ mission was purely political or religious, be expected to·

know every book and author of such a vast empire as India ‘l Is not such expectation tantamount to crediting these foreign visitors with powers, objects and facilities that they could hardly lay pretence to or any man for that matter similarly· situated? Yet this is the argument freely used by Western Orientalists as by their Eastern followers.

A still greater fallacy has to be noted in the readiness with which identity is generally established between the unmeaning hybrid names found in the accounts of these foreign travellers and those of famous Indian kings or writers-an identity based entirely upon partial resemblances in sound and circumstances. Inscriptions on coins have been similarly handled. For instance, from the inscription on a coin bearing the figure of a standing king in Greek costume, and some modified Greek characters and figures deciphered as ‘ Kanerki,’ the conclusion has been drawn by Dr. Fleet and implicitly accepted by many an other Orientalist, that the • Kanerki ‘ of the said coin must be the

• Kanishka’ of KalhaJJ.a’s Raja-Tarangi.r;t’i, and that he must have founded the Saka Era of 57 B. c. 6 The fact

& Thus Megasthenes says nothing of the Great-Epic-the Mahii

bharata-and it is “for the first time ··-by a European writer we

presume-mentioned by Dion Chrysostomus who flourished in the 2nd

-half of the 1st Century A. o., the learned Professor comes to the

conclusion that the Mahabharata must have been written after the commencement of the Christian Era (Vide his ‘ Indian Literatlue,’ 3rd Edition, pp. 186-188.)

s Nothing, however, like certainty has yet been arrived at with regard to the date of Kanishka. Lassen holds on the authority oft~

THB AGE OP SANKARA

however, is that these Orientalists have been “simply indulging in their fancy and piling conjecture upon conjecture to construct their cloud-land.” They accept the authority· of the Itihasas and Pural}.as and works like Raja-Taratigil}.i so ·rar as those works support them in their theories, but tear them mercilessly to pieces-under the convenient plea of interpolations-whatever portions thereof conflict with their preconceived notions. Thus after identifying in the manner pointed out’ Kanerki’ of the coin·with ‘Kanishka’

same. coin that Kanislika reigned down to 40. A. D. (Vide Lassen /. Ak: ii. pp. 412-413). Miss Mabel Duff makes this Kanishka the fout:tder of the Saka Era of 78 A. D. (Vide her ‘Chronology of Ancient India,’_ p. 21.) Mr. V. A. Smith places him in 128 A. D. (Vide his ··Early History of India: p. 239); and Mr. V. Gopala Aiyar between 27 and 65 A.D. (See his article in the Indian Review, Nov. 1909.) On the other hand Dr. Bhandarkar places him in 278 A. D. (Vide Smith’s

•Early History of India; p. 240.) :Or. Fleet, in his latest publication

(J. R. A. S. 1907, p. 1048) tells us that he arrived at this date of 57 B.c. on a tradition current in Northern India that Kanishka Jived 400 years after the death of the Buddha, which he assumes to have taken place in 457 B. c. This tradition has been proved to be entirely untrustworthy. Mr. Smith refers to a number of other traditions, equally unfounded, which place Kanishka 500 years after the Buddha. He also refers to a third tradition which places Kanishka 700 years after the death of the Buddha. (Vide his ‘Early History oflndia, p. 241.) On the other hand, Kalhal)a’s Raja-Tarangil)i states in very explicit ~erms that Buddhism was at its height in Kasmir during the reign of Kanishka, that he was a contemporary of Nagarjuna, a celebrated Buddhist, and that he flourished 150 years after the death of Lord Buddha. Thus in Taranga I, verse 172, we read :

, ijtiT ~tJCRI’: ~r~~w~ tn:f~a-: 1

~’t lf~~CfiCTRrT mcf cr!f~·~ ~’i.CJ: 11 ”

which may be freely translated as follows : “Then as this king of the Earth (Kanishka) began to rule, there had elapsed 150 years since the ParanirvalJa of Lord Buddha, the Lion of the Sakya family of kings.”

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

·of the Raja-Taratigil}.1, and on like flimsy grouads attributing :to him the Saka Era, they try to determine the date of ·Gautama Buddha. Now the theory that Kanishka founded .the Saka Era is opposed to all orthodox traditions held in sacred veneration by all classes of Hindus from the oldest times. Further the predecessors of Kanerki-Hermaios, Kadphises I., Gondophares, Kadphises II,-seem to be after all Greek adventurers as amply testified by their names .as well as coins that bear inscriptions in the Greek language. Further the predecessors and successors ofKanishka ofRaja-. Tarangi:r;ti are entirely different from those of Kanerki of the ··coins, where he is said to be the Ruler of Kabul. Nor could Kalhal}.a’s Kanishka be placed in 57 B.c., much less in 78 A.D., inasmuch as Kalha:r;ta’s ‘History of Kasmir’ and its many .dynasties from Kanishka down to his own time covers up at least 2362 years ; and if Kanishka be placed in

57 B.c., or in 78 A.D., then Kalhana the historian will have

. ‘

to be placed in 2305 A.D., or in 2440 A.o.; and we are only now in 1911 A.D. ! But Kalha:r;ta, everybody admits-for we have his own explicit statement to that effect-lived in the 12th Century A.D. To get over this absurdity, Orientalists have had to revise all Kalhal}.a’s dates, cut short his 2362 years between himself and Kanishka to a little more oc less than a thousand years-while accepting in toto the list of kings he gives-all this to save their pet Kanishka of 57 B.c., or other fancied date! They would not admit that Kanishka lived 2362 years before Kalha:r;ta, for then he

could not be identified with Kanerki of the coin-the basis ·Of their entire hypothesis.

It follows from what we have said that many of the -dates at present received as correct are to be carried back ·

~·-.

7 See Appendix A for details regarding Kalha!)a’s date ..

THE AGE OF SANKARA

considerably. With Kanishka of Raja-TarangiJJ.1, Gautama. Buddha will also go back by several centuries. We have already referred to the attempt made to fix the Buddha’s date from Kanishka’s. Finding probably the weakness of the·

ground in this method, some scholars have adopted another, and tried to calculate the time of the Buddha from that of Chandragupta, the successor of the Nandas and the founder of the Maurya dynasty. For this purpose they identify Sandrakottas of the Greek writers, centemporary of Alexander the Great, with Chandragupta, the Maurya. They take 315 B.C., as the outside terminus or the starting point; and form this attempt to determine with the help of

.a the Pura1J.aS and Itihasas and Buddhistic writings, thechronoJogy of the various Indian dynasties mentioned in them and of the Buddha’s death-thus reconstructing the history of ancient India. But even if ‘Sandrakottas’ be rightly interpreted as Chandragupta, the Maurya, on what evidence is he to be identified with Chandragupta, the Maurya ? As a

matter of fact there have been a number of kings bearing. that name in the ancient history of India. There were two

Chandraguptas in the Gupta dynasty; another who was. a contemporary of Kalidasa, and a fourth who was a contemporary of Hashavardhana-BaJJ.a’s patron. The latterappear to have been even more famous than Chandragupta, the Maurya ; and how do we know that not any of the laterChandraguptas, but the Maurya alone was described by the· Greeks under the name of ‘ Sandrakottas ‘?d If this be· granted, what becomes of the starting point of 315 o.c.?

8 Now according to our researches Chandragupta I, the founder of the Gupta dynasty. has to be placed about 321 B.c. : and the description given of • Sandrakottas ‘ by Greek writers applies on all fours. only to this king, and not to Chandragupta of the Maurya dynasty. (Vide Appeadix B. for further particulars.)

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION lt

Indeed as Mr. Wheeler says in his ‘History of India” the-· date of ·the birth of Gautama Buddha is still uncertain.. On this point, Prof. Weber says in his ‘ History of Indian:J Literature,’ p. 28 7 : ” With reference to the traditions · as to the Buddha’s age, the various Buddhist eras which commence with the date of his death exhibit the widest. divergence from each other. Among the Northern· Buddhists fourteen different accounts are found ranging· from 2422 o.c. to 546 B.C.” Even according to Chinese · accounts, Gautama. Buddha has to be placed before the lOth Century B.C.9 According to Kalha:Q.a, the author of Riija-Tarangi:Q.1, who thinks that the Mahabharata War·· between the Pandavas and Kauravas took place 653 yearsafter the com~encement of the Kali” Yuga, Gautama Buddha must be placed btfore the 14th Century B.C. ; for he is said to have died 150 years before the reigns of the·· brothers Hushka,. Jushka and Kaniskha who lived just one· generation before Gonanda Ill who began his rei~ according to Kalha1J.a about 1183 B.c. (Laukika Era·1894). But if we take for granted that the Mahabharata-War· took place 37 years befor~ the comm~ncement of t~e

8 According to the chronology of the Chinese, the NirvaO.a o.rSakyamuni took place in 949 or 973 s.c. instead of in 543 u.c.· following the chronology of the Southern Buddhists. Vide Dr. E. J. Eitel’s • Sanskrit-Chinese Dictio11ary ‘-a handbook or·. Chinese Buddhism, p. 139 lHongkong, 1888) and Beat’s ‘Catena ,ofChinese Scriptures: p. 116 (note).

1o The Mahabhirata and all the importaat Puraoas uniformly hold that !:lri Krishoa who was a contemporary of the PaoQ.avas and’. Kauravas and who had witnessed th~ Mahabhirata War fought . between them lived for a period of over lOO years, that he passedaway from this earth 36 years after the said Mahabharata War and.. that the Kali Yuga commenced on the same day on which the Lordt left this earth. We also learn that Pariksbit was still in, the wom’!·

l2 ‘J’Hl! AGE OF SANKARA

· fKali Yuga, which appears to be a more correct view10 and -which · is admittedly the opinion of all the Hindu writers

•from the most ancient times, Gautama Buddha must be

-placed about 2000 B.c. This view is fully supported by all ·the authentic Pura:o.as and Itihasas, which are beginning to :;be recognised as contributing genuine historical information -about Ancient India and according to which the Buddha 1.is to be placed not later than 1800 B. c. 11

We have pointed out ·some of the defects in the

methods of Western Orientalists and of their Indian ·followers in order to show to our countrymen how unsafe ·:it is· to rely upon the conclusions arrived at by these w~ters.. We shall, as we proceed on, have occasion to pomt out several falJacies committed by them with respect ·to the age of Sati.kara in particular. It is unfortunate ·that whenever an ancient record conflicts with any of their hasty conclusions, they should try to misinterpret or

· discredit the record rather than revise their own conclusions. This is the only explanation we can give of the treatment

of his mother Uttara, when her husband Abhimanyu the illustrious ·.son of Arjuna by Subhadra was killed in the Mababha;ata War that he was 36 years old when he was placed on the throne of Hasti~apura by the Pav4avas, and that he ruled the earth for a period of 60 years ·from the beginning of the Kali Yuga. (Vide, for instance, Mahabharata: Stri Parva, XXV. 39-45; Mausala Parva, I. 13, ·u. 19-21, Ill. 25-41, IV. 12-24, VI. 23, VII. 10-12, VIII. 26-28; ‘and Mahaprasthanika Parva, I. 1-45; VishQu PuraQa, Fourth .Amsa: XX, XXIV, 38-40, 105-115, Fifth Amsa: XXXVII. 18-20,

XXXVIII. 8-9; Devi Bhagavata PuraQa, Skandha II. Ch. VIII,

Skandha Ill. Ch. xxiii; Srimad Bbagavata PuraQa, Skandha XI. ··Ch. VI. 23-26, Skandha XII. Ch. 11; Brahma PuraQa, Ch. CCXIJ. · ~10; Garu\fa Purat;ta, · Ch. Cl; Harlvamsa, Ill. 47-48; Surya

:Siddbanta, Ch. I.) · 11 Vide Appendix B : The date of Gautama Buddha according to tPuraJJaS and Itihasas.

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION

accorded to the historical portions of our Pura:o.as and. ltihasas, as well as to the traditions handed down from the· oldest times. We so entirely agree with the late Pa:o.dit

N. Bhashyacharya on the treatment of Oriental questionsby many of the so-called savants that we cannot refrain from quoting a few of his observations:

” I. The writings of many of these Orientalists are· often characterised by an imperfect knowledge of Indian Literature, Philosophy and Religion and of Hindu traditions and a contemptuous disregard for the opinions of Hinduwriters and Pa:o.c;Iits. Very often facts and dates are takenby these writers from the writings of their predecessors or. contemporaries, on the assumption that they are correct•.

without any further investigation by themselves. Even when a writer gives a date with an expression of doubt as to its accuracy, his follower frequently quotes the same date as if it were absolutely correct.

* * ** *

Ill. It is often assumed without reason that every passage in the Vedas containing philosophical or metaphysical ideas must be looked upon as a subsequent” interpolation and that every book treating of a philosophicalsubject must be considered as having been written after the time of the Buddha or after the commencement of the Christian Era. Civilization, philosophy and scientific investigation had their origin, in the opinion of these· writers, within the six or seven centuries preceding the Christian Era, and mankind slowly emerged for the first

·• time .from the depths of animal brutality within the last· four or five thousand years.

IV. It is also assumed that Buddhism was brought into existence by Gautama Buddha. The previous existence of

THE AGB OF SANKARA .

·:Buddhism, Jainism and Arhat Philosophy is rejected ·as an absurd and ridiculous invention of the Buddhists and others wb~ attempted thereby to assign a very high antiquity to therr own religion. In consequence of ·this erroneous impression every Hindu Book referring to the doctrines of the Buddhists is declared to have been written subsequent to

the time of Gautama Buddha. •• (Vide ‘ The Theosophist,’ Vol. IV. p. 304, et seq.)

We have certainly no desire to ignore or belittle the labours of Orientalists. We have the greatest admiration and praise for their devotion and ardour, for the enthusiasm and ~ove they have brought to bear on the study of Indian questJons. But at the same time we feel keenly that they have not completely triumphed over the difficulties and obstacles in the way of a correct understanding of the problems they have had to deal with. Their works bristle w.ith vague theorisings, hasty conclusions and supercilious d1sposals of hostile opinions and facts. The result is that a good deal of what is published on the Chronology of India has to be taken cum grano sa/is, and even a to~erabJy acc~rate chronology of the various dynasties of Ancient

“India has yet to be sketched. This is the honest conviction to which we have arrived after a very careful and thoughtful perusal. of most of the works published on the subject. On these bnes, therefore, we propose to ascertain the date and identity of Satikara, the author of the Commentaries on the ~’rasthana’!!Traya, and other works,-a topic, on which we ~ear. the researches ?f scholars have been unfortunately lll·drrected. The evidence which we propose to admit in determinin~ this subject may be said to be partly external and partly mterna1 and comparative.

CHAPTER li

THE CHIEF ERAS .OF INDIAN CHRONOLOGY

A good deal of the confusion and difficulty experienced in determining the dates of events in the history of Ancient India is no doubt due to the variety of Eras that have been or are current in various parts of India and the conflicting nature of opinions with respect to most of them. These opinions are fully discussed by us in a separate paper on

The Chronology of the PuraQ.as and Itihasas , to which the reader is referred for detailed facts and figures. ·We shall briefly reproduce here the conclusions which we have arrived therein, to avoid the constant repetition of explanations that may otherwise be felt necessary with respect to the .calculations we shall have to make in the ensuing pages.

I. The Srishtyabda 12 of the present world commeneed about 1,955,885,011 years ago, in 1,955,883, 101 s.c.

11. The Chatur-Yuga, made up of Krita, Treta~ · Dvapara and Kali, consists of 12,000 “years of gods” or ·4,320,000 human or solar years. The Krita Yuga was the long “period of wandering and formation” and extended over I, 728,000· solar years. It commenced with the destruction of the Original Arctic Home of the Aryans by the last preceding Ice Age when the survivors of the evolving Aryan race were forced to roam over the northern parts of Europe and Asia in search of land suitable for new settlements. In ·the Treta Yuga, which extended over 1,296,000 solar years, 1he North-Eastern branched off from the North-Western Aryan race and settled respectively north of the ‘Himalayas~

12 This is the Era of the Creation of the present worJd, presided .over by our present Vaivasvata Manu.

16 THE AGB OF SANKARA

and ‘ Hemakuta., The Dvfipara Yuga, consisting of 864,000· solar years, was the age when the North-Eastern or Asiatic .Aryans who were living together for a long time as membersof one and the same race. divided themselves into twobranches becoming the ‘ Devas ‘ and the ‘ Asuras ‘-the Hindus and Iranians of the later times-and slowly settled. themselves as two hostile nations to the east and west of the river Sindhu. By the end of this period, the greater portion of India bad been ‘ .~ryanized ‘ by the Hindus. The Kalf Yuga, the fourth or the present age, consists of 432,000· years of which 5,012 years had elapsed in 1911 A. D. This was the age when the Hindu Aryans after completely subjugating the whole of India took to an easy-going and luxurious life, quarrelling among themselves and subjecting~ the whole nation-once great and powerful-to the might and avarice of every foreign nation that came to India.

Ill. The Kali Yuga or the present age consisting of432,000 solar years 18 commenced in 3102 B c. -It is

13 Mr. Gopala Aiyar, the author of the Chronology of Ancient India, thinks, however, that the Kali Yuga originally comprised only 1000 years-or at the most only 1200 years including the Sandhya and’ Sandhyamsa-tbat it commenced at the winter solstice occuring in the latter part of the year 1177 B.c., that it came to an end in 177 B.C. or 24 A.D. according as we take the Kali Yuga last for 1000 or 1200 years, that accordingly the Krita Yuga or the Golden Age began in the year 178 B.c. or 25 A.D. and that the Hindus unwilling to admit that the Krita Yuga set in at such an early date, by a subtle explanation converted the 1000 or 1200 years allotted for the Kali Yuga into so many divine years, thereby giving it an extraordinary duration of 432,000 ordinary human years. In support of his new theory be mainly relies upon two passages found in Manu Smriti and Mahiibharata, and_ says that according to them the four Yugas-Krita, Treta, Dviipara and Kali-wltb their Sandbyiis and Sandbyamsas, consisted respectively of no more than 4800, 3600, 2400 and 1200 orlilinary years of mortals. It is, therefore, necessary that we should minutely examine these two”

THE CHIEF ·ERAS OF INDIAN CHRONOLOGY 17

l’eokoned in cycles of sixty years beginning from the 1st day -of Cbaitra of the year Pramathi according to Southern

.authorities upon which he relies and determine whether they refer to dlvine or human years when they speak of the four Yugas as consisting of 12000 years,-especially as be himself admits that the Puranas and .all other Hindu works speak of the four Yugas as consisting of 12,000 divine years or 4,320,000 human years, a divine year being equal to

360 human years. In the first place, be refers to stanzas 69 and 70 of Chapter I. of Manu Smriti and relies upon them in support of his new theory. No doubt, according to these stanzas, if we do not take into consideration

what precedes and what follows them, it will be possible to hold that I the Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali Yugas with their respective twilight -,periods consists of 4800, 3600, 2400 and 1200 years. But there is

nothing in these stanzas themselves from which we ·can determine with -certainty that the years referred to in them are ordinary human years and not divine years. In order, therefore, to determine this point, we shall quote the whole passage from the Manu Smriti and leave it to our readers to judge it for themselves. The passage runs .as follows :

” f;:rifqr ~~:qps-e”t “9 CfiTtsOT, f-sr ~~ <iT: Cfim: I

“‘

f.r~q: “P~T l!Rcf: ~a:_,ar~-u?f ~ mcra-: 11 ~¥-11

~TU~ fcr+r~a-wrr 11T1,1l£ ~fcr?fi I ~rnr: fcrco:rr:r ~a-At ~~cp;furr 11~: 11 ~~ 11

fq?~ ~f?lf~T liT~: 5ffcr+rr~ f~ q-~lf): I

Cfil{~~ ~er~: ~tSUf:, ~Cf~: ~crrrlf ~c:h:r 11 ~~ 11

~~ ‘U?lf~o:rr Cf1Sf 5Tfcr+rr~ ~lfr: ‘f!’= 1 ~«£~ iflfol, uf:1: FIT ~f~urr~ 11 \\9 ll

~~~~ ~~~l!CSI’llroT ~liT~: I ‘\. ~~~) ~lf’AR! ?fi~ ~fw~r’f:la-11 ~~ 11 2

18 mB AGB OF SANKARA

astronomers. All traditions, records and writings from the· oldest times are absolutely agreed on this point-that 5012:

~mg: «~or ~~~~lflt. 1

~ffier~cft ~~«;:~~~ crmcrer: 11 ~~ I~ ·

~~mr;=e:lf’! «ff’=~’!~ f?r’! I ~cpr~o:r effir€f «~ur ~crrf.:r :q 11 \9 o 11

~qf”{«~rcr ffl~l~/:1 ~~~i

~al~’4t~r~ ~i=ft lftrlf=arfct 11 \9 ~ 11

~’·~ ~” ~ ~

<lfqcpr’ft l{~li~jr~ ~qf~~lff I
.~~~li crrcrcrr uN~Cf~ 11 \9 ~ 11

aa:… ~ ~tf«~~ ~w ~~~= ,

uf~ ~ crfCRft i{cr ~ s~)~~fcR) ~: 11 \9 ~ 11

(Manu-Smriti, Ch. I, 64-73.)

Now, in the Sacred Books of the East Series, Professor Bilhler has. translated these stanzas as follows :

” 64. Eighteen Nimeshas (twinklings of the eye) are one Kfislttha,. thirty Kashthas one Kala , thirty Ka/as one Muhurta, and as many (Muhiirtas) one day and night.

65.

The sun divides days and nights, both human and divine, the night (being intended) for the repose of created beings and the day for exertion.

66.

A month is a day and a night of the Manes, but the division is according to fortnights. The dark (fortnight) is their day for active exertion, the bright (fortnight) their night for sleep.

67.

A year is a day and a night of the Gods: their division is (as. follows) : the half year during which the sun progresses to the north will be the day, that during which it goes southwards the night.

68.

But hear now the brief (description of) the duration of a night and a day of Brahmfi and of ~he several ages (of the world, yuga) according to their order.

69.

They declare that the Krita age (consists of) four thousand years (of the Gods); the twilight preceding it consists of as many hundreds and the twilight following it of the same number.

70.

In the other three ages with their twilights preceding and following, the thousands and hundreds are diminished by one (in each).

11.

These twelve thousand (years which thus have been just mentioned as the total of the four human) ages, are called one age of the Gods.

12.

But know that the sum ef one thousand ages of the Gods (makes) one day of Brahmfi, and that his night has the same length. •

73. Those (only, who) know that the holy day of Brahma, indeed end after (the completion of) one thousand ages (of the Gods) and that his night lasts as long, (are really) men acquainted with (the length of) days ar.d nights.”

‘ …

It clearly follows from this that the 12000 years given as the total period of the four Yugas is given by Manu in divine years and not in ordinary human years. This is not only the natural meaning of the passage as can be determined by common sense, but the same meaning has been given in all the seven commentaries available on ManuSmriti. It is in the same terms that we find the total period of these fo~ Yugas given in all the Purattas and Siddhantas. The passage preceding stanzas 69 and 70 in which the different periods of theSe Yugas are given defines what is meant by a divine year, and the passage following the same explicitly states that these 12000 years which form the total period of the four Yugas are calculated in divine years. We are, therefore, unable to see how Manu-Smriti supports Mr. Gopala Aiyar in his new theory that the four Yugas consists of only 12000 human years.

Let us now see bow far the Mahabharata supports our new theorist. With regard to the age of the Yugas two references are given in the Mahabhirata. The first reference to Yugas is found in the 188th Chapter of Vana Parva. Mr. Gopala Aiyar evidently relies upoa stanzas 22-27 of this chapter, but there is nothing to show that the period of 12000 years which constitute the four Yugas are calculated in ordinary .human years. The commentator Nilakar;ttha explains the

· ‘.::THE AGE OF ‘SANKARA;, ·

:\bemists have, ·assigned any substantial reason for altering -1~W~ traditional vie’:”, apart from their fanciful imaginings.

• l.! •• ‘ ‘ ; ‘.. ‘,·. ” ‘ ‘ ;

·~~p~ession 9:~ ~ll[m-Dvadasa-Sahasri-to mean 12000 years. !i~Y Deve-mana,.according to divine calculation. Further, the very next ;-~~~n7.a declares that the 12000 years which constitute the four Yugas from one Deva Yuga, and that 1000 such Yugas constitute a day of .;Brabp1a.. It is therefore clear from this the that years in the Yugas are ·Ralculated are described, as in the Manu-Smriti, in Deva-Mana and notfn Manushya-Mona. · · ·

•· .. The second reference to the Yugas in the Mahabharata is found in . the 231st Chapter of Santi Parva. It contains a fuller account of .the various Yugas and leaves no doubt on the p~int in question; but pw; theorist conveniently omits giving aoy reference to the same as it

·~ ~l~rl~ (fOntradicts his view. We shall therefore quote below the passage in question and leave our readers to judge the point for themselves :

i’ .·· i ·~ ~f.:rlrm-~~:q:tfcr f~~:n

I” ·.. ‘ . ‘-:>

: · · : Cf)l\SOT tf011lcr ‘li~ crr11 1

… …
~· . ~~c~T~q +r~~R”CTT +rTif:

~~lfT ~11~:q lf ~lfm ‘-11 ~ ~ 11

:f.t~Rcf~ +r~~~~”9 ~~~=t:r ~@IT l!fttf+r: 5fufrcrr I :..iffif:~cr) ‘U~R~~ mcrcW{T eJ~~~rHr ~:11 ~ ~ 11 ·,~er~~ i ~~·f;:cr tt~rfcrG:) G:f~ur l!m::s::cr 11 ~ ¥ 11

or~ro~ fcr+r~ ~lf1 l=I’F!l:f~fcr~ 1 ~TN: ~Gfflf ~crro:rt =ijtS(;Pl cntfurr 11~: 11 ~ t.o\ 11

ftr?~ :d?4~’1T ~rn: srfcnnlf ~lf): ~rr: 1

~crw)~: cp1f ~~~ur: ~t’i”T~r ~~r 11 ~ ~ 11

~~ u~r·Cflif ~fcrmrr ~Cllft: ~: 1

.. , ., ay~ ~d~l~~14ti U’f:ir: ..~4T ~f~OIIll'”l~ 11. ~1.3. 11 :

THE CHIEF ERAS OF INDIAN CilAONOlOGY

IV. The Laukikabda dates from the year 24 of Kali or. 3078 B. c. It is otherwise known as Saptarshi Era and b traditionally used in Kasm’ir. It is reckoned by cycles of 100 years. The figures representing the centuries arc generally omitted in Laukika chronology and have to, be

~ a-‘U?lf~’i”T ~ctRf~ ~CflfFftf I olfT: ~~4Tlf crq-1~ <if~ cr&”lfr ‘-:> ~:&M 11 ~ ~ ,, ” ! ••

R~ cftf~~~ ~Cf~dIf~~i*lCfi’i I

…., ….

“9”~~ ~JG:~t1f ~g~f.:r~)er ir 11 ~ ~ I~

. i

I ~ccrrlll~: ~rfur crqfurt ~~l:f~ 1

…. ‘-:> ….

I a~ crrcr~crr «<=etrr «<=stti~~ cr~w-l: 11 ~o 11

~er~~ ~~;:<e~~ ~;:tlft~~ crcr ft~~ 1 ~Cfiqr~o:r ~rlfo:a-~~ur ~crrf’1″”9″ 11 ~ ~ 11

! * * •

crq: q~ ~lfq ~ffi”lft ~+r~ I

‘-:> ‘0 ….

aNt 4 ~crrg-~T;; irCff ~l!~ 11 ~~ 11

~crt tR~~r~r ~ifT~t CficrlfT ~: 1 ~~qf~ er~ <J~ ~11~ 11 -=< ~ 11 u~ ifcrrcrar =tfcr ;:=rcacfr fer~ iif~”(: 1 srw~ oe~Ff mfcr~ ~~rs;:~ ~e.~ 11 ~ o 11 ~~~~m~ 11~li-r.t ~~ufr fcr~: 1

u~~~~& crt €t~t~P.Rr \lA’r: 11 ~ ·~ 11

. It is clear . from this long passage of the Mahabharata that tile years of the vano~s Yugas are calculatad in Deva~M&na. and that :the fou~ Yugas, Kr~t~, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, comprise a · totaJ penod of 12000 dmne years. or in other words the K r y · ·.·

prises 432,000 human years. : . . . . . a 1 uga_.com..

THB AGB OF SANKARA

•ade out of the context.

It is the era largely used in all the Raja-TarangiJ}is. Some Orientalists hold that the Laukika

Era dates from 26 Kali.

· . V. The Yudhishthira saka, according to all classes of

~indus, commenced 37 years before the beginning of the

Kali Yuga in 3139 B. c., and dates from the coronation of

Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five Pand1va brothers at the

close of the Mababbarata War. · ·

The Jains, Buddhists and other non-Hindus of India also use in their calculations a Yudhishthira s·aka which they place 468 years after the commence-ment of Kali or in

2634 B. c.

, VI. The S’aka Kala or the saka Era. properly so-called dates from the defeat of the Sakas by Sri Harasha Vikra~aditya of Ujjain, and it commenced 2526 years after the tl~e of Yudhishthira,14 and must be fixed at 576 B.c., reckonmg from the death of Yudhishthira which took place

14 Mr. V. Gopala Aiyar-a type of a modern Oriental Scholarhas given to us a very original date for the Kali Yuga and the Mahabharata War. One of his very weighty arguments-which may be taken as typical of the·rest-is based on a ridiculous contention and ~nterpretation of a stanza in KalhaQa’s Raja-TarailgiQi which gives the Interval between the time of Yudhishthira and that of” Saka-Kiila.”

The stanza runs as follows; (1. 56)

11 an~~~ll~: ~rnfu q-~1 ~f~f60’~ ;:rem) 1

tsr~f[Cfiq.:;-:q f;:~a-: ~Cfi Cfi I(.VS ~a’~ ~Tlilff~ Ij “

. This stanza has until recently been interpreted by all classes of Hmdu and European Orientalists to mean : “When Yudhishthira ruled the earth, Munis (the Great Bear) stood in the Nakshatra (asterism) Magba. The interval between his reign and the’ Saka-Kala’ is 2526 years.” According to this authority Saka-KiJ/a must be fixed 2526 years a!ter the time of Yudhisthira and must be placed at 576 B. c. reckonmg from the death of Yudhishthira which took place at about

THE CIDEF ERAS OF INDIAN CHRONOLOGY

immediately after the departure of Sri Krishi).a from the ·world (i.e.) at about 3102 B.c. Sri Harsha Vlkramaditya of

the beginning of Kali Yuga (3102 B.c.) or at 611 B.c., reckoning from ·his coronation which took place about 3139 B.c. Mr. Gopala Aiyar. however, quotes this stanza in support of his contention that the Kali· Yuga commenced in the year 1177 B.c.-16 years after the Mababharata War-and not in the years 3102 a.c.-36 years after. the said War-as has been hitherto uniformly held by all scholars. He, therefore, first ·shows his scholarship of Sanskrit Grammar and Prosody by holding that the last quarter of the above-quoted stanza does not contain the requisite number of Miitras or syllabic instants, that it contains only fourteen instead of fifteen, that the expression ‘~CflCfiR?:’-‘Saka· Kalah ‘-must be a mistake-” a glaring slip “-committed by Kalhana and that the said quarter must be corrected into “~T~~~d*4 {(“‘ll~”-‘ Sakya-Kalas tasya rajyasya.’ We

.simply cannot understand how Mr. Gopala Aiyar lost his head over such a plain verse. KalhaQa was a better poet than Mr. Gopala Aiyar and he knew that the stanza was perfectly correct. Our critic evidently forgot that the last ~’Cf (short syllable) of a verse is equal to a q’~ ·(!ong syllable) and as'”‘such is equal to two matras or syllabie instants. The quarter in question does, therefore, contain 15 matras and is. perfectly correct; whereas Mr. Gopala Aiyar’s correction makes i~ no stanza at all-neither Arya nor anything else! Further this stanza is found both in Xryabhatta’s Brihatsamhita and Vriddha Garga’s work ~n astronomy in the very same form as we find it quoted in Kalhat~a’s :Raja-Taral)gini; and all these great writers must have also committed the same glaring mistake !

Then comes Mr. Gopal Aiyar’s ingenuity of interpretation ! It -concerns the expression 11tsr~ftrCfl’ q-s::tf ftrzrcr:” -“Sha!;l-dvika

…. …

paiicha-dvi-yutah “-which means 2526. But according to our theorist it means 25 x 26. Why ? Under what rule of Grammar is the ·compound to be so interpreted? We must point out that under no ·rule of Sanskrit Grammar can the expression ” Shag-dvika-paficha-dviyutah” be possibly interpreted as meaning twenty-five times twenty-six or six hundred and fifty. It may mean 6 + 2 + S + 2 or perhaps ·6 x 2 x 5 x 2 but certainly not 26 x 25. But Grammar must give place to ·.<Originality! So this learned scholar thinks the expression means

24 THE AGB OF SANKARA

Ujjayini’ is mentioned by a· host of writers. Kalhana

mentions him in his Raja-TarangiJJ.I as a contemporary ~f

25 X 26 or 650. But if he be simply content with this originat
interpretation without meddling with the stanza, he will have to place
Yudhishthira 650 years before the Saka Kala. He perfectly knew the
absurdi~y of interpreting Saka Kala to mean Saka of 57 B. c., or the
Saka of 78 A.o. He evidently ignored Sri Harsha Vikramaditya of
Ujjayini, the Sakari mentioned in the Raja-TarangiQ.i itself and nothing
could have been more natural and easy than to have ascribed this.
‘Saka Kala’ to the defeat of the Sakas by that great Emperor; but
that would not suit his purpose. He was, therefore, obliged to strain
the stanza and amend the expression ~::r.=ti”B:-‘ .Saka-Kala,’ into-

mi:flfiifiTw:-‘ Sakya-Kala·h,’ as the former stood as a stumbling block
on the way of his arriving at the desired conclusion. By ‘Sakya
Kalah ‘-his precious amendment for’ Saka-Kalah • he means the date
of the death of Sakyamuni or Gautama Buddha. In other words
Yudhishthira lived 650 years before the Buddha · and as the latter died
in 548 B.c., according to Western Orientalists (;vhich date is of course
unquestionable!) Yudhishthira lived about 650+ 543 or 1193 s.c…

and the Kali Yuga, therefore, commenced in 1177 s.c. ! !

Such is modern scholarship. The writer has pre-conceived the elate and alters and misinterprets poor KalhaQ.a just as he chooses! And all this ridiculous bungling passes now-a-days for originality and learning. Mr. Gopala Aiyar fortunately, admits that Kalhana himself meant by this expression 2526, that he took Kaliyuga ~s havi~g commenced in the year 3102 s.c; and yet the Raja-Taral)gini must support our critic in his very original discovery of the date of Yudhishthira, of the Mahabharata War and of the Kali Yuga. But common sense and grammar would tell us that what we have stated is. the correct interpretation of the stanza quoted from KalhaQ.a’s Rala

Tarailgil)i. In the first half of the stanza we are furnished with an astronomical reference that the A1unis (Great Bear) occupied the constellation of Magha (Regulus) when Yudhishthira was king. This -~ position of the Seven Rishis or Ursa Major at the time of Yudhishthira has been recorded in almost all the Pural)as. The great astren~mer Yarahamihira, has also recorded it in Chapter XII I of his Brihatsamhita. He says that the Rishis take a period ef lOO years to go e>Ver each of

THE CHIEF ERAS OF INDIAN CHBONOLOGY

Hiral).ya, Matrigupta and Pravarasena II. He is described’__ as having established his supremacy over the whole of Northern India. He is said to have completely defeated the sakas 1″ in a great battle, the Saka Kala being founded ,in

the 27 Aster isms. It might be possible to calculate the time of: Yudhishthira from the position of the Rishis with reference to this ~onstellation alone; but to safeguard against confusion with any later or earlier conjunction of the Great Bear and M~gha, the · second half of the stanza mentions another method of calculation that Yudhishthira lived 2526 years before Saka Kala, about which in . Kalhana;s time there was evidently not the same ambiguity of interp;etation as at present. Whatever might be his view with regard to the period when Yudhishthira lived, Kalhat;~a is pos~tive that Gonanda I the founder and the first king of Kasmir was . a contempora;y of Yudhishthira; for he himself states in his Raja-· Taraiigil)i (1. 59-63) that he (Gonanda I) was killed by_ Baladeva~brother of Sri Krish1.1a, and his son Damodara I was killed by Sn K:ishl}a himself and that his grandson, Gonanda 11, was quite a young · child at the time of the Mahabharata War. Now if we calculate 2526· years from Gonanda I, we approximately arrive at the tinie of Hira9-ya

Matrigupta and Pravarasena 11, in whose time it is, that Sri Harsha · Yikramaditya, according to Kalhal}a himself, defeated the Sakas, and established the Saka Kala. So the expression ‘ Shac;i-dvika-paiicha-dvi-yutah ‘ can in no circumstances be interpreted to mean. 26 ~25 01’ ;· 650, whether we take Gonanda I as having commenced bts retgn 37

years before Kali or 653 years after Kali.

~~No adequate reasons have been given why the Saka~ r~ferred tp ~ in the above passage as having been defeated by Sn Harsha · Vikramaditya of Ujjain should be identified either with the lnd~Bactrians or with the Indo-Scythians. It is on the strength of t~-identification that Sri Harsha Vikramaditya is placed by someOrientalists in the 1st Century s.c.. and by others in the 6th Centwr

A.D. It is suprising to learn why these Sakas should be identified with · any foreign tribes that came to India after the time of Alexander.~Great. The name Sakas is of frequent occurrence in ancient SanskritLiLerature. Manu says (Ch. X. 144-145) that the Sakas, Yavanas, .. Kambhojas, Paradas and Pablavas were originally Kshatriyas, .IJI:lt:…

THE AGE OF SANKARA

· .oommemoration of the decisive victory. It was then that ·the title ‘ Vikramaditya ‘ was applied to him-possibly at a great assembly of kings and poets-which afterwards -superseded his real name of Sri Harsha. He is said to have .installed his protege, the poet Matrigupta:_who is identified with Kalidasa, the author of Malavika.gnimitra, Virkamorvasi . and Sakuntala-on the throne of Kasmir after the death of ·Hiral)ya. He is referred to as Saka.ri Vikrama.ditya and Sri Harsha Vikrama.ditya by Ra.mila and Mentha respectively_two poets whom Raja-sekhara places immediately after .Bha.sa, a predecessor of Kalidasa-whose works Maniprabha

. became outcasts by neglecting their Vedic duties, etc. The Mahabharata · .(Adi parva, Ch. 85) speaks of these tribes as descendants of.Kshatriyas _and having tilken part in the Great War between the Pandavas and Kauravas. The Ramayaoa of Valmiki (Balakanga, Sarga 56) mentions them among the tribes who fought during the war of Visvamitra with Vasishtha. The Gautama Dharma sutra (Ch. IV. 21) : speaks of the sakas, Yavanas, etc., as a Pratiloma caste of the A.ryas. It is stated in the Padma Purana (Svarga-khan.;la, Ch. 15) that the . Sakas etc were driven out by King Sagara, a descendant of Ikshvaku, to the countries beyond the borders of India. after getting their heads ·etc.. shaved under the advice of Vasistha, although they were Kshatriyas. Vishnu Purana (Amsa II. Ch. 3) deseribes the Yavanas as living in the west, the Sakas in the north-west, the Kiriitas in the east. and the four Indian castes in the middle of India during the time of the Great War. The Matsya Purana also refers to Sakas, Yavanas, etc.• . as degraded Aryan tribes living on the frontiers or Bharata Varsha. Pal)ini refers in his Ashtadhyiiyi (II. 2-84) to Sakas and Yavanas and requires ~to be placed before~ ; and Piil)ini even according to Western Orientalists lived long before the time of Alexander the Great. The Sakas, therefore could under no circumstances be identified with any foreign tribes that invaded India after Alexander’s time. Although the same thing has to be said with regard to the Yavanas, it

·’has to be admitted that the term denoted a foreign tribe in the later ··Sanskrit Literature ; but the same thing could not be said of the Sabs -who were always understood to be a sub-division of the Xryas.

THE CHIEF ERAS OF INDIAN CHRONOLOGY

..and Hayagrlvavadha throw so much light on the age of

~a:rikara as well, that they, will be referred to later on. There is no doubt, therefore, of the saka Kala being founded by Sr1 Harsha Vikrama.ditya, and it cannot be :assigned any date later than 576 u.c.

VII. The Era of Sri Harsha dates from 457 B. C., just -400 years before the Samvat or Vikrama Era founded by :another Vikrama.ditya ; and may be taken roughly to .indicate the terminus ad quem of the suzerainty of Sri Harsha Vikramaditya. AJberuni,16 the celebrated

Mahomedan historian also speaks of the existence of a

18 Vide Alberuni’s “India • by Dr. Edward C. Sachau, Vol. 11. Ch. XLIX : At page 7, Alberuoi says ” Now the year 400 of the Yazdagird-the gaugeyear-corresponds to the following years of the

Indian Eras :

1. To the year 1488 of the Era of Sriharsha,

2 To the year 1088 of the Samvat or the _Vikrama Era,

3. To the year 953 of the Era of Salivahana •

Again at page 5, we have” The year 4132 before the gauge-year is the -epoch of Kali Kala.” Further on Alberuni says “The Navroz or the New year’s day of the Persian year 400 (the gauge-year) fell on the 9th March 1031 A.D.” Thus the Era of Sriharsha, according to Alberuni, falJs about 457 B C., 400 ‘years before the Samvat or the Vikrama Era, and that the Kali Yuga dates from 3102 B. C. This Era of Sriharsha has been largely current in Nepal and other places. A good deal of confusion has been introduced into the Chronology of the dynasties of kings that ruled at Nepal by Dr. Fleet and other Orientalists by mistaking the Harsha Era given in some of the copper plates as referring to an Era supposed to have originated with Harshavardhana Siladitya >Of Kanouj who lived about 606-7 A.D. Thus in a Charter of Parama Bhattaraka Mahiiriijadhiraja Sivadevavarma, who is the 27th king of the 5th or the Suryavamsi dyBasty’ of Nepal kings, the date is given as Harsha Samvat 119, and our Orientalists at once

28 THE! AGE! OF SANKARA.

Harsha Era in Nepal and other Northern countries, !4Q()• years anterior to the Samvat or Vikrama Era. · ‘

VIII. The Vikrama Era ascribed to a Vikrama.ditya. at· Ma.lava dates from 57 B.C. It is otherwise known as Sa~vai Era or Ma.lava Era.'”

IX. sa.liva.hana Era 13 ascribed to king .Salivahaaa or· Prastha.na dates from 78 A. D.

assume the Harsha Samvat to be an Era founded by Harshavardb.ana,. and take it as equivalent to 119+A.D. 606-7=725-726 A.D. and .SC\Y that the Nepala Vamsavali which places him about 338 B.C., calculated according to the dates given in Kali Yuga, must be a mis’take. Whereas, if we take the Harsha Era as referring to this Harsha Era si)oken to by Alberuni, .Sivadevavarma wiU have to be placed 457 B.C.-119=338 B.C., wh&ch eKactly tallies with the Nepal Vamsava..Ji as given in the Indian Antiquary, Vol. XUI. pp. 411-42~. by Pa\I.Jit Bhagavan Indraji, Ph. D. Thus for instance, the Nepalese Chrouology distinctly says that the first king of the Suryavamsi dynasty came to the throne in the year 1389 of the Kali Yuga or 1712 B.C. But then these Orientalists calculating from their imaginary date assigned to Si\·adeva Varma, place Vrishadeva Varma, the contemporary of .!;Li Satikaracharya in the 6th Century A.D., whereas according to the Nepalese Chronology. and also according to our calculation taking !:ivadeva Varma as reigning in 338 B.C., Vrishadeva Varma, who· was the 18th king of the Suryavamsi dynasty, “·ill have to be placed al:)out 500 B.C. Farther, as a matter of fact, the 23rd king, Vasantadev~ ‘is. expressly said to have been crowned in Kali 2800 or 301 B.C.• and Vrishadeva Varma could, therefore, under no circumstances be placetl.

later than Vasantadeva. :

17 It is a Luni-Solar y~ar and is in com.:non use in Hiqd~ta~ Its epoch begins when 3044 years of the Kali Yuga had expired. ·,

18 The beginning of this Era, commonly known as Sakabda •in Southern India dates from the birth of Salivahana who is said to· have reigned many years over the kingdom of Nar:asinga and to have· bcea. a liberal encourager of the arts and sciences. The years are. caiied ~aka and are common solar years. ·; :,

THE CHIEF ERAS OF INDIAN CHRONOLOGY 29

. ; X~ The Kollam Era 19 is said to commence from the· foundation of Ko1lam (Quilon) and dates from 825 A.D.

:These are the chief .Saka.bdas or Indian Eras2(1 that are ·Or have been current at different terms in different parts of India. In the following pages we sha11 ·have occasion to make use of many of these eras~ as different works calcu1ate according to different Eras; and in trying to a$certain the

19 It is also ~nown as the Era of Parasuriima and is used ~n that ·part of the Peninsula of India called Malaysia (Malabar) ..i?Y the natives, extending from Mangalore through the provinces of Malabar, Cochin and Travancore to Cape Comorin. According to approved

tradition, it derives its name from the foundation of I(era’Ia by Paralmrama in 3176 B.C., and is reckoned by cycles of lOOOJears, and-the! p~esent or the sixth cycle began in the year 1825 A:If ·.•t is a solar year commencing on or about the 14th August ofeach yea~. But the people of Malabar take it as commencing from 825 A.D., and the present year 1911 A.D. is written as 1087 of the Kollam Era.

2o There are many other Eras which are or have been current in different parts of India. Some of them merely mark the beginn,ing of the reigns of kings or dynasties of kings. To facilitate reference, we give bel~w, a few of these eras. The present year Virodhakrit which is the 45th year of the cycle of 60 years beginning from Prabhava

.. according to Southern School· of Astronomers, commences on Thursday the 13th day of April 1911 and corresponds to the years of 1he foiJowing Eras :

(1)

The year·1,955,885,0l3 of the present Srishtyabda,

(2)

The year 5211 ofBarhadrathabda (of Magadha),

(3)

·The year 5117 of Sri Krishoa Jananabda,

(4)

The year 5091 of Biirhaspatyamana Shashtyabda,

founded by Gonand I (of Kasmir), (5)” The year 5050:of Yudhishthirabda of the Hindus.

(6) The year 5026 of Sauramina Shastyabda,

! founded by Yalambara (of Nepal)

(7)

The year 5014 of Sri Krishoa NiryaQibda, (8)-The year 5013 of Kalyabda, or Pirikshitabda,

(9)

The year 4989 of Laukikabda founded by Gonanda U (of Kasmir),

(10)

The year 4545 of Yudhishthiribda of the Jains, etc.,

30 THB AGB OF SANKARA

date of any writer from references in older Hindu b~?ks, we CHAPTER Ill

have to be careful about the chronology exphcttly · or MAIN INCIDENTS OF sANKARA’S LIFE.

implicitly followed by the writers of th~-~-ooks~n question.

· (11) The year 4036 of Pradyotabda (of Magadha),

(12)

The year 3871 of Sai~unagabda (of Magadha),

(13)

The year 3830 ofTritiya Gonandabda (of Kasmir),

(14)

The year 3778 of Pa~uprekshadevabda (of Nepal),

(15)

The year 3623 of Bhiimavarmabda (of Nepal),

(16)

The year 3511 of Nandabda (of Magadha),

(17)

The year 3327 of Mauryabda (of Magadha),
· (18) The year 3011 of Surigabda (of Magadha). .

(19)

The year 2828 of Pratapadityabda (of Ka~mtr),

(20)

The year 2712 of Kat.tvabda (of Magadha),

(21)

The year 2667 of A.ndhrabda (of Magadha), .

(22)

The year 2636 of Meghaval;tanabda (of Ka~mrr), . ·(23) The year 2487 of Saka Kala or the Defeat of the ~akas,..

(24)

The year 2368 of Sriharshabda (of Ujjain),

(25)

The year 2236 of Guptabda (of Magadha),

(26)

The year 2212 of Vasantadevabda (of Nepal),

(27)

The year 2012 of Amsuvarmabda (of Nepal),

(28)

The year 1968 of Vikramabda (of Malava),

(29)

The year 1834 of salivahanabda (of Prasthana),

(30)

The year 1612 of Viradevabda (of Nepal~,

(31)

The year 13 to of Karkotabda (of Kaasmtr), .

(32)

The year 130S of Harshavardhanabda (of KanouJ),.

(33)

The year 1224 of Prataparudrabda (of Orangal),

(34)

The year 1189 of GuQakamadevabda (of Nepal),

(35)

The year 1161 of Sadasivadevabda (of Nepal),

(36)

The year 1086 of Kollabda (of Malab~r),

(37)

The year 1056 of Utpalabda (of Ka~mrr),

(38)

The year 1031 of the Nepalabda

founded by Jayadevamalla (of Nepal),

(39)

The year 1021 of NarayaQadevabda (of Nepal),

(40)

The year 972 of Ya~askaradevabda (of Kasmir),

(41)

The year 908 of Prathama Lodhrabda (of Kasmir),

(42)

The year 897 of Bhojadevabda (of Dhara), .

(43)

The year 810 ef Dvitiya Lodhrabda (of ~~smtr)

(44)

The year 611 of Ramadevabda (ofDevagm),

(45)

The year 587 of Harisihmadevabda (of Nepal),

(46)

The year 383 of Krillhttarayabda (of Vijayanagara),.

(47)

The year 143 of Prithvi Narayattabda (of Nepal),

\ 1 There have been many Satikaracharyas all over theAdvaitic Maths in India and many of them have been famous:

writers of works on the Advaita Philosophy and Religion. In

the Kamakoti-Pitha alone, one of the five Maths establishecF

by A.di sankaracharya and originally located at Kanchi

(Conjeeveram), but subsequently removed to Kumbhakonam,

there have been up to this time 68 X.charyas, who all bore·

the title of Sri Sankaracharya, and among whom there have

have been no less than eight A.charyas who also actually

bore the name of Satikara. Of these latter again, the 38th A.charya was, in addition considered, like the First’ satikaracharya, an incarnation of siva, possessed of a genius and personality in no way inferior to those ofhis illustrious predecessors, so much so that he has been by later writers identified with the First Satikaracharya himself,. the greatest of the Eltpounders of the Advaita Philosophy and Religion. This identity in name, in title, in function. in status and in views has given room to no small confusion· between the A.di Satikara.cha.rya and his successors. There· are innumerable works, large and small, which go under the name of sankaracha.rya, and it is really impossible· at this distant period of time to determine with certainty which ofthem were the hand works of A.di sankara.cha.rya, and which were written by his successors. But it is really· fortunate that all scholars should uniformly agree in ascribing the Bha.shyas on the Prastha.na-Traya to the· First Satikara.cha.rya or to Satikara as we shall call him· hereafter. It is also a matter of great satisfaction to us to find that we have sufficient materials for determining themain incidents of his remarkable life.

~32 THE AGE OF SANKARA

On the life ofSatikara, we have no less than ten Satikara·-vijayas or Biographies of Satikaracha.rya, purporting to ;have b~en written by the followers of his school of ~Fbilosophy; and these may be mentioned in the following . ~~~er ~~cording to their probable date of composition:

‘•. (1) The Satikara-Vijaya of Sri Chitsukhacha.rya one of rthe direct disciples and eo-students of Satikara, known . under the name of Brihat Satikara-Vljaya;

· (2), The Sankara-Vijaya of .Anandagiri, the well-known .c~mmentator of the Bhashyas and Vartikas of Satikara and ~suresvara, known under the name of Pra.china Satikara

Vijaya;

· · ., (3) The Satikara-Vijaya of Vidyasatikara or Satikara

nanda, the author of .Atma Pura.na and of the Dipikas on :the· Upanishads, Bhagavadgita and BrahmasUtra, known .1p1der the name of Vyasachaliya ;

.(4) The Satikara-Vijaya of Govindana.tha, one of the ! P,aJ).dits of” Kerala, known under the name of .~charya -Charita or Keraliya Satikara-Vijaya;

· (5) The Satikara Vijaya of Chug.a.mani Dikshita, the :author of many Sanskrit poems and dramas, known under the pame of Satikara:.bhyudaya ;

(6)

The Satikara-Vijaya of Ananta:.nandagiri known under the name of Guru Vijaya or A.cha:.rya-Vijaya ;

(7)

The satikara-Vijaya of Vallisaha:.yakavi, one of -the adherents of the sringagiri Matha, known under the name:of Acha:.rya Digvijaya;

. ; (8) The Satikara-Vijaya of Sada.nanda, also an .adherent of the sringagiri Matha, known under the name of

; ‘ ‘ .

.$anJ<:ara Digvijaya Sa:.ra ; , {9) The Satikara-Vijaya ofChidvila.sa, also an adherent oNhe Sringagiri Matha, known under the name of Satikara

.. •I . . . .

·vijaya Vilasa ;

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFB.

(10) The Sankara-Vijaya of Madhava, also an adherent of the Sringagiri Matha, known under the name of Samkshepa Satikara Vijaya.

Besides these various Satikara Vijayas, we have a number of Punyasloka-Mailjaris and *Guru-Paramparas preserved by the various Advaitic Maths in which we have a brief account of the chief incidents of Satikara’s life recorded by his own immediate disciples. We have also a brief reference to Satikara’s wonderful life recorded in an indirect manner in Gau~apadollasa, Harimisriya, Patatijali.; vijaya, Brihad Rajatarailgini, Hayagrivavadha, MaJ)iprabha; Gururatnamalika, Sushuma, Vimarsa and other works. Of these works, the last three are of invaluable interest to the historian of Satikara and the Ta.mrapatranusasana issued by King Sudhanvan of Dva.raka, one of the royal disciples of Sailkara and published in Vimarsa by His Holiness, the present Satikara.cha:rya of the Dva.raka. Matha contains a brief and authentic account of the life of Sankara. There are also hostile references to the life of Sailkara in the works of the Jainas, Maddhvas and Vaishnavas, such as

Jina-Vijaya, Maddhva-Vijaya, Maf!-i-Manjari, etc. Though in some of the later Satikara-Vijayas and in the works of those hostile religionists abovementioned, the lives of many of the Sal).karacha.ryas-especially the life of .Adi santikara of Kalati and that of Abhinava Satikara of Chidambaram -are blended together by ascribing the incidents of the life of these to one and the same person, it is still quite possible to separate and distinguish the main incidents of the life of .Adi san.kara, the admitted author of the Bhashyas on the Prasthana-Traya from those of his successors and our

• ” Guruparampara Namamala of Govardhana Mutt ” is in our possession-Ed.

THE AGE OF SANKARA

attempt in the present chapter is simply to sketch in brief

‘the main incidents ofthe life of this Sarikara.

We are told by sarikara himself in his prerace to his masterly commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, that the :Almighty and Omniscient Lord with .a view to ~ecu~e the well-being and happiness of the ammate and ~na~tmate . world that He brought into existence at the begmmng of Creation, produced Marichi and other Prajapatis on the one hand, and Sanaka and other Kumaras on the other.and taught them respectively the two paths of Dharma desc.r~bed ·in the Karmaka~c;Ia (Samhitas and Brahmanas) a~d. Jn:nakanda .(Upanishads) of the Ve<Jas, the Pravrtttt-Marga and·. Nivritti-Marga-the Path of ActioQ. ~and the Path of Knowledge-the one leading to temporal and ep~emeral prosperity and the other to spiritual and eternal bhss. As time went on, these two paths of Dharma, which were being trodden for ages, came, however, graduall~ to ~e neglected as men became more and more engrossed m the~r temporal concerns; and thought less and less of their

, spiritual interests; so that the real sense of the Vedas was lost and unrighteousness prevailed all o~er the land. . The Lord said: “Whenever, Oh Bharata ! nghteousn~ss IS on the decline and unrighteousness assumes predommance, I come forth Myself to protect the good, to punish the wicked and to establish Dharma on a strong foundatio~. ~bus d~

. l appear from age to age.” In accordance Wit~ this, His gracious promise, the Unborn and. Eternal Lor~ mcamated Himself as srl Krishna in the mterval of t1me between Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, in the ho.use of Vasudeva, in the womb of Devaki, and re-established Dharma on · rth. Out of pme mercy He, then, proclaimed to man• ;~nd the knowledge of the two paths of Pravritti and Nivritti

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S UF.E!

in His Divine Song-the Bhagavad-Gita-in the shape of the eighteen wonderful discourses addressed to Arjuna.

As the Age ofKali advanced, Virtue once more began to wane and Vice in all its hideous forms began to spread over the land, entailing untold miseries upon mankind. With a view to avert these miseries, men of intelligence like Jaimini and Buddha began to unfold the teachings of the Vedas to persons of their respective times, giving exclusive prominence to Karma on the one hand and ~i]~aaa· tin the other, so that in course of time in the bands of their ignorant followers who were men of narrow views, even their pure teachings were calculated to lead men to atheism, immorality and consummate hypocrisy. The two paths of Dbarma taught by the Lord were again in imminent danger of having their past wiped out from history under the formidable -influence of Blind Ritualism of the Brahman a Tantrikas on the one hand and of Dry Formalism of the Bauddha Freethinkers on the other.

Minds like Patafijali and Badaraya~a had already pointed out in their Sutras-the Yogadar~ana and Vedantadar~ana-that the salvation ofthe Vedic Dharmas lay in the recognition of inaction in action, of unity in diversity. Since the time of Patafijali, a new school of Philosophers was springing up at Badarikasrama on the HimaJayas under the guidance of Badari and his son Badarayana, the author of the Brahma Sutras. suka Yog1ndra, GaUc;Iapadacharya and Govinda Bhagavatpada who came in that school had already found that the true ideal of the Vedas was concealed in the Absolute Philosophy of the U panishads and that the reconciliation of the various

-conflicting theories of Vedic Philosophy as well as of Non.. Vedic PhiJosophy, depended upon the distinction between

36 THB AGB OF SANKARA

the Para and Apara Vidyas of the Upanishads. But it required a born genius, a master-mind, an Inspired teacher, to enlarge upon these materials, to lay hold of the esoteric Vidyas spoken of in the U panishads, to emphasize the distinction between Karma and Jfiana, to proclaim to the world the truth of the Absolute Philosophy of the Vedanta for the purpose of saving the country from running headlong. into political chaos, intellectual ruin and spiritual perdition. It was at such a time that the Divine Satikara made his. appearance on the earth.

In the ancient agrahara of Kalati resplendent with the temples of Sri Govinda and Sri Vrishadrinatha-ofthe Gods Hari and Hara-on the northern bank of the Chiir:r;ti (Alavoi) river, in the enchanted country of Kerala, in the sacred land of Parasurama, there lived a pious Brahmat;ta pair by name Sivaguru and A.ryamba, of the family of Vidyadhiraja, fam,ous for their great learning and wealth. The husband and wife, though possessed of all other blessings, had no issue for a long time. But the grace of the God Vrishadri-· natha, in the all-auspicious Nandana Sarpvatsara of the year 2593 of the Kali Yuga (corresponding to 509 o.c.), on a Sunday (Bhanu Vasara) when the Sun was on its Northern Path (Uttaraya:r;ta), on the 5th day (Pafichami Tithi) of the· Bright Half (Sukla Paksha) of the month of Vaisakba (May-June), in the asterism Punarvasu under the sign Sagittarius of the Zodiac (Dhanur Lagna), was born, in a miraculous manner, a wonderful male child from the sacred womb of .Aryamba, the dutiful wife of Sivaguru. Being exceedingly delighted at the sight of this marvellous child of wonderful lustre and complexion like that of God Sankara, bearing a mark like the digit of the moon on the top of the· head, a dimple like the eye in the centre of the forehead, and a mole like the trident on each of the shoulders the-

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFB 37

father gave him the name of Saiikara. He was true to his· -name inasmuch as he was the embodiment of the blessings of Saiikara and a source of immense joy to every one who saw him. The young Saiikara grew up possessed of singular

personality and precocious inteJJigence which led people to 1hink of him as an actual incarnation of Saiikara, the God ·of Wisdom Himself.

The child exhibited such uncommon intelligence even at the time of his first Abda·purti, the father felt the necessity ofinitiating him into the mysteries ofthe Alphabet by celebrating his Aksharabhyasa as soon as he reached his 1hird year. It is said of the young boy that he was an Ekasrutidhara and that he could repeat any work as soon as he went through it even once. Chitsukhacha rya, one of his eo-pupils who became his constant companion and trusted disciple afterwards, informs us that young Saiikara learnt all the branches of the secular literature including ·grammar and rhetoric in less than two years and that his father had to invest him with the sacred thread in the very commencement of his · fifth year by performing his

Upanayana so that he may be duly introduced into the study of the Vedas and of other sacred literature. Not only on account of his innate genius and extra-ordinary learning, but also on account of his genial disposition and kind heart, 1he boy Sankara soon became the chief object of admiration and attraction in Kalati and its neighbourhoods. A large number of students, young and old, already began to gather around him as his pupils to learn the wisdom of the Vedas from his eloquent lips and tile Balabodha Satigraha said to have been composed by him in his sixth year remains to this -day as a standing monument of the wonderful feats of intellect of this young Satikara. His biographers tell us 1hat on one of these days while he was studying in his·

38 THB AGE OF SANKARA

Gurukula, he went into a poor Brahmans house, as was

usual with Brahmacharins, to receive his Bhiksha, and the

poverty-stricken Brahmal)i-the mistress of the house–not

being able to give him any substantial alms, brought and

gave ·an Amalaka (a fruit of the Emblic Myrobalan) to

young Satikara as a humble token of her contribution

towards the Bhiksha ; and that the latter was so much. moved at the sight of her poverty, he prayed to the Goddess of Wealth by composing his famous Kanakadhara Stotra and had her house filled with showers of gold Amalakas.

Young Saiikara thus became proficient in the whole

field of .Aryan Literature before he reached his eighth year.

His intellect began almost intuitively to perceive in each.

part of the Veda as he was taught. the central doctrine of ·the Unity of the Absolute Existence on which his Advaita Dar sana or the Philosophy of the Absolute was t~ be built. But the poor. father had not the happiness to see his son accomplish this grand object of his mission. In the: beginning of the eight year of Saiikara. while he was still engaged in his studies, the aged Sivaguru passed away from this world. This sad event merely helped to guide his innate tendency and he soon formed within himself a resolution to renounce the world and become a Sannyasin.. It was the great reverence the he had . ror the departed soul of his worthy father whose funeral ceremonies he had to perform, and the extreme affection that he had for his ·loving mother who bewailed her sad fate, that prevented him from taking this course for a period of one year. No sooner did he finish his Paitrimedhika-karma by performing. his father’s first annual ceremony (Sraddha) than he began to persuade his mother who was most sorry for her loneliness. during the remainder of her life to willingly give her consent

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFE.

to his becoming a Sannyasin. The incident of the crocodile, which is said to have caught him by his foot while bathing in the river Churiii with his aged mother, furnished him· with a splendid opportunity in getting the needed permission and the mother at last allowed her son to adopt the . vow of asceticism, as a case of Apat-Sannyasana and declared him a Sannyasin. No sooner was he so declared· than the crocodile left him and he emerged from the water as. a declared Sannyasin. Thus after assuring his mother that he would always be ready to attend to her spiritual wants Saiikara entered the holy order of Sannyasins by renouncing

the world while still quite a lad of nine years, thereby · transferring the sphere of his acti-lity from the narrow limits of his simple homestead and village to the wide

expanse of interesting humanity and the world.

The young ascetic, after repeating his promise to his mother, left Kalati, all alone, in search of a Guru with a view to get himself formally initiated into Krama-Sannyasa. It is said that just before Saiikara left Kalati, God Achyuta appeared to him in a dream, blessed him in his journey and directed him to go to Govinda BaJ,lavadpada to get himself formally initiated into Sannyasa ; ·and it was at this time that Saiikara composed his famous Achyutiishtaka. .On his way he passed through Gokarl)a, an ancient city on the West Coast, wh~:re he was joined by Vishl)usarman21 one of

21 He is the famous Chitsukhcharya who came to the Pitha of the Dvaraka Matha, as the successor of Sri Brahmasvarii.pacharya, in the year 2691 of the Yudhishthira Saka corresponding to 2654 of the Kali Yuga (448 B.C.) and attained his Brahmibhava on Pausha Sulda Tritiya of the year 2715 of the Yudhishthira Saka, corresponding to the year 2678 of the Kali Yuga (424 B.C.) at the advanced age of 80 years. He himself states in his Sankara-Vijaya in the first or

THE AGB OF SANKABA

his eo-students at KaJati while be was studying in his Gurukula, who thereafter became one of his immediate and trusted disciples under the name of Chitsukba. He wandered with him long in Northern India until he came in contact wi)h Govinda Y ogin at Amarakanta on the bank of the Narmada, where he was waiting with his son Bhartrihari and with some of his select disciples to receive the young

Upodghata Prakaral}a, that he was a native of Gokarl}a in Kerala. that he became acquainted with Sankara even while he was a boy of five years reading in his Gurukula, that he had very high admiration for his superior talents and extraordinary knowledge of all the Vaidika and Laukika Jores even before he took the permission of his mother to become a Sannyasin, that he followed Sailkara when he weat in search of a Guru to get himself formally initiated into Sannyasa, that he never departed from Sailkara from the time he left his native place until he attained his marvellous Brahmibhava at Kaiichi in the temple of the Goddess Kamakshi. It fact, he was an eye-witness of the life and doings of Sailkara from start to finish, and one of his direct disciples, being himself older than Sailkara by five ~ears. In his biography of Sankara, which is known to the later writers, on account of its bulk, under the name of Brihat Sarikara Vijaya or Guru Sal}kara Vijaya, he has given a fulJ account of the lives of Sailkara and Suresvara and of the various works they had written. Excepting the Bhashyas which are simply referred to, almost aiJ the minor works of Sarikara are co11ected and given in his work with the occasion on which they were composed. (The book has been evidently divided into three parts, (I) Purvacharya Satpatha, (11) Sarikaracharya Satpatha and (Ill) Suresvaracharya Satpatha; but we have been able to get a mutilated copy of the work containing only

Sailkaracharya Satpatha.) It is a pity that the work has not been as ~et completely colJected and printed in any part of India. Sankara Vijaya Vilasa attributed to one Chidvilasa Yati ap;>ears to be a mere re-production and imitation of Chitsukhacharya’s large work by a modern writer, with certain omissions, additions and alteration to suit his own private ends. Chitsukha also appears to be the author of Chitsukhi, an important work on Vedanta.

‘I
1

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANK.ARA’S LIFE.

ascetic sankara having been previovsly ordained by the,.

. ‘

Lord to initiate him into regular asceticism. From the most ancient times there have been in the various parts of India, recognised seats of learning for each school of Indian Philosophy, sanctified with the name of. some great teachers. The ancient schools of 22 Vaiseshika,

\a Although it is difficult to ascertain when each of the six wellknown Darsanas or Orthodox schools of Indian Philosophy exactly ·came into existence. we can easily assert that those Darsanas came into existence in the following order, as we can trace a consistant development of thought from one to the other :

1. The Vaiseshika Darsana of Kal}ada,

II. The Nyiya Darsana of Gautama,
Ill. The Sankhya Darsana of Kapila,

IV.

The Yoga Darsana of Pataiijali,

The Mimimsa Darsana of Jaimini, and

VI. The Vedanta Darsana of BadarayaJ.la.

With regard to the non-orthodox systems Philosophy we are of opinion that they came into existence in the following order:

I. The Lokayatika Darsana of the Chirvakas,

11 The Arhata Darsana of the Jainas, HI. The Tathagata Darsana of the Bauddhas,

IV.

The Pancharatra Darsana of the Bhagavatas.

The l’abupata Darsana ofthe Saktas

The bst three Darsanas-the Paiicharatra, the Pasupata and the Kaula-ate clearly developments upon the Yoga Darsana. the Mimarnsi Darsana and the Vedanta Darsana, giving prominence to Bhakti (Devotion), Karma (Action) and Jtiana (Knowledge) respectively with, of course, a fusion of the Brahm~n theory ~f the Upanishads with a belief in a personal Highest Bemg, Accordmg. to the last Brahman carries within its own nature an element from wb1ch the m;terial universe orginates, but according to the first two, it is only the operative cause. All these systems of philosophy were in existen~ at the time of Sailkara when he wrote his famous Bhashya on the Vedanta Sutras of Badarayal}a wherein he has refuted the

doctrines of all these other Darsanas and of their subdivisions.

42 THE AGE OF SANKARA

Nyaya and Sankhya philosophies founded respectively by the great sages Kal}.ada, Gautama and Kapila, which had. hitherto exercised authority as independent masters in the field of Indian Thought, had now sunk to the low position of bond-slaves to the Lokayatika, Jaina and Bauddha Darsanas-the three great unorthodox schools of philosophy that prevailed in India at about the beginning of the lOth Century B.C. To counteract the evil effects of these unorthodox schools of philosophy which were dragging. India into the most alluring chance of running on the path of utter denationalization and ruin, and to restore the Sanatana Dharma to its pristine purity as taught in the Srutis and Smritis with the aid of those three ancient schools of orthodox philosophy, three other great schools of Orthodox Philosophy were founded by three great eminent sages about the close of the lOth Century B.C., under the names of Yoga Darsana, Mfmamsa Darsana and· Vedanta Darsana. Each of these schools had its recognised seat of learning, where its traditional interpretations have been treasured up and banded down by oral teaching to genera~ tions of earnest and faithful students.

Of all these schools of philosophy, the most important and authoritative was the Vedanta Darsana founded by B:idarayal}.a,28 son of Badari, at Badarikasrama on the

23 It is a great pity that Badarayaua, the author of the Vedanta Sutras is generally identified with Krishua Dvaipayana or Veda Vyasa the compiler of the Vedas and the author of the Mahabharata. Badarayaua in his Vedanta Siltras quotes and refutes the doctrines of almost all the other schools of Indian Philosophy including those of the Lokayatikas, Jainas and Bauddhas and he cannot, therefore, be identical with Krishua Dvaipayana who was a contemporary of Sri· Krishua and the Pauc;lavas and who lived in the interval of time between Dvaparayuga and Kaliyuga, at about 3102 B.C. Furthes

43>

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFE

Himalayas. He found that the existing schools of philosophy -both orthodox and unorthodox-were in some way or other opposed to the true spirit of the Srutis and smritis as. handed down by Veda Vyasa or Krishl}.a Dvaipayana, the· compiler of the Vedas and the author of the Mahabharata •.. He at once understood that the true ideal of the srutis lay: in the unity of the Infinite in man and the Infinite in· nature and that this was fully declared and established.

Badarayaua quotes from Pataiijali, the renowned author of the Maha~ bhasbya on Pauini’s Vyakaraua and he is also accredited as having· written the Bhashya on Pataiijali’s Yuga Siitras. As Pataiijali’s date is fixed between the lOth and the 9th Century B.C; (Vide ‘Age of Patanjali’ by ~he late Pandit N. Bhashyacharya) Badarayaua can, under no·circumstances, be placed before the lOth Cen.tury B.C. Moreovec, Bh~avadgita, which forms a portion of the Mahabharata written by· Veda Vyasa is quoted as an authority by Badarayaua in his VedantaSiitras under the name of Smriti, but this could hardly be the case if the author of both these works-the Bhagavadgita and the Vedanta Siltras-were one and the same. Veda Vyasa’s patronymic nam,e is·. KrishQa Dvaipayana and he is said to be the son of the great sage. Parasara by Satyavati and his h~rmitage was near Prayaga (Allah~bad) between the Ganges and the Jamna. Whereas, Badarayar;~a, as the name itself clearly shows, was the son of Badari u._nd his hermitage waS’ at Badarikasrama on the Himalayas. It is possible that Badarayaua’s father and preceptor was called Badari after the name of this sacred hermitage, which soon became a great seat of learning for the Vedanta

school of Philosophy. The earliest authentic reference to Badarayaua and Veda Vyasa isby Sankara himself, and it is clear from his works that he always made. a distinction between Krishua Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa, the author of the Bhagavadgita, and Badarayaua or Vyasa, the author of the: Vedanta Sutras. In commenting on Bhagavadgita, Sati.kara refers to the author in the Preface in the following terms :

” cT ‘=11f +frrcrcrT lftflq f~ISi ~~o41ij: ~~T +f~”‘” ~rn~ ~f+r: ~e1Cfi•:m”t la~arnr 1 ” (It is this Dharma.:

; THB AGB OF SANKARA

·in the A.ratiyaka or Upanisbad portion of the Vedas and not in the Samhita and BrahmaJ).a portions ·of the same. Like the great Veda Vyasa, Badarayaoa divided -the whole of the Vedas into two main parts-the KarmakaJ).da and the Jiianakal).da-the exoteric and the

·which was taught by the Lord, that the. omniscient and adorable Veda
Vyasa embodied in the seven hundred verses caned Oitas.) But in the
· .only place where he names the author of the Vedanta Siitras, Sailkara

H ~ ~ ft 4 r

says as follows : ;:r;:q q ij’ICI 1 ij’f ~~JlWitl ~~ ‘f~~lf

:~, ~ISIT lfi’Cff~: sr~~a-~~-q~., CflC{~

~ c.. c. c ‘

. ~~: qo,a-” OT’fl’Cf1 ‘ff: ~~T ~f~: ~fij’ ”-

-~ U ~ . e “

‘fila I (But from the circumstances of the Lordly power of the ·release<l souls not being absolute, it follows that it comes to an end .and then they will have to return from the world of Brahman ! To this -objection, the reverend Badaraya9a .Acharya replies in the following -Sutra-Of them there is non-return according to scripture ; non-return .according to scripture’-(Vide Sailkara’s preface to Vedanta Siitra, IV. 4-22). It is apparent from these two passage that SaJikara makes a -clear distinction between the author of the Bhagavadgita and that of

the Vedanta Siitras, taking the one as the incarnation of the Omniscient Lord Himself, and ‘the other as one of his own respected .Acharyas .or teachers.

Further, in Sutra Ill. 3-32 of his Vedanta Darsana, Badar&yaoa himself refers to KrishQa Dvaipayana, as an instance of persons who knew Brahman and yet took on new bodies for the purpose of saving the world. In commenting upon this Sutra, Sankara says:

‘·’ ‘344’$1lfc”Cfli f~ 91’~fct~l’ffq ~tf~d~~~~(IGfllli~ra-<Rtrf~~~;rrC{_ I CP-Tr%, aT41′”d(d4’1T t=Jllf ~~li: $(TUfN ~f;:r:rmra:. cpf~rroit: ij’;:crj ~qp;r;:r: ~~-;r~ ~4’1 <f”d I “

“‘

.(There is indeed room for the inquiry proposed, as we know from Itihasa and Purava, that some persons although knowing Brahman, yet obtained new bodies.· Tradition informs us that Apantaratamas. ·an ancient Rishi and teacher of the Vedas, was, by the order of

MAIN INCIDENTS OP SANKARA’S UFB 45

esoteric, and arranged the latter into Ten Principal Upani-· shads. Again he separated the Bhagavadg!ta from the rest of the Mahabharata and made it-perhaps with slight alterations-an independent authority24 like the Upanishadsfor his new school of philosophy. But bare quotations from these srutis and Smritis were not enough to satisfy the growing demands of the intelligent inquirers of his time. Further, there were apparent inconsistencies between the· various texts of the Upanishads and the Bhagavadg!ta,

Vish~u. born on this earth as KrishQ.a Dvaipayana at the interval of time between the Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga.) If KrishQa Dvaipayana was the author of these Siitras, nothing would have been more natural and easier for Sailkara than to refer to the author himself as an instance. Further it is clear from this passage, that KrishQa Dvaipayana, according to Sankara, lived before the Kallyuga and he could not be, therefore, identical with Badariyal}a, the author of the Vedanta Siitras and the reputed commentator of Patafijali’s Yoga Siltras. Moreover, the Vedanta Siitras are widely known as BadarayaQa Siitras, but no one has yet called them Krishna Dvaipayana Siitras. Sankarananda, one of these successors of Sailkara, and one of the greatest of Sanskrit scholars, makes it clear in his preface to his commentary on the Bhagavadgita, that these two persons could never be identical. In that preface, he refers to the various works ascribed to Krish9a Dvaipayana, but makes no mention of the Vedanta Siitras, as one of his works. No doubt some of the later .Acharyas have made a confusion between these two names, but that is no reason why the authors of the Bhagavadgita and the Vedanta Siltras should be

blindly identified and looked upon as one person.

2• The colophon at the end of each chapter of the Bhagavadgita

makes it clear how it has been elevated from its original position as an

Itihasa into an independent authority like the Vedas. The actual

words are : ‘1 !ifff ~fq~trRrr~qR’f~, 91’~ fct”‘ Ill i, lf):rr•

QI’Jri, ~~~;;~err~, lf)~~t=lff~rrAT’fT~r~)~Tlf:”

According to this, Bhagavadgita is not only an Upanishad, but it isalso a Brahma Vidya, a Yoga Sastra, and a Samvada.

THB AGE OF SANKARA

-which required to be reconciled and explained away by means of strict reasoning. To reduce, therefore, the teachings of the Upanishads and of the Bhagavadgita or the Mahabharata to a consistent and systematic whole, to .explain away apparent contradictions in those various texts,. ·and to refute all objections that have been or might be urged against them, it was necessary for Badarayana that he -should compose a work strictly based on reasoning. He accordingly composeed his famous ..5 Vedanta Sutras in four chapters in 556 aphorisms. Each of these four chapters26 .(Adhyayas) comprises in its turn four sections (Padas) and

These Sutras are also called and known under various names. :They ·are called Uttara Mimamsa Darsana, as reasoned exposition of the Uttara or latter part of the Vedas, i.e., of the Upanishads, in contradistinction from Purva Mimamsa Darsana, ascribed to Jaimini

-who-expounded the Purva or the earlier part of the Vedas, i.e., the !Mantras and the sacrificial portions of the Brahmat}as. They are also …called Brahma Sutras, aphorisms expoun&ng the nature of Brahman as distinguished· from the Dharma Sutras or aphorisms expounding the -nature of Dharma, the subject matter of Jaimini’s work. They are also . .called by other names such as Sariraka Sutras or Sariraka Mimamsa or Sariraka Darsana (as expounding the true nature of the embodied ,soul), Vyasa Sutras (Aphorisms expounding the true opinion of Veda Vyasa or KrishQa Dvaipayana as handed down to Badaraya!}a Vyasa through a Jong line of teachers like Atreya, .Asmarathya, An<;lulomi, Kasakritsna, Karshnajani, Badari, Jaimini, etc.); Badarayat}a Sutras (Aphorisms composed by Badarayal}a, son of Badari, also known as Vyasa, on account of his having arranged the Srutis and Smritis as .detailed above). They also go under the name of Vedanta Mimamsa or Vedanta Darsana (Reasoned exposition of the Vedanta) and .Aupanishadi Mimamsa or Aupanisbad Darsana (Reasoned exposition of the Upanishads).

2s These four chapters are called the Samanvayadhyaya (connecting), Avirodhadhyaya (reconciling), Sadhanadhyayii (means) and Phaladhyaya (fruit). The first four Sutras embody the fundamental .doctrines of the Vedlinta and the rest of the Sutras are more or Jess .explanatory or the same.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LlFE

each section a number of sub-sections (Adhikarattas). These three-the Upanisha.ds, the Bhagavadglta and the Vedanta Sutras-constitute, according to Badarayatta, the -complete canon of the Vedanta Darsana. They are called· the three Prasthanas or Institutes of Vedantic teaching, the

Upanishads being called the Sruti-Prasthana (Scriptural

Institute); the Bhagavadg!ta, the Smriti-Prasthana

.”(Traditional Institute); and the Vedanta Sutras, the

Nyaya-Prasthana (Logical Institute).

It is said that these Sutras has been thoroughly revised .and enlarged upon by Suka Yogindra, the son and direct .disciple of BadarayaiJ.a; and Sankara in his commentary on the Vedanta Sutras often refers to the compiler under the name of Sutrakara, wherever it was necessary for him to distinguish27 the original author from the actual compiler of the said Sutras. The compiler often quotes the authority of

21 There cannot be any doubt that the main body of the Vedanta Sutras is the handwork of Badarayat}a, but the text of those Siitras as we have them at present clearly bears the mark of having been

·compiled by an equally great Vedantic scholar with his own additions and modifications; and tradition uniformly ascribes this task to Suka Yogindra, the son and disciple of Badarayat}a himself. In corroboration of this statement it may be sufficient to quote the following Sutras as expressing the opinion of Badara:yaQa as distinguished from that of the Sutrakara or the actual compiler of the Vedanta Sutras:

~ftr cfT~(TlfUT: ~’Jt’CfTC{_” I, 3-26 .

~~.lff’Ci ~ cr~urrsftcr f~ ” 1, 3-33.

11 ‘ff ~ CiT({mufT ~q~mcr,” Ill, 2-41.

~~ ~t5fT~1scr: ~r~fu ~({“UlfUJ:” 111, 4·1.

ll arr’iclfl4~m~ ~({‘U~cf M?~;::mr” m, 4-s.

~ “~ ‘

11 ….. =+11

dfAWS’Olf GfiG:<IliU’f: ~~et: Ill, 4-19 •

~ ~

’48 . THE AGE OF SANKARA

Badarayat}a as opposed to Jaimini and other teachers, and his views appear to be decidedly Advaitic, more in accor-· dance with those of Satikara, his great-great disciple than with those of BadarayaQ.a, his own father and direct teacher~ He looks upon both BadarayaQ.a and Jaimini as his teachers, and he seems to give great weight to the opinion whenever28 both the said teachers are agreed.

11 an:rcrm~~;;r ‘flRflfcr ~~ull’ur

~lflfllTS~)timr… ~g~’T.f ” IV, 8-1 fJ. The compiler of these Siitras or as Sankara, calls him Siltrakara,.. often contrasts the views of Badarayaua with those of Biidari and Jaimini and agrees with one or more of these. The following consecutive Siitras from the 4th Pada of the 4th Adhyaya of theVedanta Siitras will suffice to show this:

a:r+t rcf Grr~f~ ~T~ WCfl1 11 ~ o 11″

“‘ ….

11 lfrcT \iff;rA” fcr~qr;r;:rifTCt 11 ~ ~ 11” 11 e:~~T~lfll’fcrci ~~Uli’UfTSCf: 11 ~ ~ 11

sankara in all these places calls these as A.charyas. (Cf. ~ ~…

fucrl’=t~l¥4 llf : et~., Gffil”f~cCfT’T.fflf : etc., t\11~ (fliUr: ~

U:qfll’: etc.)

2s Compare the following Sutra (IV. 1-17) 11 a{Cffs;:lfffq· W~ll’lfli’T: ” (For, there is also a class of good works other than this 0according to some. There is agreement of both teachers as to the fate of these works.) Sati.kara commenting upon this Siitra

says : ” Both teachers, Jaimini as well as Badarayaua, are~agreed that such works, undertaken for the fulfilment of some special wish, do not contribute towards the orgination of true knowledge.” Similarly commenting on Siitra Ill. 4-40, Sati.kara writes : “By the word <also,’ the Siitrakara indicates the consensus of Jaimini and Badarayaua on this point, in order to confirm thereby the view adopted. •’ Many more passages might be quoted, but we think what we have already cited is quite sufficient to show that the compiler, whoever it might be, has clearly revised and enlarged upon Badarayaua’s original work.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFE

suka is said to have been one of’9 the greatest of the Yogins of his time and it is said that he attained the knowledge of Brahman, even while he was quite an infant. He is the first great teacher who proclaimed Sannvasa or asceticism as the best mode of life for attaining ~piritual growth, by himself practica1ly becoming a so Sannyasin of the order of Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya. He is said to have taught the Vedanta Sutras to several of his disciples at Badarikasrama, among whom Gau~apada and U pavarsha were prominent.

It is an established ~practice of the ancient Hindus that whenever a work is written in the form of SUtras. there must, of necessity, be a small commentary called V ritti to enable the reader to understand those Sutras; a~d the author of the Vritti is generally either the author of the Siitras themselves or a pupil or pupil’s pupil of his. We know that such a Vritti had been written on the Vedanta

29 That is the reason why he is generally ealled Suka Yogindra. In

• -11 <-=+ 11

commentmg on Sutra (IV. 2-14} ~+rli’Cl =i!f Saiikara instances Suka in support of his proposition that he who knows Brahman neither moves nor departs. He says : ” Suka, having moved through the air more rapidly than the wind and having shown his yogic power was s~en by all beings.” By the way in which he speaks of him, Saiikara h1mself appears to have witnessed this wonderful Yogic feat of his

great-great teacher, Suka Yogindra.

30 Gauc;lapadacharya, one of the greatest of Suka’s disciples always refers to himself in the following terms : 11 55fT~~~

~T\ilCfll=c:t llf!55f’Tlf~Cfil{‘l);:sr f~&r:” as” the disciple of the Revered Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Sri Sukamunindra”. (Compare the colophon at the end of his Vartika on the Nrisihmottaratapaniyopanishad which runs as follows: ~fir 551’Ttrnr~~

qf~\ifCJlr:qnf 55i’l+r~Cfi1!’1Tt=Sff~&r55fT+r~rr1~fcr<Rff ‘d’d <aftA’1ll’fcrcr'(Ur sr~ll’: ~u~ : 1″

THE AGE OB SANKARA

Sutras of Ba.dara.ya1;1a as well as on the M1ma.msa. Sutras of Jaimini by81 Upavarsha, a brother of Varsha.cha.rya under whom the great grammarians, Pat;tini and Ka.tya.yana, the authors of Ashtadhya.yi and Vya.kara1;1a Va.rtika are said to have learnt their first principles of Sanskrit Grammar.

The next great teacher in regular succession after Suka Munindra in the school of Veda.nta Philosophy founded by Ba.dara.yal)a was the great scholar Gau.1apa.da.cha.rya spoken of above. He is said to have originally belonged to the Dravidian country (Southern India) and to have learnt the Maha.bhashya the great commentary on Pal)ini’s Ashtadhyayi by Pataiijali82 from .the lips of that great sage bim~elf, at Pul)garikapura along with 999 other pupils who

31 Upavarsba must no doubt have been a contemporary of Patanjali, Jaimini and Badarayal)a, the a~thors of the three _great systems of later Hindu Philosophy. He IS referred to by Sankara several times in his Bhashya on the Vedanta Siitras under the respectful appellation of Bhagavad Upavarsha; and in commenting on Siitra Ill. 3-53, l’ ~Cfi’3TT~1=1’if: ml1: mcmr’-” he distinctl~ refer~ to Upavarsba’s Vritti on the Ved_:nta Siitras. T,!le passage ID questiOn

” ‘3TCf~=;;r +rifCfffi’ ~qcrsrur ‘Sf~~ ctr?f ancmf~crccrrf+ren.,. ~~crcft ~r~R~ ·cra-m’l ~fer~: wcr: ”-also clearly

bows that the Reverend Upavarsha must have also written a V ritti on ;aimini’s Piirva Mimamsa. The expression ” Bhagavat” applied to Upavarsha by Sankara as distinguished from the e~p~ession “Acharya” applied to Badarayal)a, Jaimini and Gaugapada, di~tmctly shows that

Upavarsha cbarya must have passed aw~y from thts world long before the advent of Sankara into Northern In~Ia. . _ . . 32 Patanjali is believed to be an mcarnatton of Adi sesha. It IS said that b~ was born in a miraculous manner from a great sage who was making penance on the bank of the Gonarda river in Kasmir and

be is therefore, sometimes known as Gonardiya. Besides his Mabibbashya which is his latest and best production, Pataiijali is said to have written two other works on Yoga and Vaidya. ~ing Bhoja, in his commentary on Pataiijali’s Yoga sutras, refers to btm not only as

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA ‘s LIFE

had come down to that sacred City from different parts of India to learn that Great Commentary on Sanskrit Grammar. As all these pupils were anxious to learn the Maha.bhashya: from his own sacred lips, Patanjali is said to have hit upon a device by which he could teach them all, at one and the same time, as effectively and impressively as if he taught every one of them separately in person. With a view to spend the greater portion of his time in the daily service of the Lord, Patanjali arranged for a course of daily lectures (Ahnikas) to be delivered in a spacious hall in the sacred temple of Nataraja Himself between certain specific hours of the day. A curtain was put up between the teacher and the pupils and the latter were strictly warned not to raise the curtain under any circumtances while the former was delivering his lectures behind the screen. It is said that as soon as he went up to the dais to deliver his lectures behind the curtain, he assumed his superhuman form as A.di sesha and addressed his pupils with all his one thousand faces to give strength to his voice and emphasis to his lectures : but as soon as he

finished his lecture for the day, he is said to have resumed his human form and appeared again before his pupils in his usual shape.

It so happened that on the last day of his course of lectures when Pataiijali was expected to finish his Maba.;

a great philosopher, but also as a great grammarian and physician. He is thus said to have prescribed medicine for body, mind and spirit -all three. Hearing the greatness of Pul)garikapura (now known as Chidambaram) and af the Great Lord Natesa, the Chief Deity of that t:;acred place, Pataiijali is said to have gone to that ancient city in .Southern India and spent the last days of his mundane existence along with Vyagbrapada in serving the Lord Natesa and in teaching his Mahibhashya and other works to the various pupils that gathered

:around him to learn the same.

S2 mE AGE OF SANKARA

bhasbya, while he was, as usual, addressing his 1000 pupils; behind the curtain with his 1000 faces as .Adi sesha, andl while Gau<;Iapa.da, one of his pupils had gone out of the lecture-hall, without the teacher’s permission, to· answer calls of nature, some of the pupils in the hall, being struck with wonder at the majestic voice of his peroration, raised the curtain, out of pure curiosity, to see if it could be· possible for a human being to address them in that wonderful manner. The result was most disastrous. All the pupils. In the hall had been instantaneously burnt to ashes by the’ poisonous flames that proceeded from his one thousand faces~ Alas I it was too late for the teacher to find out the mistake of his pupils; and the master’s labour of several years had• all been lost in an instant by the inquisitiveness of the pupils.

· Patafijali had suddenly made up his mind not to teach the Mababhashya to any one in future; but he soon became· extremely sorry that not one out of his one thousand pupils bad been spared to spread his Mahabhashya in the world. While he was thus feeling sorry on the one hand on account of all his labour having been lost in vain, and indignant on the other at the rash inquisitiveness of his pupils in having: disobeyed his commands, poor Gau<;Iapada, his Dravi<;Iian· pupiJ, re-entered the hall, perfectly ignorant of what had happened; and as he stood amazed at the ghastly sight of his eo-pupils, a curse and a boon fell upon him from his master’s lips. For his fault of having left the place of’ instruction without the teacher’s permission, poor Gau<;I~pa.da was cursed by the great sage to become a Brahmara.kshasa and to forget aJI he had learnt from his teacher’s. lips. B’Q.t as he was the only pupil fortunately spared to propagate his Mahabhashya, the sage blessed him to·

remember it so long as he was a Brahmarakshasa and

MALN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFE

.comforted him with the hope that he would regain his
human form as soon as he had taught the whole of the
Mahabhashya that he had directly learnt from him to a
competent pupil. Having said this, the great sage
mysteriously disappeared ftom the earth, never to be seen

.again by mortal eyes.

Gaudapada accordingly left his native place and
wandered long in Northern India in his strange form as a
Brahmara.kshasa and at last took his abode on a big banian
tree on the way to Ujjain to find out a competent pupil.
On one-day it so chanced that Chandra Sarman, a learned
Brahmal).a of Pra.chyadesa who was all along anxious to
learn the Maha.bha.shya, passed by that tree when he was
found out by the Brahmarakshasa to be a competent pupil

and the whole of the Mahabhashya was taught to him from day to day by Gau<;Iapa.da, exactly as he had learnt it from Patafijali; and the eager pupil carefully reduced them all to writing by engrossing them, then and there, on banian leaves. Lo, no sooner had Gaudapa.da completely taught the Mahabhashya to Chandra s~rman, than he was freed from the curse by regaining his human form! But his head became perfectly blank so far as the Maha.bha.shya was concerned and he could not remember one word of what he had learnt from Patafijali at PUQ.<;lankapura along with his 999 eo-pupils. Having blessed the young Brahman from the East and ordaining him to propagate the Mahabhashya in the world, Gaudapa.da · went forth in search of a Guru to secure his spiritual happiness. He wended his way into the extreme north of India among the Himalayas, and became a disciple of suka YOgindra, son of Badara.yaQ.a at Badarikasrama. There he learnt the Veda.nta SUtras from

his Guru and Paramaguru, with whom he spent the

THE AGB OF SANKARA

remaining portion of his life-time as a Sannyasin of the

order of Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya, refuting with the

Buddhists and Jains and teaching his Advaita interpretations

of the Vedanta to his numerous disciples who resorted to

him for instruction. As he came ‘from the Dravida country,

he was generally known in the North under th.e name of

Dravi9acharya. He is said to have written83 commentaries

on several important works relating to Hindu Philosophy,

especially on the Vedanta wherein he was considered to be the

83 Gau<;lapada or Dravi<;lacharya as he was better known in the North, is said to have written a prose commentary on the SatikhyaKarikas of ISvara Krishva and the Yoga-Sutras of the Pataiijali, his former master. Although the former work has been several times published with various glosses and translations in various parts of India, nothing is yet known of the latter work. It is said that he wrote these two commentaries with a view to reconcile the Sankhya and the Yoga with the Vedanta.

Gau<;lapada has also written a commentary on Anugltii, and Uttaragitii, portions from the Mahabhiirata, but only the latter work has been recently published in the Srirarigam Sanskrit Series. Ever since his time, these two works came to be considered as supplements to Bhagavadgita, and are looked upon as equally authoritative with the latter work.

It is also certain that Gau<;lapada hacl written a commentary on the Chhandogya Upanishad-one of the most important scriptures on which the Advaitic doctrine of the Vedanta Philosophy is basedinasmuch as Sarikara refers to the same in his . Bhashya on the said Upanishad. [Vide his Avataravika (Preface) as well as his Bhashya (Commentary) on the 1st verse of the 8th Khanda of the third Prapathaka of the Chhandogyopanishad.] · ·

Gau<;lapiida is also said to have written Karikas or poetical commentaries on Malj.<;l iikyopanishad, N risihmatapaniyopanishad and Vedanta Siitras. Although we have complete copies of the first two Karikas, we have not as yet come across a complete copy of his Karikas on the Vedanta Siitras. sankara frequently refers to his.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFB

greatest authority by all his contemporaries. Even in Sankhya Philosophy Gau~apada was considered such a great authority by his contemporaries. like Prasastapa<;~acharya and Udyotakaracharya that his commentary on ISvarakrishna’s SaQkhyakarika was selected and translated into Chinese so early as the reign of the Chang Dynasty.

The chief among the disciples of, and one in regular succession of Vedantic teachers from Gaudapadacharya was Govinda Yogin. This Govinda Yogin or Govinda Bhagavatpada as Sankara uniformly calls him in his works was no other person than Chandra sarman or Chandra-

Karikas on the Vedanta Sutras and quotes them with approval. Take for instance the following Karikas or explanatory verses.

11 mur fq~l:ITc~’lTS«c~ T’f~~rfa:~rer;:mr, I ij’~WfC~lfc~ct ~)~ fflT~ Cfl~ ~~11 aF~OlffclffCf~fFffCf, ~CJST+HqCCf tnclf’l: I arf..~: ~~csr’fRlcr qr.:qa:)ISflfa:crfi11Cr: 11 ~fclfST~T ~Cl Sfffl1JR~ Cfif~: I ffif~ ~~ti srmuf ccrr~f;:r~cr’-11”

and these are quoted by Sarikara in his commentary on the Vedanta Siitras at the end of the fourth Sutra of the first Pada of the first Adhyaya, and these verses are cited by him as if from his A.charya in support of his view that when there has arisen in a man’s mind a knowledge that ‘I am Brahman’ the apparent world with all its distinctions ceases to have any meaning for him. Sarikara, no doubt, does not mention the author by name. Wherever he refers to Gau<;lapadacharya or to his commentaries on the Upanishads and the Vedanta Sutras he does so by calling him ‘Achiirya’, apparently to show the great respect he had for him as his Paramaguru. It is only A.nandagiri that explains the term A.charya in these passages as meaning Dravi<;lacharya. The following two stanzas by which he concludes his

S6 THE AGB OF SANKARA

cha.rya, the renowned grammarian who is said to have bad the special fortune of preserving to the world Pataiijali’s Mahabhashya on Pat).ini’s Ashtadhya:yi, as amplified by Katya.yana’s Vartika, as we possess it at present. The traditions current in different part of India as weJl as the written accounts that are recorded in Patanjali-Vijaya,

commentary on Gauc;lapada’s MaQ.c;lilkyopanishad Karikas, show the great amount of respect and reverence that Sailkara had for his Paramaguru. They run as follows :

” ~r~m~arer&rf~~~f-=P·l <f~’ll~ts.=CRt~

-.::>

‘1CI”T ~r~;rr.rr ~lffcrm~o:p.rr~q)=t ~l!i 1

~T~UlfT~T~Tl!Cf ftrG: lflf~ ~~+f ~Cf~Cf)

2f ~er ~~~zt tr~tr~~ 11~ tTRq-Tff ~cr)sftlf 11

~c>r~rffi’~m srf~fu +nr+rcr, rn~cr:r:r)~er:pn:)

+r\Nft~lf;:;:~ :;:q -cr)=t W~ii ~tf\ifil~fu~Hfi’r lt I

~cq-m·crrf~crrr:rt ~fuqrtrfcr~lf>rr~cr ~;rm w+rt’CfT

-.::>

mtrrG:1 qrq-tftlf1 Wf~lff=r;r~1 ~~r~ ;:f~ 11”

-.::>

Even here Sailkara does not mention his Paramacharya (Teacher’s teacher) by name. Rai Bahadur Lala Baij Nath, in his admirable work on Hinduism, refers to these Karikas on the Vedanta Sutras and ascribes them to Dravic;lacharya. Until recently nothing definite was known about Gauc;lapada’s Karikas on the Vedanta Sil.tras, and people thought that the Dravic;lacharya to whom this work is ascribed was even different from Gauc;lapadacharya. Fortunately these verses are found in the manuscript copy of the Karikas on the Vedanta Sutras ascribed to Dravic;lacharya at present kept in the library of his Holiness, the present Sri Sailkaracharya of Dvaraka, and from this copy, though an incomplete one, it is clear that Gauc;lapada himself, the Guru of Govinda Bhagavatpada, and the Paramaguru of Sailkara, was known under the name of Dravic;lacharya. Pandit Vindhyesvara Prasada Dvivedi in his preface to Vedanta Parjjata Saurabha, a

l____ _ J I

MAIN INCIDENlS OF SANKARA’S LIFB

Gaudapadollasa, and Harimisriya, inform us that he was a learned BrahmaJ).a of Prachyadesa, that he was well-versed in the Vaidika and Laukika literatures of his day, that he had the special fortune of learning the Mahabhashya from Gaudapadacharya, one of the direct disciples of the great ·sage Patanjali. that he settled at Ujjain and married four wives, one from each of the four caf:!tes, and became the father of four sons who all became renowned in Indian Literature under the names of 34 Bhartrihari,

Vaishl)avite commentary on the Vedanta Siitras by Sri Nimbark~charya, recently published at Benares in the Chaukamba Sansknt Series refers to the existence of the Karikas on the Vedanta Sutras b~ Gaw;l~padacharya tn the following terms : ” tf~q”f~ffef SJ”fij”;Q

Cfiff~cprq~ tt~qro:qpfiiCf ~rm’li~~riS1:f~fcr ~~m &fTCf 1:1″1M;f crcia-1 ;:f er f::a:q~ liT~Cf<:r)qf;:r~) tfT~CfTG:T

.,o’ .b'” r-“‘ ~ I”

=qrlf: ii’CfT: enrf<::enr: ~~r:qrlfl olfT~lfTCfCf~(f ~’a

It is further clear from this that his Karikas on the Vedanta Siitras went under the name of “Gauc;lapad!.” No doubt the adherents of Ramanuja’s School of Vedanta Philosophy would have us believe that this Vartika on the Vedanta Sutras and the Bhashya on the Chhando· gyopanishad referred to by Sankara in his Bhashya on the said works are the productions of a Dravigian Saint or Alwar who followed t~e doctrine of the Visishtadvaitic school of Vedanta Philosophy m opposition to the Advaibt school proclaimed by Sailkara ; but we shall show in dealing with Internal Evidence on Sankara’s Age how absurd .and unwarranted this assumption is.

84 Bhartrihari or Bhartriprapaiicha as he was generally known in his later Asrama, was the eldest son of Govinda Bhagavatpada by his Brahman wife. He is said to have ruled the kingdom of Ujjain for some time, as being the eldest son of his father: but being disgusted with the unchastity of his beloved queen, he soon resigned 1he kingdom in favour of his valarous brother Sri Harsha Vikramaditya, born to his father by his Kshatriya wife. He thereupon became a Sannyasin and lived with his aged father as one of his constant

58 THE AGE OF SANKARA

85Vikrama.ditya, Bhatti and 36 Vararuchi, that he thought the

chelas. Sri Sadalliva Brahmendra refers to Bhartrihari in his Jagad~guru-Ratnamala in the following terms :

SI’+I’Cfrcf, ‘Rfff~ij’W~;;:q SI’ Uflf~~Ff lfi!tSlf fij’;af~ISlf: I

maf~fcr~~urr f~~i:f~r ~f~ ~r lflf ~~at ~~Gfclff 11

It is clear from this that his proper name was Hari, and Bhartri was merely a title like ‘His Majesty.’ So it is that Kayyata speaks of the commentary, called Sara on the Mababhashya as the work of Hari

. (Vide 1 Cf~q” ~f~~if’ etc., in Kayyata’s Mahabhashya-Pradipa). He is said to have written commentaries on the Upanishads, the Vedanta Sutras and the Bhagavadgita, and he was no doubt a very famous writer as he is quoted by several Visishtadvaitic writers as well. From Sankara’s commentary and .A.nandagiri’s gloss on the Briha-· darat;~yakopanishad of the Kal)vasakhi, it is certain that Bbartrihari must have written a commentary on the same Upanishad as presented in the Madhyandina Sakha. It is a pity that nothing is known of his commentaries on the Prasthanatraya. Vakyapadiya, his famous worlc on grammar in the form of Kirikas is still held in high estimation by all scholars and has been commented upon by Helaraja and Punjaraja. Besides these works, Bhartrihari is also said to have written his famous Subhashita-Ratnavali, consisting of the three Satakas on Sril)gara, Niti and Vairagya, which are still read with admiration by every Sanskrit student in India.

3b This is the account that is given in Pataiijali Vijaya, Gau<;lapa. dollasa and Harimisriya ; though in the first work Bhartrihari !S given as the son of Chandra Sarman by his Siidra wife, and Vararuchi is substituted in his place ; the last work makes both Bhartrihari and Vikramaditya, the sons of Chandra Sarman by his Kshatriya wife, and adds Bharavi as the son of the Siidra wife. Pandit Appa Sastri Vidya. vachaspati makes them all sons of Sabarasvimin the author of the Piirva·mimamsa-Bhashya, on the authority of a stanza quoted in his preface to Malavikagnimitra from Vat;~giya Prabandhas, whose authority seems to be very questionable. The stanza runs a follows :

11 ~WU~T JT+rcr g_-~~flff~~r \nf)fcrfcm lf~urr: ~T\ill +rq~=if fcf~ff’!’l”: ~~lfTlfttC( 11

59~

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LlFE

Maha.bhashya 87 as we have it at present to his numerousdisciples who propagated the same in the world, that he ~as· afterwards initiated into the mysteries of the Veda.nta Phdo·

cf~lfflff ~f~:qw:~clwfcrcnCfiT iifTCf~:tf m:.f: Wcr”r ~~TlfT If~: 1SfiCf eyGf~~crrffffg_-\iftlfTClf\iff: 11” This is ~erely an attempt on the part of some mode~n .writer to~ connect the ” Nine Gems ” oi Vikrama’s Court; but 1t IS cl:a~ly opposed to all the facts known about these persons. Sadastv~_Brahmendra distinctly says that Govinda Yogin or Jayagovind~ Mu~l. as he calls him is no other person than Chandra Sarman. (Vtde his–. Gururatnamala, St. 11.) The learned scholar also seems to think: that the Vikramaditya referred to in the said stanza is the Vikramirka., of the Malava Era of 57 B. C; but as we have already .shown, itc refers to Sriharsha Vikramaditya, the Emperor of Ujjain referred to in~Raja-Taral)gil)i and other works as the patron of Matrigupta and’ who according to Chitsukhachirya’s sankara Vijaya was a contempo”‘rary of Sankara. ’16 Vararuchi referred to here is not the same persop. as Katyayana:’~ or Vararuchi, the author of the Vyakaral)a Vartikas, who was a~ contemporary of Pal)ini, the author of the Ashtadhyayi. According to Kathasaritsagara, Pavini, Vararuchi, Vya<;li and Indradatta were all

eo-pupils and disciples of Varshacharya The Vararuchi referred· to here is probably the author of the Prakrita-Prakasika and· other works.

a1 The Mahabhashya that we have at present is not a compl.etecommentary. It has not got the Upasamhara (the concludt~g.: portion) as the same was not heard by Gaugapada; and certatn portions even in the middle of the work are left out blank wi~h st~rmarks, as some of the leaves on which the Mahibhashya ts satd • to have been recorded by ChandraSarman were partially eaten awa~:

by a goat ( ~), which portions still go under the name of Aja-
bhakshitas. Compare :
,~ CR:~q-uf~acrufi:r~’ff ~~1Sf ~f.:rf~~ qer.:>\il~: 1

f.crcmtcr~i~~ ~~CfCifq ~o~®i11 ~~11″:.

(Pataiijali-Vijaya, VI. 26.)\1

·,

’60 THE AGE OF SANKARA

sophy by that very great scholar88 Sri Gaudapadacha.rya, who had become the disciple of Sri suka Y ~gindra, son of Sri Badara.yana, the founder of tbe Vedanta School of Philosophy, that he thereupon renounced the world and became a Sannya.sin of the order of Paramahamsa Parivra.jakacharya initiated by his Pdramaguru under the name of 89 Govinda Muni and that he lived partly at Badarikasrama on the Himalayas, where his teacher, great teacher and great-great teacher lived, learning the Vedanta from their lips, and partly at Amarakanta on the bank of the Narmada near Ujjain teaching the Vedanta to his disciples in turn.

It was to this great teacher Sri Govinda Yogin that Sankara,was ordained to go to get himself formally initiated into Sannya.sa which he had already practically assumed at Ka.Jati when be emerged from the river ChurJJ.i with his famous 40 Nirva.na-Pafichaka. Though not such a great

38 Compare the following stanzas:

11 qfc;a-q-a-::;:i5f~~fo:rq-o:cr~ fe:iif: ~~p:cp-iffur :q Tft:TU~ 1 ~cp-fqr&rrrr-s~~cf’!~~r ~~~mmri ~v=rft:cr fqrf~zr 11

~-=< “

~~f~:Ft:t~t~f~ frr”{T$m-~T crf~Tlf a~ f91lfatSClf~~«: I fcr~~r~ ~~r1a-: « lftfiff~: q-fJ::q-rcr~ ~r~~lt lilfT 11 \13 11″

(Pataiijali-Vijaya, Sarga VII).

39 A’nandagiri, in his Prachina Sankara Vijaya explains the origin of the name as follows :

11 w:rcr f.:rtR “!ij-;:r lfRrT 1\iflr’ ~fq ..~ ~’fer ~fetcMCfi IJ1.._ I fS5tcnri”o:r t:r~ w~R~TW~l~J;r Cf(IT~ =titl\ 11

40 NirvaQa-Paiichaka, also known as .Atma-Paiichaka, AdvaitaPaiichaka, Paiicharatna, and Paiicharatnamalika is a collection of five ·.stanzas in which Sankara has expounded the indentity of the soul

6l’

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA’S LIFB

scholar and writer as his Guru (Sri Gaudapa.da.c~a.rya), · Govinda Bbagavatpada was like his Param~guru (~n Suka. y · dra) a born Siddha and a great Yogtn. Besades the Mogh•~bb-sbya which he said to have reproduced in its present

a a a r •2 Ad ·

shape, only three other worko;-n Yoga-Ta.rava t, vat-

with Brahman by differentiating it from all other thing~ th~n the· Brahman, which are generally mistaken for the soul. It begms w1th :

~~ ;rr;:r ~~) ~fr~lfTtJlfrCR:W ;rr~~n::: srrurcrif1 o:r ~f.t: t

Q. ~ ~~ ,

~r~::r:rcir~::rfcnnf~~~: mPifr fc:rc~: -src~mcm •~• q ,s~~11

· bl’ h d in Telugu and Nagari characters and is available ·

t IS pu IS e . . d · NA ·

with translation in English and vernaculars. It IS !m~te m_ agan · ‘th a Sanskrit commentary called NlrVaQa-Panchaka·

h t

c arac er w1 · · · I · 1

V. ‘t’ written by Sri Svami Nityananda Sarasvat1. t IS a so

IVrl 1 • t’ 1 k

:1 bl ‘th two other unpublished commentanes respec tve Y nown

ava1 a e w1 ‘db”

as Paiicharatnamalika-Kalpavall’i and Paiicharatna-Dt Ill~ u Yoga-Taravall is a small treatise on Raja-Yoga consisting of·

29 stanzas beginning with : ….

11 er;:~ ~~urt :q”(arnfcro:~ ~;:~fqra-fGffc+r~cr~er frr:~;ij-\ifT:Wf~Cfiflflff;:r. «ijl”(~T~~~:r~m;:c~ 11″ ·

It is also known as Raja·Yoga-nravali and Ra~a-Yqga·Sara~It has been printed by the Mysore Government w1th an. Index.. ( 3l’i?tlllftJfepr) and it is also available in Nagari c.ha~acter “_Vlth the_, BhAs’k-Ttkii of Bbiimanandaji. In the former tt ts ascnbed to Go~in~a Bhagavatpad~. but in the l~tter it is ascri~ed to Sarik~ra himself. We accept the former view mas~uch as Sankara, accordmg-. to Chitsukhacharya, is said to have wntten a ~ommentary based on the said work under the name of Raja·Yoga·Bhashya.

42 Advaitanubhuti also known as Avadhiita Gitii sets for~b !he_ chief principles of the Advaita Philosophy in 48 stanzas begmrung ·

with:

THE AGE OF SANKARA

MAIN INCIDENTS OF SANKARA ‘S LIFE

•’tanubhuti and 48 Brahma.mrita-VarshiJJ.i-are ascribed to ‘bim, but even these three works are sometimes ascribed to Safikara himself. Ordained by Lord Na.ra.yana, the chief Deity at Badarikasrama, who is likewise said to have appe.ared to Govinda Bhagavatpada in one of his Yogic visions and ordered by Gauc;~apa.da, his own Guru, he went out in -search of Sankara and was waiting for his arrival in his own hermitage on the bank of the Narmada. Sankara, after

·wandering for nearly a year in search of his appointed Guru, arrived with his eo-student and disciple Vishnu Sarman on the

·n is said to have been composed by Govinda Bhagavatpada in imita· otion of Sankara’s Vakya · Vritti. In fact the two benedictory stanzas · 1•1 ~~ft:~fusr~~~ etc.” and 11 lffli”SI”~T~~ifcr fcrtWT: etc.”

are found added at the beginning of each of these work~. It is ·published at Haridvar in Nagari character with a Bhasha·Tika by Pandit Hari Sankarji Sastrin.

43 Brahmamrita-Varshit)i is an excellent work on Vedanta Philo·

‘ sophy consisting of about 3000 Granthas bristling with quotations from Upanishads and various other ancient authorities interspersed with original stanzas,. Though the work begins with quotations from Upanishads such as 11 :3fT mf~: qi Cf~Uf: 71 etc. the book

. actually commences with the following stanzas:

~~ ~~fcrer~ct ~fafqu m~ i1f’trcenr~uf Olf~~~wlf f;:r~qJt ~cr«r ~Cil\ , anclil”f ~fdl:q ..s::~er~ ffi~Tc~ ~rcrct

fil ctf I’1 ..ct~lUTT~ ~fu;:r: ‘l~Cf fi.a ~:ifi:S::li”T: 11 ar~~:;;r ~~~~;:~+ll’r lffam ~~= 1 ij’efCf: ~n: lfml”R{_ ~+t(” fief ‘l~tR: 11

·”It is said by Chitsukhacharya to have been eompiled by sankara himself, from the teachings of his Guru, Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada. Though not yet printed, complete ·copy of the work is available

rin several libraries in manuscripts.

‘bank of the Narmada.. and met Sri Govinda Yogin”, by a happy coincidence, in his own hermitage, surrounded by his illustrious son Bhartrihari and his disciples. Both the teacher and the pupil had their eyes filled with tears of joy at this unlooked-for meeting; and they rejoiced at the respective commands that thus brought them together. Sankara gladly chose Govinda Yogin as his holy teacher, and the latter was most happy to accept the former as his worthy pupil. Though the teacher felt himself inferior to the pupil, yet Govinda Bhagavatpa.da obeyed the Lord’s command by making Satikara go through the formalities needed for be-coo;1ing a full ascetic (Krama-Sannya.sin.) In this way, we are told by Chitsukhacha.rya, Satikara sat at the feet of his holy master for nearly two years and learnt from him almost aW 5

44 In his Brihat Sankara Vijaya, Chitsukha informs us that Sankara took the permission of his mother to become a Sannyasin on the 11th day of the bright-half of the month of Kartika of the year 2639 of the Yudhishthira Saka (corresponding to 500 B. C.), and was ordained as a regular Sannyasin by Govinda Bhagavatpada on the 2nd day of the bright-half of the month of Phalguna of the year 2640 of the Yudhishthira Saka (corresponding to 499 B.C). So Sankara became a full Sannyasin in his tenth year, and under the guidance of Govinda Bhagavatpada and his worthy son Bhartrihari, he became master of all the Sastras before he completed his twelfth year. It is said that Sankara had very great reverence for Bhartr1hari or Bhartriprapancha as he calls him and it was in emulation of him and at his· inducement that Sankara wrote many of his minor works and commentaries.

4~ The following oft-quoted stanza :

11 arteeri ~ci~r e:R~ ~cfm~~ 1 ‘lT~~ ilidGII ..~e:r~~ lf.R “{+lf~ 11

clearly shows how extraordinarily intelligent and active Sankara was throughout his life. According to this, Sankara learnt all the Vedas by the eighth year of his age, and completed his study of the Sastras in the house and under the guidance of his teacher before he completed his

THB AGE OF SANKARA

the important works on the Vedanta and other philosophies current in hi~ days. It was at this period that Satikara compo· sed his Narmada.shtaka 46 and many of his minor poems and PrakaraQaS such as Pra.tas-Smara.na, 47 Sa.dhana-Patichaka,48

twelfth year. There will be nothing strange in this when we remember how remarkable the life of some of tbe modern English poets had been even in these degenerate days.

‘ 6 Narmadasbtaka is a collection of 8 stanzas said to have been composed by Saii.kara on his first visit to Narmada in praise of the said. river. It begins with:

, , ij’f~~r~~~~@~~~w+r1f~fs:~cr, ftrcr~~ ‘lf~rnmCfC!lTftcrrfurlf~ 1

…. -:>

~a~aCfil ‘:?~cn:ftf~rf~ Cflf~, ~~ftrq-F{q~~ ~mfif ~fer ont~ 11 ”

n Pratas-Smarat)a is a small poem consisting of 3 stanzas briefly explaining the nature of one’s own soul and its relation with the Supreme Brahman. It begin with :

” srrn: ~lfuflf ~ftt~~~clfcrcci, ij’f:;:qc~~ q~~tr~fu ~ft~+r I

… “‘

~~Cf~T~~~CCI lfcrfcr fo:r(lf,

~~w ro:r\’iCf1~ r:r~ ~ ~ ~crij’w: 11″ and is available in Nagari and Telugu characters.

. 48 Sadhana-Paiichaka or Sopana-Paiichaka as it is sometimes called is a collection of 5 stanzas setting forth briefly the several means of attaining self-realization. It begins with:

” ~~ f~+reiflfcrt, crif~ Cfl1f ~tSO’hicrt, . ai\~ fcrcfr:rn’r lfllf=erfa:, Cfil~~ lffd” ~clf’Jlfd lfl I crATer: q~~~ ~er~~ ~~TS’!W~t, ~ 31Tc’i:r:;m-Olf”~nrnt, fo:rii11!~ ~uf fcrt’illf~a 1 ‘\ 11 ” In the Telugu edition, it is known as “Sadhana·Paficha-Ratna· Malika.”

MAIN INCIDENTS S’ ANKARA’S LIFE

Yati-Panchaka/9 50VakyaVritti, 51Viveka-Chu~a.mal}.i. 51Dasa~

49 Yati-Paiichaka or Kaupina-Paiichaka as it is sometimes called, js a collection of 5 stanzas explaining the object and duties of a Sannyasin. It begins with :

“~acrrCf~t:t ij~i”{‘l;:a), f~~’lrior :q W~lf;:a-: 1 fer~ lf;:a-:~ “{f(‘~:, Cflltfli’fCl'”cr: ~~ -:> murcr;:cr: 11”

bo Vakya ·V ritti or Svatmaprakasika as it is sometimes known, is a short exposition by Saii.kara of the leading principles of the Advaita Philosophy in the form of a discourse given by a preceptor to a pupil. It is similar to Advaitanubhuti composed by his Guru, and consists of 51 stanzas excluding the two benedictory verses. It properly begins with :

11 ffi~liTct~cr~: Cfif~:q ~fu.”l’l~T’ltr: I l(ff(‘T~~T’Clcf r.fem: tr~if~ qhtr:;~fu 11 ”

\,:) ‘~ c.

There is a commentary on this Prakara!)a called Vakya-Vritti-Prakasikli, said to have been written by Visvesvara PaQc;lita, a disciple of Madhava· prajiiaguru.

bl Viveka·ChUc;lama!Ji or Atmiinatma-Viveka-Chuc;!amani-Pra· karat;~a as it is more fully styled, is a popular treatise on Vedanta Philosophy consisting of 582 stanzas. It begins with:

11 ~ffi;:afff~T;:d~R~ d”lf ~fl¥4 ~~ I

~”Tfcr;:;i tT”{‘IJ i’f ‘”ci ~~~ srorcr)s~~~J{ 11″

and the expression ., Govinda” in this poem is said to refer to ~aii.kara’s own Guru, which we may well take as a proof of the great esteem that Saii.)<:ara had for his teacher and of his sincere desire to express his great obligations to his Guru in writing’this treatise •

b2 Dasa·Sloki or Nirvii!)a·Dasaka or Siddhanta-Bindu is a collec· tion of 10 stanzas explaining the nature of the Atman or Soul by tbe process of elimination. It begins with :

” ;;roqf’l’ ;fcr”F:t ;;r ~~ ~ crrlf,

~ -:>

;f~ i=l’Rll err ~ ~ij”i~: 1

·66 THE AGE ‘OF SANKARA

Sloki, 58A.tmanatma-Viveka, Maya-Vivara:l}.a,54 Ekadasotta”‘

arolctilf;.crCficcrr c~~Cfifmi ~mscrf~ISG: f~: ~~s~l\ ,,,

There is a commentary on the same by Madhusiidana Sarasvati called Siddhanta-Tatva-Bindu upon which there is again a gloss called Nyaya Ratnavali by Brahmananda Svami. The Kumbakonam Edition contains _all these commentaries.

• b 3 .Atmanatma-Viveka is a prose-work on Advaita Philosophy . investigating into the nature of the difference between Soul and Matter and is said to embody the substance of the questions and answers put

.to and given by Bhartriprapaiicha and Sattkara respectively at their teacher’s hermitage on the bank of the Narmada.. It begins with :

” aJWrrifT(llf~: Cfi~~-arrC1Fr: f~ f’ff~~ ~:~? m:’n:qfur~f.:rf~~ ~:~, u anc~-=rr ij”~ <f~<:r~ ij””‘a-: fW:rrfsrlfli”T {q~” fer ~a-:I The work is available with

~translation.

b• Maya-Vivarattii is a dissertation in prose explaining the doctrine of Maya peculiar to the Advaita Philosophy. The object of the work is explained by Sankara himself in his introductory verse which runs as follows:

‘ 1 ~IT~AT l!qCfif<Tll’ ~mfq ~Tiff«~~ I a~ ~’fijTW~f~tSIJf: ij”ffi”~ffr +r~ 11′ ‘

It consists of S Varttakas or parts respectively known as

(1) Adhyaropapavada-Niriipatta,

(2) Anubandhachatushtaya-Niriipatta,

(3) Prapaffchavimarsana-Nirupatta.

(4) Duh’khadivichara-NirupaQa, and

(S) Kartritvakarayitritvavimarsana-NiriipaQa.

Chitsukhacharya calls this work • Vediinta-Paiicha-Prakarani’ and says that this was composed by Sati.kara at Kalati, just before he took the permission of his mother to become a Sannyasin. · The work actually

begins with : ” ~~· ~~.ll’fl~CfiI+i Jil~f’Jlt =crgfcltf~llftlFrr

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S liFE
rasata-Vakya-Grantha, 55Panch1karana (Pranava-Bhashya),S8

bb Ekadasottarasatavakya-Grantha, as the name itself indicates• gives in 111 benedictory sentences the substance of the Upanishadic ideas bearing on the Advaita Philosophy as explained by his eo-student and friend Bhartrihari in his commentaries on the Upani

shads. It begins with: ” ~~lfOli’Rrf'{CfCfTq~lfmffifiRlr filfcrGlif<T~~tcrsretirnrtR:T!fl”ftR~~Cffi«crRr<: ffi=tnmit~ri ~Taqf<‘J;o(fqf~~i$rrsftrcrr~~srClfrrrc+i”Ff~ct: ~fl=~~ ~lfffi”

-=> -=> ‘ c-. ‘

This and the previous work are still available only in manuscripts.

b6 Pafichikaraua is a small treatise in prose explaining the process by which the elements undergo combination in the formation of gross

bodies. n begins with: ” ar~cr: q<:~ij’q”f~CfiTilt tflf’RI’

fcrfit ;zt P!?ltl ~ztl~:-~~=cl:f ~fcr£rrnar~ ‘iijJ 1

9r~TSOl4Cfd~, I arozttRI~C( I ~)~~~: I ~~T Cll-=>-“’61d ..~T’l!TTfiJf I q.:>-~~ur: q”O==tf~Ncrtfrfl q-3::q~r~~Tsf~~~I etc. The work ends with the following fam~us

“‘ “‘

stanza:

” ‘i~ «Cli, ijftf fr+r~”lll, \ifrcft iiij_lcr m~: 1

~fcr lfFT t{GT ~f.i: « 1!CffiT ifT~~lf: 11”

In some manuscripts, this work is known under the nrune of PraQ&vaBhashya. It has been published at Bombay in Nagari character with the Vartika of Suresvaracharya, called Pafich’ikaratta-Vartika or PraQava-Bhiishya-Vartika, the Vivaratta of_ Anandajiiana, disciple :of ~uddhananda, more generally known as Anandagiri, called Paffchi· karaQa-VivaraQa, and the Tikii of Rama Tirtha, called Chandrika. There is also a gloss on Paffchikaraua-Vartika by Abhinava Naraya· ~endra Sarasvati called Paffchikaraua-VartikiibharaQa, but it is 1til

·unpublished.

mE AGE OF SANKARA Ba1a-Bodhini 57 and Raja-Yoga-Bbashya. 58

b7 Bala·Bodhini is a small work in prose explaining·the Paiicha· Kokas or the five sheaths of the body according to the Advaitic interpretations. It is available only in manuscripts and begins with:

” sr~ q~c:r;:ci lf~ftrflru~~ 1 ercsre1~~~;tq f~~Gftfer;ft 11 ~~'”I ‘(OIIJT~Uf ~lRr +rCf+rTcr~: I

c:f trchnf&tuf ~If ~”<UT ~q-uffsczr~ 11 ~~: aft~ I Of~Hiff Cfili:~: ? tr~q trcf~~lll{ I

~q, fcr~;aGf)er~q+£_ I 3fT~~·~~~q~ I trc~lfGITf’i:l’Cfl\ I f.:Rzt Ef)~Tcrfqrflr 1 Cfl’c~~ lfferctirf< 1 a:t”f~wrf~urcrcr

” ” ~ …..

‘SI’cli’CJt~~q, OfTRif&IT~~aifcr OfT(IfCf~~ 111 etc. The colophon at the end runs as follows: ~fa-~:;~u:;u4’fcr”Cf:qij1 ~q:;:~fcr~Cfi”CUt ~~l£. 111 This is not to be confounded with Bala·Bodha-Sangraha which Sankara is said to have composed at Kalati, while he was still studying

in his Gurukula. That is also a prose work on the chief principles of Adhyatmavidya, but is quite distinct from Bala-Bodhini. It is a much larger work and begins with: ” aTTif Of&llt:”” fc:tmsr~srCfi’T’i

… “”

‘

~I~qI~IIf: I a:rfermfij’CJiTfef~NCflT’64Tfclfcti’T~erTtnr~Tffff« ;:a-ca-: trcti~trrer~)q~, ~«ru fa~ fuulf: «~~~ ~

. -~

~cq-r, ~~srfurqClf, fqmq;f epUfa-1 ‘ +rr ~fi:r’\ ! lflf ~~ fc:rcrf~~’ ~fa-I· ~~ ~crr:q-‘aR: f~l!lf! a-er ««Rf~crfu m~ +rfc:t doq I I 11 etc. The colophon at the end runs as follows : 1′ ~fer ssif~~”(f~ ~ffi’ CfT~efij”~~: ij”lffCCf: 1″ This work also is still available only in manuscripts.

&s Raja·Yoga-Bhashya, more often known as Vijrimbhita·Yogasutra-Bhashya is generally supposed to be a commentary on Raja· YogaSara or Yoga-Taravali of Govinda Bhagavatpada. As is the case with his Pral}ava-Bhashya, this work also is an independent treatise. It may~

? ;;;;;

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LIFE. 69

Among the various works taught to Satikara by hi~ Guru none impressed him so much as the Ka.rika.s or Sri Gaudapadacbarya; he found in them, in a nut-shell as it were, the principles of Vedanta Philosophy w~ich h~ after”! wards so ably and elaborately worked out mto h1s own Advaita Darsana and he at once expressed his desire to see

no doubt, bring out the substance of his Guru’s Yoga-Taravali, but is certainly not a commentary on the said work in the strict sense of the term. The work begins with these words :

” ~~~Tm?&tur fer~ f~~ srlWd’: «~~~ ircr lfCfTG:fa:, Uiif~FT <R fll~fd I ij’~ fcrrnltra:q;f ~~CRCT-· ~nul( f~tSlf ”SilUf trlCJ~1~~1 ClfTG:=tUrG: 11~ I “CT\ifliFT: -u’5ftqZ4′<RrliTlf:1 er~~ lll~r~ u~fcrcrr u~m:; ·· ~1Cfcrlrl1TT ~S(~fij’Cfif:, arzf~ ft=J”(TlfRFf ~~~1SfT~: 1″ etc: The work ends as follows:-” ~J:ITCI’ ~HfT”CT f~fcr’O’O’f: ‘R””’ll’Tif

~w11m +rcr~~~m-‘iif”<Pl~fi.:rr~n~J~~crcrr~~~~f”‘ifrol-. ij”5=:qr~ ~~ifc~ll”ur ~+if~ srr’tllr, dW\’EITfcact~~lf · ~cr;:mifur ~~fattSar~”[ *~~:«<: 61 1#11 Fc:t ‘1+r”‘fTTTTftir~a-:;;r:Cfic~qqrmq;)c;:r~~r~m;:rij’5ft ~ccrr, Clffilft’trfcr~~1 arcrrccrqft~~~f;:r60~11!Cf f~w~~qri=[qfu!ccr: U~l’i..~~qf;f~l( SfTClf, fir:«~CRCfrcfi’roT li’~T «G:1 ‘1..~ICl~et ‘tiq I ~~11 ~Cfdl*+ftfd +rrfer

~ C’\ ~~ ~..

OOlT: 11 ~fcr ~”‘t+rctR~f«11 GICfi I”CC Il4 ~11 q ~+t~….lCl”‘””c….,q11’:1″~

~~qfuiSlf~m~~fq”<R~ r~r~ ~r~m~Slf:

«~1 1 ‘1 As the work is still in manuscr~pts: w~have quoted t~e introductory and concluding passages from whtch It Will be clear that It is an independent treatise in prose on Raja-Yoga. As the language is not yet quite settled, Raja-Yoga·Bhashya must be one of the earliest pr;:oductions of Sankara belonging to this period. This work is not ·· however specifically mentioned by Chitsukhacharya as one of the worka of Sankara.

70 THE AGE OF SANKARA

his Paramaguru and to request his permission to write an elaborate commentary on the same. Govind Bhagavatpada was so much pleased with the suggession that he at once took his worthy pupil to his Guru, Sri. Gau<Japada.cha:rya at Badrikasrama on the Himalayas. Saiikara was extremly delighted to see his Paramaguru who was then said to have been 120 years old, engaged in Brahmanishtha and simply waiting for the arrival ofthe young Prasishya who was to establish the Advaita Philosophy started by him and by his Guru. On being introduced by Govinda Bhagavatpada, Sari.kara went and prostrated himself before the feet of his Paramaguru and Gau<Japa:da was most happy to welcome him as one of his own pupils in future and offered to teach him all he knew. Safikara studied directly under Gaudapa:da for four years, composing may of his most important minor works on the Veda.nta such as Shatpadi, “9 Hari-Stuti60 Sata

~~ Shatpadi is a Stotra in 6 stanzas in praise of Narliyal)a. It begins with •

• • 3ffcr~ +rq;:p:r fcrmft ~+r:r lA”: ~+r:r fCI1l1.f+Ti’Rf1SUJT+r 1

c:. c. ~

~CRtrt fcrtcrRlf c=rr~· ~«n:~lll’ta-: 11”

This poem contains the following famous stanza, which shows clearly what was Sankara’s Philosophy and Religion for all practical purposes, The stanza runs as follows :

• • ~~trfq-~~rqrrif ‘lf~ ~~;r llllfCPFr ~~cn:r. 1

IDi!,SfT ~ en:~:, crcr:er;r «l!il ;r ffi~: 11

The concluding stanza, which is given as the 7th:stanza runs as follows :

~· ;;rw:rur ~urr+r:r ~~~crrfur mCfCift :q;cuft 1
~fer ~~q~’f +rc{T~ ~~~~ er~ 11″

60 Hari-Stuti more generally known as H~iim-lge-Stotra from the concluding words occurring in every stanza, is a beautiful poem in 43 verses beginning with :

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA’S LIFE

sloki61 (Vedanta-Kesari), Sva:tma-Nirupana. Q2 Parama:rtba

11 ~)lS~ +rCf~T fer~ if~T~ iif~T~, trf~1Wfa-cr ~«fu~ ~trcr’fcq-~ 1 lffi:+r<=r ~~i ~~fcr a-cmrfu:q~ et ~r-iemrafo/llqj ~f-i ~11” The 44th stanza which concludes the work runs as follows :

~, ~c~ faT~ +r~~6:q +rcr+rrfcr
e.crrrcrr91ht +r;rcrcqr~Tlf f~~ lf: 1
fcrturT~1et q6fcr YltJTTfu c;riiffa-~r
m;f ~li” ~crr~f’1-ijrci1rfu +r~lSlf: 11 ”
It is available in Nagari character with the commentary of Svayam•
prakasa Yati called Hari-Tatva-Muktavali.

n sata-Sloki as the name itself indicates consists of 100 stanzas. It is one of the most beautiful Vedantic poems written by Sankara ~t Badarikasrama, where his devotion to NarayaQa was unbounded. It ts also known as Vedanta-Kesari and begins as follows:

,, ~~FaT o:fcr~tS~ f~~cr;;iif~t ~~!,”{T ~~~:

c. ftf~~ ~”51″ Cf.(>QT: ~· ‘llffu tf~~T ~ffi ~rot:.I .; ~~cci a-~rfcr fSI.>fcr=q;co,~;f ~~q: ~crrtrf~ , ~cfttt m1=ti fer~~ +rGJfcr R~ttif~~;r:qrei’fcfi’cp)sftf 11

The concluding stanza runs as follows :-. • … •

41 iifTCf ~Cf ij”cf Tf{fq ll’Pl m(~fi:~;;:q~ f~ ~cf fflijcr l.1lfcr 5rftretrflrfa-er ~w :qqr~ ~1 ~~+r~R lf~fur~~~t ~lfTCf~ ctiTll’ o:tr?/” ~ater er ~>:)~~CfT~cf ~?I”CfTSftif Il”

It is print;d with. the commentary of Anandagiri known as Sata-sloki• ·

Bhishya. . s2 Svitma·Niruupal)a is a beautifvl Vedintic poem consisting of 156. tanzas in Arya metre beginning with :

THB AGB OF SANKARA

Sara Sangraha 68 and Praudhanubhati Prakarana.64 On one of those days Sankara obtained the desired permission

11 ~~:q{QJ[~ eR:s~ 11f~cr~:tr~a’1i~ I mRnr~mf~ qt~’flf lftlf ~fij”Cf 11ffi;rij’ 11 It is printed at Bombay with the commentary of Sa~hchidananda

Sarasvati.

63 Paramartha-Sara-Sangraha, also sometimes known as Bodharyii is a small beautiful poem in 33 stanzas in the A.rya metre pointing out that the salvation of the Soul does not depend upon the study of

. Prasthanatraya, but results solely through the realization of Brahman. It begins with :

‘~ arrCtncrGiTerrrq-u: ~arcr~’Uuf~’frrrqf~~SCT: 1 cnf~~~~m-lJ.(g”r: ~arfrcr ~~~~rr 11 ~ 11 ~f+rcr lilRf~fllt, ~<RfT ~\ifcf, lf~ l:fi’Uff <:”\iefT~ I

c:. e. -.:) ‘

ij”~ f~s«clf f~ Cfif~ ‘ffmfa-liflf rn:-rrr~ 11 ~ IL

The following are some of the stanzas often quoted by the Vedantins from this beautiful poem :

<@a”frr (f~fcrCfift, (ff~ fcn:”hJcrfcr, ffisfq crier I \ififfu er~ ‘n:’ifrClir, rn:-+rrcqt=lffq \if~ f~cr~ 11 lt 11 ” 31fur ~Cflf f11Clfft:+r ~~ “hflll ffff ~lf: tfij”: I

“‘

~sfq~~lf ~«~fira-r lf: ij” ~ii ~<=tfij” CCfl{ 11 ~ ¥ 11 ” The poem is concluded by the following stanzas :

u ~C<:ffftrn-t:2{ Uc’ff ~Cfli”T ~~&!f~ m~I sr~rrqort qcfcr~’lilrr ;rf1SfCfi1l~ 11 ~ ~ 1r ~~~flJf fifff Rr60Rr Cf~Cf ~fcr ~: q~:qrcr I Tf Ulf er~~~ frrf’Cff~cr .n~~CfiTCfi ~fu 11 ‘~ ~ 11 ”

It is a pity that this excellent poem has not yet been published in aay of the characters, though it is completely available in manuscripts ..

64 Praudhanubhuti-Prakarar;~a is a grand Vedantic poem iu 17 stanzas on the model of Dasa-Sloki. It begins with :

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LIFB 7’l·

to write a commentary on his Paramaguru’s MaJ}.gtikyopaoij’ nishad·Karikas accordingly wrote his famous 115 Bha.shya on· the same as if preparatory to his Bhashyas on the Prasthana .. traya which he was soon ordained to write. Gaugapa.da ~as · so much pleased with his Ma:r,:tQ.tikyopanishad-Kartka~ Bhashya that he requested him to write similar commentaries~

~~[et ;r~rrf~~ «11ft~cr f+rci f~lfn:A’:Cfif(.”qa·

crrlf crrrrfcrcrf~ ;r~a-~ ~rrc~cr f~ rr f~ 1
wet ~~ (f~ i:ra-(ff~ rrr~ ‘fqf er fi:l’q”

~ c ~ ,

5f’T(g”fif~=ct~Cfittf=Jfl~Cf~: ~its~l=l£~~~~ 11 The concluding stanza runs as follows :

1′ ~rn~~~er:qr~ifrr« ‘Sfm’!l!fu ffiqlf

(ffCfOlfl’ rr ~ ;r)~;cr~fer~ ~~Serra~~rr ~.

~li ~Rffcrerfqij)~qf~~: srP=crr =qcfifftc; ~cr:r

ij”f =if r~~~~~qfa-crr f~ ~a· Efia’Cffr 11 ,, The work is still available only in manuscripts. sb The Bhashya of Sankara on the Ma~;~~liikyopanishad-Karikas of.. Gaugapada forms as it were an introduction to his Bhashyas on the Vedanta Prasthina-Traya. The Karikas consist of 215 Anushtubh.. verses divided into four Prakarar;~as or Chapters respectively headed .Agama-PrakaraQ::t (Chapter on Scripture), . Vaitathya-~rakara~;~a (Chapter on Illusion), Advaita-Prakaraoa (Chapter on Momsm) and Alatasanti-Prakara~,~a (Ohapter on Quenching of the fire-brand). The Bhishya begins with the following stanza :

u sr~~srcrA”: ft~~:qU’i’JCfi(olffCrN’ Olfltlf wlCfilt:~

~ ‘

~Cfcrcrr ~Frri!~~fcr60fi( ~.,UqferlflJfT{(I fijct I”t Cflf……………~lll,.,..”ll”·

~ tftccrr t~”criif fcr.ifl5fT’f ~crfqfcr ;rer~ +lilllfT ~)\iflr m ….flmi~lJ ,1(rl.f m:-~er +l’if ~w i ~ ~rsfu:r 11 , ,

As is the case with his other Bhashyas, there is also a gloss on ~ankara’s:~ Ma~;~gukyakarika-Bhashya by Anandagiri. In the colo~hon at the end,. the Bhashya is described as Gaugapadiyagama Sastra Vtvara~;~a. .

THE AGE OF SANKARA

·op the Veda.nta-Prastha.na· Tray a and thereby to establish the supremacy of the Advaita School of Veda.nta Philosophy in ·the world for all times to come.

It was during those four short years that sankara exhibited his marvellous and almost superhuman activity by ·composing his world-renowned Shodasa-Bbasyas or the Sixteen Commentaries on the Veda.nta-Prastha.na-Traya. The

·exact order in which sankara wrote his Bhashyas on the Prasthana-Traya is not definitely known .. It is how~ver, clear from his works that he began to write his commentaries on Jhe Smriti Prastha.na which he included in his time

· portions of the Maha.bharata, such as Bhagavad-Gita, Uttara:-Gita, Anu-Gita, Sanatsujatiya and Vishnu-Sahasra. na.ma-St0tra. As Uttara-Gita and Anu-Gita bad a1ready been commented upon by his Paramaguru, Sankara wrote :his commentaries only on the remaining works of the S rnritiPrastha.na-Vishl;:tu-Sahasrana.ma-Stotra,66 Sanatsujatiya 67

66 Vishr;tU-Sahasranama-Stotra is one of the most precious gems ·dug out of the mine of Mahabharata, forming, as it does, the !49th Adhyaya of the .Anusasanika Parva of the Mahabharata. It consists

·Of 142 stanzas beginning with:

lSI’Tcf~PiTl.R” ~:er11 ~carr -er~ ~t:fur qrcr;:ffiif :er ~~: 1
· ~f~~o~: ~rra-rrct ~rr~arr-.r.rmlla 11 ”

It is very likely that Vishi)u-Sahasranama-Bhashya is the first of the ·Shodasa·Bh&shyas composed by Sankara. There is a gloss on the :sap:~e by_ Taraka Brahmananda Sarasvati, but it is available only in

manuscnpts, although the Bhashya itself has been published in various -characters.

· 67 Sanatsujatiya or Sanatsujatiya Gita, as it is sometimes called
i8 a dialogue between Dhritarashtra and Sanatsojata and consists of
four chapters forming the Sanatsujata Upaparva of the Udyoga Parva
-of the Mahabharata. Sankara’s Bhashya on the sa’lle is known as

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKARA’S LIFE

and Bh~gavad-Gita-68 following the model of his Paramaguru’s commentaries on Uttara-Gita and Anu-Glta.

Sankara’s attention was, then, directed to SrutiPrastha.na, which included in his time Sveta.svatara and Nrisihmatapan1 and one or two others like Kausbttaki and Maitrey1, besides the Ten Principal Upanishads enumerated jn the following stanza:

ll ~~-itrr-Cfio-!l~-1!,116-m~ct=r.r-faf~f~: 1 ~a~lt ~1 ~F~Tv:i, ~~T~m:r<F1 ~~ 11 “

It is said that at the request of his Pdramaguru, Satikara began to write his Bhasbya on the U panishads

f)anatsujatiya-Vivarat;~a and is probably the second of his sixteen commentaries. The Bbashya on Sanatsujattya has been published by the Mysore Government in Nagari character along with his Sahasra

nama-Bhashya.

r.~ The Bhagavad-Gita or the Divine Song is a dialogue between Sri Krisht;~a and Arjuna. It forms Adhyaya XXV to Adhyaya XLII of the Bhlshma Parva of the Mahabharata and it fits in so naturally with the narrative of the great epic that it cannot be said to be a later interpolation, but must, like the main story of the Great War, be assigned to the beginning of the Kali Yuga about 3102 B. 0. The dialogue is said to have taken place just before the actual commencement of the Mahabharata War between the Pai)l}avas and the Kauravas which took place 37 years before the Kali Yuga, i.e., about 3139

B. C. Sri Krishi)a could not have possibly spoken it in the form in which it is now available to its readers, any more than the other dialogues in the Mahabhiirata were held in verse, but that it embodies his teachings in full and was compiled by Veda Vyasa at the beginning of the Kali Yuga as a portion of the Mahabharata, is undoubted. It is justly described to be ” the milk of all the Upanishads” and “the essence of all the Sastras.” A host of commentators have commented upon the Bhagavad-Gita, but they alt want the depth and originality of Sankara. Sankara’s Bhagavat-GitaBh ashya has been commented upon by Anandagiri, his most correct

THB AGE OF SANKARA

with N risihma-Purva-Ta.pan iyo panishad, 69 as Gaudapa.da

had already written a VivaraQ.a in verses on th~ Nri

sihmottarata.paniyopanishad. He then wrote his famo~s

Bhashyas on the Dasopanishads; which stand unrivalled to·

this day as tbe best exposition on the Upanishads. The

order in which he wrote them cannot now be definitely

ascertained, but we may assume for all practical purposes

that he wrote his Bhashyas on the U panishads in

the following order : (I) 70 ISa.va.syopanishad-Bhashya,

expounder; and the Text, Bhashya and Tika has been published in the Anandasrama Series at Poona with several Anukrama\likas. It has also been translated into several languages and is certainly the earliest commentary available on Gita. There is no lack of Advaitic commen· taries on Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit, but the most read of these after Sarikara’s are Sankarananda’s, Madhusiidana Sarasvati’s and Sridhara’s. Sankarinanda’s Gita-Tatparya-Bodhina is, perhaps the best Advaitic commentary on the Bhagavad·Gita. ‘

69 Nrisihma-Piirvatapanlyopanishad belongs to the Adharvana Veda and consists of five Upanishads. Sankara’s commentary on the same is known as ‘AdharvaQa-Tapaniyopanishad·Bhashya • and the colo

phon at the end of the fifth Upanishad runs as follows:-” ~fcr ~fll fq-~~’fi:fc~\Jll qIcrl’~ISl”ftl:f ~~ij”qf{c;tI\il Cfi I=qflf~~\’~~ crcr: arT’lfiiOi’ 3fT~cfURfPFffll”)qf’l’!f~ qs;:q+f)crf’Pf~T~

. “

…

~~l{ I It has been published in the Anandasrama Series together with the Dipika of Vidyara\lya on the Nrisihmottara·Tapaniyopani· shad. Both these Upanishads are available in manuscripts with the Dipika of Sankarinanda, the famous commentator of almost all the important Upanishads.

……

70 ISavasyopanishad is the fortieth or the last chapter of the Sukla Yajur Veda Samhita and is named after opening words “llavasyam.” It is also called the Vajasaneya-Samhitopanishad. sankara’s Bhishya on this Upanishad together with the gloss (Tika) thereon by .A.nanda· giri is available with translations in almost all the languages of India·

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE 77

(11) 71 Kenopanisbad-Bha.shya, (Ill) 71 Kathopanishad

lt~has been published in the .Anandasrama Series together with the following additional commentaries, viz.

“”

(a) Uvatachirya’s ISavasya·Bhashaa,

“

(b) A.nandabhattopadhyaya’s ISavasya· Bhashya,

“‘

“

(d) Brahmananda Sarasvati’s ISavasya· Rahasya.

“‘

(e) SaQkarinanda’s ISavasya-Dipika, and

(/) Ramachandra PaQc;lita’s I~avasya-Rahasya-Vivriti.

71 Kenopanishad, also named after its opening word, is caHed the

-Talavakaropanisbad and belongs to a Sakha of the Sama Veda. The Kenopanishad-Bhishya of Sankara is available in most of the languages of India with its translations. The A.nandal’.rama Series contains not only the Bhasbya of Sankara and the Tika of .Anandagiri, but also the Dipikas of Sankarananda and Naraya\la on the Kenopanishad. It is to be noted that Sankara has written two eommentaries on this Upanishad, a Pada·Bhashya and a Vakya·Bhasbya, one explaining the meaning of the Upanishad word by word, and the other explaining its meaning by general context.

~ 72The Kathopanishad or Kathakopanishad or Kathavallyupanishad, as it is variously called, belongs to the Katha Sakha of the _KrishQa Yajur Veda and consists of 2 Adhyiiyas, each comprising 3 Vallis or Sections and the Upanishad tells us the story of Nachiketas and his instructions in Brahmavidya by the God of Death. Sankara’s Bhashya on this Upanishad is known as Kathakopanishad-Bhishya. There are two glosses on this Bhiishya, one by .Anandagiri known as Kathavalli-Bhashya-Tika, and another by Gopilendra YatiSvara known as Kathakopanishad-Bhashya-VivaraQa; and all these commentaries are printed together in one volume in the .A.nandasrama Series.

73 Prasnopanishad, as the name itself indicates, is the Upanishad of Questions, and belongs to the Pippalida Sakha· of the Adharvaua Veda. It consists of six Prasnas or Questions. Sankara’s Bhishya and Anandagiri’s Tika thereon are published in the .Anandasrama Series

THE AGE OF SANKARA

Bbashya, (IV) 78 Prasnopanishad-Bba.shya, (V) H MuJJ.<)a…

kopanishad-Bhasbya, (VI) MaJJ.<)iikyopanishad-Bha.shya,

together with the Prasnopanishad-Dipika of Sankarananda. There is also a gloss on Sailkara’s Prasnopanishad-Bhashya by NarayaQendra Sarasvati, pupil of Jiianendra Sarasvati, whose preceptor was Kaivalyendra Sarasvati. It is still available only in manuscripts and is styled Prasnopanishad-Bhashya· Vivaral)a,

u MuQt}akopanishad is the Upanishad of the MuQgaka or razor which cuts the knot of ignorance. It belongs to the Saunaka Sakha of the Adharvana Veda. It consists of 3 MuQt;iakas or Parts, each divided into two KhaQgas of Sections. Sankara’s Bhashya on the MuQQakopanishad and .A.nandagiri’s Tika thereon are published in the .A.nandasrama Series together with Narayana’s MuQt;iakopanishad, Dipika. There is also a gloss on Sankara’s Bhashya on the MuQt;iakopanishad by Sivananda Yatisa called MuQt;iakopanishad-BhashyaTippal)a. The colophon at the end of this TippaQa has the following

stanzas:

” f~A~ fv.{ Cfil~lft fc~f~cciT ~ftSfcf 11~ I

“”

:cr’roo~~~~f+r&TUJT ~1″1iTUlf ~er~ 11

“‘ .:> …

~~crC’lR+rflSl:f~lf +rrcrm~+rrli’~fG:rrr 1 f~crFr~1:fcrT:ir’i fc-cq-1Jf ~~rcr 11 ”

…

10 MaQt;iiikyopanishd is called from its Rishi MaQgiika. It belongs to the Saunaka·Sakha of the AdharvaQa Veda. The Upanishad proper consists only 12 Vakyas, t;Iescribing the meaning and the power of PraQava or the mystic Om, as a means of knowing the nature and the reality of Brahman. Gaugapada’s Karikas in interpretation of the Upanishads in general is considered by some to form part of the MlQt;iiikyopanishad itself, and the first Prakaral)a of Gaut;lapadaKarika is actually mixed up with it. Sankara has written a Bhashya not only on the MaQt;iiikyopanishad but also on the Karikas of Gau.;lapada on the same Upanishad. After composing his Bhashya on the Upanishad, Sankara seems to have incorporated his Bhashya on the MaQt;iiikya-Karikis of his Paramaguru and treated them both as one Upanishad. Sankara’s Bhashya on the MaQt;liikyopanishad as well

as on Gaugapada’s MaQt;iiikya-Karikas, together with .A.nandagiri’s.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKARA’S LIFE

(VII) 76 Taittir1yopanishad-Bhashya, (VIII) 77 Aitareyopani~

Tika thereon has been published in the .A.nandasrama Series along with Sankarananda’s Dipika on the MaQt;iiikya Upanishad. In some of the manuscripts we find the name of .A.nandagiri variously given as . .Anandatman, Ananda, .A.nandajiiana: but he is invariably descriJ;ed as the disciple of Suddhananda. the fourth .A.charya after Sankara hi the Kaiichi-matha, who is said to have attained his Brahmibhiva in the year (Nala) 2906 of the Kali Yuga corresponding to 196 B. C.

73 The Taittiriyopanishad, called after the sage Tittiri, belong~ to the Taittiriya Sakha of the Krishl)a Yajur Veda. It forms the 7th, 8th and 9th Prapathakas of the Taittiriyaral)yaka, and the three parts are respectively known unde the names: Sikshavalli, Brahmavalli, and Bhrrguvalli. Later on, the lOth Prapathaka, beginning with ”ap:~~lf qft” came to be considered as a p~rt of the Taitttiri’yo• panishad; but during the time of Sankara, only the three Vallis

beginning with “~ rr) f~: ~ Cf~1J’f:” “~~fcr ~ifTRr

q~Jf”1 “+fiT cf cfl~fur:” was considered to consitute the Taitti:oo ri yopanishad ‘proper, and he has accordingly written his Bhashya only on these three Vallfs. .A.nandagiri’s Tika also is confined to these three Vallis, and both are published in the .A.nandasrama Series, along. with Sankarananda’s Taittiriyopanishad-DipikQ, which is also confined to these three Vallls. There is also a Vartiki on Satikara’s Bhasbya an the Taittirlyopanishad by Suresvaracharya, which is also published in a separate volume in the .A.nandasrama Series under the name of · Taittiriyopanishad-Bhashya-Vartika of Suresvaracharya, together with the Tika of .A.nandagiri thereon. It is only VidyaraQya that has, for the first time, commented upon all these four Prapathakas as Upanishads and his commentary which forms an exeellent exposition of· Sankara’s views is also published as a separate volume of the .A.nanda· sraina Series. PaQgit A. Mahadeva Sastri has collected all these· commentaries on the Taittiriyopanishad and has published an excellent

English translation of the same under the name of Vedic Religion.

7 7 The Aitareyopanishad derives its name from the Rishi Aitareya. and it forms part of the AitareyaraQyaka of the Rig Veda. In fac~•. Adhyayas 4 to 7 of the second Pralma of the AitareyaraQyaka constitute. the Aitareyopanishad ; and Satikara’~ Bhasbya and Anandagiri’s Tiki.

.so THE AGE OF SANKARA

-sbad·Bhasbya, (IX) 78 Chhandogyopanisbad-Bhashya, and

(X) Brihada.ral}.yakopanishad-Bhasbya. Besides the

· thereon are confined to these four Adhyayas. The second and third Praknas of the Aitareyaral}yaka are known by the general name of Bahvrichabrahmal}opanishad. while Adhyayas 4 to 7 of the second · Prakna are more particularly named as the Aitareyopanishad. Hence ·the colophon at the end of Sankara’s Bhashya on the Aitareyopanishad ·runs as follows: 11~~~nfct .-~lftfCfN\Tlfq I~f~lSssft+r~

. ~ ‘ ~

·~ij’q r.,_ifl~Cfil’:qflf’~ ~ft:f:C~~~~’ffi~ wcrr ar~:q~ • • “‘ ” <:.

·!:lij(“f-r.tP”:n”’11Qrr11Nftn+:if’f•~ ij”r’fl(_. Sankara’s Bhashya on this Upani

·shad along with .Anandagiri’s Tika thereon is published in the

.Anandasrama Series, and it contains also Vidyaral}ya’s commentaries

called Aitareyopanishad-Dipika.

78 The Chhandogyopanishad forms a portion of the Chhandogya

Brahmal}a of the Sama Veda. Of the 10 Prapathakas which constitute

the Chhandogya·Brahmal}a, the first two are called the Chhandogya

Mantra-BrahmaQa, the remaining eight chapters or Prapathakas

constituting the Chhindogya Upanishad. According to Cbitsukha

chirya, Sankara is said to have commented not only on the Upanishad

portion but also on the Mantra portion ; but it is a pity that nothing is

known about his Bhashya on the first two chapters of the Ohhandogya ·nrahmaQa. Further, the abruptness and brevity of Sankara’s Introduction to this Upanishad clearly shows that he must have already commented upon the first two chapters constituting the Mantra portion of the Chhandogya BrihmaQa. The Upanishad is published in the Xnandasrama Series with .Anandagiri’s Tiki thereon.

11 The BrihadiraQyakopanishad is undoubtedly the biggest and the ·most important of the Ten Principal Upanishads. It forms a portion -of the Brihadaral}yaka of the Kai}Va Sakha of the Sukla Yajur Veda,

and it consists of .Adhyiyas Ill to VID of the said .Aral}yaka. The ·:first Adhyaya of the Upanishad treats of A vidya, the next three chapters contain a lengthy discourse between Janakavideha and Yajnavalkya regarding the true nature of the Supreme Being and of His ·relation to the Universe. The fifth and sixth chapters deal with various Upasanas leading to the attainment of the highest wisdom. As Sankara’s Bhashya on the Brihadaral}yakopanishad forms the key for

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKAilA’S LIFE

commentaries on these Eleven U panishads and that on the Ma”Q.c;Uikya-Karikas, which Satikara made part and parcel of the Ma:Qdukyopanishad itself, a commentary on the •o Svetasvataropanishad is also ascribed to him. A perusal

all the Upanishads, Suresvara has written an exhaustive Vartika on the same under the name of BrihadaraQyakopanishad·Bhashya· Vartika. The first portion of the Vartika dealing generally with the Upanishads is known as Sambandha-Vartika. Both th~ Bhas~ya of Sankara and the Vartika of Suresvaracharya are published 1D four separate volumes in the .Anandasrama Series alon~ with the Tika~ of .Anandagiri on both the Bhashya and the Vartlka. On the hnes followed by sankara, there is also a small but a beautiful commentary on the Brihadaranyakopanishad called Mitakshara said to have been composed by Nityanandasrama, a disciple of Purushottama, and the said commentary is also published in a separate volume in the .Anandasrama Series. While the Bhashyas of Sankara on all the otheiT Upanishads have been translated and published in various languages, there has not been as yet published a single translation of the

Brihadaranyakopanishad-Bhashya, which is the best of Satikara’s Bhashyas on the Upanishads.

I’

! so The svetasvataropanishad derives its name from the sage Svetasvatara and forms a portion of the Krisht}a Yajur Veda. It consists ofsix Adhyayas and it is pre-eminently the Upanishad of Devo• tion. It explains the essential nature of the Supreme Soul and of the Individual Souls and of their relation to ISvara on the one hand and to Jagat on the other. There is no doubt a Bhashya on the said Upanishad ascribed to Sankaracharya, but a perusal of the same will clearly show that it is not the work of .Adi Satikara, the admitted commentator of the Dasopanishads. It is published in the .Anandasrama Series along with the Dipikas of Sai:tkarananda and NarayaQa and the Vivarat}a of Bhagavad Vijtianottama, a pupil of Jfianottama. The learned Editor is also of opinion that it is not the work of Sankara, but only of some one of his ~uccessors who assumed the title of Sankaracharya. The long list of quotations found at the beginning of the Bhashya and the authorities referred to by the commentator will suffice to show that it is the work of a much later writer than Satikara, the Founder of the

Advaita Phi1osophy.
6

TBB AGB OF SANKARA

of the said commentary wilf clearly show that it is not the band•work of A’di Satikara, but, as we shaH point out iD the next chapter, it is the hand-work of Abhinava Satikara, one of the greatest of the Successors of Satikara who bore

·not only the same title but also the same name as the first Satikara.

The· last and the most important of the Sixteen Commentaries (Shodasa-Bhashyas) composed by Satikara at

. .

this period was, of course, his 81 Bhashya on the Vedanta

81 The Sankara Bhashya on the Vedanta Sastras is generally known as sariraka-Mimamsi-Bhishya. 1t is the authority most generally referred to in India· as to the right understanding of the Vedanta Siitras, and ever since Sankara’s time, the majority of the best thinkers of India have been men adhering to his school. There have been written several Tikas and Vivarattas on Sankara’s Bhashya on the Vedanta Siitras, but the most important and earliest of such glosses is that of Padmapidacharya, one of the direct disciples of Sankara. known as Panchapidika, which is, however, an incomplete commentary. There is a commentary on this Panchapadika by Prakasatma Yati, and it has been recently published at Benares under the name of Pannchapadika-Vivaratta. There is also a gloss on this Vivaratta by Sri Ramananda Sarasvati and the same has been published in the Chaukamba Sanskrit series under the name of PanchapadikiVivarattopanyisa. There is also another commentary called TatvaDipana on Prakasatma Yati’s Paiichapadika-VivaraQa by AkhaQt;lananda Muni. There is again another commentary on PanchapadikiVivaratta called Bhava·Prakisika by Nrisihmasramamuni, a disciple of Jagannathasrama, but it is only available in manuscripts.

The next important commentary on Sankara’s Brahma-SutraBhashya is Bhamati by Sri Vachaspati Misra, one of the best expounders ~f Sankara’s Philosophy. Vedanta-Kalpataru is a gloss on Bhamati by Amalananda and it is published at Benares in two parts. There is again a gloss on this Vedanta· Kalpataru by Appaya Dikshita. the celebrated Sanskrit scholar of Southern India and it is also published under the name of ” Parimala ” at Benares in three parts.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKAR.A’S LIPB

Sutras of Badaraya~a. Whole hosts of commeniat~rs. ha~e ·commented upon the Brahma Sutras but sa they all want the

There are also four more commentaries available on Sank&.rcl’s

1Jrahma·Siitra·Bhisya, and they may be mentioned in the followiLI

order. The first and the foremost of them is Sariraka·Nyiya·NirQaya

aregular commentary on Sankara Bhashya by his famous expounder

.A:nandagiri or A.nandajiiana. the disciple of Suddhinanda. The next

is Bhishyaratna · Prabhi. ·an · equally famous commentary on Sailkara

Bhashya by Govinainanda and it is also sometimes known as ‘Rami·

nandiyam.’ Brahma”vidyabharatta is another profound commentary

oil Sankara·Bhashya by Advaitinanda Sarasvati, a disciple of Rami

nanda Tirtha who was himself a disciple ~fBhiimananda. The last.

and perhaps the most important of the commentaries on ~ankara’s

Brahma·Siitra·Bhashya though still unpublished. is Sariraka·Nyiya

Rakshimal}i, a commentary by Appayya Dikshita. This is not to be

-confounded either with his Parimata, a commentary on Vedanta

Kalpataru, or with his Sivarkamatti · Dipika, a commentary· on Srikao

tha’s Brahma·Siitra·Bhasya. The colophon at the end of the 1st Padi

of the 1st Adhyaya runs as follows: ” ~fu ~llr~IDiifCil~~ffil:r

~~~ssrrll~i~tfcrom~rlf~lfcr~crf\lfmf~~r”(~~r~~qoftcr”(… ·

WfRutlftfl f&rcr~ ~r ~rrtr~ill..tt 1tt <mllorr sr~ifrutl4fll .

“SI”~llllT~:. 11 “

· Besides these, we have two more poetical commentaries on., i sankara’s Brahma ·Siitra-Bhishya, one called · Vedintadhikara~a• Nyaya·Mali or Vaiyasika·Nyaya·Mala by Bharati Tirtha, and another called Bhishyirtha·Ratnamali by SubrahmaQya Sudhi·; and. both have been published, the one in the Nagari and the other in· the Telugu · character.

sa We have been able to collect the following Bhashyas on BidarayaQa’s Vedanta·Sfitras, representing the various schools of Vedanta philosophy that came into existence in India since the time of Sankara.

I. Brahma-Siitra-Bhashya of Srimad Vijiiana Bhikshu called Vijnanamrita. It represents the unsectarian Visishtadvaitic School of Vedanta Philosophy. It is published in the Chaukambi Sanskrit Series.

THE AGE OF SANKARA

boldness, depth, originality and simplicity of San.kara. In fact Sankara’s Bbasbya is not only the most important, but also the oldest of the commentaries extant on the Brabma Siitras. As a piece of philosophical argumentation,..

11. Brahma-Mimamsa-Bhashya of Srikantha Sivacharya. It represents the Saiva Visishtadvaitic School of Vedanta Philosophy. The work has been mostly published at Kumbakonam with Appayya Dikshita’s commentary thereon called sivarkamaQ.i·Dipika.

Ill. Sri Sariraka-Mimamsa·Brahma·Siitra-Bhashya or more briefly called Sribhashya by Bhagavad Ramanujacharya. It represents the VaishQava Visistadvaitic School of Vedantn Philosophy and is available with Sruta-Prakasika, a gloss thereon by Sudarsana Bhatta·

charya.

IV.

Srimad AQu·Bhashya by Sri Vallabhacharya. It represents· the Suddhlidvaita School of Vedanta Philosophy and is published at. Benares with Bhasbya-Prakasa, a commentary thereon by Sri Purushottamaji Maharaja.

Brabma-Siitra·Bhashya of Sri Nimbarkacharya, called Vedanta·Parijata-Saurabha. It represents the Dvaitadvaita School of Vedanta Philosophy and is available with the commentary of srini· vasicharya and Kesava Bhatta’s Gloss thereon.

VI. Vedinta-Siitra-Bhasya by Baladeva called Govinda·Bhashya. It represents a School of Vedanta Philosophy ranging between &w.kara’s Advaita and RamaQuja’s Visishtadvaita. It is being published with an English Translation in the Sacred Books of the Hindus Series.

VII. sri suka-Bhashya by Sri Suka Bhagavatpadacharya, callecL also Sarva-Vedanta·Sara·Mimamsa·Bhashya. It represents the School ofVedanta Philosophy as explained in the Bhagavata Purat~a and is. published in Telugu character with a running commentary called Bhashya -Chandrika.

. VIII. Brahma-Siitra-Bhashya of Sri Bhaskaracharya. It represents the unsectarian Dvaita School of Vedanta Philosophy and is. published in the Chaukamba Sanskrit Series.

IX. Brahma-Siitra·Bhashya of Srikaracharya, called Srikara· Bhisbya. It represents the Saiva Dvaita School of Vedanta Philosophy and is available in Telugu character.

MAL~ .INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKAR~’S LIFE

it occupies the highest rank among the numerous commen• taries on the Vedanta Sutras.

Gaudapada was so much delighted with the activity of :Sankara,’ that be undertook to take him to Kailasa on the Himalayas wbere his Guru and Paramaguru were engaged in Tapas and to introduce him and his works to them. Sankara’s joy knew no bounds when he saw the sages Badara.yat)a and Suka, the Guru and Paramaguru of his Parama.charya, engaged in B·ahmanistha in one of tile peaks of Mount Kailasa ; and he considered himself the most fortunate man in the world, as the Dhanya.c;htaka,88 which be comp:>sed on that occasion, amply testifies to the

X. Brahma-Sutra-Bhashya of Sri Maddhvacharya, called also Dvaita-Bhashya. It represents the Vaisht~ava Dvaita School of Vedanta Philosophy and is available with the commentaries of Jaya· ‘tirtha and Jagannatha Yati.

These are the chief writers of Bhashyas or Independent Commen1aries on Brahma Siitras, and these together with Sankara represent the Eleven Schools of Vedanta Philosophy prevailing in India. Maddhva-charya quotes 21 Commentators before his time, but many of them ·exist only in name, if not solely in the imagination of PiirQaprajiia

.. charya. ·

33 Dhanyashtaka, as the name itself implies, is a collection of .8 stanzas in praise of the blessed condition of Mahatmas like Badarayal)a and Suka. The first stanza runs as foJlows :

” er ‘fflR sr~1 ‘i<fi ( ~ WSflfrurt ~~ $’l f.:tiSI ~Af~:qcrr~;r I 6’ ~T f!fcf tn:lWff.:rf~:qd~I : ‘” ~ISJ”T ~-;r’ifY1{‘5q qf~~f;.cr 11″

The concludihg stanza (St. 9) runs as foJlows :

”arf~ fqq ~)if ri~ ~v: ~’iCI” ~~~ctia+il fct ~=·n a

TH8 AGB OP SANKARA

same. Both Badarayal)a and suka were immensely glad

8′

to go through the Bhashyas and Prakaral)as of satikara and pronounced his Bhashya on their Brahma Siitras as containing the true interpretation of the U panishads. They offered

·mflrcr mlfT «rr ~~~~,_ ~tR~~fcRrmcf mrftf 11 11

• 84 The mee~ng of Satikara and BadarayaQa, according to both Chttsukha and Anandagiri, took place near Kaiiasa on the Himalayas. AD:andagiri, however does not introduce Suka at this stage, and according to him Suka is seen· for the first time by Satikara as one of the· I hqsts of mighty sages attending on the Great Teacher, Mahadeva who l

appeared to Satikara in the form of DakshiQamurti at the foot of a
banian tree (Vata) on one of the white peaks of Kailasa. Govinda·
nanda and Satikarananda locate this meeting between Sankara and

· BidarayaQa at Badarika~rama itself where Badaraya~:~a goes of his own accord to pay a visit to Sankara on hearing that he has composed comment~ries not only on the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, but also on h1s own Brahma Sutras. The following is the account given io. Oovindananda’s Keraliya Sankara Vijaya:

“:a~1’6l4i Rm· a-r~rr $0lllf~ ij’Cfiffi’fif ij’: 1 ~r.ft~ ~srrccr: ~ar~f<Cflr~~ 11 * * • ,

~ ~ ~~ f”‘ “‘

‘4~1~a«~'”‘~+t. t=ffCfd”~~ 1 d~Iiff ~SCfl<let smr: S5l1 +1:~1tSlf Sfc{fM Cfll \ I t uc~r~~&uca1f~~m~~r4ct1Cfl~: 1

c. ‘ .., Ch

Td«if”ff sf~ ~srfactlf~a+fl•!Ufl{ 11

fif\iff.:t fitatr~101 i ~ccrr 1tl&ffrtac~f:Tt=~+r 1

~ \::1 …..

dm”SSGJ~li+J U~'”g”l)~el~ ‘ij’lfCili. Gli~(lliOI: 11

2’1SG’q’TS~i.flrij Oll’d”taT ~+rfi:ffif D’lll 1:

~ ~ 0 ~ -~

~~ozmt.. ~~+nrf’«:’ tl !

J \

MAIN INCIDI!NTS OF s’ANKARA’S LIFE

their sincere blessings to sankara and direced him to go and . preach his Advaita Darsana at Va.ra.nas1 (Benares), the.

~ 1!~ ~~a-~ ~~~lf~&llJfR! I ~if f<:llrT ~lit ~illi1 Cflf15j’~: 11

~<::TlfT~51’Cfilm~ ‘f~wrrf’ur ml’!,~ I ~~~mffif~ifllltt ~~fif ~rf.; :q 11

~;r;rf\if’Cf&l ~ccf ~~ ~:>~~ ~Cfl{ I ~cpf+{f~ fcp”” ~1fT <::f-qqrs:””~~(f i~\TI: 11

~SCliTtr+J~ ~cj, aq ~;;mf+r ~Cfirq: ‘ Cflif~fq ?fRTfQ’ ~m~a-fi’Fld”: 11

…..

~CffiT lffcr~riur ~~~+J~Icflii r I 3:f~qpi~Tsf~liCTC1fT +f~’l Gri~-u~ur: 11

Cl~l~dl~lfi”«~IOii U”€tdl’1i fiW~ I . ~crm-mm:t Olll:f lli’Tfcr ~msSlfffiT~ msrCfl{ 11

0<:: Sf~ ctnn’liiil~ ccrm +r+J mif~ I

~ …:» (‘~ .!\

~Clf’CRIT ~liT+JT« « ~~~11

..,

attJ:ef dC( ~+11~Ill” ~~~fqft;f+Ja’+t I ll”~ <::f~ ~1:1′ ~~ GTT~(ill Oj: 11

~dTsf~{WS«~I~ fti<::~ ~orrfrqa-tt: I ~dlll” wm ita” ‘1’\11 llld siQCI’rf~iilfl,_ 11

ONiSl!a-+J.m ~~~nttrlllfil~ 1

aufc:tGtd f+R.~ ~~+r~~(ilfd 11

sf’fTa:f if+r .\iffdl~ ~.=i(JISll f”‘ Gl ~’4 iiid, I .. ~~sr~Cci ~~ijfli’d~: 11 ..

THE AGE OF SANKAR.A

ancient seat of all ‘A’ryan learning, and to establish its supremacy in the · world ·by subjugating all tbe hostile rel~~ions and philos?phies which were then crushing all sp1rlt out of the true 1deal of the U panishads.

No sooner had they pronounced their blessings· on Satikara than the two sages, Ba.dara.yaQ.a and s uka, miraculously disappeared from the scene ; and not even Gaudapa.da was left there to comfort poor satikara in that strange land of the Siddbas. Having fulfilled the mission of their life in this world, the three great teachers had gone up to Kailasa. where Maha.deva, the great Lord of Wisdom, sits enthroned on th~ Silver Mountain with His Gracious Energy, tbe World s Mother, the Goddess Uma. by his side, leaving the rest of their task into the abJe hands of Satikara. satikara becomes immensely grieved at the sudden departure of his venerable teachers, and all human existence appears to him completely profitless. He considered all sentient beings as mere actors walking in a vain show produced by a magician. In fact, the state of mind of the youthful ascetic at that time

~~~ro t~ftt~Fiitl ~~sr~ mt 1 ij.-wsa: ~ro ~~tRrr~ …. ,, ”

But according to the authors of the later S:1Iikara Vijayas, su.:h as Madhava, Sadananda and Chidvilasa, this meeting of Satikara and Biidarayava is said to have taken place at Benares, after Satikara had settled himself there with many of his disciples. Madhava says that Vyasa came to Sailk~’s abode at Benares in the disguise of an old man and after entering into a long disputation with him on some of the knotty points in his Vedanta Sutras was at last forced to yield to the views and interpretations of Sankara. Tbe description of this me~ting of Satikara and Vyasa as given by these later biographers is most unnatural and unlikely and seems to have been designed to meet the objections raised against his comm~ntary in M1ddhva Vijaya and

Mavi-Maiijari. ·. . . · . -·

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKAR.A•s LJFE

-was very much like that of Gautama Buddha when he found ·himself alone under the Bodhi· tree. He yearned to meet -with a Guru who would be able to teach him the way of -.absolute rel~ase and free hi m for ever from all earthly bonds.

As his mind thus became en rapport with a spirit of -resignation to the Will . of the Great Teacher. Mahdvara ‘Himself, Satikara beholds a mystic Guru . in human form, -milk-white, three-eyed, moon-crested. holding in the hands a rosary of pearls, a ve~t;el of nector. a sacred b’)ok and Chinmudra, the symbol of the blessed wisdom, young and -handsome with the Yogic belt, girdled hv a mighty serr~nt. bedecked with garlandc; of oearls. seated in the posture of an expositor on a stately tabernacle adorned with myriads of fragrant bloomine fhwers at the foot of a big banian tree (Vata-druma) in the middle of a maiestic and solemn ~rove on one of the snow-white peab of Mount Kaitasa, ·surrounded by Va.madeva, Jaimini, Ba.dara.yau.a, Siika,

Gau<;Japada and a host of mighty sages, a11 o1d and venerable ·tn appearance, seated in the posture of disciples with one and the same kind of book in their bands. Satikara,

j ‘ ·unconscious of the coming crisis. draws near the Great Teacher whose serene face is turned to south (Dakshina.• bhlmukha) towards himself. and· is transported with rapture at the sieht of his veneral,Je teachers seated in front of the “Mighty Guru. It wa~ then that he composed his immortal llymn to the Divine Teacher, well-known under the name of “Dakshh;tamarti-Stotra,” which inculcates the highest. devo-tion to the Divine Being as the Guru of Gurus. and an equal ·devotion to one’s own immediate Guru who should be

81 As a terse expression of the fundamental truths of Vedanta Philosophy. Satikara’s Dakshivamiirti~Stotr~ form~ a suitable text book ·upon which the student may meditate and realize the whole doctrine of

niB AGE OF SANKARA

regarded as an incarnation of the former. Having composed these immortal verses, .Sarikara throws himself at the feet or the Guruj. The Graciou~ ·Lord and. his mighty attendants are immensely pleased with the hymn. suka, one of thesurrounding host, now intercedes on behalf of his great grand disciple as worthy to be taught the mystery of Spiritual

Knowledge, and the Divine Teacher accordingly receives Sarikara and bids the attendants prepare at once for hissoleman initiation into Adhyatma-Sannya.sa.

Sarikara is, accordingly, bathed with water from the
sacred Ganges aod made ready for receptlon by a variety of
minute purificatory ceremonies. The neophyte is besmeared
with sacred ashes and we us the Kasha.ya, the. peculiar
habiliment of the Sannya:sin. With one hand grasping the
Dal)9a (sacred staff) and ·the other the Kamandalu
(water-pot), he renounces once again all desires of w~~ldly
splendour and wealth and expresses the determination t()

Satikara’s Advaita for himself. It properly consists of ~nly ten st~~s:

and begins with : · ·

tt fcf~cf ~tfur;:~~rr;:r~~~ f”1 \JIJrd ifff. . . q-~ ~f.:r ifllflft Gr~Rlfcf lf~ f”11flll’ lf: ~r~~ST~ijlflf mcm'”rrC\lrc:rr sari ~~lf~iffflf ;:n:r ~~ ~~Uf’11Rf~ 11 , ,

C\ C\

But in most of the manuscripts and printed editions of this celebrated’ poem the following additional stanzas are found after the close· of the:

lOth stanza :-·

11 cgfqc:fqij4) q lf~f”1 t4 ooj

,C\

ijCI)~ ~ fi”1Gfilro:rt. ~J”1~1dJ <. ~JI<Rf ..1
~~q;r~~ ~~ ~~0114[~ ‘G(ifif~(OI$:~~ i{~lf+i ll

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LIFB

follow the will of his Guru. He is then presented before the· Mighty Teacher, the serene-faced Primal Being Himself,; who, at the time of universal dissolution, absorbs all intct

m Cl ed <l if~ cr;g r: f~lf~ ~CIT I

~ c:. o e

~u ~lflif ~lfrif f~ISlfl~ f?omnr~: 11

an ~: 51’UTCIT~Tlf ~;am~ij~ I

~ …..

f’iltt?Tlf srmrcrrlf’ ~f~urn:rcrlf” ‘ilf: 11

f~~ ij’effcr~t nt’i~ ~CI1:Tf~JVJ’1+{_ I lf~ ij’cf~ICflR’t <IT~GfT1fcr~ o:rif: 11

~ C\

lllt:l o~I€4 IST’fi fedq (fjf ~~~crr;f crtiftS6Iract~flfqul UCI’ff if~~:

c. c. ~1’1″

ifffi~~ Cfi<Cfifi?df~rlfif ……1″-“t:l.. . .

~ -~ ~tf

~Cl=I’T’U~ l!fu’a~ ~f~ul11fJ~r lfti 11 ”

All these verses are found in Chitsukhacharya’s Brihat Satikara Vijayar and apparently these verses are his own productions. We have a. celebrated Vartika or Poetical Gommentary on this magnificent _Ode by· Suresvaracharya, one of the direct and prominent disciples of Satikarar called Manasollasa, consisting of 10 Ullasas or Chapters, each of which· is devoted to the exposition of a single stanza of this immortal poem· often verses. The Mysore Government has brought out a beautiful edition of this poem with Suresvarachirya’s Vartika of Minasollasa, and Rama Tirtha’s gloss thereon called Manasollasa-Vrittinta, together· with an independent commentary on the original hymn itself by · Svayamprakasa Yatiodra, a disciple of Kaivalyananda Yogindra, called Tatva-Sudhi. The hymn is termed Dakshiv.amurti-Stota merely because the name Dakshinimurti occurs in the last line of each verse as the burthen of the hymn. Pav.!}it A. Mahideva Si$tri haspublished a beautiful English translation of the said hymn and of the Virtika of Suresvaricharya thereon under the name of •yedantaDoctrine of Satikarachirya’ which also contains the text .and transla·· tion of the Dakshitt_imur.ti·Upan~bad,_ which P.r~bably ctame inta>· existence about Satikara’s time.

THB AGB OF SANKARA

Himself and who shines and delights in the happiness of His ·OWn-inherent bliss; and the neophyte not knowing how to worship adequately the Omniscient Lord composes his -famous poem caJled 86 Para-Puja and offers it as his bumble present to the Divine Teacher. The Mahavakyas of the ‘Upanishads are directly taught to him by the Gracious Lord .as constituting the knowledge of the Highest Secret, and he ·solemnly repeats them with all his faculties absorbed in ‘loving devotion to the Spiritual Teacher~ With the impartation to him of the mysteries of the Vedanta Philosophy and

86 Pari-Puji is a short poem in 5 stanzas in which Saii.kara shows how difficult it is for a person like himself who has realized the true nature of God to worship Him in any of the ordinary forms covered

· ‘lby the Shodasopachiras. It is so short and sweet that we quote it in

-Jul1 below :

‘

“‘AoifliiS~;:f ~ij”Cfltf~ ~TSSij”llL I

~~ll’ qr~ li’;lf ~ :q ~~~rss~1 ~er: 11

Fnt~ ~: ~cr~?f fcf~1~<~ :q 1

A”<lw~~lfl’trCJ’Tct ~f.,crf~ :q 11 ~ 11 f01~WT ~r tr=err (4=ll~lllsm~ ~er: 1 f'”lr:llqta~ll” ;j~ crr;G[~ :q ~err fcflrr: n ~

sr~f&turr ~’frCffll” ~~~er) ;:ffir: 1 ~f~~~~er: ~erw fEf’:ftq-ij 11 ” 1: m sr~r;w;r ~er) ~T~J\ili{ fcrm: I

~ 11

arrcr ~~:;;r ~~Cfiti”. lJ.rnFr -q~ 11 “\ 11 “

•ChitsUkhacharya, after giving these verSes in his Brihat Saii.kara Vijaya,. . .ooncludes the poem with the following_ stanza :

:” ~Cf lrCf tm ~ij”4lct~~ ~-I . ~ifi”‘\te::qr. (j ~·fcrclllr i”~Cf~: 11″

93′

MAIN INCIDENTS OF 51ANKARA’S LIFE

of the presentation to him of the Sacred Book which the

Divine Teacher was holding in his hand the initiation becomes complete.

· To his great satisfaction and astonishment, Satikara finds that the book that has been so kindly presented to him by the Divine Teacher is no other than his own Bhashya on the Brahma Sutras and he cannot sufficiently express his: gratitude to the Great Guru for the special favour shown to him. The Guru is so much pleased with Satikara that He graciously reveals HLnself before him as the Great Lord siva Himself and gladly takes him right up to the Silver· Mountain on the Mahakailasa whose innumerable white· peaks are adorned with diverse jewels. There, in a magnificent shrine of ruddy gold, the newly initiated ascetic beholds the Divine Teacher, the first and the only God, seated upon a majestic throne surrounded with rich silken hangings and’ adorned with innumerable sparkling gems, with one sacred face representing the One Absolute Being in the universe, with three graceful eyes indicating the splendour of the three great lights of the world, with the crest of His matted hair·

; crowned with the Ganges, the crescent-moon and the Kadamba-garland revealing his triple nature as Sat, Chit and Ananda with His ears adorned with ear-rings of conch-shell

‘ .

and flower-petals indicating the harmony and beautywhtch He· preserves in the world, with His throat black with the poison churned out from the milky ocean bearing testimony to the· infinite compassion that He has towards His devotees, with His bands grasping an antelope (the sign of self-control) an axe (the sign of power), the Abhayamudra (the sign of safety) and Varadamudra (the sign of assurance of gifts of grace) with His body ruddy like coral, besmeared with sacred ashes, showing that His Justice is always tempered with Mercy, with His breast adorned with the white investing:

TBB AGE OF SANKARA

·thread (Brahma-sutra) indicating His mastery over the .Saktis (the three Energies of the Soul) and the Gu\las (the three Qualities of Matter). with His neck shining with necklaces consisting of bones and skulls of innumerable Brahmas, Vishi)US and Rudras whom He produced from time to time for the purpose of creating, protecting and destroying the universe, with His waist resplendent with dagger and girdle e?tpressive of His omnipotence and omniscience, with His lotus-like feet tinkling with the heroic anklets and sounding bells proclaiming that He is the author of all Revelations (Srutis add Smritis), with the Goddess Uma, His Supreme Energy (Para·Sakti) always seated on His lef[ side, with the ·Goddesses of Wealth and Learning waving on either side of Him a white Chamara (Chowrie) and a flower-twined Vyajana (Fan) representing that He is the Master of all Wealth and Learning, with the heavenly musicians and choristers of every degree singing His paise in sweet harmony with innumerable musical instuments, with His hosts of devotees dancing before His presence with their quivering bodies thrilled in every part with joy, with the holy ascetics reciting the Upanishads with their hands clasped above their heads, and with Indra and other gods standing far off, with hands upon their mouths, humbly making known their wants to Him, as they are kept back by the wand of the sacred Nandikeswara. As sankara eagerly beholds the Mighty Lord, Sadasiva, who is from eternity free from all impurity, the Everlasting, the All-pervader, possessed of all wisdom and pre-eminence and all spontaneous grace, who, through His infinite compassion towards souls, for which they can render Him no return, ever performs without performance, the acts of Srishti (Creation), Sthiti (Protection), Samhara (Destruction), Tirodhana (Veiling) and Anugraha (Dispensing grace) once from foot to head and again from top to toe,

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’s LIFB

·his frame is dissolved in ecstacy like wax in fire. Rapture ; fills him as the torrent from the open sluice, and as he is plunged into the very gulf or delight, the two great hymns

·In praise of siva, known as 86 siva-Padadi-Kesanta-VarnanaStotra and 87 siva-Kesadi-Padanta Varl}ana-Stotra flow forth

ss Siva-Pidadi-Kesinta-VarQana-Stotra is one of the most beautiful poems in praise of Siva as He appeared to sankara in Mabikailisa and consists of 40 stanzas in Sragdhari metre. The first stanza runs as follows :

u ~liTVi ;:rr ~mCfWI)~mcfi~4C41ilf~~· ~~q«ctcrfCfmer”Ui=fcfi~crqra-~~.,= 1

C’\

err~ ~{~at’il~ mfmr~:a-1Tcfiiufcrm ~~rij’: ~RCfCliT~~i=fcfi~ tref({T rrcfa.:~: I I · ~ 11 ,

Chitsukhacharya, in his Brihat Sailkara Vijaya, says that this poem was composed by Sankara on the occasion of his famous visit to MahikaiJasa as he took a full glance of the Lord Siva from foot to head, and he concludes this poem with the following stanza :

” e”lffll” Rtc~ 5f-qfcr 5ffcrf~ ~tcft~~;:f tii w:

fctl err ~lf ~w~:qf”(Cf ;r~err Cfftcfll”n:r: ij’lfmTa 1· ~4\i~ct ij’~~ ij’mr ~~qfu ij’cf~fsrlfCCt … ·.

~srrczrrs~:~a-~lflffa ~wcrrr lfi=lf~~= 11 ” ·

This poem is published in Part VI of the Kivya-Mila Series.

97 Siva-Kesadi-Pidinta-VarQana-Stotra is a similar grand poem in praise of Siva by Sankara and consists of 28 stanzas also composed in

Sragdhara, which appears to be Sankara’s favourite metre. The first

stanza runs as follows :

” ~zrr~ l{fe’f ‘{T~c~ij’~urrrwhcrfif<f .

~~tcr~r: frrQ~”wr ~w~UffiRCfcrm~”twdl ;:r: 1 ~urrf:a-ifdf~(;Af~w”‘;flt11 {Uj ‘{:.T~+r_a-r ·..· ‘Efl’u~)q~~T~~~~f~f~Rcrr: Q~”i[ mcri: Cfi·’t~T: 11 “

96′ TBB AGB OF SANJC.ARA

from his sacred lips, which.in their· beauty of description or w~tbe saw in Mahakailasa stands unrivalled to this day.

· From this moment Sankara is entirely transformed into· anew man; he has become a Hvan-Makta-one In feeling, · soul and power with the Infinite and Eternal Lord, though living in a mortal body still, for a while, solely with a view-to save the world. In fact Sailkara has realized the Supreme: Soul and has become one with the Divine Teacher, as the 88 A.tma-Bhajailga and 89 Svanubhava-Prakara:r;~.a which he-·

Chitsukha says that this poem was also composed by Sankara on the same occasion as he beheld Siva in Mahikailisa from top to toe, and. he concludes the poem with the following prayer :

‘·’ m:;:rr ~~~~;:r l{ifij’cf lfij” ~t:l11l” en+’ft

C\ C\ ‘0 ‘OC:. ..

ij’p:;:ff ‘~”‘ +=rtlt~accr ~q-:q m lf ~~1l’frnra-ifR.T1{ t ‘ ll’riii{‘~ m~tf~ fqft:r li~= snw ~~ 1{~.-ffi ” lfl’~~ o ~it 1{~ 1{~~ ~-u~·~11 ,

This poem is also published in Part VI of the Kivya·Mili Series. 88 .Atma-Bhujanga, also known:as .Atma-Shatka is a small poem.• in six stanzas in the metre called Bhujaiigaprayita, on the realization of one’s own Soul as the Supreme Being of the Universe. It begins· with:

” ~~4’il’~fll <f:q “d If;:r ‘ff~
if =if·~)~~ ;:r :q mat~~ 1
if :q azilq1fJrf if a\ill if qrzt”

C\ ,.

~’1rG:~: fuq)~ f~qJ~'{ 11 ” The last stanza in which he affirms in positive terms the real nature or: the Soul runs as follows :

” ar~ fi:rf~cr) f;t <t?fil <~q-J
~Olfitzt’ ri1!f rimrr~ 1
ijt{f lr ~;:r ~ff.Rf ;f Gfi=’l’
AActtit~~«t: f~cits~ fucit~ 11 “‘

MAIN INCmBNTS OF S’ANKAU’S LIFB ·97

composed at this time show clearly. The Divine Teacher, Mahdvara, beco,:nes extremely pleased with him, bless«=$ him with lo”g life and sound health, orders him to go forth as a Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya and proclaim his Advaita Dadana at Benares and other places, and assures him that his Absolute Philosophy will be . established and respected throughout the whole world. Being thus blessed by Lord Siva, the new spiritual teacher goes back to the hermitage of Badarayana at the foot of the K.ailasa Mountain near the source of the Ganges, wherefrom had disappeared his three great teachers a short while ago.•

81 Svanubhava-Prakarava or more briefly called Svinubhiiti is a small poem in 36 stanzas of Anushtubh metre on the realization of Brahman in one’s own self-realization. It begins with :

,; ~irc:r q-t “~ w~ iter~~ 1 ~~~ircrr~ itctw'{ 11 ~ 11 ay~ =4-d’ilf lt”CI’l’ft:q ~oil*I I’1 Ic;:’l ?fiT~'”£~f1. I rn~~fcr~r~ w~ “~~~’! 11 ·~ 11 ~~Cfal~lf, ~~fcref~: I ~~fcr~CJC1lsf~ w~ i’~~q ~ctaq::r.:.~w~f1. If ~ 11

~~tm:=ifi~Jf ri~r.wr m~'”ll@l~~” 1 ri~~ffiffir ~~ ~~1f ?flctw'( 11 ¥”” 11″ The poem is concluded with the following stanzas :

” ~~~~’R)s~.ili~Tmtcffqq I ~’l<•f~fct@’ifr~ ~~ “~~~~11 ~~ 11 ~<i ~oqcf SffcRf ~f.:r~ ~I

~ . ” ‘

: 14″) Cli’T CfiT Cli’T ~6″~~.$ 11’crft:r ~CI”ll”( .Ii ~ \ 11 11 The whole of this Pratcaraoa is· found·· in Brihaf Sankara· Vija)’a~ and the last stanza is probably the coint?osition o~Chitsukha himselfC()ntainina his reflection on the effect of the poem on itS hearers. ·. 7

.98 -THE AGE OF SAN:l:ARA

There he finds his old ·companion and co•student, Vishoa Sarman, plunged in deep sorrow on account of the sudden disappearance of himse)f and his great teachers, for whom he had searched throughout that sacred hermitage. On being questioned by his trusted friend, Sankara narrates to him how he suddenly missed his great teachers-BadarayalJa, Suka and Gaug.apada, how in his despair he found out the Divine Guru in the form of Dakshii).a murti under the foot of a banian tree, how he had been received by the Spritual II’eacher and initiated into the Adhyatma-Sannyasa (Spiritual Asceticism), how he bad been taught by the Gracious Lord the mysteries of the Vedanta Philosophy, how Siva, the Lord of Wisdom revealed Himself to him in Maha kailasa, and what all wonders he witnessed in that sacred paradise. At the earnest request of Vishi).U Sarman, sankara composes his 90 Adhy atmavidya-Sannyasavidhi and

80 Adhyatmavidya·Sannyasavidhi is a small Prakaraua or treatise in 44 stanzas explaining the nature of Adhyatma-Saonyasa or Spiritual Asceticism and what according to it is meant by Snana (Bathing), Saucha (Purity), Sandhya (Prayer), Bhikshii (Food), Ekanta (Solitude) and Chiiturmiisya-Sankalpa (Four months’ vow), which are the six: chief duties prescribed to an ordinary Sannyasin. It begins with :

” ~-zya:.ft:~ci ~ifR”‘TrT ~~~l{ I

1:~~1:1lf’efcri N~~~ itct if”‘T~ I’ ~ 11

lfCfTifT lJ:’Oiff:qr{T ‘Jil&lHif’efi=f~q”Cfi: I

ar&rRfffCRIT«t:lffmfcr ~’*flf~ ~CfJ!: 11 ~ 11

~;:f m Cfi!TT fum fo:w:r ~Cfll'”d«crrrff I

fll~ ~crrf'{ CfiiJTPsr ~q-rrrw+lRt.. 11 ~ 11

~rrr;:t. ifrftliw~lf: ~~ffffr~lrfrr~: 1

cw~~ f~ f~&tr it~~ icrc:rf~Jt 11 ¥ 11 ”

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA 7S LJFE

…1 Vedanta-DiQdima, thereby explaining to him what it was that constituted ..~\dhyatma-Sannyasa into which he was initiated by the Divine Teacher and what the essence and substance of the teaching of the Vedanta was as imparted 10 him by the Guru of Gurus.

The poem ends as follows :

11 ifflf «ci f~ Gfffi ~«rf sr ffifrscs~ 1 ifflf «cf ~lllfcr CI”C{~~sir~ 11 ¥¥ 11

~fer P.fiffcq~”‘~«qft~r=crpf~tt~~-u=trr4’mf:r.rcr: «cf~~rcr)qfrrtf~~crrfcri!ftHfTW~~r~c:iffqm«t:llnffcrf’ef:

~~: I”

The work is stiU unpublished, although it is available in manuscripts in many of the libraries of India and is fully given in Chitsukhacharya’s Brihat Sarikara Vijaya.

. .

11 Vediinta-Dhglima, also sometimes called Atminiitma·Viveka• Dita\iima, is a poem in 67 stanzas of Anushtubh metre containing the general principles of the Advaita·Vediinta, as taught to Sankara by the Divine Guru. Each stanza ends. with the word ‘Vediinta4ittdimah~ and hence the work itself has come to be called Vediinta · Ditt4ima. The introductopY stanza invokes the presence of the Mighty Teachet, Sri Dakshiniimiirti, as the whole of what he is going to say in the poem embodies the substance of the teachings of the Divine Guru. It mns as follows :-·

” ~~lrd fs fU~fll ~er~ ltctl ~lffro lffi” 1 arm:rt ~~:n :ffm qF&tlJfll!:fcr~f~e~it 11 t 11

J’he poem proper begins with the following stanzas :

“atlc”‘lrtlc”‘4~1~ a1lTTcRr~~ur1 I

4 ~

9f~qrssro rr ~ftfi:r ~f~fO~n1: 11 ~ u · · #tlill#llilq~l=tt’ in clltfi’1’T ~’If~ t · ; : ~;:’!,f’Rf MCSI.-iftSflf ~~«Mitf6f0slf: 11 ~ tl ,.

‘IHB AGB OF SANKARA ; ·

On hearing this marvello11s account, Vish\lU”””Sarman’a. .admiration for Satikara increases · ·a ·thousandfold and h.: forthwith-~ .prays to Satikara in eight verses known as 19 Guruvashtaka and entreats Satikara to take him as his

. .

This instructive treatise is concluded with the following stanzas:

._ 11 aN~~l:f)er: ~«n:) i~~;pr 1

ri~f«;arrcr ~fi:r ~RrM~: 11 ~¥ 1 1

·. ;r CliwtSrfaflir;nnt: ~srf-q lflel~fCT’ilf I ~~~r1,~~r ~~liT ~fu ~i=af~fGGif: ll ~~ 11 orf~ Gfi=l=f ~ISi fcrm ~«TtTCfi”Jf I

.~~mrr ;r ~mf~cr -~~lrdlf~ilf: 11 ~~ u ~lf~crq-furr~ ;:rrsslffiftsftcr lf~ er~ 1 ~~-~~iffcrm;; flffcr ~~fmf: 11 ~\9 11

It is a pity that this PrakaraQa is also stiU unpublished, though_ it is .completely available in manuscripts. ·

•a Gurvashtaka or Guru-Stuti as it is called in Brihat · Sankat’a,

Vijaya, is a collection of eight beautiful verses in praise of Sankara ~mP;osed by VishQU Sarman, just before he was initiated into Sannyas:t under the sacred appellation of Chitsukha, expressing his sincere admii”ation for, and supreme devotion to his eo-student and Guru the emb~diment of the Spiritual Teacher by whom be wa8 just ~hea initiated into Spiritual Asceticism. The first stanza runs as follows:_,.

“S!o!O’T’U ill~Ti’: srf~crcl1:~~f-qa;rfcr . . . ~~~ ~~iii~P~faatfd i=lff-qm: 1

1 : ··: . : “

arm ~iP’..crrsf~~ ;r ~~ fcr;rr~ fCfli=g Cfi~ err~ ~~rerr ~;:q-:qfut -~~Qlff 11 ~ 11″

..The ~ts~is given as follows:-. : · · . , .

li ~f~ ¥=:·.:sr~m1cP~.. oJI’«T ~;r ~Jwcrt,
.· . , , : . ~-~~fsr~t srlfTfi:r ll’~ f.~~·fl~q1® \ a

‘.

MAIN INCit>ENTS OF s’ANKARA’s LlFB

.disciple and to initiate him as a Sannyasin. Sankara, who· already knows his Bhakti and Vairagya, gladly accepts him :as his pupil, makes him go through the formalities and invests him with the red-robe of the Sannaysin under the -significant name of Chitsukha. The initiation becomes complete with the impartation to him of the real secret and significance of the Mahavakyas of the Upanishads by ·composing his 98 Mahavakya-Vivaral}.a on the lines taught to

fcr~cr~lf)q~ fcr~1=qfcr ~~~Br·:qrfer ‘Cft=rt ~ij’: ij’fSll’ +rf~o2:f’ffCRf +r~ai f\if~ 1~4 If~”!.~: 11 t Il”

…. .Chitsukha concludes the poem with the following stanzas :

. 11 ~~l[ ~51″Tf!lfcr: wf~R! lfT ~”{)~m I f~Cfef :q~fiT f~~’fTStr~Cf, «Cfcr~ I l ern-: ~rl!Hrfatfcrrrr llfcr;:f lft :qcpr~ «: 1 ~~r ~lf:q~~sf~t +r~ ~fu~wq-: 11

~qrf~~=c:q ~cn;:cr ~~CITi=Cff~g’lflf I

“

are:ltr~~;:lfrij’ferfi:r lT~TGI”TCfliT~ iRll’d”Jf 11 ”

“‘-‘\’0 ‘

These very stanzas which constitute the Guru-Stuti are found verbatim !in the 5th Sarga of Madhava’s Sankara·Vijaya, but without any .appropriateness to the subject on hand.

: 83 Mabavakya-VivaraQaorbetterknown as Mahavakyartha-PaiichibraQa. is a small treatise in prose explaining analytically the meaning .of the five great passages or Mahavakyas of the Upanishads upon -which the Advaita Vedanta is based. They are:

11 -.c::: “

I. d”O ~GI” +1’1~ of the Sama Veda,

“\

…..

11 “

11. 3TlJ ~~iP’ of the Adbarva Veda,

. “

, Ill. 11 Sf~Ti=f i’iP’ of the_Sukla Yajur Veda,

. . IV. 11 Of~ ~~Sffir ” of the KrishQa Yajur Veda and

;

. • 11′

V. 11 Sfm;J :q 1’1.-~ ~ of the Rig Veda.

THB AGB O.P SANIL\RA

llim by the Divine Teacher. Both the t~acher and the pupil,· are anxious to go to Benares as directed by the DivineTeacher, but Sarikara, who always regarded his Guru as an embodiment of the Spiritual Teacher Himself, first wants to· go and pay a visit to Govinda Bhagavatpada at Badarika.grama and take his formal permission in the matter. Accordingly both go back to Badarikasrama and pay their respects to him and Govinda Bhagavatpada is extremely delighted to·

It is accordingly divided into five Sections and begins with :

11 3T~ffiT ~ICl Icrrsr~SI”Cfif~ Olll~~lfPl: I ;era: ~er ~1 3Ptlmm-;;rw, srm;t. ~w1 ~ ~w.r sf~lf. sr~rrr

–

¥tH~ii ~1 ~~1qfiilfm’l tP.:tf lf~TcrrCflllfrr 1 cr;rrsm m~~cpffirft:r ~FfTGflR=lf olfl €£1 r.f f~~ I 31~ aTCRl · “~~lff~” ~fer ~met~ ~lfur qcrrfi:r “ij”CJfrcr –mt_ ~lf.., arfu-~fa I dcq ~~lf ~GRTI, crr=cl:f) ~&-1:1′ ~fer I ‘fl1IT• ~w-eti!r2T CfT~~:, lt”Tliffrp:fcrcf {1 ell #11 ‘1 H ..~q-~&-1:1”1’ I H

~~ ~ ‘

.etc.
The work is concluded with the following quotations :

11 ~~~-rr ~«rft.rr :qr~ ~wur: t{~Cfi, 1
~~rr ~«ro ~crit~ q;:rra-‘1’: 11″

~ “~CfiircrrsfrrctTli ~’if~;rr;rrsffir fcfi’~ 1″~fa~~: 1_

The colophon at the end runs as follows·:-”Wifer l!iftfftfcr;:t{‘qCftlO·:

‘

q I~’J\’7l!f~tSlf iff+i ,@~~l”if14fcn:f-i«f +i ~ICl FtlfT~=tft~ tl+t l”d+t ‘-11 ,

This work should not be confounded either with the Sankaral!• rama’s Mahivakyirtha·VivaraQa published in 15 Siddhantas or ,with Vidyiraoya’s Mahavakya·VivaraQa. in explanation of the 12 Maha· vakyis or important passages of . authority· in the Vedas and the· Upanisbads. So far as we know the genuine work of Saiikara is still unpublished. · · · .:

MAIN INCIDENTS OP: S’ ANKARA’S LIFE 103~

hear of the marvellous adventures of his disciple at Kailasa and Mahakailasa, persuades him to go at once to Benares to proclaim his Advaita Philosophy to the world and blesses him with a happy journey.

Accordingly San kara prepares himself to go to Benares with his old friend and newly initiated disciple Chitsukha,. when to his surprise and disappointment, Agni sarman a relation of Satikara, turns up with bags of gold and bundles of precious gems from his aged mother .Aryamba at Kalati, and after presenting them to sarikara, informs him that his beloved mother is seriously ill. The news of the declining state of his mother’s health upsets all his programme, and though he has resigned all the worlds, sankara’s devotion to his mother makes him long to see his mother at once. He dedicates all the gold and precious gems which were so kindly presented to him by his mother to Lord Narayana in re-constructing and repairing the ancient temple of Vishl}.u at Badarikasrama and in setting up 94 the sacred image of_Narayal}.a which he got from the river Alakananda, in the said temple according to Vedic rites. As soon as the Pratishtha is over, satikara places Agni sarman in charge of the said temple, which has ever since become a f~mous place of pilgrimage in the North under the name of 95 Badrinath, and goes to Kalati accompanied by

14 It is stated by Chitsukha that the sacred image of Lord Ntriya~,~a

which Sankara set up in the shrine of Badarinatha newly constructed

by him was brought up by him (Sankara) from the bottom of the river

Alakananda after diving ten times.

9~ The celebrated temple of Badarinatha (Badrinath) stands on a peak of the main Himilayan range in Garhwal District, United Pro• vinces. at a height of 23.210 feet above the sea. This shrine is held in greatest reverence by all classes of Hindus. The God is daily provided

with food (Naivedya) in gold and silver vessels said to have been

.’ ‘ . TBB AGB OF SANKARA

Chitsukha, his trusted companion and disciple. It is stated that Satikara, before he left Badarikasrama to see his aged mother, . 116 produced a hot-water tank (Ush~odakasaras), just below the shrine close to the hermitage of his revered Gurus to enable his old master to bathe in water every day iq that extremely cold region in his last days of existence.

Anxious to see his aged mother, Sarikara hastens through hills and forests and at last arrives at Kalati, his place of birth. His mother, though extremely weak, was still able to walk about in the house and was extremely glad

endowed to the temple by Satikara himself. The chief priest of the temple, now known there as Rawal is alwayJ a Malayalam Brahman

· who claims his descent from Agni Sarman, ·a relation of Satikara above referred to.

ss Below the shrine of Badrinath, a sacred tank still stands on the hillside under the name of Satikara-Pushkarat~i supplied by a thermal spring by means of a spout in the shape of a dragon’s head. Pilgrims of both sexes, sometimes as many as 50,000 persons, visit this temple annually and bathe in the sacred pool.

Referring to this tank at Badarikasrama, Anandagiri, in his Prichina-Satikara-Vijaya, says as follows:

. ~sft:r ~f~f~~~”{~lffs~fwa-srlWf: 1 · 6CG~srr~lffl’ ~+r vSfCflWf’i:TT”{T ffi’q’ifi'”{SJ”Effif: 11 Cfl;fRar~qfi:Ar fufw)sf$!fcr: ij’;:r

~ ‘

· ~~Tf”{e~u ~f:44~1″{f~
mCRflffi’ 51’$!£lffi’T llfcr;rr$!£ctrfa

liT~ ~~p:r~:qfif fftel~ 11 ,

>:)

But Midhava misapplies these verses and says that the tank in question was er~ted by Satikara at Kedlira to enable his dis:iples to bathe in water in that cold region. His account is not only clearly opposed · to actual fact:J,. but also contradictory to the account given by both CbitsUkha and A.nandagiri. . ‘ . .

MAIN INCIDBNTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFB

‘to see her only son in her last days. Setting at naught all the rules appertaining to 97 worldly Sannyasa, Sarikara rushes to his mother, touches her feet in reverence and embraces 1Jer with all filial affection and devotion. It is said that at the ·solicitation of Sarikara, the river Churr:t! itself had changed its course and ran close to his house at Kalati, so that his .aged and declining mother might not be put to the trouble of walking a long distance in order to get herself bathed in the river and so much so that the river itself subsequently came to be caUed Amba-Nadi after his mother. One day, ·b~ing very ill, A’ry amba desired her son whose fame had already reached her ears, to discourse to her on things that would bring her eternal peace and happiness. Sarikara, thereupon, preached to her the essence of his grand Philosophy of the Absolute as expressed in his Tatva-Bodha,98 In as simple a manner as he put it, but even that was too

81 Spiritual Asceticism into which Satikara was initiated knows ·no such restriction. On the other hand, the Skanda Pura~a makes it imperative even on an ordinary Sannyasin that he should speciaiJy ‘l”espeet the memory of his mother. It Jays down :

“

“~~a-rsf~~sfq ~~)sf~ +ifCfi (I 1 ~cf~if lffCAT SI”~ cr;:m Sl”lf~Cf: 11 “

98 Tatva-Bodha is a short treatise in simple prose giving a brief summary of the Advaita-Vedanta and begins with:

” ~T’ef~~lf~llWTferCfilf”{urt .+i’T&Tffi’ef;;~~ m~fcf~CflR cr~1:fr+r: 1 m’ef’i=t:r~~lf fcfil{? f;;etrrsfrmrcr~~ fcr~=, ~~~~4iwmmsru~:, ey~rf~~Cfi«qf~:, lf+r&T~ ~fu I “

>:) >:) >:)

The treatise is concluded with the following re.marks :

“ff¥IT =if, arr~fcrq_ «~rr<: crrro Cjf’~~. f$ mcrr)fu, 41 amr ~+i’l~+i fctd ” ~fu ssr€£: I

‘ 0

106 THB AGE OF SANKARA

much for her to grasp in her precarious and semi-conscious. state. She desires her son to sing a hymn in praise of Krishl)a, the favourite Deity of the place and he accord• ingly composes and recites his famous hymns called 9~ Krisboashtaka ; and she is extremely delighted to hear it recited by her son, feels perfectly happy and free from all

” at! ~~err <fif~r ~~lf ;r~~crr 1
;ij”l’f~Sfrfl:ffil~ +r<td”TStrT fcrrrcrr~lf: I I ” ~fer t+ra-~:q I I

~ ‘ From a stanza found in some of the editions added at the beginning of the work, it is ascribed by some to one Vasudevandra referred to in the said stanza. The work has been printed at Bombay with a Hindi Tika called Bhasba-Vivaratta. and the learned editor in his preface ( ~ft:rCflf) says as follows regarding the author of the work:

” ~’f[~r;:a:qrlfll”(+f~\j=lfCI’RS5fm~uill4srurffi CRcrileTrrn:rep-,er~ srCfl~Ufi{ 1 ~cr:a:cr ~qfqcp·p:rq)~~q:q~;feret9;”Qlif~f.:cmcn:~mmerCfi~cr~ +rllili~r: ~q-~ sri!T+rrfer~r~uftfcr ~cfiifi=fTCftrd~ 1”

99 Krishoashtaka, as the name itself implies, is a short poelll in 8 stanzas in praise of Sri Krishoa, and begins as follows ;

…..

11 fssrzrr f~lS~t fer~: ft:q~;n:~~ cr~erq-zr) Nlft ~r&ft ~:at ~~ ~~<~..dl~~: 1 tr~r ~~r :q~r fcr+r~~.,m~ ft:l!l~f:cr: ~lft ~)~ ~er ~er~ ~csiJftsf~fcrq-zr: 11″

Chitsukha concludes this poem with the following stanza :

“~fer ~ft: U~~c+rr srof~cr: ~~UT ~fu fq-:ut;~Tuftsm mcrm~)~ ‘I’m: I

~ ~ ‘

lffu:::r~f;;cpi ~rzrCJCr anfq-t~cr

~ C’\

~ur;:cr ~:ru~:q~,$~~~: 11 “

MAIN INCIDBNTS OP s’ANKARA’S LIPB

miseries, blesses Satikara in his grand undertaking, gives up-her body Jike a Yogin and goes away by Archiradi-Marga to the Abode of the Highest God, from which there is no return.

In the Stotra-Patha-Pustakas, the last line of each of the stanzas w· changed as follows: 11 ~lfT ~)~m +r+r ~~)sf~· 11

fcrq-zr: 11 to suit the circumstance of the reader himself. .·

It is stated in Madhava’s work, and also referred to in some of the later Sankara · Vijayas that San kara in order to secure salvatioa. to his dying mother composed a hymn called siva-Bhujanga-Stotra. in praise of Siva. whereupon His messenger (Siva-Diitas) appeared to her in terrific shapes which were too much for her and she refused , to go along with them to the world of · Siva. Satikara is then described as having praised Vishou by composing a hymn called VishJ)u·Bhujanga-Stotra, and his mother was then taken to Vaikuntha by the messengers of Vishuu. who were bright·looking and agreeable· to her. The whole story appears to us to be silly and most inappro·’ priate to the occasion. Apart from its style which is quite modern and the tenor of its substance which is clearly opposed to Sailkara’s’-· recognized view, there is nothing in the poem irself to suggest that it could have been composd ·by Sankara for the spiritual benefit of · · his mother. The clear reference to Sundaramiirthi Nayanar, sirut~, tooda Nayanar and other Dravidian Saints in one of its stanzas::

beginning with : ll rr ~crftfq ctic[ ~)~~’11 etc., conclusively shows· that it must be the composition of a much later writer than: these Tamil Saints, and it is possible that Abhinava Sailkara, who wa~ clearly inclined to Saivism, was the author of it. With regard ·to· Vishou·BhujaQ.ga-Stotra, we have not come across any such poem ascribed to any Sankara, and although the commentator of Madhava’s Sankara-Vijaya quotes in full the 14 stanzas beginning with:

H 3Fff~t=Cf lfRI’ en: mi:f ~ as constituting the Siva-Bbujanga-Stotra, there is not even an attempt by him to suggest what constitutes .t~e Yishou·Bhujanga·Stotra. and it is quite probable t)l~ it is in~rely mentionea in name to preserve correspondence to ·~

. . I· ; . ·” ‘ . . . . ·.. . . . . .•. ,.,

other poem. · · · ·

… : ……. ::.JL

: ,! ; TBB.AGB OF SANKAR.A •. ?

;! . Now the mother being dead; Satikara, · in fulfiiment of IJ:lis solemn promise made to her at the . tiine of his renunci· .ation, performs all the rites appertaining to her funeral ..ceremony, by preparing a funeral pyre at the back-yard of fiis own house in accordance with the ancient and immemo.; iial custom of the Kerallya Brahmans and by placing the body of his mother on it and setting fire to it himself. The · 100 Matri-Sruti which he then composed bears ample testi~ · l!lony to the supreme devotion h~ had for his aged and ‘beloved mother. Nothing can be more naturally expected -of Satikara who had a deep sense of filial affection than that ·~e should have thus honoured the sacred memory of his ~other by performing her funeral :r:ites himself. But tha ·~O.pponents of Satikara’s school of Vedanta Philosophy, who must have been evidently despised and ridiculed by some of the successors of satikara who were their contemporaries, IJave made great capital out of the fact of a Sannyasin per·(orming the funeral rites of his mother, by questioning the ·very parentage of sankara, by inventing the story that he -was the issue of an adulterous intercourse of a Brahman widow with a Cha:ttg.ala, that he was from the beginning

“

, too Matri·Stuti or Matri-Paiicharatna, as Chitsukha calls it, is a -short poem in 5 stanzas composed by Sankara at the time of setting tire to the dead body of his mother, expressive of his supreme devotion

,.:to her and begins with the following stanza:

, .
~. ” an~ a-rcr f~~ sr~fcr~~~ ~crT~~;n-OlJllf1 ·
·· · ~~a-;rm”llf1 ~~mQTllJT :q ~tcrrn-u
. . C{~sN”if’0tf.q~~~Uf~~lf ~liT= &;~)

m! f’l~a 1f.~arsftr G”iflf ~~ ~-;r~: 11″

-ihe poem is fully given in Chitsukha’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya and -:iltands unrivalled to this day in expressing one’s own affection towards his mother.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA’S LIFB 109′

discarded and out~casted by his relations, that he . was an· incarnation of a demon called MaQ.iman, that he was hunted by his own relations like a heretic and sinner when he· attempted to set fire to his adulterous mother, and that he, n order to revenge himself on his heartless relatives, secured· the assistance of the local chief and introduced all the· Anacharas (bad practices) now prevailing in Malabar. The later Satikara Vijayas which came into existence after the· confusion between A’di Sarikara and Abhinava Satikara had arisen, and which were evidently prepared to meet the objections raised in Madhva-Vijaya, MaQ.i·Mafijari and sucli other works, make all sorts of apologies and justification~ for the so-called conduct of Sa.ti.kara, thereby 101 making th~ confusion worse confounded. Nothing could be more monstrous and absurd than this, and yet it shows how much

101 In Chitsukhacharya’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya and .A.nandagiri’s . Prachina Satikara Vijaya, two of the oldest of the biographies of Sankara, there is absolutely no reference to any objection to Sankara’s performing the funeral rites of his mother on the part of any of his countrymen or relations either on the score of his being the son. of an adulterous Brahman widow or on the score of his being a Sannyasin. We find no mention there of his having cursed his. relatives or of his having persuaded the local ruler to issue an edict· prohibiting those relations from chanting the Vedas and compelling them to bum the dead body of their own house·componds. .

Not content with making Satikara responsible for all the Anichiras . now prevailing among the Malabar Brahmans, some of these spurious accounts like Keralotpatti (Vide pages 28 and 29 of the Malayalam edition) ascribe to Sankara, the Widow’s son, the task of having subdivided the four ancient castes into 72 distinct sects, and of having assigned to them as many distinct dialects, among which are included· ‘ Paringi ‘ (French) and • Ingris ‘ (English). ,,

Now, as is rightly pointed out by Mr. C. N. Krishl)aSaQli lyer, in his Life and Times of Sri Sankarich&rya, • it ~as beea :;t settle~ maxim with ;t.he .Aryan Hind\ls to regard. the unchaste mother•. tll~

. . TBB AGE OP SANlt:ARA

fllO

Otatred and prejudice on the one band, and fanaticism: and ,bigotry on the other, could do in the matter. In the meantime a young Brahman by name Sanandana

:arrives at Kalati and informs sankara that his revered Guru
Sr’i Oovinda Bbagavatpada whom he bad left at Badarik
. asrama has returned to his hermitage at Amarakanta 10s
.(Amreshwar) on the bank of the Narmada owing to serious
,illness and that he is very anxious to see him before he quits
his body in the world. After enquiring of the young man
;.and of his . object in going to him, sankara accepts
· sanandana 108 as his disciple and starts at once to Amares
. vara w~tb his two disciples-Chit~ukha and Sanandana, and

indebted father, and the idiotic son as among the worst enemies .~f a ~an and Satikara would hardly have cared to suffer all the troubles and annoyance that be did on his mother’s account, if she .kad not deserved that amount of sacrifice and final love on his part, ~ven when such sacrifice was unnecessary according to the strict letter

~ftbe law.’

The fact that the chief priest of the Shrine of Badarinath built ‘by .Satikara more than· 2400 years ago has always been a Malayali

Brahman gives a direct lie to the story that Sa1’1kara was looked
.upon by his countrymen and relatives as a heretic. Further the practice
.ef burning the dead among the Malayali Brahmans in a corner
of their own house-compound is not looked down upon as an Ana
. cbara by the Nambudris, but on the other hand they regard the custom
p a most ancient and immemorial one, and as sanctioned by the

Smritis. .1o11 Amarakanta or Amare~vara (the modern Amreshwar) is a :sacred place of pilgrimage on the southern bank of the Narmada about ‘7 miles from the Mortakka Station on the Rijputana-Milwa Railway. The temple of Xmare~vara is said to have been built in the time of Mahabhirata and is much resorted to by pilgrims. ios According to Chitsukha. Xnandagiri and other ancient biogra·1Jbers of Sankara, Sanandana is described as the son of Madhava and J,.aklbmi, a pious Brahman pair belonging· to a wealthy and learned

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA~S LIFE Ill

manages to arrive in the course of a month at his Guru’s fl ermitage. . _ There_ in the island of Mandhata formed on the Vai·dnryama:tu-Parvata in the middle of the Narmadi, sankara

fam!ly at. Ahobala, famous for its temple of Sri Lakshmi-Narasihma

He JS satd to have been born by the grace of that God and turn;

~ut. to be an extremely intelligent child. But his parents die while

e IS ve~ young and he is brought up and educated by his maternal

uncle Divakaridhvarin, a disciple of Prabhakarachiirya the great

advocate of the Atheistic School of Purva-Mimams~, He

becomes fi · · 8 • soon

h” d pro .c•ent 1~ all th~ Lau~ika and Vaidika literatures of IS ay and IS marned agamst hts wish to the daughter of his ~aternal u~cle. The young man cannot agree with his uncle in his vteWs of Philosophy and finds his life with his newly married w”ti most unhappy. He soon qu~rrels with his uncle, abandons his ho~: and we~lth, and goes a~out m search of Guru who will be able to t~ach. him A~hyatma-vJdya. While he was at Prayaga on one da dtssah~fied wrth the teachings of Prabhakariicharya himself th G ~ ~ara~thma appears to him in a dream and directs hi~ to seek sa~ka~a a~.hts Guru. He ~cc~rdingl! goes to Badarikisrama in search of Sankara, but to hJs dtsappomtment he finds his Guru G . d

Bbagavat’p~d · · . , ovm a

a a, JUSt startmg wtth his disciples to go to his hermitag

on the ba?k ~f the Narmada and learns that Sankara had alread e

gone to ~alatl to attend on his dying mother. He is then informe~

~t Govmda Bhagavatpada is very iiJ and follows him as far as

.. mare~vara, where he takes his leave and comes an alone to Kalati

~~ search of the Guru ordained to him by the Lord sa. k . .

muc~ pl~sed_w~th the account of the young man, a~cept: :::sv:~~

~fh~s chief ~tscrples and promises to teach him his Bhash a on the

:edanta _Phdosophy and initiates him as a Sanny&sin afte: he o s

ack to hts Guru whom he is very anxious to see alive. · g e

Vil~The auth?rs o~ Keraliya Sankara Vijaya and Sankara Vi”a a

to ;: agree WJt~ Chrtsukha and other ancient biographers with re~:rd

. e account gtven of Sanandana by them, but they introduce h”m t

~ankara at Badarikakrama before Satikara leaves that place for ~AI ~

to attend to his mother’s spiritual benefit and mak h” · a ats

Sannyasa from.the hands of Sankara at Badarikal>rama “tseslf. IThm receive

.state that S d • ~ · . · ~ . 1 e • ey both

anan ana • ~amdy name was Vishr;tu Sarman, but while the

112 :·’·l.. THB··AGE 01′ SANICARA

finds, his,’ . aged and revered Guru, Oa,vinda llhagavatpa(la,. lying on his death-bed surrounded by his devoted ~ODl> Bhartrihari and his other loving disciples anxiously watching

the last·moments of his mundane existence as a Yogin, and·

is deeply moved at the pitiable sight of his teacher who had.· already. lost his consciousness .. It was the Pur:r;tima (Full.:.; Moon) day of the month of Kartika of the year 2646 of the Yndbisbthira: saka, and on hearing the sweet voice of Sankara· crying by his side, Oovinda Bbagavatpada suddenly recovers his senses, rises up like a stro~g healthy man from; his bed, embraces san.kara with his arms, exhorts him t~ undertake his victorious tour (Dig-Vijaya) throughout lndi~. to establish his Advaita Philosophy in the world, orders his. pupils to follow sankara in future as their master, imparts to them his last lesson on the duties of a Sannyasin called.’ 10′ Tu~iyisrama Dharmopadesa, blesses sankara once more

former.· makes . him son of Somasarman, a native of the village of Sri Ku.vga in Kerala, the latter represents him as son of Midhava, a native of Ahobala in Kurnool District. Sadinanda and Midhava•. on th~· other hand, represent him as a native of some place in t~<; I Tanjor~ District on the bank of the Kaveri in the country of the J Cholas· and introduce him to Sankara only after he goes to Benares i but it is somewhll!t curious that Sanandana should be described by thern as Sarikara’s first Sishya, while they describe . him as possessing many other discipleS before Sanandana goes tQ him. . Evidently some o(· these later . biographers of Sarikara have made a confusion between, Chitsuk.ha and Sananda~a. and have practi~Jly reduced them to a single individual.

.1°’ The Tutiyasrama Dhiumopadesa. according to the Chitsukhl,l’s. Brihat · Sarikara Vijaya ·consists of 12 verses and begins with thC: ·•

folloWing stanzas t : · ·· · · ·’ ‘ : -~ ~~~~~f~i~l} ~~~,.l!lit ~=;I <: ~,,; . ‘. ·:: ~·,~?~:~’1fif9;·\i:~d.. i{lOfT~~ J 1 .. ~ .. IL . -:.-;..··~:

MAIN INCIDBNTS OP ·s;ANKARA’S LIPB . JlJ

and ensures him success in his grand undertaking and quietly passes away from the world, 105 Yogln as he was, uttering th~ sacred syllable Om (Pra1,;1ava) as his last word on

th1s earth.

~~ JTT~ «1~ iff~ Jff~lf ~f~CRJ: I ~rflr~ lf\jf =tfHrr Jf~~ur frrctila: 11 ~ 11 , ,

The work IS concluded with the following stanzas :

” !”fUs<flt ~f~~ n:rt~.psc-q-lJ:’ITif~ 1 ~rc:r)qqrfc:~w:rl Cfli=~ Cfi’ilfirll-a’3t~;f ~11 \9 11 q-~ ~1’1~1 rif ~ :q)~w~ui~ 1· arcr)sfcrf”ffil zrft:Cfif~ct ~er [‘*~ ~fu: 11 ~ 11 w:rcfl2;f~rt~TlJT ~T ~qr~ ~er: 1

;rro:r~ ~!=~~t ~'{R ~q”~ff tI ~ 11 ~~Ol1T ~j:q iff~: ~f~~1-q’@ 1 ~mrr) rr ~er fw:rfr~ rr ~iTer q-urr i1 ~ o 11

~~if qI”‘ If\11 iiMiflf«’flllf.:r ~ I ‘ ~w:rt c:rr ..4q1~1far cr’*l[ mf.:r ftr~Cfi’: 11 ~ ~ 11 nra:rrc;:t \iflf: ~w fw:rrot ezrr;:t ~;:r~ 1 ~Olfftir ‘ficrrf.:r «er~ ;:w~ ,, ~~ 11 ”

. . 106 Speaking of the Brahmibhava of Govjnda Bhagavatpida Chitsukha writes as follow :-· · •

. ”~~ “SI”~ SJCTlfT; ~f~lS4T’\ ~~Uf!~ I Frlr~ ~~U:q”flf lfa~rtrit ~~: 11 ~)~~~’flfcr. A”fffilf fcrn-~~f~or;r , .aftf~CflT~~ fir~~ W~: tf’t f~cnr”’11

~~c41j·~”‘ I~~ li”Nfiio<~rCfl~ ci 1 · ‘

twq 1f CfiTRr~ 1JTfu-:.~fUtifIllT ~~ ~~ U

•”’11 • · ‘ THB: ·AGE OF SA·NKARA

~114

As soon as the ceremonies connected with the Siddhi of ;,<:Jovinda Bhagavatpada are over, and his body is interred in ;a ‘Samadhi106• constructed· ;by the disciples for the time being, rsanandana respectfully approaches Sankara and requests ~him to initiate him into the mysteries of the Advaita

‘· ; : ~~tft~r=t:~rlff~&il lf)qfCRi’ c:n:: 1
~)fcr~~rrcr~qR: f«fa” ~SI’Pf ~lfli’T ll ”

(Brihat Sankara Vijaya, Prakarat;ta 52.)

106 It is’ stated by Chitsukhacharya, in his Brihat Satikara Vijaya,. that when the wonderful news of the Siddhi (death) of Govinda Bhagavatpada reached the ears. of Sriharsha Vikramaditya, the then Empe:r:or of Ujjayini, he proceeded t<;> the island of Mandhata in Amare~vara on the bank of the Narmada where the sacred body of his revered father was interred by his disciples and in memory of his sacred name whose last word was Onkara, caused the great temple o( Onkaranatha erected over his Samadhi. Compare also the following verSe of Patafijali Charitra (VIII· 72)

1· “;r)~tlf ~fcr~~r-u: fqfu’ lfrcpoli ~err
~~~~fq ~~~)”;fffi<: ~a

!1 . ~
-~ ~~ Cfi4owd~ffi~ fCRT2IT ~Tcrlft=ff

ffiCff”{)sN ft?tfu lff~qcrr lf\T:ilf~ lf~ci’;r t1″

. ‘0 . ….

We are told by reliable persons that the great shrine of Onkaranatha .constructed· by Sriharsha Vikramaditya irHnemory of his sacred father, ·. is even ;to. this day considered by the” Jiiridus as one of their most sacred places of pilgrimage and that a ·grand festival is celebrated every yea~ in this shrine on the Purnima day of the month of Kartika in memory of the great day on which Govinda Bhagavatpida attained his Brahmibhava. It is said that this festival attracts over 15.000 devotees from all parts of the country who consider the sanctity of the Narmada on this day of the year above that of any other river. and say that while it requires 3 days bathing in the Sarasvat i 7 days in t~e Yamuna and 1 day in Gailga. the mere sight of tbe Narmada at tbJS

place suffices to make men pure.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE .JIS

Philosophy. Sankara accordingly admits him into the -sacred order of Sannyasins, invests him with the Kashayarobe of an ascetic and teaches him the essence of his Phi1osophy by composing his famous Vedantic poem known

107 Atma-Bodha for the benefit of his newly initjated disciple and also for the instruction of the Sishyas of Govinda Bhagavatpada who had now become his own

107 Atma·Bodha is one .of the Vedantic Poems or Prakaranas written by Sailkara at Amare~vara on the bank of the Narmada after he ~ad. composed his Shoc;lasa Bhashyas on the Prasthanatraya. -eluctdatmg the nature of the Soul and its oneness with the Supreme :Self. It consists of 68 stanzas beginning with:

crq-)ftl: ~’furqrq-rrrt qrr;:crr’lt CffijUff11JTT~ l

….

~~~urr ~il~”lfTS!f m~ll~rer) fcrt-ftrra-11 ”

The concJuding stanza runs as follows :

11 f~~~.,q-~ rirf

:• raffir~ f~crr~ ftn:::i=~rJ~ 1

(J: m~r~+r~€f rcrr.,r~lf:

q «ci’fcrcr riJRJ)Slfcr) +r~ 11 ”

” ~ “\

Chitsukha says that Sanandana who afterwards become known as Padmapadacharya wrote a commentary on this grand Prakaratta which was specially composed by Salikara for his benefit, and even to this day

we have his commentary on A.tma·Bodha Prakarat;ta called Vedant8 Sara in the shape of mat;tuscripts in many of the libraries of Indi.t The ·poem. is also available with a commentary called Dipika by Vilvesvara Pat;tc;lita, but both these commentaries are still unpublished. Only the text has been printed in the Devanagari character. There is however a Telugu edition which contains not only the Text, but also a TeJugu commentary called A.tma· Bodha · Prakasika. written by Pur~;~am

KrishQa Sistri. The text is also available with translation in English.

andTamil.

116 THE AGB OF SANKARA ·

disciples. The initiation 108 of . Sanandana being over..; Sankara desires to start on his triumphal tour and all the. disciples express their willingness to follow him in his;; Universal Conquest of Religions and Philosophies or: the world.

Protected with the armour of Vairagya, armed with the! shield of Jfiana, holding the bow of Pranava-Dhyana, ready1 with various kinds of arrows in the form of Sama, Dama, etc., equipped with guns of Prasthanatraya-Bhashyas, furnished with weapons of Vedantic poems, the King of the· Ascetics prepares himself for his Universal Philosophic War·· and starts on his triumphal march from Amaresvara, the:. present small capital of his spiritual kingdom with his everdevoted Chitsukha as his aid-de-camp, with his all-wiseSanandana as his commander-in-chief, and with the host or his loving disciples as his soldiers. The first place that,. attracted his attention as deserving his visit was Prayaga, the most ancient seat of learning among the A’ryas ever since the time of the RamayaQ.a and Mahabharata, but which since the time that Gautama Buddha began to preach on its.

sacred soil, had been reduced to an insignificient dependency under the despotic sway of his bigoted and ignorant followers and Sankara accordingly arrives at Prayaga (the , modernAllahabad) where the Tirtha-Raja, 109 the king of the· •

1oa According to Chitsukha and .Anandagiri, the initiation or.: Sanandf&na into Sannyasa by saukara took place in the island of·· Mandhita on the Narmadi where Govinda Bhagavatpida attained his i · Brahmibhava and Saiikara starts on his triumphal tour (Dig Vijaya) ‘ from this place. Of the later biographers of Saiikara, some place this.: • incident at Badarikallrama, and some at Benares from which Sankara. i is said to have started on his Universal Conquest of Religions. ‘·

101 Prayiga is the name by which modern Allahabad· was know!~-·: jn ancient Hindu writings such as the Ramiyal)a and the Mahibhirata~ ‘·

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKARA’S LIFE 117

$brines shines in his glory, with the two noble-born maids

the Rivers Ganga and Yamuna-waving their white and blue

.chowries on either side of him, and with the Imperishable

-,-Holy Banyan Tree (Aksbaya-Vata) serving _as the azure.coloured royal umbrella over his head.

It was the Maghl Amavasya day 110 one of the most ~important days of Magha-Mela, and Sankara is immensely pleased with the sight of Prayaga which he wishes to restore 1o its former greatness by firmly establishing his Advaita Philosophy there. He accordingly goes with his disciples,_ bathes at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and r Sarasvatl know as 111 TriveQ.1 and as a dutiful son and (

According to one tradition, it was so called because the God Brahma of the Hindu Trinity had performed many sacrifices here and it is hence called Prajapati-Kshetra. The following is the etymological meaning of the word Pray&ga as given in the Sklinda Purana :

11 sr~i ~cfliTif+lf: Sflll~ f’ifcr mlf~ I ~~r sr~.:;i lfFT+lf:· ~”+lfl e:f&Torr~f+r:

y srlll~ ft:rfu crmJT ~~”-~<tf~flf: 11″ It bears the title of Tirtha-Rija, the holy of the holy places, because according to a legend when all the holy shrines were placed on one ~caJe and Prayiga on the other, the former kicked the beam.

uo The great Magha-Mela days are Makara-Sankranti, MaghiAmivisyi, Mighi-Piirttima and Maghi-SukJa-Paiichami. Of these, the Maghi-Amavasya (the New-moon day ofthe month of Migha) is co~sidered very sacred for Pitris, when the offering of water and Piol,.la to one’s deceased ancestors is considered a pious duty of every

pi~rim.

m Triveui is the name given to the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Jumna. It literally means the three-braided or the three

•treamed. Its two braids are visible in the streams of the Ganges and

THB AGB ()F · SANKARi\ ·

118!

disciple be offers oblations of water (TarpaQ.a) to his mother.·

and Gutu to enable them both to attain eternal happiness. · ·. After visiting the various 1111 sacred places at Praya.ga, . Sankara goes to 118 Bharadva.ja.srama, the Hermitage or Bharadva.ja, the great Kulapati 1u whose generous hospitality Rama, Lakshmat.;ta and Sita with their host of Va.naras. and Raksbasas enjoyed when they halted at Praya.ga on tb.eir way to Chitrakuta and determines to stay there for sometime~ to preach his Philosophy to the citizens of that place. It . was at . this time that Saftkara is said to have composed·, .

‘the Jumna, but there has been the ·tradition of a third river Sarasvati meeting there. The Brahma Puratta says:

” ~rr~’ilfr tfe.1l aRrHrf~~ ~~crcrr 1

. ~r~~;r~ur ~) ~crfcr qffiCfi’f 11

‘SI’~~Gfffi ‘SI’lillft~) SI’Ti:Tft=lff SIT~~CfFf I

crrtimr’SI’~rq~ ~;:t ~fer ~~+r’!_ 1 1 ” ‘

112 The Prayaga-Mahatmya enumerates the following as the chief
places which the pilgrims are enjoined to visit :

11 f;r~, ~r~et, «)1f, ~~~:q crT~1\ 1
~S~lfCl’i, ·~IS{, ‘SI’lllif crr~ifflfCli’1\ 11 ”

m The grounds around Bharadvaja’s Temple is pointed out even to·
day as theHermitage ofBharadvaja. In the days oftheRamayatta, the
hermitage is said to have been situated on the bank of the Ganges, but
the river seems to have receded from its former course since these days·
·and it is now situated in the quarter called Colonelganj in the Katraward of the Municipality. · : ·

. ‘

m The sage Bharadvaja was a Kulapati. A Kulapati of old, aa; ·

the following stanza describes, . ‘

i I lf,if1m ~«~liT S’$1 ~I’11 f~q’)qumr.. l ‘ ···· CSIQ4rq~fcr fcrsrfl!f: ij’ cl iw4ftr: ~er: n “> .~

MAIN INCIDENtS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE 119

\ ~meof his minor poems such as 115Prayagashtaka, m Yamu.,

was one who provided education to ten thousand pious students and gave them free board and lodgings. As has been well pointed out in a recent book called ‘ Prayag or Allahabad ‘ published by the Modern Review Office at Calcutta, “it would follow that the grounds around Bharadvaja’s abode was the seat of a local university at Prayag. · What a coincidence that after so many centuries the neighbourhood of. Bharadvaja Muni’s Temple has become the seat of the University of Allahabad and of the Premier Government College of the Province ~nd of the Boarding Houses and Hostels of hundreds of residential. students! The Spirit of Learning. an Indian poet may well sing, did not like to abandon her old haunts and has come back again:• It deserves to be pointed out that it was at this hermitage that Lord Buddha first preached his Dharma about 2000 B.C. ; and that Satikara who came nearly 1500 years after his time, also first began to preach his Philosophy to the world on this very sacred place as the World’s

Great Teacher.

m Prayagashtaka, as the name itself implies, is a” collection of 8 stanzas in praise of Prayaga and begins as follows :

I 11 fucrrfua-~:;;r a<if’H~ .~ fcr+rrnT ~f~91i=lf~ l· ·

i . ~\’5raq:i qc: ~er ~n~cr ~ tft~~T\ifT ~er illlq: 11 “

‘

Chitsukha in his Brihat Sankara Vijaya winds up the Ashtaka with the foUowing verse: “~lf: «CO ‘SI’ft:r;ar: 5ffcrcr”i4~Cfl’€1 ~f~<I\Jt~ ;rr~1 . cfCfi~ti=l!fCffiC{R ‘SI’~Cffcr ~l!UfT m~ij-~~ ~lff, 1. ij’lf m1srewrr firlfC1″4~”11~r llfCfd«l~”‘ ~CffiT

~;r ~wr~~~ ij’ \lfllfa’ ~crr~uur: Sl1tl1T: ,, ,, In the Stotra-Pustakas, a Prayagashtaka is given containing some of these stanzas and is said to be taken from Matsya-Pur3r;ta. ·

m Yamunashtaka is a collection of 8 stanzas in praise of Yamuna (Jumna) and begins as follows :

” ~ruf<CfllliCfll fw+i lwwl+iCirR~If<ofl

CIOil’tidf~fcfiSC41 ~~’)Cf}qj)Cfi~lf'(Oj) I

l20 TBlll AGE OF SANKARA nashtaka, m Madhavashtaka, 118 Lakshmi-Nrisihma-Paiicha

. . .

~11.ctr~~~5=~~<n ~.,~ ;rr +rtitlf~ Cfl~;r~ift ~11 ” This is not to be confounded with the other Yamunashtaka. beginning with ” i!iq 1qI\IciJ <i ” etc., composed by San kara at Mathura. m Madhavashtaka is a co11ection of 8 stanzas in praise of Vish\lu. said to have been composed by Sankara on the occasion of his visit to t~e Temple of .Adi Madhava. situated on the southern bank of the Yamuna, opposite the confluence. The first stanza. according to Chitsukha, begins as follows :

41 Of6ll”cf it~ci ~~1fletcf lffetcf ssrret”t “Ufet<flrofetCJlf I

~ ‘

“ftf.o~<l’ff..~ ~m~~r;r~if ;r~\il ~11 ”

The last stanza runs as foJiows :” ~f~:qJ:~~”;thf’i I’11 ‘1’1. U’llTT~ ~~~~~lit: I ~~~~lJf>rT~ ~oj)Ji;)-~~ lffetcf WC:~ 11 ”

In the Stotra-Pustakas, the order of the stanzas is somewhat different and the Ashtaka itself is variously catled Achutashtaka or Madhav.ashtaka.

y 118 Lakshmi·Nrisihma-Paficharatna is a collection of 5 stanzas in praise of Lakshmi-Narasihma said to have been composed by Sankara when he visited God Nrisihma in the Patalapuri Temple at Prayiga. The first stanza runs as follows:

” CCR~~w:t”flf~fij” ~ ~~~~~ ~ . srfuf4f41 e~fuc!f~wr far+4i ~i)Rr +rNCr a-1

~ e

~Tl!~ ‘l’ff~ cren ~~+rr f”‘”<IDlrt . “ij”~ “ij”~ w-~tff;:ru~~~~CR~u~\jf’iCfl <..«” 11 ,

‘

The last stanza is given as foJJows :

” ij”Cf ~Cl it~ q:q;:f cr~1i ~or ~Cfli+il lf~ ~~ ~eR ~~ ~~~'{tU \ifl~ f~ =i:f ~~~~I

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE

Tatna and 118Vedasara-siva-Stotra. In that ancient centre of learning, Sankara soon distin-· :guishes himself in dialectics and philosophy and begins to propound his Bhashyas on the Vedanta Sutras, the Upani·shads and the Bhagavatglta to his numerous disciples. In a ·short time, his fame as a great Vedantic teacher reaches the ;nook and corner of .Arya.varta and intelligent men 120 from

m Vedasara·Siva-Stotra, or Somesvarishtaka as Chitsukba calls”‘ it, is a collection of 8 stanzas in praise of Siva, ·said to have been composed by Sailkara at Pray&ga when he visited the Temple of Somesvara Mahideva situated on the south bank of the Ganges at a short distance east of A.di Madhava. The first stanza runs as follows:

” ~trrfij” qr~, t{\i{~~ i!fC£ crnFt q”{oq+t_ I

~c+r~~~9:m~~’~~erit~ri~T+r”‘T~~ll ~ 11

In the Stotra · Pustakas, three more stanzas beginning with

4′ srm ~~’lluf ” are found added at the end of the poem, but they are ~tgiven by Chitsukha in his Brihat Sank~ra Vijaya.

uo Salikara Vijaya Vilisa which mainly follows Chitsukha’s work. mentions Vishl}ugupta, suddhakirti, Bhinumarichi, Krishl}adarkana,. Virinchicharal}a and Buddhivriddhi as the more important of the atinguisbed scholars th<lt resorted to him. for instruction. After describing Sankara’s arrival at Prayiga, Chidvilisa· says :

122 . TBB AGE OF SANKARA

various quarters come to him almost every day and seek admission as his pupils to study the Vedanta Philosophy under him. Sankara would go with his disciples early in the morning to bathe at TriveQi, and as soon as his Anushthaml. was over. he would return to Bharadvajasrama with them and propound· his Bhashyas and PrakaraQaS to them •. In the afternoon, he would hold discussions with his disci.,-· pies. answer aU their queries and clear all their doubts. In this way Sankara has been spending his at time Prayaga.

On one of these days Satikara went out with his disci

~~crcr ‘ifrr•=frqrenrr~ «t:rrf~: 1 CRIT’1 ~~~Cfl flll sfq ~)e:r~rrm~~if 11

…. q lolli{_ <JW~if~~Cff ~f1S!f lirCf~~ 1 m~a:mqf;:rtlC{r;rt=l!’r«t :q «mer~ , . ::

~~~ercfTlTT iflcrrli’T +JT&f 1!,~~”‘ I f~;:r fcrqf~:qcft fcr>rrrr ‘lRT~~ ijlffmfR’ 1·

…. “‘ “‘

cfif,:)o:q d Cfif~ +r~HTTSI!’f ~~ll”‘f ~~~;;: ll

…. >:> “‘

arr~~~~~ CfiTfu Olllcor i{U ~~ 1
m&r iff=cTgctll it r ~ fcr~mcr~~iq’ 1 •

-=> “

l!;p:ft ~er) liTc1T ~~~f;rcrrfu;r: l

~fl:RcrrfUr fcr~SUT~cc:r:, ~;gctrfu ~;ft~cn:: 11

-=>”‘> ~ >:>

eWIT’f +JTifJf ()fit ~;:r, ‘tliSOI<ttii’1’11Jfct Iif I

” ~ “‘

fctftf:;.:q i1 <on u.m’T, Grf.icrf.i ~r~: 11

-=> c.

~~lff.:tctlli ~~r’i<r:qpt ~: 11 ,

~ . -=>

Chitsukha adds to this many more names such as Dridhabhakta Medhatithi, Nityananda, Yogananda, Bharativamka, Subodha and: Sumati.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE 123E

pies. to see the Akshayavata, m when to his disappointment., he found an orthodox young Brahman at the foot of the tree , trying to put an end to his life. He was completely affected. with leprosy. His body was horribly white like a pumpkin:\

gourd and his eyes had lost all their power of sight. He . looked like. an owl and could not face the sun. Out of sheer . shame and in order to avoid the sight of his countrymen , he wanted to commit this act of suicide, when to his fortune :, he saw befilre his eyes sankara with his disciples like the ·~ Great Teacher Mahadeva with his host of hoary devotees. He cried to Sankara for mercy and protection and sankara’s.

heart was deeply moved with pity. sankara touched him with his-hands, and the man was perfectly cured. Miracu~ lously enough all the marks of leprosy on the body of the·· young Brahman had disappeared and he was perfectly able· ; to look at all things. In fact, he became a most charming , · young man and people exclaimed at him as Udanka, as o~e,·

l21 The Akshaya-Vata or the Imperishable Banyan Tree, is one· of the most prominently associated with Prayaga from the ·most ancient times. Itis the” Syama-Vata” to which Sita prayed mentioned:

in the AyodhyakaQc.la.of the Ramayat;~a. The Cbinese traveller Hiouen Taang speaks to its existence in the 7th century A. D. The cons-r ·, truction of Allahabad Fort by Akbar in 1584 A.D. doomed it. But . the Imperishable Tree still holds its own ground. Inside the Fort,.-..

·.!. in the underground building called Patalapuri, pilgrims are still show11.• its relics. Numberless human beings in past ag~s ended their Jives by flinging themselves from that tree down below in the hopeof acquiring in their next incarnation what they wished for at the:· moment of death. Compare the stanzas from Kisi· KhaQda :

“cr;rr~~ctet lfTsft:a «<a91dlw’IWCIT’f 1

(‘\ …. ‘ :’ l ~’J…

sr~sftr ~~'{~d’flfrscr«~ 11 ~~fcmlf: -~ ‘ST&n a~~Cfi’, I ._..;,.am~ffr~~Cflclil ~~’U ~ • •

THE AGE OF SANKARA

.. deprived of all the marks of leprosy. The young man -t”equested Sankara to initiate him into the mysteries of the “‘Vedanta Philosophy and to admit him as one of his disciples. · .sankara soon found out that he was fully qualified to ·l’eceive instructions in the Vedanta and that he had been reduced to this pitiable condition owing to his want of belief in his Guru. Within the time required for composing · . a .single verse called Ekasloka, m Sankara made him realize

: 122. Ekasloka is the name given to a single stanza. said to have been-addressed to Udanka, a leper, by Sankara with a view to liberate him from the bondage of recurring births by imparting to him the knowledge of the Vedanta. The following is that famous

-•tanza:

,_, fi:fl \Tlfrfer ~crcr? +rf1.JTT o:r~’l it, ~1 sr~’fqrf~·,

. . . ~~! ~m~o:rfcf~ fcp ~)fu (J€ZUf~ it? I

:-=if&!:, ~~ f’l11r~lft~P:r~ f~? err:, ferlll~~it

; -fefi’? ~~,arcrr+rarrt=r_ ‘l~~::nrTfcr:! er ~flt”sr+rr 11”

· There is a beautiful commentary on this celebrated verse called Tatva• Dipana by Svayamprakasa Yogindra, a disciple of Gopila Yogindra. _As· to the origin of the poem, the learned commentator says as follows:

~~·,~~ ~+r~crr.:t ij”chf ~Sf~~mn:r, ,,. ar~SCcrti’ ~~rm~ri~?J”fcrq_ 1 ‘iT~ ~;:r ~[1’~~ t:rfo:r <~tt~llitt I I ”

~ \!) ‘

·~Clllf~l7ffcrfu~ +rlff~+rerro:rr ~f«er1~JF’fu~:~-~lf:, err~ftq f5r+rcr~ q)’CflA’, ri:vf<cr ~~~, :q~ ,,.crrsscq ICJCJ 1′ CMlfTuT~fuf ~c.ffvn~~ci”~, ~~~et fir~ ·fq’it’itR I w.l’ Cfi~lfil~ ID~if’ct~tti Cfi”~Q$flrGf qJO\S ((~,

‘ ‘ c.. .:1 f1

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFB 125··

his own self by putting to him a series of questions and

getting out appropriate answers from his own mouth. He-·

then admitted him into the order of Sannyasins under the

very name Udanka by which he was hailed by the wondering;

crowd when he was cured of his leprosy and the young man,

ever since that time became one of the staunch disciples of Sankara.

On another day Sankara had been with his disciples to· Pratishthana-ptiri, 118 the ancient capital of the kings of the’

~~~\l:~)cp;rr~1f, {>5~iilztfijfoifct~l6fii’ff~1f I ii’T ?ff~ ~mr’ ~fer Tt”= ~o:r: 5runrrct Cfi~if ~~o;f mer;;~~~~ lJT~TCflf, q~’i6fi r~fUr~;; ffi?1 ~;:f ~trRtr~cT~ t:rT~’L, .~q~zrt fiffa f;:rf~~~

“ij’~:ff if~ ~;g:cri ll~~«r<miRr~ 1 ” ~fu srfmrrqfw~;;r~ a~:qcfif~ 1 cr~~~cr~ ~~qf~7: qn;5″rJT~ l:rcr ” 31ta”f+rcr 3flft~, lfT~~Cflf, =trt=Sf~fifct,j ~Sl’fT, ~CJt Cflf;!f, f~ ::nrTfu~r~ ~~tsr ~fer, arml;.; err~ \iti”Tfa ~CJerrfa–arr~.f-crrSlf ::nrrfcrtTI.sta-, Wlzffl”,; Cfilf~~a-, f~crffcr-Cfidt:r arrci:rfcr, ~sli fcmrift:rlf: SJTUr~ ~;:a-::nr1fer: ~~tt: 1 ” ~fer G{~~<Olf6fil’ifiSOTezrT!llfiftSOijfo;Cfi” ttrnar~m~’liJCJ”TfffiflworCfTCfCJr~ t:ro:rftr f;;crrzr, sr~r=ff<~~1cti€’ctl7f fifG~”;sr;=er 1 ~ sr~mrr Cf”[TCF2f.far CRCt ~fzrct erirCJ f~q:c~fcr ‘ f~ ~zitfcr tCfCf ‘ ~czrrf<frrr 1”

“‘ e •

I The poem and the story of Udanka are given in Ohitsukhachirya’s I Brihat Sankara Vijaya where the stanza is known under the name of

Ekasloki. The stanza is so given in the Telugu Edition of a book

containing Sati kara’s Aparokshanubhuti; but the commentary is

stiJl unpublished.

123 Pratishthana-puri just forms the eastern boundary of Prayaga. It is now known as Jhunsi, a small village situated alongside tbe Ganges.,.

3..26 TBB ·AGE OF SANK!ARA

:Lunar dynasty, where Prabha.kara.charya, one of the distin• ·auished disciples of Kuma.rila Bhaua, the celebrated advocate of Purva-M1mamsa., Jived with his own select ·followers, advocating a new school of Karma-:Mimamsa distinct from that of his Guru’s. Out of rivalry with his ·OWn preceptor, Prabhakara set at naught aU those who did

not perform sacrifices and other religious duties ; and pro·mulgated that Karma alone, as enjoined in the Vedas, was ·the end and aim of all the Sastras. According to him, there ·is, in fact, no Superior Deity other than what is aimed at by. ·the use of the ending of the dative case ..

. opposite the Allahabad Fort, Akbar’s bund and Daraganj. Pratish. thana-is mentioned in some of the oldest works of· Sanskrit Literature .and the great poet Ka1idasa Jays the scene of his play Vikramorvakiya in Pratishthana. How long Pratishthana continued to fl.ourish as a .~apltal of ruling kings one cannot say. At the time of Sankara, Pratishthina had not lost its name, and it continued to be a famous Brahm~l,.ligrabara under the name of Sri Valli, until it was des. troyed by a conflagration leaving on1y its ruins which ever since that ·time went by the name of Jhunsi-the burnt village-from the Hindi root Jhausana, to be burnt. Referring to this Agrahira which he is tiot able to indentify, Madhava writes in his Sankara Vijaya as

~{ollows:

·., ~~acil~~ S5ft-qf~fi ij’ tRR’i m~: 1 . aFiq~ga”Tftrr~~nT-Sfij (~IC4if~ffiw:r)lr~ 11

lRITStfl!~ Gi~lfJfa mw:ccrr sr~ ~;:rcfi’ ~~;~ 1 . ‘its~crr ra~rfir\ifrif-1cs61 ~~mm..:zt~mSS~”=a 1111

.lfft~ ij’~~fa~ ~ijT limrT~oTift ~fotrTOcfififT~ 1 . ·~ij’c:liC4~ ,ra:;:flf~a•~ ~~~({&f srfirdT’!ll’fC41\ 11 · · ~fa\if: Cfi~~ ~llt?tct~r ‘Sf+rrCfi~: srf!l.l’dl’!mcf: 1 .. 1fC!m~~= ~~~~rmactilrdct~= 1(:

I . .

MAIN INCIDENTS: OF S~ANKARA’s LIFE 127

On hearing the arrival of Sankara with his disciples at bis1 own Agrahara, 124 Prabhakaradhvarin elated with the superiority of his own view of Karma-M!ma.msa and destrious of converting Sankara also into his own faith, goes out to sankara with numerous orthodox followers and impresses upon him the importance of his own School of .Piirva-M!mamsa Philosophy. Sankara calmly argues with hlni, taking his opponent’s own stand point and in a few hours ·convinces him that Jiia.na or the Knowledge of the Supreme· Brahman alone is the final means for attaining Moksha and that Karma or the adherence to the duties enjoined in the Vedas is only a means to attain purity of heart (Chitta-~uddhi) which leads to Para•Bhakti or Supreme ‘Devotion to the Lord and which, in its turn, leads to Jiiana or the knowledge of the oneness of the individual soul with the supreme Soul (Brahmatmaikya-Jiiana) by which alone Mukti or the • attainment of the state of Brahman by the J!vas can be realized .

The result is that no only Prabha.kara becomes a dis. ciple of Sankara, but the whole of his Agraha.ra (Pratishthana) Is converted into Sankara’s faith. Prabhakara who

12• In all’ the ancient biographies .of Sankara, the great advocate of the Atheistic School of Purva-Mimamsa: and the father of the renowned Hasta:malaka to be described hereafter, is known only under this naine: Sankara Vijaya Vilasa cans him Divakaradhvarin.

The Keraliya Sankara Vijaya, on the other hand, mentions one Siva as the father of Hastamalaka ; and represents him as a native of a~ Brabmal)igarahara called Siva-Vibara and describes Hastamalaka as having become. a disciple of Sankara after Sure~vara’s. conversion. Madhava and Sadiinanda agree with the ancient biographers and represent Hastii!llalaka as the son of Prabhakaracharya, though ·they also place the conversion of Hastamalaka, after that of Surekvara.

THB AGB OP SANKARA

had already ·heard the· fame of Sankara in having cured Udanka of his white leprosy, now throws himself at the fee’ of Satikara with his son Prithvldhara and requests him tQ cure the young boy of his disease. 1

125

PrithVIdhara, by which name Prabhakara called his son, stopped talking with men from his fifth year. Ho

12& It is to be noted that while Chitsukha calls Hastamalaka br tbe name of Prithvidhara, .A.nandagiri calls him by that of Prithvidhava. But they both agree in describing him as the son Of Prabhakara and as having been converted by Sankara into Sannyiist at Srivalli-Agrahara at Pratishthana, long before the conversion .Of MaTJ9ana Misra into Suresvaracharya. Even Sankara Vijaya Vilasa places this incident at Prayliga, exactly as we find in Chitsukba” Brihat Sankara Vijaya, and describes the young boy in the followi~. terms:

u d~..d{ (_! ~~rcfF{_ 5fliTtfef:;if ~f~: I
f~CI IGfl”(I~Tc~cr ‘iT+ifT ij”cf:;if fcr.P.id’: 11

>:1

aR”q<ll mm s5IDct ~:;if: ~~ftcrr-n:: ~~crcr ~mfc:r ~;:r’-m ~ij”({: 11

;:rrsf\if~ff ~fu f~Rrnt ;:r fcrcrmfff f~ I

…. .

rr f4 ..~a rr Cf({fu f?flflfCfir~~;:r ,,

fcfi err fqmf=qcfiHrfcr: fCfi+f ‘C lf&iur qrmr: 1 91’~~f~ err lfctfftl~:qlf: 11

~clZi Fff-T:t ..alf’l ~lf: f’ll Cficf 11f:qct fi.-ac:r 1

‘-C’\ ~ ‘:’I ,.,~

~~;t~liT err GflT err ~er CCflflf 1 1

>:1 ~ ‘

~Tcf Cfd’ ~f<f’filfl’ll” ?filftf:qan:r’-I

lf11Tlfi’Qll 41~~~1Sftf Sld1GflH~~11′-If. .

crrs:u «fctVd’. q:?r f:q ..a1fl ‘”dll’fi’TCI’d’: 11 ·•’ ·

e.~ c.

‘

…

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFB 129

would not care to eat, would not like to play with the children in the village and would not even cry when he was beaten. The father thought that he was possessed of spirit and tried his best to cure him by performing all sorts of ceremonies prescribed in the Sa.stras ; but he could not be cured. With the greatest difficulty Prabha.kara had managed to get his dumb son invested with the sacred thread. but he would not read tbe Vedas or perform his Sandhya.vandana. In fact he continued to be dead to the world for all practical purposes. He now places his son before Satikara and requests him to cure him of his disease. Satikara at once finds out that the young boy is a born Yogin, that he has realized the Brahman from his infancy, and that he assumed this dumbness to avoid all the ceremonials which his father was enfor-~ cing upon all as man’s sole end and aim. The revered Guru blessed the young boy with his inspiring glances; placed his band gently upon his head and m asked him who he was

and why he was so behaving.

Madhava and Sadananda describe the condition of Hasta• malaka, Prabhakara’s son before his conversion, in very much the same terms of exaggeration, while the account given of him by Chitsukha is devoid of all such improbabilities and exaggerations.

126 The famous question put to Hastamalaka by Satikara is embodied in most of the Sankara Vijayas in the following terms :

” c:p~cci fu~r? GflBT? ~crrsf« if'”tiT?
fcF; ;:rflf ~? Cci ~d’ 31T4Jd”Tsffi? I
~d’ ~({ Cci if11 ~f«;[,
ifcmcr~ srrfcrm~tt)sfij” 11”

So much so, the verse in question has been considered to be part and parcel of the famous Hastamalaka-Siokas and has been so printed in all the editions of the poem.

‘130 i : TilE AGE OF SANKAllA

· · ‘r -‘Prithvidhara, thereupon, burst into an eloquent and melodious song consisting of 12 verses known as 117 Hasta.malaka Slokas describing the true nature of his soul and his great veneration for the Great Advaitacbarya, and requests San.kara to accept him as one of his disciples and to initiate +him as a Sannyasin. Prabhakara is surprised at the wonder … ful change of his son and requests Sankara to initiate him into the mysteries of the Advaita Philosophy and make him also a regular Sannyasin. Sankara accordingly composes

127:Hastamalaka-Slokas or Hastamalaka Stotra as it is called in Brihat Sailkara Vijaya is said to contain the answer given to Sailkara’s question embodied in the above mentioned stanza and begins as follows:

11 frrf+r~ l1’f?f~f81}Jf({,51″~~),
frr~cr:rf~~q-rf~ }ICfd~~~q: I

ucr ~1Cfi.~ct:frrfl1~ lf~T lf:, {I’ frr~7.:1’JtT~~~~cf~\tft~~ Jj I~’41 11 ~ iI “

The last stanza runs as follows :

. ·’ ‘3″Cffeff lf~T ~~l1UTT-=f
a-~r ~r~~~~ ~sfq

“‘ “‘

~:q”RCfifurt ~:if~ a-~r :;f:qmci a-crrsq~ fqmft 11 ~ ~ 11 “

The sum and substance of the whole of this poem is described in the following single verse in almost an the Sailkara Vijayas :

” rrr~ ~1,tSlf\ ;; :q ~lf~\ rr ~ur~f:;r~~~: 1 ;; ~~~ru;{ -r@ crrrt~) r~~01r~ f.:r~~~q: 11 ” which is accordingly embodied in all the editions as a part and parcel ,Of this poem. There is an anonymous commentary on the Slokas of .Hastimalaka but :it is available onJy in manuscripts. It begios with:

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LlFB

Ibis famous Prakarana called 1118 Tattvopade~a and teaches it to Prabhakara, who ever since that time renounces the world, becomes a Sannya.sin and turns out to be a staunch supporter of Sankara’s school of Veda.nta Philosophy. Sankara is most glad to accept Prithvidhara as one of his .chief disciples and admits him into the sacred order of the

11 <T~SfAT:S\ifrf~ff~ <rf~l1~CfTSOf~Tml I fcrsrfcr o:rrffir a-~;g~, a-[<=~ ~~ {fcfrfl=( 11

•On the origin of the poem, it says:

” ~.tm~~~;jT~~ ~rif Cfi~lff=q fasr~lf ‘1Cf~~o:rr ssfor~a-~~) ~~f~i:f.?-1~f~rrrfrrc:n:=rfll~<rr~rro:rr…JJG’;jf;:j: fwr

“‘ e ~

::cr~rsf~11cr: ~eti”U=tnif: Cfi’Hcr f~f1 tfi’Sc: {1”1, tCfA’~ci

e ‘-“‘

~….[T~f~: ~c# u~+re”~cr lltrf.:rtiG:~ ~lfferrJ’1=<r src<r

‘ “‘ “‘

m~;:rr3s~-“frrfl1:n” f11e<rrf~rrr 1 “

l 2s Tattvopadesa is one of the minor poems said to have been -composed by Sankara for the purpose of teaching his Advaita Philosophy to Prabhakara and contains 87 stanzas. The work begins .as follows :

1 ~ cr~q({r~~;g~rr~: futSlf cr:q)s:;rorrcr 1

“‘ “‘ ~

crrcrl er~ lltfT~ cct qG:f~ fm<r 11 t 11 Of ~ ~~)sf~ ({~CfT ~’ffllWTR~G:a-: 1

e “‘

+rl’ffi~r ~:a~r ~rr~cq-r ~~er :q 11 ~ 11 ” .Chitsukha concJudes the poem with the fo11owing stanza :

u ~~et ~)fcrcr) 9IT~i{ffGITemll’fT f[iif: I

~’qUIT ~TtSlfCfi I~UT Sl’lllCfi Vi ~T ~11 ,I

But in the Nagari edition published at Bombay, we find the name of Mai)gana in place of Prabhakara in the concluding verse, in which case -· Mal) gana ” must be taken to be a mere title of honour.

132 THE AGE OF SANKARI\

Sannya:sins of the class of Paramahamsa Parivra:jakas under the significant name of Hasta:malaka, 129 as one who had realized the Brahman as an A.malaka fruit held in one’s owlll hand as well demonstrated by his famous poem called also· Hasta:malaka-Siokas. The 180 conversion of Prabhakara.

12e On the origin of the name of Hastamalaka, Sailkara Vijaya. Vilasa has :

1′ arrc~~q-ita-;:r ~faTl1~Cfi~fmnt 1

en~ ~”{Cf fa~l1f ;:~f~cr) ~f~~~: 11
~~r~~c~cr ~:a-err c:rf~err 11fq-11 ”

Madhava’s Saiikara Vijaya also explains the name as follows :

11 5fctimlfra-~ffTC+faccf
Cfi~~efJ?fTCfi~q ~~cr.+r ‘-I
~T~~f~Tl1~cr.T: ‘Sff«:[f
~CCfief U~Lrrsfq-cr~cr Cf’ffi tt ”

“‘ c.

The following is the account given in the Keraliya Sailkara Vijaya:

” ~cci ftr’5ffcl1~ci f<fl era~ ;;r~crcr tr~ 1
;sm;ncLfcsrr~~f;a fa +r=a-~ fc:r\if~f~ tr: l1

“‘ “‘
~w ID~f~: !RI: 5fcr.rfucrf:q~c~: 1
Cfl<:c~err~rcn~crcr ‘-f:qc~q srenrf~CT+r ‘-11

er~ f~ crcrr ~s~~~::n ~CL~”~cr 1

“”

fu’~ f~~ ~ fcrmLr lffu1rrcr: 11 arr’i:frlfr ~fucrt c:rr~crr ~ :er ~~~.,~’t r ~t=rf~ ~f~: fut’)lf fer~ ~CT’ti crcr: 11

1ao It is said by Chitsukha that after he was converted by sankara, Prabhakara destroyed all the works written by him on Piirva..Mimamsa. Before his conversion he was considered by his countrymen as the greatest of the Gurus and he was invariably called:

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA’s LIFR 133

cba:rya and the wonderful transformation of his dumb· son Prithvidhara into the eloquent Hasta:malaka Yog1ndra created quite a sensation at Praya:ga and its neighbourhoods and gatikara with his two new disciples walked towards Bharad

. vajasrama foJJowed by a thousand followers with cheers of. joy and shouts of victory.

On another day whi1e going to 181 Kausambi. Satikara achieved a decidedly greater success by reviving a dead boy

Mahamahopadhyaya Prabhakara Bhattacbarya and his School of Piirva-Mimamsa Philosophy was pre-eminently styled Guru-Mata. Almost all the works that we possess at present on the Piirva

Mimamsa represent only the Bhatta-Mata, the School of Kumarila Bhatta · and the views of Prabhakaracharya are briefly referred to in the~· ~nly as Piirvapaksha-an objection to be refuted. The only work in which his views are preserved to us in their full details is PrakaraQa-Pafichika written by Salikanatha, one of the direct disciples of Prabhakara himself, who, inspite of his Guru’s conversion, continued to be a strict adherent and advocate of Prabhakara’s School of Mimamsa Philosophy. It consists of a number of Prakaraoas, and -each Prakarana is headed with an introductory stanza in which the author ackno~ledges his aliegiance to Prabhakara, his Guru. The

“>:? work commences with the following introductory stanza :

I , , ~rc:trrt:rfcrfercrrCJt:rr~fcrm 5flfa-T+r~ 1 5fmCfi<:~u et\)~~ lfr+rtm~~f~~ 11

-=> c.

The work has been recently published in the Chaukamba Samsrkit . ‘Series, Benares.

131 Kausambi was one of the great cities of Ancient India situated

()n the bank of the Jumna 30 miles above Prayaga. It was a flourishing

city at the time of Sailkara and is now reduced to an insignificant

village called Kosam. According to Matsya PuraQa, it was first made the capital of the descendants of the Great PaQ<Java dynasty by king Vichakshu called Nemichakra, the son of King Adhisimakrishna, and sixth in descent from Arjuna, the most famous of the five Pari<Java brothers, when his old capital Hastinapura was washed a way by the

depredations of the course of the Ganges.

134 : ·nm AGB OF SANKARA

in that city. 1u His parents were very old and belongedl to a very respectable Brahman family, and the poor boy was. their only son. He suddenly met with his death at the prime of his youth, leaving his aged parents to bemoan his. untimely loss. The sight of the miserable father and mother of the boy crying over the corpse of their be~oved son created· such an amount of pity in the heart of the most compassion-· ate teacher that a strong and irresistible desire arose in his mind to seek a remedy to put an end to the suffering of these miserable parents. Then a voice was heard from above that it is perfectly useless that one should feel compassion for the .sorrow of another if he was not able to remove the suffering.

m Madhava places this incident at a place called MukambaKshetra, and whether it Is indentical with Kausambl or not, we are not in a position to say. The following is the description given in Miidhava’s Sankara Vijaya :

u CifqrCfiqp::rrcr~zrr: ~qzrr crRrfa+tl~.n”{«~fa-d”-=cr<r 1

c . ~~

1ffif>TCff”{T lff~a-r~ll~Tii”T lfCfiffl=~Tm-: ~;:f 51″~~ 11

‘C ~ ~

aT~ f<rcw:r ~lTT~~cf if~T~~ ~l!9: 51″~~ I

cr~Cfi2;~T f[iSf~l=tref”T ~ ~~~err ~lfTtrT’lalfT ~~):er 11

arq-r”{ lfo::cr ~zr~ ~);p llf~r:r ·~p:p:m)~ ~~fta-crr:crr 1

~a~~f&r~ li&rJfBr \ifif~ ~=~ -R ~~fer 11 at 1Cfio4 CffOTT ~”{ff”{Off m li~rfcrfa-OlfT~”{fcr ~r:r ~:r \ifJTC~lfr~~~f~or~ ~~li crcl-~tr ~ ~)+r~ ~r 11

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· Chitsukha. on the other hand, distinctly places this miraculous incident of the revival of the Brahman boy at the city of Kausambi,. .Iuring the short stay of Sarikara at Bharadviijasrama at Prayaga.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFB 135

Sankara thereupon exclaimed that God alone who is the Protector of all the worlds that can feel such compassion and be able to·remove the suffering, and that if the Almighty Ruler of the Universe pleases even the dead will rise up alive. and walk. Then the Brahman boy suddenly arose from the bier as if he was merely sleeping on it. and the joy of the parents at this miraculous revival of their only son knew no bounds, and they could not sufficiently express their gratitude to sankara for this extremely disinterested act of his mercy in reviving their son. The news of the revival of the boy gladdened the hearts of all the people in the place and the whole city of Kausambi was a scene of perfect bliss.

One day, early in the morning, while the great teacher Sankara-just then an ascetic of only 16 years-was resting with his disciples on the bank of the holy river Triver.:tt under the cool shade of a big Tama.Ia tree, news was brought to him that the great Kuma.rila Bhatta, the champion of the Karma-Marga and the destroyer of the Jainas, was about to commit himself to flames in a secluded part of Ruddhapura, probably one of the suburbs attached to the great city of Praya.ga. In hot haste Saokara hastened to the spot with a number of his disciples and found Bhattacha.rya, the great advocate of the Purva-Mimamsa school started by Jaimini, and found him calmly lying on a funeral pyre, made up of heaps of chaff (Tushanala) which was already ablaze, surrounded by a number of Bra.hmat)aS who were solemnly engaged in chanting the Vedic Mantras prescribed by the sa.stras for the great expiation ceremony (Vaidika-Prayaschitta), which the great Bhatta was bent upon carrying out at any cost.

This is perhaps the most convenient place to speak at some length of the life and doings of this great historic

TilE AGE OF SANKARA

personage. He is believed by some modern scholars to be an Assamese or BengaJI Brahman, but according to Chitsukha’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya, he is said to be a native of Southern India, probably of Kerala itself, the country which has given birth to Sankara, and his Mimamsa-Vartikas furnish conclusive proof of his connection with the land of Tamil. This enthusiastic and orthodox Brahman is said to have travelled all over India in preaching the religion of the Karma-Margathe pure unadulterated religion of Sacrifices and Rituals of the Vedas-and in converting to the religion of his forefathers many powerful potentates who had begun to embrace the new religion established by Vardhama:.na Mahav1ra under the name of J ainism.

In the 8th century B. C., there arose a very distinguished reformer and preacher by name Parsva or Parsvana.tha, who is now called one of the Tt,rthakas. Being dissatisfied with the popular Vedic religion, with its animal sacrifices and cumbrous rituals, with its strict observance of castes and orders, which was raising into importance under the name of Purva·Mimamsa, one of the six Orthodox; systems of Philosophy founded by Jaimini, which gave supreme importance to these sacrifices and rituals, this great reforming precher collected certain groups of men and formed out of them a new order of monastic Jife of religious speculation called Ajivakas. Parsvanatha having been born of an orthodox Brahman family, such speculation was at first closely connected with the study of the Vedas, and men who adopted this monastic Jife were mostly drawn from the Brahmat~a caste, who were the guardians of the Vedic lore from the most ancient times. While they accepted the authority of the Vedas and the necessity of the caste systen, which were the two essential doctrines of the Vedic religion

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA’S LIFE

they agreed with the Buddhists in the matter of the five duties of laymen, ‘ Sravakas’ who were in and of the wodd, and the ten duties of the ascetic monks, ‘ Yatis ‘, who lived apart in monasteries: so that this new religion of the A.ji· vakas founded by Parsvanatha was a happy blending of the two great religions, Brahmanism and Buddhism. In the matter of philosophy these Ajivakas followed the VaiAeshika system founded by Kat~ada and they held the world to be ·eternal and m:~de up of atoms. They believed in the exis· tance of 24 Tirthaffkaras or Tirthakas who included most of the Deities worshipped by Brahamat~as Moksha or Libera~ tion, according to them, consisted in freeing the soul by making it become divine like unto Tmhat~karas; and Right Imight, Right knowledge, and Right Conduct, corresponding to the three-fold path of the Vedat~tins known .as Bhakti· Yoga, Jffana-Yoga and Karma-Yoga were the only three means to attain the same In the observance of the last injunction, the Ajivaka monks were vowed never to tell lies ; · never to stea) ; never to be immoderate in thought, word or deed ; never to desire too much; but .above aU, never to kill or injure::: any living thing.

Tbe doctrine of Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah “, which

had been adapted from the Vedic injunction “Na him~yat sarva bhutani” by the great teacher Gautama Buddha, more than 1000 years before their time, as one of his central doctrines, was carried into its extremes by these Brahman Ajivakas, who took a strict vow never to kill or injure any living creature. Thus, if a fire was kindled, there was an app~ebension of insects falling into it ; and, therefore, many an AjiVaka lived in darkness at night. Some of these Ajivakas were rea11y so compassionate towards living beings. that they actually covered their faces with veils when

138 THE AGB OF SANKARA

they stirred out to prevent insects falling into their mouthsand so losing their life. The water they drank they first strained in hopes of removing all Jife. They swept the ground before them as they walked, so that their feet might· not fall on any living thing. But the majority of the Ahvakas who were Kshatriyas and members belonging to other non· Brahman communities, who generally ate flesh, allowed themselves great liberties on these matters and this sacred injunction of the Ajivakas was observed by them more in. its breach than in its observance ; and they gradually became jealous of the Brahman as who strictly observed these injunctions. Though they nominally conformed themselves to the whole~omedoctrines promulgated by Parsvanatha, they acted no better than Lokayatas in their actual1ife and begin to hate the Brahmans. As a natural result, these low .~jivakas began to denounce, revile and hold the Vedas themselves as unworthy of the consideration of wise men.

Amongst these Ajivakas, there arose in the 6th century

B. C., a great man by nama Vardbamana who completely mod1fied the doctrines of Parsvanatha and founded a new system of religion called the ‘ Nirgranthi ‘ or ‘ Jain_a ‘, which in many points reverted back to the corrupt form of Buddhism which then prevailed side by side with Brahmanism, and from which it was for a long time considered an offshoot. His father named Siddhartha is said to belong to a low class of Kshatriyas and a chietain of the Kundagrama,

· and his mother Trisala was the sister of Kataka, a Brahman who rose to the chieftainship of Vaisali, the chief town of the Lichchhavis at that time. Vardhamana became proficient in the dialectics of logic and the art of spells, and at the age of 28, he set forth on his mission, formed a secret society of Srama:ttas (a new monastic order) from which the Brah”!

MAIN INCIDBNTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE 13~

ma:ttas were rigorously excluded; and by his oratorical power and logical presentation of things, he became known as Jina ‘ The Conqueror ‘ and his new teaching as Jainism, just as Gautama Sakyasimha is known as Buddha • The· Enlightened’ and his teaching as Buddhism.

Vardhamana whose peculiar views came directly into conflict with the Brahmanism of his day, denied in the first instance, the divine origin and the absolute authority of the Vedas. He taught that the real superiority in men lay in character and not in obe)’ing rules of caste; so much so, he invited all castes indiscriminately to enter his new community called the Nirgranthins or Jainas, who cast aside all social bonds and acted as they pleased. Vardbamana proclaimed himself to be the greatest of the q’athagatas and Tirthakas; and by his favourable position as a great warrior and distinguished scholar belonging to the Kshatriya caste, he became known to the world as Mabavira and a number of potentates and kings of his time were soon induced to adopt his religion and to bestow their p:ltronage on his followers~ who likewise became known as Jainas, -.e. Tathagatas or Sugatas. As many of the Kings bad already embraced Buddhism in some form or other, Mahavira and

I his followers carefully refrained themselves from coming into confict with the Buddhists, perhaps, because, unconsciously

they were also undermining the teaching of the Brahmanas.

There were as yet no Brahmanas as opposed to Bauddhas or Ajivakas. No separation had has yet taken place, and the greatest reformers at the time of Buddha and Parsvanatba were reforming Brahmans. This is acknowledged in all Buddhist writings, and Buddha, though a Kshatriya by birth, is represented as a pupil of the Brahmans, and no slur is anywhere cast by Buddha on the Gods and Songs of

“140 THE AGE OF SANKARA

·the Veda. “Buddha, according to his own canonical bio·grapher “, writes Max Muller in his ‘ History of Ancient ·Sanskrit Literature ‘, ” learned the Rig Veda and was a proficient in all the branches of the Brahmanic lore. His ·pupils were many of them Brahmans, and no hostile feeling ..against the Brahman finds utterance in the Buddhist ·.Canon…………Buddhism in its original form was only: a

modification of Brahmanism. It grew up slowly and imper. .ceptibly, and its very founder c-Juld hardly have been aware .of the final results of his doctrines.”

The same . remarks apply to Parsvanatha and his followers known as Ajivakas. Mahavira forms a striking . .contrast to these two great reformers. He and his followers began to treat the Brahmal)as, their opponents, with marked . disrespect. This great hero Mahavira, though at first conceived by a Brahman woman, is represented, in the sacred writings of the Jains, as having been removed from her ·womb and transferred to the womb of a Kshatriya woman, for “surely” as Sakko !’ays, “such a thing as this has never happened in past, happens not in present, nor will

·happen in future time, that an Arhat, a Chakravartin, a Baladeva, or a Va.-;udeva, shaH be born in a Jow·caste ·family, a servile family, a degraded family, a poor family, a mean family, a beggar’s family, or a Brahman’s family; but, ..on the contrary, in all time, past, present, and to come, an Arhat, a Chakravartin, a Va.sudeva, receives birth in a noble

· ·family, a honourable family, a royal family, a Kshatiiya family, as in the family of Ikshvaku, or the Harivamsa, or .. some such family or pure descent” (Vide Kalpa Sutra, p. 35.)

Now this is merely party insolence, intelligible in the ·:6th century B.C., when the Brahmans· as a party were .zre-establishiog their hierarchical sway. Nothing of the kind

MAIN INCIDENTS OP S’ANKARA’S LtFB 14f

•

is to be found in the canonical books of the Buddhists.. Buddha had his opponents, and among them chiefly the· Tirthakas ; but so had all eminent sages of whom we read in the Brahmanas. But Buddha had also his friends and followers, and they likewise were Brahmal)as and Rishis. Mahavira’s success, on the other hand, depended chiefly on the secret society he had formed and his one central idea was to put down, by hook or crook, the superiority of Brahmanism which had cJme to be recognised by intelligent men belonging to all classes of Hindu society, ever since the rise of the two great schools of Indian Philosophy. tbc PurvaMimamsa and ,the Uttara-Mimamsa:, founded by the two great sages 188 Jaimini anj BadarayaiJ.a, at about the beginn

133 Both Jaimini and BadarayaQa refer to the Yoga apho~ risms of Pataiijali; and they must, therefore, be either his· contemporaries, or must have flourished :subsequent to his time. But from the manner in which these two sages refer to Pataiijali’s doctrines and aphorisms, it is clear that they must have lived soon after Pataiijali’s time. Now from the way in which Pataiijali refers to Pushyamitra’s Horse-Sacrifice in his great work calied the VyakaraQaMahabhashya, it is clear that he must have been an eye-witness of that solemn sacrifice, performed by that great monarch, the Founder of the Sutiga Dynasty who reigned at Magadha between 1219 and 1159

B.C. (Vide Appendix J, pp. 69-71). It is further clear that Jaimini and BadarayaQa Vyasa must have been not only contemporaries, but also were intimately connected with each other, as each of them quotes the opinion of the other in then respective Mimartsa-Siitras . Compare, for instance the foiJowing. Siitras from their respective· works:

” ~~fJff’l ll~ffiCf I ”

“‘ ·,

-Badarayana’s Vedanta Siitras, IV-3-12

“Cff~<llllorfll P=tq~ccrrcr’-1 ”
-Jaimini’s Mimarhsa·Siitras, I -1-5.

‘Both of them must have jointly worked together to bring about the·

‘·142 niB AGB OF SANKARA

•

-ing of the IIth century B. C. ; and he had his followers, .. consequently, took no BrahmaiJ.aS among their disciples.

There were many great men among the A.ryas who tried ·hard to revive the Ancient Vedic Religion ( Vaidika Sana.tana :Dharma) of their fore-fathers, and to drive away Buddhism -and Jainism from .Arya.varta ; but undoubtedly Kuma.rila Bhatta was the greatest of them all. After going through ·the usual course of Vedic study in his Gurukula, as was the general custom among all the Brahman boys, Kumara or Kumarila, as he was usually called, came out with all the . Sa.stric knowledge and Vedic culture that was possible to . acquire at the best seats of Samskrit Learning throughout India. Though he was well versed in all the branches of Samskrit Literature, he took himself to a special and thorough ·study of the Parva·Mimamsa·Satras of Jaimini. and wrote :~complete and exhaustive 184 gloss to the famous comment

-revival efthe Ancient Vedic Religion as taught by Sri Krishna. some 2000 years before their time, in the interval between the .last. Dvapara Yup,a and the present Kali Yuga in his wor:derful Divine Song called Sri Bhagavad-Gita, as embodied by Krishria Dvaipayana Vyasa in the

middle of his Mahabhiirata,-one of them giving prominence to Pravritti-Marga, and the other to Ni·.-ritti-Marga, as depicted therein. ·Either both of them studied under one and the same Guru, or one of · ·them was a pupil of the other, though they differed from each other

in certain minor matters. The tradition says that Jaimini was a pupil
of Badarayat;~a Vya:sa, and it is quite consistent whh the above
· mentioned facts.

m The Piirva-Mimamsa or ‘The first inquiry into the meaning of
·the Vedas’ is chiefly hermeneutical in its nature. Sri Mahabhagavat
. of Kurt~oti (Kratu~oti) says: •• It is ca11ed the First Inquiry, not only

because It confines Itself to the Karma-Kiin(ia or the first portion of the
-Vedas, but also more probably because it was desiderated before the
· Uttara-Mimamsa (Second Inquiry) came into being. It may be said
-.:to ibe,an orthodox re-action against the doctrines ofphilosophers purely

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKARA’S LIFE

ary of sa.bara Sva.min (sa.bara-Bhasbya) on the Parva”‘ Mimamsa-Satra, advocating the religion of the Karma• Ma.rga of the Vedas at the sacrifice and neglect of the Jiiana-Ma.rga as taught in the Upanishads, the crowing glory of the Vedas.

rational, for its object is to insist on the performance of Vedie rites. It is for this reason that it is also sometimes called the KarmaMimamsa on ” Inquiry into religious works.” The author of this work is Jaimini, and it consists of a body of aphorisms or Siitras divided into twelve chapters or Adhyayas. Each Adhyaya is subdivided into four Padas or quarters, each of which consists of a number of Siitras. It deals with varieties of duties, the order of their performance, indirect precepts, inferable changes, efficiency and co-ordinate effect. It is a school of ceremonial and interpretation, and the summum bonum, according to it, consists in literally carrying out all the Vedic injunctions. It has an elaborate commentary by Sabara Svamin, called Sabara-Bha:shya. That this Bhashya had existed prior to the Vedanta Siitra Bhashya of Sri Sankaracbarya, is apparent from the fact that Sankara himself refers to it in commenting upon the

Badarayaoa-Siitra H ~9) 3fKif’l: ~n:r~ mCJrn~ I” (III-3-53) by

stating 11 ~a-~CfTS:i’!i’ISlfTSS:q”pfOT ~~~GfTflVIT >f~&l~ crfl.rrcrlJ I ” But as this commentary was somewhat abstruse

‘

and difficult to be understood by ordinary scholars, Kumjrila Bhana ‘”Tote an exhaustive gloss on the said Sabara·Bhashya by composing his famous Sloka-Vartika, Tantra-Va:rtika and Tup-Tika, which taken together form a complete gloss on the Piirva-Mimamsa. Sloka· Viirtika

{~CflGfTfoCfilf,) is the name given to the gloss of Kumarila Bhatta on the First Pada of the First Adhyaya of the MimarhsaSastra, and it is so called, because the full purport of the Text of

Jaimini, and the Commentary of Sabara Svamin, is explained and illustrated here in the form of verses or Slokas. Tantra-Viirtika (~qrf~) is the name given to Kumarila’s gloss on Sabarasvamin’s Bhashya beginning with the Second Pada of the First

Adhyaya beginnind with the 3rd Adhyaya. It is so called, because

THE AGE OF SANKARA

Kumarila Bhatta was not satisfied with his gloss. He was not able to check the growth of Jainism which was. just then making a havoc of war against Brahmanism under their great and veteran Leader Mahavira. This enthusiatic. Brahman tried his best to understand the sacret of his success, but he was quite unable to find out why people from all parts of India began to flock in numbers to this new

it is written in prose (Tantra). These two glosses or Viirtikas are very exhaustive, and form, as it were, a standard of interpretation for air the Srutis and Smritis. The subjects of discussion are called· Adhikarat;~as, and the perfectly logical and rational way in which Kumarila carries these discussions won such admiration of Max Muller, that he exclaims: “To me, these Mimathsii discussions are extremely attractive, and for accuracy of reasoning they have no equal · anywhere.” The Mimathsa-Darsana is also on this score named NyayaLakshat;~a (the Science of Reasoning). Another name for Mimathsii is Nyaya-Sahasri, which means” Teachings of a thousand subjects.” The method of reasoning applied being perfectly general, the Nyiiyas (Rules) laid down in the Purva·Mimathsa are also accepted by other .schools of Philosophy. Our Courts of Justice are likewise guided by the Nyayas of Jaimini’s Purva-Mimathsa in the interpretation of the Smriti Texts. Henry Thomas Colebrooke, who was the first to handle the Samskrit language and literature on scientific principles,. remarks on these disquisitions as follows:-” The disquisitions of the Mimathsa bear, therefore, a certain resemblance to judicial questions and, in fact, the Hindu Law being blended with the religion of the people, some modes of reasoning are applicable and are applied to the other. ,The logic of the Mimathsa is the logic of the Law, the rule of interpretation of civil and religious ordinances. Each case is examined and determined upon general piinciples. and from the cases decided

. the principles may be collected. A well-ordered arrangement of them. would constitute the Philosophy of Law, and this is in truth what has been attempted in the Mimathsa.”

On the other _hand, the gloss on the remaining portions or· the Piirva·Mimathsa Bhashya by Kumarila Bhatta is known as Tup-Tika ( ~q-__’Gfcfi’T) ; and as the name indicates it is ~erely a

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKARA’S LIFE

religion taught by his founder. This youn_g orthodox ~~h-~ man knew full-well that 135 Mahavira admttted no pupils ID• to the secrets of his society of Nirgranthins or Jainas, unle~s _ they were sworn to Jainism for their life, and that h~ spect·

r i any hated the Brahmans and totally refused to ~dmtt them into the secrets of his doctrines, however well dtsposed they may really be towards his new religion.

We are, therefore, told by 136 Chitsu~ha, that Kumarila put on the disguise of a Jaina and got htmself enrol1ed as a

· commentary on Adhyaya3 IV to XII of Sahara Svamin’s

runmng bl” h d · th Ch

Bh-h Kumarila’s Sloka-Vartika has been pu IS e m e au· kh=~~:-Samskrit Series as No. 3, with the well-known Vyakh!ii. of Sri Parthasarathi Misra called Nyaya· Ratnakara. Th~ Tan~ra-‘:artika is also published as No. 49 of the Chaukhamba Samskr1t Ser1es w1th the famous Tika of Bhana Somesvara known as Nyaya-Sud_ha. The Tup· Tika of Kumarila Bhatta has also been published m the Benar~s Samskrit Series, edited by the Pat;~<_iits of the Bena_res Samskrtt College under the superintendence of R. T. A. Gnffith M. A .•

C. I. E., and G. Thibaut Ph. D. m Mahavira or Varadhamlina Ji’iataputra, the Founder of the Nirgra~thi or Jaina sect must have died in 527 B. C., _in as much as the learned Jainas make use of an Era dating from the Nirviit;~a or death of this great teacher, which they uniformly pl~ce ~70 years before the Malava King Vikramarka, whose Era b~gms m 57 B. ‘:· A_s Mahiivira is said to have died, according to !ama Prabandh~s, m h1s seventy-first year, he must have been born m :98 B:_~· It ts a great

mistake to suppose that Mahavira Vardhamana Jnataputr~, was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the Founder of Buddhtsm who, according to our researches, flourished between 1862 and 1782 “!1· C.

This mistake must have evidently arisen from the fact !hat Onental scholars variously place Buddha’s Nirvat;la or death m 477 B. C. (Max Muller’s d2te), 482 B. C. (Dr. Fleet’s ·revised date), 487 B. C. (Dr. Fleet’s former date), or 543 B. C. (the Ceylonese date.)

136 Chitsukhacharya’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya gives the following account of the early life of Kumarila Bhatta : 10

THE AGE OF SANKARA

disciple under Mahavira. Thus under this great teacher Kumarila learnt aU about Jaina religion and philosophy, and was even looked upon by his c.o-pupils with jealousy and

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MAIN INCIDENTS OF. S’ANKARA’S LIFB 147.

hatred because he bad been treated by their Great Teachett himself, more favourably than others. For a time, all went-

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148 TIIB AGB OF SANKARA

OD wen; but OD a certain day, Mahavira began so vehemently to repudiate the sanctity of the Vedas and of the Vedic ·

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The account of Kumarila Bhatta’s early life, as given above, is more or less strongly corroborated by all the Sankara Vijayas and by scattered passages form Kumarila’s own works. Some of these Sankara Vijayas agree so closely with one another not only in substance but also in form, that they all seem to have been derived from one and the saQle source, and most probably from Chitsukha’s work itself. For instance, many pf the stanzas quoted herein are found practically in. the same from in Chidvilasa’s Sankara Vijaya Vilasa, and Sadananda’s Sailkara Digvijaya Sara. One thing is. quite dear from a careful· perusal of these various Sankara Vijayas, that the

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKAR.A’S LIFB .t4!J

Gods by ridiculing them, that Kumarila was mortally·

later biographers have invariably confounded the Jainas ·with the Bauddhas, by considering them for all practical purposes as one sect. Their description of Kumarila’s early life is very vague; and they -do not mention the name of the Buddhist or Jaina teacher under. whom Kumarila learnt the secrets of his religion and philosophy in disguise. But Chitsukha distinctly says that Kumarila’s opponents were Mahiivira and his followers called the Jainas, and that he .directed his energies against the Jains alone who under their founder

-Mahavira Vardhamana, began to undermine the Vedic Brahmanism in his day. We find a wonderful corroboration of this account from quite an unexpected source. It is, indeed, evidence furnished by the

· opponents of Sankara•s school of philosophy. We mean the Jaina Vijaya, one of the oldest works on the-life of Jina or Mahivira, by an orthodox Jain poet, who distinctly mentions Kumarila Bhatta and King Sudhanvan as contemporaries of his hero Mahavira, and who considers these two personages as well as Sankara as his enemies, and refers to them in a contemptible manner. The particular passage in question which also throws light upon the date of these great ·historical personages is quoted at length in connection with the Age ·of Kalidasa by the renowned Samskrit Scholar, Vidya Vachaspati · Par.H;Iit Appii Sastri of Kolhapur in Nos. 1 to 3 of his ·Samskrita• Chandrikii (a monthly Samskrit Journal of high reputation), Vol. IX.· There, in discussing the date of Kalidasa,-the author of the three famous dramas, Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvasi and AbhijiianaU· kuntala,-whom he places in the 6th century B. C; as a contemporary ofKumarila Bhatta and Sankarichirya .. our esteemed scholar inciden•. tally discusses the date ofKumarila Bhatta and Sarikara, and quotes the verses referring to them from the Jina · Vijaya, which gives the years in the Yudhishthira Saka, which is uniformly placed 468 years after the commencement of the Kali Yuga by the Jain and Buddhistic writers.

Thus in describing the birth of Kumara Bhattacharya, the Jairi Vijaya declares : ” ~f~q-T~ ~!Zff ~lf~m crrl12ictWIIq: I :trcfj’tlcll ~oqffi’Cfl’: ~q) ~6’~ ~: 11

150 THE AGB OF SANKARA

wounded at heart ; so much so that he could not restrain himself from shedding tears. His brother·students, who were all non-Brahmans. observed this strange behaviour in

•”r-~””~P’::n’w” r .,. ~

1igi”CCIll~m’U:lf Cfi1t~CfiG!Ii<Ft: I i 111

~: srr~icr ~~If’! cri li”Tferf~=t ~~

. (Vide p. 8, Samskrita·Chandrika, under “lf~Cfifer: fl.;fr;nrf~r~:”) •• We shall get the year Krodhin, if we calculate the figures Rishi (7) Vara (7), PtirQa (0) and Martyiiksha (2), in the reverse order. Be it known that it was in that year 2077 of the Yudhishthira Saka that Kumira Bhatticharya, the special advocate of the Karma ·katgla

·was born” It i$ clear from this that Kumarila was born in the year Krodhin of the year 2077 of the Yudishthira Saka (according to the Jains) corresponding to (2077+468) 2545 of the Kali Yuga or in other words in 557 B. C.

This exactly. corresponds to the date given to Kumarila Bhatta by Chitsukha. who says that he was older than Sankara by 48 years. Referring to this point PaQ«;lit Appil. sastri writes in the above journal as follows :

” crcr~:q-ar;;rm~Fn~rrrmur1 arcrerrfm ~’)1:rnr m:qT4’

-:I

:q <olfift ~zr) s~ferf~~ ~ \ ~ ~ air m~ a-r:n +rcror~ fiRr tnwfcr 1 ~’i ~er :q ~~~mf~ijfrlfor sr:c=ifcGtTf~m er~: 1 ~”CC” ~ferftSOu:zr ~~~~ air mifi” ~Jt”rf~fzr· m~~cli’TliTo~ 1 • • • {(er :q ~ferfl56~ ~~ ~fq~~raro~JI: c:p~ Jffcr ;;rffi:q-rrrr: ~TJfrcf anf~Cfi’tl=t:tlllt:;

.~ftJfF{ ~qrf”{w~) ~fa-~fij”;e:~ 11 11

N. B. It was only in answer to my query asking for the original authority from Jina Vijaya, for this proposition. that the above verses relating to the time of the birth of Kumarila Bhatta were written and sent to me by the late lamented Pav«;lit Appa Sastri, and so the above verses do not find a place in the valuable Samskrit

Journal.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFB 151

the new pupil, and cautiously bought it to the notice of their Great Teacher, who at once suspected Kuma.rila to be a

————————~

The fall ( q-u~cr:) of Kumarila Bhatta, both from the esteem of

… the Jainas with whom for sometimes he studied under their great I teacher Mahavira, and frem the high terrace of his said master. appears to be a memorable event in the history of Ancient India; and the Jina Vijaya, regarding the said point, deClares:

11 rr~r: ~~~~~ Jf’l\iff’lt :q ~uJfcr: 1

~ “‘ ~

1r~~ ere«”{) erra-r ll’ferf~”{~CfiBT er 1 1

-:I

~~r:qrlf~l=fT~~ Cfilfc:pr~!:f crrR’l: 1

\51″To: cru+rer ~~., fer~zrr ere«~ ~~ 11 11

‘ “‘

(Vide Ibid. p. 3)

”It was the year Dhatri when 2109 years had elapsed in Yudhishthira Saka, calculating the figures Nandas {9), Piirna (0), Bhii (1) and Netra

(2) in the reverse order. It was in that auspicious year that Kumiira Bhattacharya met with his fall.”

The poet being a Jain is glad to think of the discomfiture of Kumarila in the hands of the Great Jaina Teacher and his worthy followers, and remembers the yeat as an auspicious one in the history

…. of the Jainas, as the epithet ‘ ~~1 indicates. So this incident must

“”

have happened in the year 2109 of the Yudhishthira Saka according to the Jains, corresponding to 525 B. C. Kumarila must have been 32 years old at that time.

Referring to the date of Sankaracharya, the Jina Vijaya states:

” ?f[ftsr Gltor f~~fu ifczrrm err~i:rw’lla-1

~ ‘

~~w~c:rtc:p ~&1~ere«<:: 11″

(Ibid. p. 6)

., When we calculate the figures Rishi (7), Bil.t,la (5) Bhumi (1) and Martyaksha (2), in the reverse order and obtain the total number of years 2157 in the Yudhishthira Saka, we arrive at the year Tamraksha (Raktakshi) as the year of Sankara’s death”

.:152 TBB AGE OF SANKARA

‘Brabmm heretic in the disguise of a Jaina. Accordingly this piou.s teacher conspired with his other pupils, and resolved

It is plain from this~ that Salikara died in the year Raktakshi, corresponding to the year 2157 of the Yudhishthira Saka (according to the 1ains)-the year (2157+468) 2625 of the Kali Yuga corresponding to 477 B. C.-which is exactly the date given of Sankara’s death in all the various Satikara Vijayas. We know that Salikara died in his 3Znd year, and so he must have been born in the year 2593 of the Kali Yuga, 2631 of the Yudhishthira Saka (according to the Hindus), 2125 of the Yudhishthira Saka (according to the Jains), corresponding to 509 B. C.

Lastly referring to this extraordinary meeting of Satikara and Kumarila on his funeral pyre, the Jioa Vijaya declares:

-(Vide Ibid•. p. 6)

” q~·aua q~er~ ~iCfl «’ll lla ij’fu 1

“

1f~l”1:414~’«’lr ~;:f Fa’CI’l’it mer: 11,

” Thereupon, when 15 years had elapsed from his birth, Sankara met Bhatticharya for the first and the last time.”

It will be, thus seen, that Salikara met Kumarila in Ruddhapura n.ear Prayiga in the act of self-immolation in his 16th year, that is about 493 B. C-in which year, therefore. Kumarila Bhatta, the great advocate of the Karma-Mimimsi passed away from the world.

Kumiirila ~Bhatta must have been therefore a contemporary of Mahivira Vardhamina himself, the Founder of the Jaina religion and philosophy, as stated in the Jina Vijaya and in Chitsukha’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya.

In conclusion, the Jina Vijaya refers to King Sudhanvan, as a contemporary of KumariJa and Sankara, and speaks of him, in unmistakable terms. as a wicked king and as a persecutor of the pious Jainas, In fact it says:

“w=trqifJJicf)l mrT msftr ~~~fer I ·’ ~ ., f~~liii ~ij’fC’fift wff ~~1f’d1:r 11 ,

0 ‘-~ ‘”‘

(Vide Ibid. p. 6).

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFB

“that Instead of allowing him to go away in possession of all their secret of doctrines and the weak points oftheir philosphy and religion, and turn their own logic against themselves, they will be acting well if they do away with him altogether. One day, when they were all seated on the high 1errace of their Teacher’s grand palace, chitchatting and playing with one another in the bright moonlight, they received a hint from their venerable teacher and managed to throw him out of the terrace ; and poor Kuma.rila, bewildered at this sudden turn, fell shouting ”If the holy Vedas are true revelations-they will save me from death.” He came to the ground quite unhurt, though one of his eyes ·got slightly injured, on account of its having come in contact with a hard substance. The biographers add ”His ·eye was injured, because he had some doubt about the revelation of the Vedas,” for he used the expression “If the holy Vedas.” However, somehow or other, Kumarila managed to escape with his life from his Guru’s place ; and ever since that time, he became an uncompromising oppenent and the bitterest enemy of the Jainas. He carried on a regular war with them-driving them from court to court with the help of many mighty potentates and kings such as Sudhanvan, King of Dva.raka. in Saura.shtra, whom he converted to the religion of the Vedic-Karma-Marga which he preached from one end of the country to the other.

Madhava gives an interesting account of what Kuma.rila did in the court of king Sudhanvan, at the very commence.

‘ Even that wicked king named Sudhanvan flourished at the same time. It was under his reign that the terrible persecution of the pious Jains took place.’

From this long quotation it will be clear that Kumarila’s opponents were Jains and not Buddhists, and that he carried on a ruthless war of a controversy against the followers of Mahivira. · ·

THE AGE OF SANKARA

ment of his Biography (Sarga I. Verses 28 to 98), though incidentaJiy we are told that the celebrated Bhatta had

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE

the style, even at the risk of subjecting themselves to thecharge of plagiarism 138 and repetition.

visited many other courts before arriving:there. We cannot” say that the account given by Ma.dhava has altogether no historical value. There cannot be any doubt after perusing the Tamrapatra:.nusasana issued by H 7 King Sudhanvan addressed to .Sankara Bhagavatpa.da himself on the 15th day of the bright half of the month of .Asvina in the year 2663 of the Yudhishthira saka, corresponding to 478 B.C., and after duly considering the adverse account given in the Jina Vijaya, that the story of Kuma.rila Bhatta is mainly based on historical facts, though there is, undoubtedly, a good deal of exaggeration and even misrepresentation of facts with regard to some minor matters in many of the Sankara Vijayas. Madhava gives a somewhat extraordinary account of the birth and early~life of Kuma.rila-and especially a remarkable anecdote of what happened in the court of King Sudhanvan, a descendant of Yudhishthira and King of Dvaraka. (Sau• rasbtra) and that time, who had early embraced the Jainism of Maha.v1ra and who had given special encouragement to this new sect of Nirgranthi-Jainas, by bestowing upon them all the chief offices in his kingdom,-such as his chief priests and councillors. We would have certainly passed over the said account as somewhat incredible and sectarian, had it not been for the fact that it is substantially corroborated by .Anandagiri in his Prachma sankara Vijaya from which Madhava and Sadananda appear to have taken the account of Kuma.rila’s life, word by word, and even verse by verse, without any material alterations either in the diction or in

131 The full text of King Sudhanvan’s Copper Plate Grant has been published by His Holiness the late Sri Satikarichirya of the Dvaraka Matha at p, 29 of his •• Vimarsa.”

In the vey first Sarga of his work, .Anandagiri beginswith an account of King Sudhanvan and Kuma.rila Bhatta,..

whom h~ re~pectively considers to be an incarnation oflndra:.

the King of the Gods, and Subrahma1;1ya the Commander·

in-chief of their forces ; and as the work is still in manu

crlpts, we give its full text below, only so far as the account

of these two personages are concerned, with a view to enable

our readers to compare the same with the respective-··

accounts given by both Madhava and Sada.nanda in the·.

very first chapter of their respective Saiikara Vijayas-Sri· mat Sattkara Digvijaya and Sri SaQ.kara ·oigvi~aya .s~rapublished each with a commentary of Dhanapatl Sun m the· Devana.gari character. .Anandagiri says:

arq;:it ;;qfcr +f~r sr\ifr ‘efliur qr~zr;; 1

~ ~ ‘

~~r~r sr~lffa: ij”yuc~ccr+rcra:_ ~eft: 11

n A comparison of the very first Sarga of our so·called Midhavi-··

charaya’s (Sri VidyaraQya’s) Sankara Vijaya with the first Sarga of

Sadananda’s Sankara Vijaya, clearly shows that more than half the

number of stanzas contained in the one are found in tact, without

the slightest change, in the other; while the major portion of the rest

found in the other. For instance, compare the stanzas 1, 28, 30 to 34,

40, 41, 43, 45, 48, 49, 53 to 56, 58 to 70, and 72 of the first Sarga of

Madhava’s Satikara Vijaya with stanzas 4, 5, 7 to 10, 12, 14, 19 to 21~

25 to 26 of the first Sarga of Sadinanda’s Digvijaya Sara. In fact the_

…. number of stanzas that are common to both the works are so many that it will be easier to point out which stanzas are exceptionally the property of each of these authors. orcourse, the introductory portion,’, is different in each.

One o~ other of these authors must clearly be guilty of plagiarism ;~ but it might be said that the famous VidyiraQya Midhavichirya could

Tl56 THE AGB OP SANKARA

:’ ~arofcff ~’Uiii’CTT;:ff ~ ~qfa: I “

Rct :qeJiR ‘{fqcff ~~r +nn:rcrffil{ 11

~ GfT(>ll” l:tCf ~’lT’lT ~~lf ~1!,’1TfS51’ff: I

f·=r~rcn::r s+r <gf~(i «q fcrGfeJ!i ~ 11

C’\ ~ ~ ~~

~cf~r SOlrn’aT ~rf?f <tif~sp:p5r~~sf;:cra-: 1 srare:r1f11JT: ~)s::qrf~ if~r~r~ ij”)~J”a-r;:r 11

. ‘

· not be guilty of such a charge and that the poor Sadananda, of unknown · fame, must have copied his work from Madhavacharya’s. But a further

. comparison of tbese stanzas with those found in the first Sarga of .A.nandagiri’s Prachina Sankara Vijaya-and especially with the stanzas quoted above from the said work, which is admitted by both Madhava and f’adananda as the main source of their respective · works, and which they evidently copy in profusion, clearly and unmistakably shows that both these writers-Madhava and Sadananda-are equally guilty of plagiarism. It must, however, be said in fairness to Sadananda that he copies the stanzas from Prachina Sankara Vijaya without much modification, but Madhava here and there makes slight verbal modifications and additions to set off his own poetical talents; and is, for that very reason,-as the celebrated poet BaQa Bhatta

·says in his famous introduction to the Harsha Charita

” arr~crufrr<TC{(lfT Gfrcrf:q~ Rf!.~<l: 1
aro:rr~~ra-: ~at lfo1i c:pfcr ~.:ql~) fcrmOllff 11 “-

more easily found out as a plagiarist-as a Chora kat•i. Compare
also my analysis of Canto 11 of Madhava ·s Sankara Vi_iaya given at
pages 35 and 36 of my ‘Successors of Sankaracharya’. Of course, all
ref~rences to Kanchi Matha contained in the Prachina Saitkara Vijaya

…

and Vyisachaliya have been carefully omitted by these authors, and
opportunities have been taken to substitute the name of the Sringeri
Math wherever it was possible.

It is better, once for all, to consider at this place if Madhava’s
Sailkara Vijaya had been really written by the well-known Sri
Vidyiral}ya Midhavacharya. What evidence is there to show that

157.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE

a-a-: ~ a-n::ifiT~Tfu <:\iff’i’Sc iTtlf~ t ~~Tf4iC:TT lf~lf +LrfT f~~~~m 11~~ 11

this Sankara Vijaya was actually written by that famous and prolific writer of more than one hundred works on the two Mimamsas ? In the body of the work itself there is nothing to show that this · sankara Vijaya was written by Vidyaral}ya Madhavacbarya. The work was first published with a commentary called • DiQ<;Iima’ under the name of Madbavachirya on the title-page in Nagari character in Ganapat Krishnaji Press at Bombay in 1863, and in Telugu character in the Book Dep~t Press at Bangalore in 1864. The publishers of both these editions had not then the boldness to ascribe the work to vidyara9ya. Finding that the book passed o_tf without ~uch objection for one of the works of Madhavacharya, 1t was published a second

time in the A.nandasrama Series with a number of omissions and additions in the body of the work in 189l at Poona with two commentaries-Advaita-Siimrdjya-Lakshml and DiQc;lima-as the work of VidyaraQya · himself, and was described in the title-page as

” S51’Tfcrm ~ollfcrti”9Cf: ~if=ti~’!fl~~fTcf\iflf: ” Nowhere in the body of the work itself is the name of M!dhavacharya or VidyaraQya to be found as the author of the work. In the last verse of each of the sixteen Sargas of the said composition, the author simply calls himself as • Madhava’ without any honorific prefix or suffix, and the work itself is called under the more modest name of ·’ SamkshepaSankarajaya “, implying thereby that the w?rk w~s merely . an abridgment from a larger work or works that extsted pnor to the hme of the author. Compare, for instance, the last verse of the first and· the last Sargas, which run respectively as follows:-·

,, ~fu ~rm~crw a–~~rCfCf1~rcn::: 1
~IHq~ict· {\it~ ~iff sli sr~11t S4icrcr'” 11 ”

\tfff ~rt:rrcrcrr~ er -:;;~n:~q-‘focrTij”~:. f. -~el~~zr ·~q: ~lsfq t:r~~: ·tl

THE AGE OF SANKARA

‘JS 8

~q;~ ~cqlf t:r+rr ~f~T~Cfl\ 1

-:> ~

~t~f~rs;:r~-Olff~\ifef +rr~tr .o-\J”Im( 11

“‘~””‘ -.:> “‘

~: ~er~: :srr:r ;:rrrff ~~et_~~: ‘

51″Clf~~ f~cr’);:sfts f~ferer ~~~trcr, 11

-.:.-.

tftsf~;:rrmssf~r ~q lffiffi:i CfiT:3=~~ l ~rrTG: Cfltf~Olll’Gf’IC{ ~Ti3flit qfU&di:.Jturr: 11

11lff~ ~~ ~tr ~ifr=tl: cr.tCfl~~: fqct) ‘
~fcr~tfCfl”f.:t 0Y~: ~rq;:ft(f ~T ~~: 11

Referring to this Sankara Vijaya, the late PaQgit N. Bhashyachiirya in his’ Age of Sri Sankaracharya’ (p. 10), says:,,This work is said to have been written by Madhavachirya. It cannot be the famous Midhavacharya; for it_ is usual for him to gi~e

1 at the beginning or end of every one of b1s works, the name of b1s ~:;u and his geneo/ogy, or some other description regarding. himself. Such is not the case with the present writer; and further ther~ IS a gre~t difference between the two as regards the style. The wnter of th1s

rk must evidently be some modern author of that name : and he :~st we think, have belonged to the Sringeri Math from the fact that he gi~es undue prominence to that Math ”

we know from very reliable sources that this Madbaviya Sankara

Vijaya was compiled by a well-known Samskrit scholar who passed

ay from this world just about eight years ago, under the pseudonym

~; ,, Midhava “-a synonym for ‘NarayaJJa ‘-specially to extol the greatness of the Sringeri Math, whose authorit~ had been. seriously ·questioned by the Kumbhako.Qam Math•. the A~hiryas of th~ latter Math claiming exclusive privllege of bemg entitled to the tttle of

•J, gadgurus • for the whole of India, as being the direct Successors of s ~ sankara Bhagavatpada’s own Math, established by him at Kinchi, t~~ greatness of which bad been unnecessarily extolled by Raj~chul,lamaoi Dikshita, Vallisahaya Kavi &nd ~enkatariim.a ~.arman 1n their respective works, Saiikariibhudaya, Achiirya DlgYJ)aya and

.Sarikara BhagaYatpiida Charitra.

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE 159

frtd d =et ‘(Ojfli \SCT ‘+flfiff ~Cf =q?f)’ef: 11

c. ~ ‘1:> \!) ~ .

f~CCJT lffCffia>oftur \ii ‘1 fu 41 t:d~ll f~. I

~ 5 ~

~ cr~nro:~o:er.f ~:~\HIt~r ~11

‘ ‘

“‘ .

~qrrr~trc~ m&ltr ~uslR~ tR~1

~~~f~tSO rncrm n:r;:F{rner ~W+r 11

“‘ ‘

About fifty years ago, in this very city of Madras, as many may still remember, a fierce controversy raged between the adherents of the Kumbhakouam Math on the one hand, and those of the Sringeri Math headed by Bangalore Siddhanti Subrahmauya Sastri and the two able brothers -Kumbhakonm tSrinivasa Siistri and Kumbhakot;~am Narayaua Sastri-sons of Ramasvami Sastri, a protege of the Sringeri Math, on the other. We have very strong reasons to be1ieve that. this Sarikara Digvijaya ascribed to Madhava, the Sankara Vijaya ·viliisa ascribed to Chidvilasa, and the Siinkara Digvijaya Siira, ascribed to Sadananda, had all been brought into existence by one or other of these three scholars, about that period, in answer to the Sankara Vijayas aseribed to Rijachiic;lamaui Dikshita and Vallisahiya Kavi.

Though the author of this Sankara Vijaya in question allowed his composition to pass off for that of the famous Madhavachirya, he had been very careful,-as he himself had personally told us-to leave unmistakable marks of his Individuality and identity sufficiently preserved in the work itself. Though in the very first stanza of this work, the author wants us to believe that he is the famous Midhavaeharya, the disciple of Vidyitirtha, the Paramaguru of Vidyiravya, by the expression •• Srividyitirtbi-rupivam “, he is cautious enough to :Suggest his own meaning of the expression in the commentary, really written by himself, but ascribed to one Dhanapati Surl-:-an imagbiary. name. The first stanza, as a matter of fact runs as followlf:

THE AGE OF SANKARA

a-er: sr&ftor~.f”! ~;:r”! ~ft:rll”! 1

GJ”Ttflf’\ Grgerr ~a:-cr:qtf« sr~~ij’ ~q: 11

q-~ ~v:rueft~r Fee a1ztur ~~Qi’ 1

lf: qfcrffi firt: ~iff (fo!flf ~-er;:Jf~ ~Cfif 11

‘:I “‘\

f;:;~f;:~.:r;; ‘t~fCfimf ~1:11: ¥01 {?lCfllf<f I

‘

fiprr~ ~~~’\ ~~r~u~ fift: f~(: 11

“lff~ ~:srmot ~lf -ilffa-CJIT fq « it &Tfcr: 1 “

…:” C’\. ‘lilt,

~clfCWiT ;:q’lffl’ ufifr~ ftr’t: ~If~ fir~)uJT: tr

~ ‘ ‘

. ” ‘SI’Uf”~=lf trorRlfrrt ~f.rmcrr~~fqurif’ 1
‘Sff:q’fif~cp~q. «T(: ~~~a-Jflff 11

I I

The commentator after explaining the apparent meaning of ‘Vidyitirtha’ as applied. to the so-called Parama Guru of Madhavachirya. goes on to explatn the author’s own real meaning by saying:

” lf[f, ~rfcrmcrr~~fqcrfl arfCflCflrfa:apf~qff: ~er~ ~fu;r’)wmlf”r: fcrmlfr: cri=Jf~qcp(~;:r :mv:rctlccrrct fcra-r~r~:I fS’,;flfT “~~fcr~r” fc+rctllfr li”Cfcr: ~rfcrmcrr:zf: 1″

“‘

By this, he c!early wants us to understand the expression ‘Vidyatirtha’. not as refernng to the Paramicharya of Sri Vidyiral’ya. but as referring to the author’s own revered brother and teacher, :the great advocate of Hinduism and the editor of that bilingual m:>nthly journal ” Brahma . Vidyii ” which continued to be published in Sarilskrit and Tamil. until

the very last days of his death.

. _In the ~nd stanza•. which is adv!sedly omitted in the printed edtttons but ts preserved tn the manuscnpt copy written by the author himself and placed under .the name ~of Sati.kara Vijaya Sira in theAdyar Libray (Vide, General No. 1784. Shelf No. XX-1· Sl of thtJ Adyar Library)-· •

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA’S LIFE 161

arfq ~rr~: ~~r =o~qv~ ~crrsqcrcr 1

‘:I C’\ “‘

l5rfu ·u~JT~<oll Fft Olf~ w:r)f~rrfu f<fiif 11 i ·:

~ ‘

lQ”ffi ~lfcf Cfilf ffriifl’ Rt~: ij’+lllfll’: I

“V ‘ ·-:. Q

~ll f11crr ssctl-m:f Pt1jo-~+lf.: f~~rcr<nr:.· 11

11 ~T~’SJ’f!,~~cpqfu~ae=Jff• , ~~’+[CfTVifCRCflTOlfCf”<T: ~: I fcrg-o:q~~cr~~)~(ij”TR «cri ! · U~T~TCJ; lf~~TfT ~lf&Tlf)Sf~lf 11 ~ 11 I I-

the author plainly desires to acknowledge that he was only making an abstract from writers like Vyasachala PaQgita etc .. of old; but in the printed editions “Vyasachala” which is found in stanza 17

H ~r ~T~~fu +rrrcr~qmi~) ~~=~ mfrcr ~?f ‘Sfco:qfcr (fr: ::ifiSfCfT ‘f\i~ffl: I

“‘

~sfcrnr~fcr W:r ~’ cr~<r Cflf~ CPciT ~olfHII”€1(‘5Cfi fCfCI1::, Cfc’!lfCfm”~ ~: 11 “

-is attempted to be identified with the author Madhava hi~elf thereby suggesting that Vyisachala was the name of no author of·~ separate work on the Life of Satikara, as has been plainly stated by .Atmabodh~ndra in his commentary on Jagadguru Ratnamili. The stanza was evidently intended by the author to praise the greatness of the poet Vyasacbala and his work known as Vyisichaliya Sati.kara Vijaya ; but the admission of the existence of such a work which really pointed to the advocates of the Sritigeri Math-at whose instan~. our author was obliged to compile this poem ;-and so

the author by commenting u Olf’RIT~fCfcr(:” as meaning

”OlfRf ~Cf ~:n~(~rnl Cflfcr~~ ~~fiffolfT~Witifqq<)

lrrV:TCf:~~etr:” makes it as an attribute ot~adhava’ biinself. Ifthis explanat~on be accepted, the atJ.tltor will: undoubtedly be .guilty of self-pr~_ise.. To. be consi~tent W:ith this ~xplanation, the 3rd ·stanza 11

TBB AGE OF SANKAR.A

~~err ~ lf~ “U\ill ~:Jt ~fi:N ~1

-=> _,

f~r~..~ ~~s~~tr~~fild’l 11
~r~cro:r_ ~~ srlfTUt l”ldf’iof~ 1
~”~M~”~..~1tlfer ~~m~~f~ 11

I in the said manuscript copy is omitted in the printed editions. The I manuscript copy reads : I

ll ll c:”fl”‘ ~~qf’:rtlf’Uffi{fUF:rr~~ \ I ~Cfll” er~ ~~~~ i:liNi4″~”~~~~2:fcrfll~Jr~: \ ~~Cfl~ll{il~ I”Jidti’tflf 11 ~ 11 “

For the same reason, the following stanza (st. 7) which appears before ·I the stanza beginning with “q’ll’)f;crfc:rcru” etc. is also omitted in the printed editions :

” m=~Tci~~Cfifct cqfffi t.f)fq-~
w:nfusr.rttrfcr if~ fCfllf lff~;p:r 1

“” f” ‘\’:11 ‘0 ‘

er~ fiR~ lf~l:fJI’ ~~~:q) ~: srcrd’~ ~:qfcrCfiT·~ ~~”~”‘all~ 11 \9 11,

-=> …

Further. the first and the seventeenth stanzas themselves clearly shO\V that the author though undoubtedly possessed of a master mindwhich was able to ~mpo~em~re than lOO works before his eighteenth year-had not suffictent time gtven to him to wrUe the whole of this poem ~imself, and that he had to embody all the essential stanzas found 10 the Prichina Sankara Vijaya of .Anandagiri. and sankara Vijaya Kavya of Vyasichala, in this. his hastily prepared work; S() that he-o~ rather the advocates of the Sringeri Math-might at once produce this work before the public as Madhavacbirya’s. in answer to the numerous works that were produced by the advocates of the Kumbbako’l}am Math.

_ _It. is noteworthy that even the so·called commentator Dhanapati
Sun s1mply calls the author as Madhava, and nowhere, throughout his

,,•• , .. ,.,.•,,,._…,s . .4 lll

l63

MAIN INCIDENTS OP s’ANKARA’S LlPB

-commentary does be identify this Madhava with the famous Madhav~· cbarya or Vidyara’l}ya, whose commentaries on the Vedas a~d l!pam· shads themselves are sufficient to 611 up the shelves of a b1g ltbrary. It is clear from the following stanza (st. 7) in the printed edition:

” ‘Cf;:’.f11r~fcr~::r~q..J:tJ ~etep.:liTifit

• ~ f’lo ..

;:r~l{);:q~;:ro’CTJrT’Cfl”l”””‘iJfl,…tl'”‘l~~·liG:~ll’: I

~ .

~it f~~<: Jr~ ~~1i~mr,;.~·~: crruc:.rr~~:;:q~\Nf~’t: ~&nrhlfTfl:r ~11”

~ ;

what sort of life the author was leading in his early years, and ·how be yearned to atone for his previous career as the writer of. popular plays at the dictate of persons of vulgar taste, sullied by·

• bazaar dramas of ephemeral evenings ‘ ; and bow he bad taken an active part even in enacting ·such plays. It is also clear “from

stanza 81′ cr;:’OllT~1,~U~Ilffi<i~~~f&tffi”;:~~.. . m~U.f4:llifctSl~ifCfiwTfrie’11qtfedl'{ I ltirufr lJ’Nqf«lfff’f ~if rimm~~;;~cctl\ffiifc’Nil (q<!JT:qul f’46flioi”: fm 11 “

~ ~

what a master of the dramatic art the author was, and how easily be drew his figures from Dramaturgy. Nowhere do we learn that Sri Vidyaraoyii Midbavtchirya was ever an actor or a playwright. In the following stanza (st. 9) :

11 ~tlf’~fmav~~C!\CfT~~ssWI~

c–~ ‘1:1

…._ , eo eo ~

‘SilR=tl’lf~~~~’ITtil ~I <‘1’11 t:Cti <: I

16-1 ‘ :; . . mB AGB OF SANKARA

¥ifir ef~tll ~m ~ ~crtSfTf.:CRI’lr 1

awfllll:s-sf’:fctl ~rft:r q’Sf~ Tir\il~,~l€1;;=]… n

~~ iflf -qq ~=sr~stll’ f;:ruflfJf~ ~ 1 ~

~ sr~ ~r;f \il”~f! ~~trcrr: 11 —————– I

.. . . , ·m-it~ t:rcrCfilf~rmcrarn;:ar’ffi”~A”Cfil

· ~ ~~ ij”l!,~= wr.=rm l1Tlll~41<;ttU'( 11″

the author calls himself “Nava Kalidiisa “-a new incarnation or·

Kalidasa, the great·Dramatist,.;_and such an epithet never appears to

have been applied to ~ri Vidyarattya. who may be perhaps called

“‘ Nav~ Sa1’1kara “-an incarnation o~ Adi Sankaracharya himself.

The stanza furth~r. shows how fully eonscious, the real author was..

of h~great p~etic.al talents and how confident he was of satisfying the

Pav~hts of bts ~me. It also shows that he was the author of a.

~U~mber of poetical works-cbiefty dramas.

‘

The next ~tanza (1·10) : 11 ~~vr11rmrr lltflf~ ~Rcrr~• ..::>. c. ..

, · . tfrcut “<f~’lfr~ fsrlffiRr Cfil~r~: ~fta-r 1

· err iflSIT ifmf~HrfC~~ ~)~<:rr ~er-l

I•

mf f~&fi~Vf ~~o ~T~’! ~~frcr 11″

. shows that ou~ ~uthor obtained the titles of ‘Patt<;lita Sudarsana •

· and -Bhattallri ‘ ·c Balasarasvati ‘ at Benares, Bengal and Kasmir and that his w~rk. was composed when the ” Cow Question” was engaging the ~erious·attention of the inhabitants of the city of Madras. The. co~men’tator.·~ho.is really the author· himself, after explaining the ordmary meamng of the stanza, goes on to explain the inner·· )

JQea~ing contajn;ed. in the following terms :

. . . ,\ .. .

11 ~~~~r·ij”cf~lli17-rfin!CFffi” ;:rqfircfirf~mflf f~· lfN~1!fr err~ ~A”t ·cpcftift ij”~~ ‘(0 ~er ft11S~or· fer~ fetCfi I”-: ~~rcf ~Tf~~~~lJ~:· I ij”Jllf~ fmr,

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LIFE

~T ~er ij’q” ~~: CfiGo~lfij’qr~f« I·’

+rf~~ ~fcr ~~T: ij”)sfq SIT~~~ ffif: It ~R~q-:q;filrt~ llff~ ~f~ij Tir\ill: I +T~:::rnf ~U”ili<=ll «Jff\ii’UJ, ‘{WaCfi~… U

~ttq&i’, 3fHf~ ~~tf~cf: ij”f~ f~f~ <n~ I …••• 1!~~: ~r~+T~~wur fucr l!”rcm._ ‘ ……q&i ~~'”«tl fd’o, ~~n:sn:01’l:……itf~rwf~~\Sc;fqt!flTfcr~m ~fmr~1 ano;fr«(TT 31N~f~~~~: 1•••••• q&i lf.=~op:r)sfq…•••at••• fclmf ~rrc~rct:r~rr ~rerfa-t:rr~i:: ••.••.Cfirqlft~~: …..• ~Tq~T~~)~~ fcfaf~: fsrtrftr~T …… an~f..-a:;;r amt;;r~;:rr••..•.B:rfurr ;:;rfrrcrro;;:~Clf~: 1”

Jt is clear from this that the author Madhava-only a pseudonym fot NariiyaQa-obtained three titles (1} Pavf!ita Sudar”!Jana ” from the hands of the Patglits of Benares (Avimukta·Kshetra), (2) “BhaUoir’i ” from the PaQ..;lits of Bengal-the flesh·eating Brahmattas of Calcutta,and (3) ., Balasarsvatl ” from the Pavc;lits of Kasmir ; and if the

commentator was not the author himself, we will not be in a position .io get out this inner meaning from the above stanza.

The following two stanzas (15 and 17):

·” ~~~”{~~~): ~:qf«f? CfCTTS~ CfUCfiT? Cfi~ f’1~e-.:fTfJf! f:q-uf\ifci 11Jf lfq[: f~ l’f\Nfll fll fGI eft? I

.· ·¥l~::tc~ :::.rq~t q~rftracrcr1 crr=tf frrlf::ta-~::mr

~ ~ ~

. sr~ll”~clf ~~1Cfifc:mur:, m ~u q~~11

~&l;pr~~crrs:frr~?:qr~ ~1’1fTf~Cll”ll”

‘ .,:) .. ..

srrli ~~! lf&;:Q~~a~ ~~~~T;::p;r: 1 ~ruurt Cfifcrmcrcrt Cfifacr~: ~rr ~: ~:, -~~! m a:qr-m fEfimlAmf wcr qrqft J{Jf ll”

THE AGB OF SANKARA

mffl ~<i sr~-s:z:r: mmrr: ~ft~Cflf I

~ ~

f~~fi.~;r)sfq ~~6GT: ~’+ft SIT~ ifi£tffi: I I

\ift;~ ~Krcfmt=aT ~\iftr)~’)clrcrrf&”~:

~1fro~~r +Tij’cnfiffcr ~~~: 11

show that the author was with great difficulty persuaded by his elders-probably by his own father and elder brother to associate himself with this plagiarism and fabrication, and that he consented to compose this nefarious work much against his own will and conscience. The first of these stanzas clearly indicates how unwilling the author was to undertake this work and how he was forced by his elder brother-probably by his father also who was getting .a decent honorarium every month from the 8ringeri Math-to set his hand to this reprehensible and discreditable undertaking. The second stanza shows how unwilling the author was to copy out from the works of other poets, whom he considered to be far inferior to· himself.

These references are quiet sufficient, we think, to justify any critic to come to the conclusion that this sankara Vijaya, ascribed to Madhava, could not be the composition of the famous VidyaraQ.ya Madhavacharya and the pseudonym might after all be a mere synonym for the author’s own real name. Further, it is clear from the work itself that the author-who was really bent upon making his poem amusiveand instructive-makes Sankara, without any scruples whatsoever. a contemporary .of Nilakantha, Haradatta, Bhattabhaskara, Abhinavagupta, Murari Mis’ra, Udayanacharya and Dharmagupta. The great teacher is also said to have met BaQa, DaQgin, Mayura and Sriharsha. the author of the KhMgana KhaQgakhadya, Naishadhiyacharita, and other works. We know from reliable sources that these several authors lived in different periods between the first and the thirteenth ceeturies A.D., and these could never have all been contemporaries of the great SaDkara, who lived only for 32 years on this earth. The late PaQc;iit N. Bhashyacharya has given his reasons for showing that all these persons mentioned by Madhava in his poem, could not be contemporaries of Sankaracharya, and we would simply refer our readers to pages 9 and 10 of his “Age of Sri Sankaracharya “. The

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LIFB

~ccrr ~~Cflt er ~~;:f ‘{f~crrtrer: 1 CFT«R~tl’:fur~m~~f~tr ~11 3l~ ~~~~ij”1i(~ if~Uf(oft I -~ ;:r~ ~~lf ~ri’fT lffq ~~I l

[ ·.:> ~err lrcr ~=~~· (1\lf! ~!Jfr· t:r ~mtfcr ‘ m w~r: ~~tf ~, ~er ~cz:r5ffcr~cr: 11

~ccrr s~rfrfurfr crruff ~~;i cr~mertr: 1 +r_fer ‘~”~ftqt: ~~ wrr fifer ~errferq: 1’

f~tcrrf~;:~ fcrrtttaa\cro~;_ 1 Qlt”erT cmrt a-crt ~T\lfl’ crerr;r ~fcrfcrftrlSillt. 1 l

CTcrt +rifcra mti fer«~ q~~~crlf, ‘ ~~Cfi~U~~ 5ffo~T +rctl'{Tcr, ‘ff~ 11

~r~urf”(U[T ~rnr. ~c:rr efltftrtit ~err: l ~f;:~arcr lfTlf’6’1T fcr-c;:rr tCf~TCI0~ l I

~~a’! ~~~ ‘+1~: qfull ~’

qurl~Jfij”iff=tfT~ t~Tqtt”•t ~fer Cf~l I

~;rrft~if;:~llf ~a~ f~f~’

., ~ :::r::r 11 “

fifmlc~~ liCfefi=Cf ~ICI'<li@T: ~1=(‘..\1\1:

thor in his great enthusiasm to write something of these poets and am_ k s them all contemporaries of sankara on the model of

wnters ma e . · d br · s

1lhoja Prabandha. To attribute such incons1sten~1es an anac orusm to Sri VidyaraTJ.ya Midhavacharya would be s1mply monstrous and

blasphemous.

THE AGE OF SANKARA

‘ ~,i!T It will be unnecessary for us to give here a full tran
slation of the above passage from Prach i’na Sai1kara Vijaya;
and the foHowing short summary of the corresponding
passage from Madhava’s Sankara Digvijaya as given by
Mr. C. N. Krishnaswami Aiyar in his “Life and Times of
Sri Sankaracharya” will be sufficient to give an idea ofthe

passage to our readers:

“He (Kumarila Bhatta) somehow escaped with his life, and from that moment, b~came the m.Jst uncompromising opponent of the Jain faith and made in his mission to carry on a ruthless war of controversy against its followers. We have, only the account of what he did at the Court of King Sudhanvan, though incidentally we are told that he had invisited many otber courts before arriving there. Here ensued a mighty controversy between the Jain teachers at the King’s Court (the King was also a Jain) and Bhatta; the uproar and din caused by which is said to have shook the very heavens ! Bhatta exposed their foibles and fallacies with relentless logic, shattered ail their strongholds and vanquished them everywhere. Then he explained to the King his chief tenets-that the I’• Vedas were true and repeated verbally even as they are

and that they, therefore formed the best proof of their own authority as well as the touchstone of the authority of the Smritis, Puranas and other Scriptural books. ~CJCfSf+rruT, q-~a-: Sf liTUf+r I He held that the earlier part of the Vedas relating to'” the sacrifices was alone capable of salvaging men so that the really religious part of life according to him was to perform the rites enjoined in the Karma Kanda of the Veda.. But the King’s turn for abstract reason was apparently only of indifferent excellence, and so he bluntly said:-” In matters of dialectics success

MAIN INCIDENTS OF s’ANKARA’s LIFE 169

depends on the amount of ones knowledge and the strength of ones polemicaJ’power; and I therefore declare that I shall hold for the faith of that man among you t:> be t~ue and enduring, who, throwing himself froin the top of ~he adjacent hilJ remains unscathed ! ” Here upon ~he Jat~s . merely kept looking at each other but the Brahmm readily accepted the challenge and took the risk. The ordeal was accordingly gone through before a large concourse of ~e~ple. Kumarila leaped down the hill and soft-landed, like a pillow stuffed with down.’

“The Jains however argued that it was not the right test in setting the veracity of faiths, for the body in such cases would be protected from mishap by means of charms, drugs, or yogic practices. The King was wroth and proposed a second test as a kind of ultimatum:· ~e ordere.d a jar to be brought into the assembly w1th Jts mouth carefully covered and sealed and decla~ed that he ~ou1d embrace the faith of that party wh1ch could dtvulge exactly what was inside the cvvered jar. Th~ parti~s .met next morning and the Jains declared that the Jar cont~med a snake, while Bhatta, emphatically said it was god VJ~hn.u. · reclining on his serpent couch. At these words _the K•.ng s face wore a wan look like the lotus that Withers m a .dry ‘pond. From the awkward predica~ent the _:King was . soon relieved ; for an oracle from the au pr\JclaJmed that the Bhatta was right; and the other party was wrong ! The King rid of his doubts instant~;~.neously issued the memorable edict :-• Let all those my subjects be slain who fail to oust the heretics whether they be old or young

‘ h bn.dge of R ama . 1’ “

from the snow-capped mountam to t e

We cannot .attach much importance to this version .about Kamarila Bhatta given either by Anandagiri or

170 THE AGB OF SANKARA

Madhava. In the decadent days of Buddhism or Jainism the adherents of these faiths could have been the targets for religious persecution or subjected to severe punishment and ignominy. The patronage given by the rulers of those distant times to these heterodox systems of religious thoughts should have been gradually transferred to Hinduism so as to effect a complete reconversion of the people to more or less an orientated ancient faith. Thus much may be freely accepted. But to prove that there was any religious persecution or holocaust of the adherents of these heterodoX! faiths, we have no tangible evidence. It is true, that in Europe during the Middle Ages various demonaic ways were adopted, by the inquisitors to persecute the infidels. But

·taking a more sobre view about India and its non-aggressive inhabitants, and interpreting ·these legendary accounts. in the ligllt of saner criticisn, we have every reason to believe that these religious persecutions scarcely tarnished the pure image of the Indian society. History proves infallibly that believers of different faiths or religious callings amicably lived together for centuries. A relentless persecution for the sake of religion would never have been a fact in the history of India.

On the whole, however, Kumarila Bhatta seems to have succeded in converting many who belonged to the heterodox systems to Vedic Hinduism. Tradition confirms of his having had a large following. Bhatta was, as Smritis enjoin. technically guilty of the offence of betraying his pre”! ceptor ( Gurudroha) and he wanted to expiate for his sin by burning himself in a slow fire of grain-husk (tushanala). But he had heard of his more illustrious contemporary and wanted to meet him before his death with the satisfaction that his great mission would be continued by a worthier agent ..

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S1ANKARA’S LIFE

The news of Kumarila’s self-immolation reached Sankara,
at Prayaga and he hurried to Ruddhapura to avert the ·
gruesome end of Bhatta. He reached in time to see the·
great exponent of the Karma marga alive amidst the flames

1 and vainly did he try to dissuade him from this suicidat act. But the adamant penitent Bhatta, directed Sankara

i to meet his famous pupil and advocate of Mimamsa i I doctrine Mandana Misra. In a11 likelihood, it may be a I fact that Bhatta had ended his life in that strange fashion; for his nature as the traditional accounts reveal it, seems to have been highly susceptible to emotional fervour. Being

~ terribly earnest and conscious also that nothing but a drastic step would clear him of the guilt, he underwent the fire ordeal. That act of self-sacrifice was in keeping with the casuistic nature of the doctrine he preached aU

his life.

We now come to the greatest achievement of Sankarathe polemics he had with Mandana Misra and its outcome. All the Sankara Vijayas have elaborately treated this

important episode. Leaving Prayaga, Sankara journeyed to Mahishmati where Mandana was living. This great Mimam· saka was a faithful student of Bhatta. He is described as an avatara of Brahma and it is also said that his devoted spouse was a very learned lady and that all deemed her to be the goddess of learning herself. Mandana Misra was a Kanojiya Gowda Brahmana by caste. He was the chief of his place with great influence. He lived in a fine mansion in a grand fashion. It is related that even the parrots flitting in his spacious gardens mimicked the formula of the master-Svata prt.1manam Paratha pramanam. Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya places the incident of the polemical’ disquisitions between, these great teachers relatively at the:

172 THE AGE OF SANKARA ·

· cutset of Saokara’s tour de triumphe. Anandagiri on the .otherhand makes Sankara go from Ruddhapura where Bbatta .ended his life ‘northwards and reaching Vidyalaya lying

.. ·at the south-east of Hastinapura, now c11led Vijil bindu, where lived Mandana then.

Sankara repaired to Mandana Misra’s residence and

. met· him in controversy there. The account of the meeting · narra~ed by Madhava seems to be uotrustw()rthy. We can .only mfer from his description that Mandana, reared in the Karma Mimamsa ideology had an innate hatred for. ~Maskarins’ (ascetics) as a class of pe:1pl~, whom he thJu!!ht were unfit for entertainment. We are told by Anandagiri that Mandana was performing a ‘ Sraddha ‘ ceremony at the time, when Sankara somehow ~ dropped down i~ front of him’ and desired Mandana to let him have the honour of a wordy bout with him. Now it so happened that Mandana had a worthy spouse named Bharati whose erudition and accomplishments were many. The polemical · .champions accordingly pitched upon her as their umpire. It was stipulated that the defeated party would become · the adherent of the victor. In another words, Sankara if vanquished would become a grihasta,-the worst transgression which an ascetic could commit. Mandana in his turn agreed to become an anchorite and take to the kashaya vastra (red-robe) from the hands of his own wife. On this rigid condition they met in argument which waxed day by day without a break. Bharati according ·· “to Madhava Sankara Vijaya did not sit and listen, but was .attending to her own household duties At the commencement of the dispute, she gave two garlands one for each of ·· 1he disputants with a clear injunction that he whose garland begins to fade first, should consider himself outdone.

173′

MAIN INClDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE

After a protracted period, Mandana’s garland showed signs of fading first. Accordingly he owned defeat though in a . sullen mood ; while his wife knowmg now that her husband was no more a husband to her, prepared to leave the home. But Sankara did not allow her to do so. Mandana grace· fully acquiesced in his fall and accordingly adopted the

Sanyasa Dharma. Later on, we hear of the very thrilling story about Sankara and Bharati. Bharati intervened and challenged Sankara to a controversy with her. The King of Saints objected to arguing with women but she showed precedents. She passed from one science to another and in all of them she was thrown overboard. Finding that she could not overcome her ·formidable opponent in any argument, she resolved to humble him by calling him to speak on the lore of Love or Kama Sastra. Sankara was antipathic to things erotic and if he failed to answer queries on this subject, be found that his reputation would be at stake. So he begged of her a month’s time to consider the question. He went to the bank of Narmada and in the hole of a tree in a forest there, he left his body to be watched over by his disciples while his soul was away from its case. His Yogic experiern;e helped him to metamorphose himself into the deadbody of a King called Amaruka which was about to be cremated. The dead King woke up as if from sleep and resumed his mundane existence.

The ministers and the queen consorts of the King found in him ·something extraordinary and suspected that the soui of some blessed being had taken a fancy to live in the. roy~l body to enjoy iif~~ Messengers were secretly sent to search for a human body hidden in forest or cavern and to burn· it when apprehended, so that the great soul ·might stay with:

THE AGE OF SANKARA

·them and the King continue to Jive long. Meanwhile Sankara in the corporal case of the King was gathering varied erotic experiences which, it is said, have come to ·posterity under the title 189 Amarusataka ‘-one hundred pieces of amatory verses depicting the infinite erotic moods and situations. The amorous surroundings had for sometim_e even made the great Sankara to forget the purpose for wh1ch he had taken so much pain of leaving his own body and living in an alien atmosphere. His disciples went searching for him as the time-Jimit for his return had

1~1 No trace of this strange story can be found in any of the Sankara Vijayas. But Madhava in his biography of Sankara in the 9th and lOth Sargas has written that when Sankara was about w take his seat on the Sarvajna pitha, Goddess Sarada had pu

him this question’ 1 Cfi’W’T f<fi’li’Cli’T ~ ~~q’Cf~’f: fcn+rrfc+rCflT

fctr-q qci ~p=nf~r: 1 ~ :q q~ <fi’!lf~~ ft!lffu: <fi’~ ~CRll’t CiiaT~Cf ~~~ 11 In reply to her, the great Samyamindra. traversed all the sexologies, met her in all the arguments and triumphed. 1 qJ®Ili’Yf~ ~~ ~ci ~)lr +Tf’l2i :q fdlwlGfll ~+4Cfi.._ I ~qlf &r~mf~’fCIT~tnl f~~~ ‘!~tnfr 11 ‘

from this we learn, that the Teacher could have written some treatise on the erotic Seience and decidedly he could not be the author of the Amaru Sataka now extant. 1 ;r g Of’A~acfi f;:rlffur ~~lrltr ~ctioo~ ~l!q~~; ;=J’ arftt ~~~ mw sr~rfl <lwt~ri fCfi”mq orffff ~~{{~ fcrtfT Ft+r~

GFI’~~: Cfi’t SffijUJc~”‘ ~ctfcr;i~:?” (Seeintroductio~ to Amaru Sataka by Narayana Rama Acharya Kavya Tirthi). Sankara was a born rationalist; he would never have stooped down to perform this sort of miracle. Some inferior scribe, to give his imagination ‘a local habitation and a name’ might have woven this tissue of fancy and pure lie. Hence this strong romantic tale has to be dismissed as worthless and u:u.founded.

,. r

…

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S UFB

-expired. They came to know of the miraculous resurrection of Amaruka ; they went to his city and sought his audience. They sang the cryptic song-” Tatvamasi Rajan” which ·at once stirred Sankara back to his realities. But, by this .time the denizens of the King had found the body. of Sankara and were just setting fire to it. The metamor·phosed soul of Sankara fled back to its original habitat.

It is said that he prayed to God Nrisimha for succour, with whose benign grace his charred body regained its original lustre. His Invocation to god Nrisimha is in the form of S1 nkashtanasana Lakshmi Nrisimha Stotra 140 •

Sankara established his supremacy in every phase of knowledge. According to Madhava Sankara Vijaya, Bharati t”eturned back to her heavenly abode as she was the Goddess Sarasvati incarnate on earth due to a curse of the rishi Durvasas. But Chidvilasa and other biographers say that she accompanied Sankara to Sringeri, where he caused a shrine to be built, which he dedicated to her.

uo Sankashtanasana Lakshmi Nrisimha Stotra is a beauiful poem of 12 stanzas breathing fervour and resignation to God’s will. It begins with !

~Ctl’lf)fiifq~~ :q~qfUy
~tf +ftll’iful <f.,~ TilT~ I

….. C’\

~qm ~crn-~~~~q=m
~~~~~;r ~~ Cfit(JqiaJ’i__ 11

It concludes with the Phala-sruti.
~ll..+t i4lllf~e~cr~: sr~’t(SI’?.I l~’i•4 ~~fc:tct <c.1~ tti <l?.l~iSJlt ‘
·we=411iifu~~ru~~rx~ ~w~~c..e~cti< ~fer ~iCfl’tor 11

c ~-· ~ -~

·’This hymn finds a place in the stotra pustakas.

176 THE AGE Of SANKARA

1Mandana offered all his possessions as gift to Sankara and became his ardent devotee. He is the author of numerous wo.rks on Vedanta and Mimamsa (1) Naishkarmya Siddhi, (2) Tattiriya UpanisahdBhashya Vartika, (3) Brihada~ranyaka Upanishad Bhashya Vartika, (4) Manasa!lasa, a commentary on Sankara’s Dakshinamurti Stotra;

(5) Panchikarana Vartika, (6) Brahma Siddhi, (7) Vidhi Viveka. (8) Vibhrama Vilasa. Undoubtedly be was the most illustrious of Sankara’s pupils and was held in high esteem by his followers. This honour seemed to have . provoked the jealousy of others which was the cause for the split among the disciples of the Acharya. A squabble arose -over. the writing of the Brahma Sutra bhashya, as reported by Madhava in his Sankara Vjjaya, though much evidence .cannot be attached to it. Sri Sankara wanted Suresvara jchacya~ to write the Vartika (poetical commentary) on the

Sutra bhashya but Chitsukha and other fri~nds of Padmapada objected to this, saying that Suresvaracharya “‘Jlight not have been a sincere convert to Sankara’s system of philo~ sophy and if he-was allowed to write a Vartika on the Acharya’s magnum opus he might try to colour it by his own doctrines ofKarma-Marga. Upon this, Sankara gave a testwork for his pupil and the latter fully came up to the mark by writing the Naishkarmya Siddhi; but the oppositio• nist would not yield and Sankara vowed that his Sutra Bbashya should remain sans Vartika rather than it be written by anyone else but Suresvaracharya. Padmapada during his tour, estranged from his Guru wrote a large commentary on the Sutra Bhashya. Unfortunately this work was bu.rnt by his u.a~Le W:hQ was a staunch Mimamsaka of the Pra\>4a: kara School. . . The repentent Padmapada returned to ~is -master \Vhe( ·came to know of the pathetic news, and :·by whose grace he re-wrote a part of the lost-work, now·knowm

MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ ANKARA’S LIFE

as ‘Panchapadika ‘ (a commentary on the Sutra Bhashya for the first five padas, but really covering the first four sutras). Suresvaracharya had to satisfy himself with writing vartikas on the Upanishads of which two have seen the light of day viz. those on the Taittiriya and Brihadaranyaka U panishad Bhashyas. Suresvaracharya lived till his 70th year, in Kanchi and died in a neighbouring village Punyarasa which was also named Mandana Misra agrahara after him.

Once when Sanka.ra was sojourning in Kasi (Varanasi) he happened to be going with his disciples to take his midday dip in the Ganges. A chandala (according to the biographers, it was Shiva himself who appeared in that form to test. Sankara’s attitude towards the lowliest and the lost) with his dogs was passing by him, when the disciples -shouted to him to stand clear of their path. Th1s man, however turned about and asked the great Teacher how he might. consistently preach Advaitism and practise such differentiating untouchabHity.-‘ Does it make any difference in this gem of heav~n, the sun1if he i~ reflected in the waters· of the Ganges or m the gutter flowmg through the scaveno! ger’s street? 1Does it make any differ.!Iice in the Akasa enclosed in an earthern pot or in a vase of gold? In That thing, the Inner-being of all, the unruffled Ocean of Bliss and Light, what means this great delusion, this chimera of separateness,. creating distinctions. of Brahmana and Chandala ?’ 141 The great Sankara was struck aghast at the

m fctl ~l’~·i6JT’i f~~etsl=an:f1ut1 :crru~crriTcnr:-~crr~ftei ~:q;:r~in!~l=+rzrlc:m:ar~ 1 5f~tcr~~f;:r f.:J~~w ~~.rrr;:~craft~err ·fcnr)Slf ~~);Slff~~q if~Tt=t Cfi)~q fcr~tt \T~: ‘ t

179

178 THE AGE OF SANKARA MAIN INCIDENTS OF S’ANKARA’S LIFE

poser. Pertinent to that occasion, the gem of songs Mani

149

.sha Panchakam gushed forth from him. It reveals to us what a wide sympathy the Acharya had for the commonalty !

Sankara at Sringerl lived for 12 years teaching the ·vedanta.We have already referred to Sringeri where the saint ;bad advised Mandana’s wife Bharati to stay. She remained :a nun and was happy to accompany her converted husband ·wherever he went. She was perfectly justified in the ways ·she adopted-donning the Kashaya • Indeed she was very ·wise in following him and Sankara. Her immaculate life as .a recluse and her peaceful end at Sringeri added lustre to ‘her reputation. To place her in the niche of fame and ·evedastlng glory, it is suffici~nt to know that Sankara ‘COnsidered her to be worthy of adoration and reverential worship.

He next visited Kanyakumari, at the confluence of the 1hree seas, ‘Sandhi’ (Thiruchendur) Rame~waram, Gaja~ nnya, Venkatachala, and Kalahasti etc. After a pradak~ .shina tour, be finally settled at Kanchi, one among the seven Jl’eat cities of Bharatavarsha -the famous centre of :South Indian culture and civilisation. Through the Chola

King Rajasena (who was this Chola ?) who was reigning

ua Manisha Panchakam is a gem of 5 stanzas containing the ·quintessence of the Advaita phllosophy. It begins with:

Gtail«’f4Gt ~f~~~liT {ffcrR+W liT 9£~fqtftfwCfiFCf Cft!~ sr)crr Gfiffifrf&tuft 1 «er~ ., ;:r ~~~fu<iq;srmsfq ~ffir ~ =i:fJU61wl~ ij’ ~ ftr\ill~ ~~~tiT +i;flqa +ill’ 11 lit is translated in many languages for its beauty and truth. .A commentary to it, by Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra is also available.

1hen the Acharya renovated many ruined temples, extended ·chiefly the temples of Ekam~anatha and Varadaraja and rebuilt the city on a new plan with the shrine of Kamakshl in the centre (Kamakottam). 148 There Devi had been ·living in a cave (Bila) as an Ugra-kala (evil spirit), dreaded by the inhabitants. Sankara transformed her into a gentle .and more benign form and installed her as the guardian

·deity of that place.

Aa:ording to the tradition preserved in the annals of ·the Kanchi Matha ( li’TwTl=iffll’:) and endorsed by authoritative biographers, Sankara ascended the ‘ Sarvajna Pitha’ (the :Seat of Omniscience). Thus his Digvijaya culminated in that grand ascension.

Sankara established a central institution ( ~Sf’TO) with Teligious jurisdiction over the whole of India. The Kanchi• Matha is known as Sarada Matha (it is not to be con·founded with Sarada Pitha at Sringeri), and the seat as the Kamakoti Pitha. So, Sankara was its first incumbent. From ·this central institution radiated the other Advaita Mathas

r U3 Sankara did not confine himself only to spiritual things, it seems

I he to:>k keen interest also in the secular welfare of the people. Uis town-planning, placing Kamakottam in the centre had made Kanchi, a golden city with spacious streets. An old Tamil poem, Perumbar;~arruppadai (GiuC!§IbUtreJJDIJIUUA>t…) gives a correct

picture of the city as it flourished in that distant age :

‘u6i>6fl IDW~ ;StrWIIDJ”ii QIJir(:!jLlp.W ilitr.fillT~ (I jjlrAr j/} ,5: er(fJ w6irr fi!til 5711.1 Q/li(j) l1i i1i i fill QIJ IT iJLJl fir; w 6IJ i ID&> .IJL Q)f!li ~§jl'” @j I1J u Q)i QID,.lP 6’91J)QJC:IDliJ u L.L u lP 6’f(tD”‘

• • .CO ,

(g) u,…….6i <!F t:/1 •

Kanchi with its well defined topography was modelled after a. full-petalled lotus-i.e. the padmakosa pattern of city.

TBB AGB OF SANKARA

Jyotir Matha (Joshi Mutt) in Badarikasrama, in the North ; Dvaraka Matha (Souras.htra) in the West; Sringeri, in the South (Mysore); Govardhana (Puri) in the East, with Totaka, APPENDIX-I Padmapa:da, Sureswara and Hasthamalaka as their

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF

respective heads. The jurisdiction of these institutions, their traditions and observances, are elaborately treated in the ADI S’ANKARA’S LIFE Mathamnayas, believed to have been framed by Sankara

Kali B.C.

himself.

‘Birth of Sri Sankara at Kalati on Vaisakha Having established his divine mission, the incomparable Sukla Panchami (cyclic year ‘Nandana’). 2593 509 Sankara attained his Brahmibhava (identity with Brahman)

Upanayana of Sankara. 2598 504 at Kanchi, in the precincts of Sri Kamakshi, in his 32nd

In the beginning of his 8th year he lost his JYe&r, in 2625 Kall, in the cyclic year Raktakshi, corres..

father Sivaguru. 2601 501

pondlng to 476 B.C. Completed the study ofthe four Vedas and Vedanga.s. 2601 501

Got permission of his mother to enter the holy order of Sanya:sa (Kartika Sukla Eka.dasi, cyclic year ‘Plava ‘). 2602 500

OM TAT SAT

Initiated by Govinda ~hagavatpa.da.;_j cha.rya into Krama Sanyasa at Amara”‘! kantha on the banks of the Narmada

(

! river. (Pha.lguna Suddha Dvit1ya of the cyclic year ‘ Subhakrit ‘). 2603 499 :Studied philosophical systems under 2603 499 Govinda Bhagavatpada.charya. to to 2605 497:

Visited his Paramaguru, Gaudapadacharya

who was aged 120 years by that time at

Badarikasrama on the Himalayas and

stayed there for four years to study 2605 497

further, under the direct guidance of to to

:the Paramaguru. 2609 493

THB AGB OP SANKAltA

By the order of his Paramaguru, Sankara wrote a Bhashya on Gaudapada Karikas and sixteen Bhashyas on Prastana traya etc., fn this span of four years.

Initiation of Vishnu Sarma into sanyasa by Sankara. He was his eo-student at Kalati and foiiowed him in all his activities. His turiya-asrama name is ‘ Chitsukhacharya ‘ (He was the author of ‘Brihat Sankara Vijaya’ the first biography of Sankara, now irretrievably lost.)

Death of Sankara’s mother Aryamba. (cyclic year ‘ Plavanga ‘)

Niryana of Govinda Bhagavatpada, the Guru of Sankara (Kartika Purnima, cyclic year ‘ Plavanga.’)

Initiation of ‘ Sanandana ‘ into Sanyasa order. His Sanyasa name is Padma padacharya.

Sankara ‘s visit to Prayaga to propagate the Advaita Philosophy (Magha, Bahula Amavasya).

U’he Brahmin who was suffering from leprosy and cured by Sankara at Praya.ga was his third disciple. His name is

lldanka.

Kali B.C.

” ,,.

,. .,.

2608 492′:

2608 492·

2608 492′

2609 493:

2609 493.

APPENDIX-I

l’he fourth disciple, the dumb man was the son of Prabhakaradhavarin, by name Prithvidhara. His sanyasa name given by Sankara is ‘ Hastamalaka!’l charya.

Prabhakaradhavarin, father of Prithvidhara also took the order of sanyasa.

Sankara in his 16th year met Kumarila Bhatta for the first and the last time in Ruddhapura near Prayaga, in the act of self-immolation. Kumarila Bhatta is older than Sankara by 48 years. (cyclic year ‘K:;,laka ‘)

The Great Pandit Mandana Misra was an independent Brahim chief. He was a Kanojiya Gauda · Brahmin. He I was the disciple of Kumarila Bhatta and a staunch adherent of Karma

kanda of the Vedas. After a great

/. discussion, Mandana Misra became the disciple of Sri Sankara. Leaving his Grihasta Asrama he be~e a Sanya· sin. His sanyasa name Is ‘Suresvara• chary • {cyclic year Sadharana).

Sri ·sankara founded the ‘ Dvaraka Math.’ {Magha Sukhla Saptami of th” cyclic year Sadharana with # ~astamalaka’ as its 1st Adhipati or Head.

18)

Kali B.C.

9209 492.

“

…

“

2611 491

THE AGE OF SANKARA

Sankara visited Nepal and refuted the Buddhists. (vide the Indian Antiquary Vol. XIII. P. 417 ff).

Founded ‘Jyotir Math ‘ (Joshi Mutt) in the Himalayas ; (Pushya Suddha Purnima, of the cyclic year Rakshasa) with Totakacharya as its 1st Adhi pati or Head.

Sankara founded the ‘Govardhana Matha’ of Pori (Jagannath), (Vaisa.kha Sukla Dasami, of the cyclic year ‘Nala ‘) with Padmapadacharya as its 1st Adhipati or Head.

i’he Sa:rada Pitha at ‘ Sringeri ‘ was founded in Pushya Purinma of the year ‘ Pingala ‘ with Sureswaracharya as its first Pithadhipati.

The Kamakoti p1tha at ‘Kanchi’ was founded in Vaisakha Purnima of the year ‘ Siddharthin ‘ with Adi Sankara himself as its first Acharya.

Brahmibhava of Sri Sankara in his 32nd year at Kanchi, on Vaisakha Sukla Ekadasi. (cyclic year ‘ Raktakshi ‘).

Kali B.C.

2614 488

to to

2615 487

2616 486

2617 484

2618 484

2620 482

2625 476

APPENDIX 11

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mB AGB OF SANKARA

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JAGATGURU PARAMPARA sTOTRAM

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THB AGB OF SANKARA JAGATGURU PARAMPARA SIOTRAM

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THE AGB OF SANKARA

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JAGATGURU PARAMPARA STOTR.AM

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-:I

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19! THE AGB OF SANKARA

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q~qllfll S5f~T~~~wrcr~r S5ftCfll’o:=Fft
~rw;:ro-~~~q~mcrw ~~1\ 11

APPENDIX Ill

“·Successors of Sankaracharya

in the Kamakoti Pitha at Kanchi

AND

in the Sarada Pitha at Sringeri

with a critical review of all the available authorities.

No.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20. . 21. . 22.

23.

24.

25.

. 26.

1.1.

28.

29.

:; 30.

……….. ·

‘l

List of Sri Sankaracharyas who adorned ‘the Kamakod Pitha established by Adi Sankara at Kanchi and subsequently removed to Kumbhakonam

Date of Date of Total Name of t~e Acharyas their their period Abhisheka Brahmi-or their bhava Regime

·-“l

Sankara Bhagavatpada or Sankara I (Born · · 480 B.C. 477 B.C. 3 years at Kalati of Aryamba and Sivaguru in 509 B.C.)

Sureswara I (as Regent). ·.. 477 ” 407 , 70

“

Sarvajna Muni or Sankara If —. t.01 ” 365 42

–” “

Satyabodha ·_ 365 329 36 ,.

“

Jnananandana or Jnanottama 329 266 ,, 63 ,,

“

Suddhananda 266 185 81

• ” “

“

Anandajnana or Anandagiri 185 , 116 69

” “

Kaivalyananda or Sachchidananda 116 33 ,, 83

” “

Kripa-Sankara or Sankara Ill 33 8 A.D. 41 ,

“

·sureswara 11

Chidghanendra

Chandrasekhara

Sachchidghanendra

Vidyaghanendra Gangadhara Gishpati Ujjvala Sankara or Sankara

Gauda Sadasivendra Surendra Yogi Abhinava Vidyaghanendra

Muka Sankara or Sankara V

Chandrachudendra

Paripurna-bodhendra

Sachchitsukhendra

Chitsukhendra

Sachchidanandaghanendra
Cbid-vilasendra

Mahadevendra Saraswati Purnabodhendra Saraswati Bodhendra Saraswati

Brahmananda-ghanendra · C:,bidananda-ghanendra

~–·—-

8A.D. 65 A.o. S1 yeaH

110 45

“

110 ” “

173

“

173 ,, 242 ” 63 “

69 ,

242 “

316 74

“

316

IV 328 , ” “

328 ” 366 38 “

“

366 374 ” 8 ., “

“

374 “

384 , 10 ,,

“

384 397 ,,

13 ,

“

397 ” 436 436 ,, 446 ” 39 “

446 480 ” 34 , “

“

480 “

511

“

5ll ,, 526 , ” 31 “

.15 ,

526 563. ,

16 ,

“

563 , 516 ,

13 . “

576 , 600

24 ,.

600 , “

617

617 ” ··654 ,. ” 37 , ” 654 667 ,, 13

”

667 671 “

” ,’ …..

“

~ -~-~—~-~··-·~~~~ -·~·~~·~–·.–;;~-;::-::c.:;..~-:-='””-‘””.,…,.5-·,;.,·…… –~~~–~-

–:=-~~-~-;.-,·..,…….

48.

Mahac:ievendra 1199 A.t>. 1246 A.fi. 41 yeatll

49.

Chandrasekharendra 1246 1296 fl 50 ,

“

so. Vidyatirtha or Sankara Vll 1296 1384 88 ,

” “

51. Sankarananda or Sankara VIII 1384 , 1416 32 ,.

”

52. Pumananda-Sadasivendra 1416 1497 81

“

53. Mahadevandra 1497 1506 ‘ ,,

“

54. Chandrachudendra 1506 1512 6

“

” “

55. Sadasivendra 1512 1538 26

“”

“

56. Paramasivendrarya 1538 , 1585 47

” “

57. Sadasiva Brahmendra 1585 1637 52

“

” “

58. Bodhendra Y ogindra 1637 , 1691 54

” “

59. Atmaprakasendra 1691 1703 12 ,

” “

60.

Mahadevendra Saraswati 1703 1746 43

61.

Atmabodhendra Saraswati 1746 , 1772 26 ,

62.

Mahadevendra Saraswati 1772 , 1813 , 41

” ” “

” “

63. Chandrasekharendra Saraswati 1813 1850 37

” “

64.

Mahadevandra Saraswati 1850 1890 40

65.

Chandrasekharendra Saraswati 1890 ,. 1907 17

” ” “

” “

66.

Mahadevendra Saraswati 1907 Feb. 6 1907 Feb. 12 6 days

67.

Chandrasekharendra Saraswati (the present 1907 Illustrious Acharya) “

198

‘f’HB AGB OF SANKARA

N.B • .. There ·have been many Sankaracharyas all over the Advaitlc. Mathas in India,; and many of them have beenfamous writers of works on the Advaita Philosophy and’ Religion. Of these Advaitic Mathas, five have been established by Adi Simkara .. or ~ankara Bhagavatpada himself, .~the: Founder of the Advaita Philosophy and author of the Advaita Bhashyas on: the Prasthanatraya : and ·they are

(I) the Sarada Pitha ·atD\varaka established on Magha Sukla Saptami of the year Sadharana in the 2611 of the· KaJiyuga, corresponding to the year 2649 of the Yudhis-. thirasaka .. (490_B.. C.) with. Sri Brahma Svarupacharya: (Vi~varupa),. th~ brother of the famous Sureswaracharya .

. (Mandanamisra) as its first Acharya; (2) the Jyotir Matha

. at Bad~rikasrama established on Pausha Sukla Purnima of the ye¥ Rakshasa in the year 2616 k. y. corresponding to 2654 y. s. (485 B.C.), with Totakacharya (Anandagiri)as its first Acharya; (3) the Govardhana Matha of Jagannatha, :::established on Vaisakha Sukla Dasami of the year NaJa in· 26lt k. jJ corresponding to 2655 y. s. (484 B.C.) with Padmapadacharya (Sanandana) as its first Acharya;

(4) the Sarada. Pitb~ ~t: Sringeri, established on Pausha Sukla ·Pumima ·of the year Pingala in 2618. k.y. corresponding to 2656 y.s. (483 B.C.) with Hastamalakacharya· (Prithvidhara) as.. its first Acharya, and (5) the Kamakoti Pitha at Kanchi established on Vaisakha Sukla Purnimaof the year Siddharti in 2620 k.y. corresponding to 2658 y.s.

,il (481 B.C.) with Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada himself as its. q j first Acharya.

lt In the Kamakoti Pitha alQne, one of these five mathas.

‘I

established by Adi Sankara and originally located at

‘I i ! Kanchi (Conjeevaram) but subsequently removed to

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 199′

Kumbhakonam, *during the latter part of the 18th Century, there have been up to this time 67 Acharyas, t who all bore the title of Sri Sankaracharya, and among whom there have been no less than 8 Acharyas who also actually bore the name of Sankara. Of these latter again, the 38th (or 37th) Acharya, Abhinava Sankara or Sankara VI who was born to Visvajit, Somayaji 2-! years after his death in the womb of his widow Visishta at Chidambaram (as Gajagarbha) in the year 3889 of the Kaliyuga, corresponding to 787.__ 788 A. D. and who finally disappeared near the Dattatreya Guha on the Himalavas in his 52nd year, and who was in addition considered like Adi Sankara, an incarnation of Siva-possessed a genius and personality in no way inferior, to those of his illustrious predecessor, so much so that he has been by later writers, both his admirers and adversaries identified with the First Sankaracharya who was born to Aryamba and Sivaguru at Kalati (Kerala) in 509 B.C. and who finally attained his wonderful Brahmibhava at Kanchi in 477 B.C. (Vide for further particulars my ‘Age of

Sankara’.)

* In the early days of the East India Company and the unsettled times of the Moguls and the Mahrattas, the Kamakoti Pitham was shifted to Kumbhakonam from Kanchi (Ed.)

t If Sureswara is not included the number of Acharyas wlll be 66 (Ed.)

~ ‘

tlst of Sri Sankaracharyas who adorned the Sarada Pitha established by Adi Sankara at Sri.ngagiri (Sringeri) ·

–

Date of Date of

Total

No. Name of the Acharyas . their their periodAbhisheka Brahmi-of their bhava Regime

1. 2. Sankara Bhagavatpada Suresvaracharya ( 1 ) 18 ·B.C. 12 ” 12 B.C. 773 A D. 6 years 785 “

3. Nityabodhaghana 773 A.D. 848 ,, 75 “

4. Jnanaghana 848. ,, 910 , 62 “

5. Jnanottama Sivacharya 910 ” 953 , 43 “

6. Jnanagiri 953 ” 1038 ” 85 “

7. Simhagiri 1038 ” 1098 ” 60 “

8. Isvara Tirtha 1098 ” 1146 ,, 48 ,

9. N arasimha Tirt ha 1146 ” 1228 , 82 ,

10. Vidya Tirtha (Vidya Sankara) 1228 ” 1333 ” 105 ,,

11. Bharatikrishna Tirtha 1313 ” 13~0 ” 47 “

12. Vidayaranya 1380 ” 1386 ,, 6 “

13. Chandrasekhara Bharati I 1386 , 1389 ” 3 “

14. Narasimha Bharati I 1389 ” 1408 .. 19 “

iS. Pursuhottama Bharati i t4os ” t~4g ” 40 “

16. 17. S.mkaraoand 1 ( ? ) Chandrasekhara Bllarati 11 1448 1454 ” , 1454 1464 ” ” 6 10 ” ,

18. Narasimha Bharati II 1464 ” 1479 ” 15 ,,

19. Purushottama Bharati 11 1479 ” 1517 ” 38 “

20. Ramachandra Bharati 1517 ” 1560 , 43 ,

21. Narasimba Bharati Ill 1560 ” 1573 ,, 13 “

22. Narasimha Bharati lV 1573 ” 1576 ” 3 “

23. Narasimha Bharati V 1576 ” 1599 ,, 23 “

24. 25. Narasimba Bharati VI ( ? Sachchidananda Bharati I ) 1599 1622 ” ” 1622 1663 , ” 23 41 ” “

26. Narasimha Bharati VII 1663 ” 1705 ,, 42 “

27. Sachcbidananda Bharati Il 1705 ” 1741 ” 35 “

28. Abhinava Sachcbidananda Bharati I 1741 ” 1767 ” 26 “

29. Abhinava Narasimha Bharati 1767 “‘ 1770 ,, 3 ,,

30. Sachchidananda Bharati 11 1770 ” 1814 , 44 “

31. Abhinava Sachchidananda Bharati 11 1814 ” 1817 ” 3 “

32. Narasimha Bharati VIII 1817 ” 1878 ” 61 “

33. Sachchidananda Sivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati 1878 ” 1912 , 3~ “

34. Chandrasekhara Bharati Ill 1912 “

THB AGB OF SANKARA

The above list has been prepared from the table showing the list of Acharyas of the Sringeri Mutt under· the heading of Sri Sringeri Ja gad guru Para m para ( Y,!j fil ® ffit C:a;tR ~~~(§([§ utrwuQS)tr) published in Tamil under theorders of His Holiness Sri Jagadguru Narasimha Bharati VIII, ·immediately after his Brahmibhava· in 1879, as an appendix to the Tamil translation of Madhaviya Sankara Vijayam compiled under the supervision of Bangalore· Siddhanti Sri Subrahmanya Sastriar arid printed at the Memorial Press, No. 39, Thambu Chetty Street, Madras: no doubt,: the above list tallies with the records preserved in the Sringeri Mutt, the Guruparampara Stotras and the Amnaya stotras of the Sringerr Mutt published in Telugu·

. character by Vavilla Ramaswamy Sastri in 1885 and the Guruparampara Stotras etc. published in Devanagari character under the orders of His Holiness Sri Jagadguru Sachchidananda Sivabhinava Narasimha Bharati Swamigal, t11e late Sri Sankaracharya of the Sringeri Mutt recently by Sri Vani· Vilasa Press at Srirangam. But it must be pointed out that there is some discrepancy between these two accounts and that given by His Highness Sri Krishnaraja Udayar, the grand-father of His Highness Sri Krishnaraja Udayar Bahadur G. C. S. I. the present Maharajah of· Mysore, in his Sringeri Mutt Guruparampara and in his. Ashtottarasatanamastotra on the late Sri Narasimha Bharati Swamigal ofSringerj Mutt, composed on Wednesday Sravana Sukla Pratipada of Ananda, in the year 1776 of Salivahana Saka, corresponding to 26th July 1854. In the list so given· by His Highness, only 30 Acharyas are enumerated from Adi Sankaracharya to Sri Narasimha Bharati Swamigal, the Paramaguru of the present Acharya of the Sringeri Mutt. ·But Sankarananda and Narasimha Bharathi VI-the 16th· and the 24th Acharyas in the above list are altogether·

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 203-:

omitted ; so that the present Acharya His Holiness Sri Jagadguru Chandrasekhara Bharati Swamigal HI will only be the 32nd Acharya according to the venerable Sri Krishna· raja Udayar, the author of the two stotras.*

*These stotras are still in manuscripts and are pree served in the Mysore Palace Library and other places along with the other worl(:s of His Highness, which form as it were· an. encyclopaedia of all the Sacred and Religious Literatures in India. I am in possession of an excellent though very old, list of all the works of His Highness written in a neat hand· in the Canarese character including these two stotras, and a mere perusal of these with the subsequent . G’ui’uparamparas, and Ashtottara Satanamastotras relating to the Acharyas of the Sringeri Mutt published later on in Telugu and N agari characters will clearly show that the ·later publications are all copies of these two original stotras, only with certain important changes and omissions,: to suit the exigencies of the time and the purposes·· of the mutt. I give below the commencement and conclusion of these two stotras and they may be compared with the·. -corresponding stotras already published in Telugu by ‘

V. Ramaswami Sastri without mentioning the name of the author. The Sringeri Matha GurupJ.rampara according to His Highness Sri Krishna Rajendra of Mysore runs as. follows:

SQ”ffi~ I

~~ t:r~~cr) ;r~fcriSur «rcrrzr~~u;r.:r: 1

crrf«ISo: ~fct=crzr)rrfi:~: rru~@~f’l: 11 ~ 11,

Olffif: ~tfr:s’lRT mfcr~qcrr;:r t:rf.:r: I

“‘ …. “‘ ~~: SQ”f~u;:ri~: t!fUifCfP-l’Ttf’1 51’~: 11 ~ 11

mB AGB OF SANKARA

· 1 f{~~~llllrr f.:r~~~t=l’l’Ner: 1 CRrr fiRer;rr:qrlif m;rr~~fc:r: 1 1 ~ 1 1

…

~’f(U~~: ssr’ffqGI¥1.-=;f GfTCTCfi: I ~rJJCrr=qrti~~ ~r~r~: ,1 ~ ~ ,,

~m’f;n+rf<:~~lllct td’tf: ~rw’T \if~q-q: 1 2~t:11:T\if ~~\if41 c€lllctt fct (l~iffi’ ll t ~ ll

~fqf’!U~Wff~ ~~~UT CfiTRrffi’ I \if’Pm{_ ~u ssrr~r1f<O\il•l.ii\~~~qu ll ~ ‘t( ll

(I) In some manuscripts this line is changed as follows: fcr~~q-r:qrlf~r~r f.:r~Gr)~;nf~er: 1”

But in the Telugu printed publication, this line runs -as follows:

” ~~r:qr4’~rm f;r~~~~= 1”

.(2) In the Telugu edition, the last three lines are rm11blated as follows to suit the exigencies of the time. · ” ~CT’U\if~~) ~c~rcft 6ll <I \ild’ 11 ~~ 11 ” d’f~&r: ~f~R~~p.frf~t=r~Cfi: I 1f~mm~rGfllcll€1 ~tt-q: 11 ~¥ 11

Ex~epting these few variations there is absolutely no “Other difference between this and the Telugu edition of the · Jagadguru· Par am para Stuti.

,. Hi~ High?ess’s Ashtottara Satanamavali on Nrisimha llJh aratl Swam1gal of Sringeri Mutt runs as follows:

~~lltfus~Gff ~Cfilf~«~~W’~\iffrCf”(1f ssrrm;:r, CfiUric~ srf~~.Tctct'”< ‘1’~~”< f~~~~= 1

205·

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

~.:rnr1f”<r ‘!f~rf~er~CI’t=f~”<r: 9;\ififT~ctfif~)

;:rwrr ‘t’~)~’if ~d’flffa ac:ra-W’S1l11:r\i{<=S{=qo:S{: 11 ~ lt “‘

~r~~”<r ~uerm: ~~~ <~tq’To9;\j{Cfi: 1 ~~~st’ffiT~T~T ~~lflurcf”+l’Cf: I I ~ 11

~Cfi 9:~q ssff.!f~~~clfl€ll lffiT~: 1 ~~ qfcr~ qrqeri qocrt ~1JCf’d’t ~~ 1 1 ~\9 1 1

fcmrn+qc~lf~m~ ~Cfhrr~tO~sr~ 1

G ‘

~~”<m ’51″f.:!.f«~m”<~r~ \if~~~): 11 ~t 11

q 1~1$\il ~~c:r~+rasrfcnt~~rfuirr 1

‘ ‘”‘

cr~«Cfi,af:cr~c:r ~~~Cfl~lii~~f~ ” ~ ~ 11

…. .

~T\if;:~q~QS{~;:r:qTlf~T\if aiJ_~CI’T I

~q;:r~f~~~~~t:ll1=;:fer ~~t~rrr 11 ¥ o ”

S!lihtaT iiMI ucif;:st”«rcfmirt=r etT’i’Cff l

~crm c~)~f< (\9 )~rq <“)”<~ c~) fqa ~~~~¥~ u\

mf~~~~’!SfT~TSSii.-~Cfc~~ l t=r”+T: ~~fct’q”~ Ur\111:N\if ~ll ¥~ ll

+rCRlll mm =ifd’ ;;rr~ ~re~ ~a’i’ 1

“‘ ~~lf«T SfTt~ \i)l~ ({f:q;:st”+rWil<if_ ll ¥~ ll

SSft”Strif~r lfCfTr’S{~lf ‘l~~T ‘t’tSitm ~CflL I ~~<=e”1i ~: q~~Cf~T ~CI’~lfCiT~lfTq I l ¥¥ llt

ssr’T~’if”<r ‘!f~~~lT<ffirofif’lt ~m~crc:r~W ~~1\ 11

l206 THE AGE OF SANKARA

This is only a slight discrepancy, and we can conveni·•en~ly pass it over, and assume this list given above as

practically correct with regard to the number of the Achar:yas that adorned the Sarada Pitha at Sringeri ; but we ·cannot so lightly pass over another discrepancy that we find in these stotras with regard to the immediate successor of :Sankaracharya in this mutt. We find in His Highness’s. . ··Guruparampara, only the name of Prithividharacharya as ·the immediate successor of Adi Saiikara in the Sringeri Mutt ; ~o doubt I am aware of that in some of the later manus··cripts the name of Visvarupacharya is introduced in place

· -of Prithividharacharya; but. none of these manuscripts menti~n the name of Sureswaracharya, as given in the ..above list and in the Ouruparampara-stotra recently published in Telugu.

The name of Sureswara is clearly an innovation brought -about by the advocates of the Sringeri Mutt after 1856. Up to that period everyone believed that Prithividhara or -:yisw~rupa was the immediate successor of Sankara . in that ~utt. · Even in the. · Ouruparampara-stotra recently publish· ‘·ed in the Devanagari character at Srirangam, ttie sub!ltitution of Sureswaracharya in place of Prithividharacharya ·or Visvarupacharya is brought about in a clear and strategic manner and whoever might be the author of it, there is not ·the ,slightest doubt, that he was conscious that Sankara’s ·immediate successor was, according to all the well-known · and authenticated records and traditions not Sureswara. charya, but only Prithividhara or Viswarupa, and the able .author by a pun upon the words * fer~ (Viswa) and

~~q-(Rupa) tries to identify Viswarupa with the author

*Cf. The Ouruparampiua-stotra 1.2 :-

IlL..

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

·of the Vedanta-Vartlkas, and thereby suggests to us that Vlswarupa and Sureswara are one and the same.

Though there can be no doubt that the Sringeri Mutt was <>ne of the first five great mutts formed by Adi Sankara, a perusal of the above list clearly shows that it had been very much neglected until Sri Vidyaranya took chuge of the same, from whose time it appears to have been gaining in prestige as one of the mathas established by Sankara Bhagavatpada. Owing to the innate greatness and extraordinary learning of Sri Vidyaranyaswami, who practically reformed the matha in the year 1253 of the Salivahana saka, corresponding to 1331 A. D. while both his Guru and Paramaguru· Vidyatirtha and Bharati Tirtha were alive, and owing no doubt, to the political influence which he exer.; cised as one of the chief ministers under a great and powerful Hindu king, and owing also to the personal magnetism and purity of life of its later Acharyas, the ‘Sringeri Mutt has become at present the foremost and the most important of the mutts established by Sankara in India. We always had the highest admiration and veneration for His Holiness Sri Jagadguru Sachchidanand Sivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati Swami, the 33rd and the late Sankaracharya of the Sringeri Mutt, and though we had only ·once seen him at the time of the installation of Sankara’s idol in the new temple specially built at Kalati. the birth place of Adi Sankara. We had been so much impressed by his undoubtedly great personality, his calmness of mind, his meekness of appearance, his simplicity of dress, his purity of life, his accessibleness to all, his clearness of exposition, his unostentatious behaviour and his extraordinary and ‘Varied learning, we feel convinced that the ·present greatness . of the Sringeri. Mutt is chiefly due. to his magne~io.perso,nality.,

208

THE AGB OF SANKARA

‘ But our purpose is not to advocate the cause of any or· these mutts, but simply to point out what materials they furnish to enable us to determine the age of Sankara. It will be admitted by all that we have in the above list, a regular· record of all the Acharyas that occupied the Sarada Pitha at Sringeri, from the time of Vidyaranya, its supposed 12th· Acharya, up to the present time : but all accounts and• records relating to Vidyaranya’s predecessors, including Adi· Sankara, whom the mutt now claims as it first Acharya, are· purely matters of conjecture and imagination and are not

worth the material on which they are written. While all the· other mathas established by Sankara, count from him 67′ to 142 Acharyas and assume Sankara to have been born on· Sunday the 5th day (Panchami) of the bright half (Sukla · paksha) of ·the_ month Vaisakha (Tamil month Chittirai),. in the ·spring season {Vasanta Ritu), Uttarayana, Naodana samvatsara, of the year 2/93 of the Kaliyuga, 2631 of the Yudhisthira Saka, corregponding to 509 B.C. under the constellation of Punarvasu and under the ascending sign of”

I· Dhanur Jagna, it is extremely strange to find · that the Sringeri .Mutt should count only · 34 Acharyas upto thepresent ·day · including Adi Sankara himself as its fir~t Acharya, ·and should have placed Sankara’s birth contrary to all the various Sankara Vijayas, Punyaslokamanjaris. and other written records and oral traditions-on Sunday, the fifth day of the bright half of the month Vaisakha, Iswara. Samvatsara of the year 3058 of the Kaliyuga,-14: of the Vikrama Saka-correspoding to 44 B.C. under the· constellation of Ardra.

It appears that rightly or wrongly Vidyaranya or perhaps someone of his successors chose the year 3058 or the Kaliyuga, as the date of Sankara’s birth, which had

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 209

become fixed in the records of Sringeri Mutt. It must have been long before the controversy between Sringeri Mutt and the Kumbhakonam Mutt (Kanchi matha) had arisen; and when each of the mutts wanted to trace its succession directly from Adi Sankara, and when their respective heads claimed the exclusive privilege of being the Advaita Jagadguru for the whole of India, the authorities of the Sringeri Mutt evidently felt difficulty in sho .ving to the public at large an unbroken line of successors from Adi Sankara. For the only names of persons whom they could remember and count amongst the Acharyas after Sankara and ,Vis wa.. rupa (Prithvidhara or Prithividhava) were limited to eight or nine names before Vidyaranya who assumed the order of Sanyasin on Kartika Suddha Saptami of the year Prajot.. patti in 1253 of the Salivahana Saka (a bout 1331 A. D.} ; and even those 8 or 9 persons whose names they were able to pick out with great difficulty could not have occupied the Pitha at the Sringeri Mutt for more than 1375 years. To keep up their prestige and to be consistent· with what they had already published they could not change this date of Sankara’s birth already recorded in the accounts of their mutt. So they were obliged to assign to each of the predecessors of Vidyaranya almost the full period of man’s life,* but even then they found that the mutt was Jacking history for a period of more than 800 years to reach up to Sankara even according to their assured date of 3058 Kaliyuga. Not being able to account for this long period

*For instance, the records of the Sringeri Mutt show 90, 94, 48, 86, 63, 69, 83, 105 and 52 as the period of ascetic life of each of its Acharyas corn m mcia~ f1·om Nityl· bodhaghana (it~ 3d Acharya) and ending with Bharati

I .

‘ ,

‘210 THE AGE OF SANKARA

-0f 800 years and more, ~~Y devised a plan and assumed for the first time that Sankara and Sureswara-the two great -expounders and advocates of ttle Advaita . school of philosophy-were the first two of their line of Achary~s, and ‘they made up between those two great persons thts long period of more than 800 years. But as Sankara as 41niformly accepted by all the authorities to have lived on -earth only for a short period of 32 years-at the most 36 ‘)’ears-they were obliged to ascribe the remaining 800 years ·or more correctly 785 years to Sureswara alone. It has

•

been suggested by some modern scholars that th~ ~gure 800

•

might bet a pure clerical mistake for 80, but tt ts not so_ ibecause the records of the Sringeri Mutt unmistakably

IKrishna Tlrtha (its 11th Acharya), whereas they show 21, .21, 42, 26, 15, 16, 45, 52, 16, 13, 23, 23, 41, 42, 36, 26, 4, -43, 3, as the period of ascetic life of each of the success~rs o()f Vidyaranya commencing from Chandr~sekhara Bhar~t1 I ·.(its 13th Acharya) and ending with Abhmava Sachchtdauanda Bharati 11 .(its 31st Acharya).

t The late Pandit N. Bh~shyacharya, who seems to ‘think that Sankara could not have estab!ished any of the mutts says with regard to this long penod of ~00 years ;assign’ed to Sureswaracharya; “This may be a mtstake for ~0 years and assuming that such was the case, we find that ·sri Sankaracharya flourished about the end of sevent~ ·century A. C.” (vide p. 13 of his’ .Age of S~nkaracharya ,> ;Mr. c. N. Krishnaswami Iyer refernng to the hst of San~~ra s ‘Successors preserved in the Sringer’s Mutt, says-The :Sringeri Mutt undoubtedly of the Guru’s founding, ha~ a ·list of his successors ; but unhappily, it is an imperfect hst, lor, besides other errors, it assigns to Sureswaracharya, the

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

2ll

show the Sureswara was converted into regular Sanyasin ..

-of the order of Paramah’lmsa Parivrajakacharya by Sankara

-on Chaitra Sukla Purnima of the year Vijaya corresponding

to the year 30 of the Vikrama Saka and attained his

Brahmibhava or Mukti oo Magba Sukla Dwadasi of the year Pramoda (wrongly called Pram1dicha) corresponding to the year 695 of the Salivahana saka, which will ;give him a total period of 803 years from the tim: of his .conversion into sanyasa up to the time of his siddhi. According to all reliable authorities Sureswara was no other than Mandana Misra, the famous disciple of Kumarila lBhatta, and when Sankara met him and converted him into

·immediate successor of the Guru, a period of 700 years or more ! Still as the time of the monk’s birth is placed at the ·close of the 8th Century of the Vikrama Era (whence all these dates ) if we make some allowance for somebody’s -carelessness herein, it is easy perhaps to reconcile small discrepancies and take 788 A.D. as the year of the Guru’s \birth as Maxmuller does” (vide his ‘Life and Time ofSankara’

p. 14-15) Apart from the fact that both. the scholars :agree in thinking with us that tbe records of Sringeri Mutt are timperfect and incorrect, we are thoroughly unable to follow their arguments to their full logical conclusions. Toe sugges tion as to the date of Sankara made here by the former isdearly inconsistent with his own conclusion arrived at p. 21 of bis said work, where he places Sankara, ‘ ~etween the middle of the 4th and the 6th i.e., to the 5th century A.C. With

·regard to the latter, we are unable to understand why he

places this monk’s birth at the close of the 8th century

of the Vikrama Era, whereas his conversion itself is placed

in the year 30 of the Vikrama Era. It is clearly opposed to .all records.

212 THE AGE OF SANKARA

a 8anyasi, he was already pretty advanced in age and was. undoubtedly much older than Sankara himself. We have~ therefore, to give him a total period of a.t least 850 yearsas his term of life, if we should assume the records of the Sringeri Mutt to be perfect and correct.

Even granting all these, there would arise a fresh difficulty. It was first given out that Prithvidhara (Prithivi·· dhava) was its first Acharya after Sankara. Sometimes later the name of Visvarupa had meen ·mentioned in place· of Prithividbava, and both the names were understood to· denote ooe and the same person. The name of Sureswaracharya had not been mentioned till the latter half of the last century as one of the Acharyas of the Sringeri Mutt. It is well-known that Padmapada, Hastamalaka, Totaka, and Sureswara were the immediate disciples and successors. of Sankara. Visvarupacharya cannot be identified with> Sureswaracharya, and is quite a distinct person from him. It has been distinctly stated in all the ancient Sankara Vijayas. that Visvarupa was an incarnation of Yama where as. Mandana Misra or Sureswaracharya was uniformly considered as an incarnation of Brahamadeva. * Even the

*Compare . the following stanzas from the 2nd sarga o£’ ..Prachina Sankara Vijaya of Anandagiri :

” ~s+rcr ij’ ~<f’i:, Cflli~lf~~ crqr ~:

c-. “\ c-.

ij”t ~«”ltof{>5Cfll ~qq;:r) SClllffi ~~:I mStlll~fifftccrr+rr:r fer~tuft, ~~ ~~) ~crt, ~~~~~ij’ f:q~ cr~cr: ~~arfq •~

~elf: ,., q~crm ~fer ~rSCliT ~m fcr~cr~q)

e c:.

({~ ~;:rrsf~ffi\if.ifi5ffil OcSI’ffi’CTT~lf ‘Cffli l

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 213

identification of Prithividhara {Prithividhava) with Visvarupa is open to serious objections.

~r ~:qrsrlf rc:r~ltof9~qf fli~~ wl~’f· sr~r: sr~zrrq~ ~mrr: ~;f ~UG!l~ 11

Compare also the following stanza from the 6th Sarga c0f Prachina Sankara Vijaya :

~’!iH<f~ ij’fSCll cil Cl~ ({fer~l!r;:rfe-~ffiif,

f~t)lfT~ ~crfi! fcr;:n:r~ ~Cflll’t)lf~T ~~lfrnri 1

lJ:c1!,~ 1:f~cfierct fcr<:q~”( mS?.T fcrmf~~

lJ.Cfccrr ~~-.rcrr~lt ij’ifij’~C\ ~T&TTC( ij’ ~r~~ 11

Compare also the following stanzas from Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada’s Mathamnaya Setu ( ~’iflf ij-~) relating to the 4th or the Dakshinamnaya:

~lfr ({f&Torr~: ~~r ~rl=IO) -.r~ 1

~fv;r~lf ttJ?r ij’t::Sf({Tlf: ~Tlf’i: 11

tr~T ~1T(Cff :q ~T~Cf<t ~lfl\ I

·cm~) ~m~”Ulf!ff:;r lJ.~T~ 11

~T’OO’ ~lf ~r ~rcr “\ ij’cfCfl’Tlitn~({T 1

~~:crrer~r(err)~ arr=crn:f ~~~-.rsrfcr crr~Cfll{ 11

=ifWlff~r ~~uezitror’i ~1SfT zrcr: 11

“‘ “‘

Compare also the stanza from the Prachina Sankara Vijaya, referring to this Amnaya Setu, which runs as follows:

~T~~s~ ll~Si!~~fctf~ ~~TW«maq’f~ er t{f~cfierct(~):q f’lf~ srrqcr ~ci~ ft~~ l

214 THE AGB OF SANKARA

It was to meet this difficulty that the various Sankara · Vijayas known to us under the names of Madhavacharya ·(Vidyaranya), Sadanandacharya and Chidvilasayati had been

.~i=~ ij”fu ij”Hf~lf ~o tr’To~lll’iarTCflfrcrfer

· · ~’it ~if~ctf er~cr f«~ crTkfPr ~a= :q ~: 11

‘ ~ ~

Compare also the Mathamnayas . of Dwaraka and

. Jagannath with reference to Sringeri Mutt, printed at pp. 3i-38 in Vidyanataka published in the Vedaprakasa Yantralaya.

~~T ~f&TUTT+rrTlf: ~’1flfr crcr~ JJo: I

«l=SI’~Pr) -qf~n::, -qlfq-) ~~~ \3″:;’lf~ 11

~ C’\’0

~r~ ~’Tfur ~lfmrfo:r ~tcrcr’T -qr~er’T~r 1

er~r~) ~err lf~, ~~ uif~cr~ er~q: 11

a-1~ :q ~w-qn~li ~fCFcr: Cfillrrf«CfiT tJ{aT t ~ai=lf ~~:qr~’Tfer, ~taT~Cfl~Cfl: 11

~~erreru~lf an:qpf ~fu err qf~qo~~ 1

~~~sf~ ~er +i ~~et 1Cfli ~RCI”l{ ll

¥ • fto ~

lf\ifer~ qo;:r ~er~ ~~lfer 1

‘0 ‘

ar.=mfcr~ ~Cfl ~~mf~ sr~~= 11

~~lf’i:Tro:rr ~~werFftf~~~qm: t ~et <#11 ~<aT fo:rcli tet”<cr~’T Cfi”CfT~cr~: 1 ~ij”RmtJu m~~d”TSij”T f~ ~~err 11

fcmr~ur ij”~: rim~.qf~Clf\if’! 1

tr :~m~ or \ifT-=rrfer ~1qf~CfirCli”~ ll

–

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

brought into existence and given the appearance of ancient works ; and we find how hard they laboured to indentify· this Visvarupacharya with Sureswara or Mandana Misra,

how they went to the length of saying that Sureswara was blessed by Sankara to live a very long life and to retire from the world only after composing his annotation on his Brahmasutra Bhashya under the name of* Vachaspati Misra. It is threfore clear that the list of Acharyas preserved in the Sringeri Mutt-so far at least as Vidyaranya’s predecessors are concerned-is highly imperfect, and will not throw much light either on the real age of Sankara

IDOl ere~ ~:~uferccrq-~ f~~d”: I
q-~~~cr) f’lcli ~~T’lr~T ~ \3″~~ 11

-qf~ ~~~ ~1crull’ errlfa ~or \ifrfcr.:rn:t 1

C’\

~l=S(‘~lfr lferro:rt :q -qf~~= ~ \3″:;lfa 11

f:q.:JJN :;fctr~f~ct OT’li=Cf ~~f~CI+f_ 1
m-\ifFHfer ~cl fcr~n~ :;fwzf ~ fcrcr1lfa 11 ”

‘ *Vide Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya, Sarga XIII. vs. 72-73’-..

,, ~:q-lf~~ ~r ~ trfer ~t

a;~ ~~er~~~~~ 1!~~ ~= 1
qs:~er Cfc~ :q(UTf: srf~aT ~~~

~sfq-~~~lflrCf ~+rrT I I ‘.9~ 11

srroerCfllfqf~q-rCJlcr~rc:r, TftCEt
erf\if ~qRI cet· arferifl=lf er~~UlfTl{ I
‘q~ fcremlfrf~ ~t ~~ ‘miSlffrcfit

I arr-qffif~lf ~f’Clf&Tfer ~T =if \;ftlfffi 11 \9 ~ I I

C’\ ‘

216

THE AGE OF SANKARA

or of his successors in the Sringeri Mutt. Taking advantage of the Kumbhakonam Mutt had, in their eagerness to give over-prominence to the Kamakotipitha established by Sankara Bhagavatpada originally at Kanchi of which the Kumbhakonam Mutt is a mere continuation, introduced serious changes in the names of the first Acharyas of the of the various Mathas established by Sankara in India~ in their newly framed Mathamanyas and Guruparamparas in direct opposition to Bhaguatpada’s own Mathamnaya Setu, t and the various Mathamnayas and Sankara Vijayas and other authenticated traditions presented in the other

t According to Bbagavatpada’s Mathamnaya Setu from which an extract of the Dakshinamnaya was already given, are placed Sri Sureswaracharya, Totakacharya, Padmapadacharya and Hastamalakacharya, respectively in the four Amnayas-Paschima (Dwaraka), Uttara (Badarikasrama), Purva (Jagannatha) and Dakshina . (Sringagiri). But the

expression ‘3lftffli’TSW ~~~:1-”For the present the Acbarya for the Dwaraka Matha is Sureswara “-shows that the Great Teacher has been already approached by

Sureswara with a request that he may be relieved from

the onerous duty of a Mathadhipati, and that Sankara had

aiready yelded to his request, and was waiting only for

an early opportunity in finding out a substitute for him.

As soon as the name of Brahmasvarupa (Visvarupa)

was suggested by Sureswara, be was installed as the first

Acbarya of the Dwaraka Matha, and he is accordingly

counted in the records of the Dwaraka Mutt, as its first

Acharya, dating his accession back to the year 2649

Yudhishthira Saka, corresponding to 490 B.C. whe11 the

said .Mutt as first founded by Sankara.

”

; !

~–

SUCCESSORS OF So\NKARACHARYA

·mutts and in the Tamrpatranusasana issued by King Sudba• ·11van on Asvina Sukla Purnima (15) of the year 2663 of ·Yudhishthira S’aka, corresponding to 478 B.C. the adTo-

This is corroborated by the records of the Dwaraka Mutt and Govardhaoa Mutt, as well as by Sudhanvan’s Tamrapatranusasana. Further this fact is corroborated by the following stanza from the Sankaracharya-Satpa1ba -of Chitsukhacharyas’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya:

. .

“‘~

4lTIS~orrr~rrr sr~urmr ~l=Sferzrcr ({D”

c:.

lltffcrf ~ srf~afer!iuf srr~ et C{fD”crT~l{_ I ;:r ccrt ~zr~1=zrftr1=1″C! f11~ Gtcrrsfq-q-rorftrti~ ~rct ~cr1 ~~criffij” er ~er ~ccrt ~~ ij”f~~;:crrl{_ 11

which clearly shows that he was generally authorised to :superint<!nd all the Mutts, and that he was regarded by each

Mutt, as if he was their own Acharya or Guru.

Compare also the Guruvamsavali presented in the Dwaraka Mutt and published in the ‘Vimarsa ‘ by its last Acharya which contains a short account of all the chief incidents of Sankara Bhagavatpada from the time of his birth up to the time of his wonderful Brahmibhava of which

1he fotlowing is only an abstract :

~. ~fer~o~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ crm~ ~ef~q”:S:~ ~r~~~

~rcrcrr~: 1

~. ~ ~ ~ ~ “‘ .:q”?f~Gl~’iCfPlT ~qo:rzr;=fl{_ I

~. ~~ ~ ~ cnrfcFf1~~cnrG”~zrt :q~~hr11 ~cftctlT”{: 1

¥. ~~¥ o qm;;l!’l ~Gt~ftrcrrzrrzrt ~r~~rfcr;:({~if

Cfc~~7:f<ffGT=qJ”7:f”TurT ~;pf~T ~q-~: I

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 118 . THB AGE OF SANKARA

India wished to secure, by hook or crook, the name ofcates of the Sringeri Mutt who had been equally anxious to Sureswaracharya tlie greatest of-the-disciples of Sri Sankara

saooro greater prominence to their mutt, naturally took the Bhagavatpada to be included in the list of its Acharyas ;

golden opprotunity in re-casting their Mathamnayas and where as, in fact, Sureswaracharya himself, though he was

Gw-.paramparas, and thereby attempted safely to secure originally appointed by the Guru as the first Acharya of the

for themselves Sri Sureswaracharya (formerly Matidana Dwaraka Mutt, earnestly l()nged to retire from the said

Misra) as their 1st Acharya in place of Hastamalakacharya post by placing his brother Visvarupacharya in his place

(formerly Prithvidhara or Prithvidhava), who was recogni~ed under the name of Brahmasvarupacharya as is clearly indi

by all the ancient authorities as the 1st Acharya of the cated in the J agadguru Parampara * preserved in the

said mutt. The fact is that each of these mutts in southern Dwaraka Matha in an unbroken succession of Acharyas.

from the year 2649 of the. Yudhishthira S’aka up to the

~~’t ~ ~~ ~cre-o:rcn:~ ~’f~;:Jfi=~rtf;r9.>llurt ~=a-~=IT~lf

present date and in King Sudhanvan’s * Tamrapatranusana

G:Te=IT, ~~u:crm ~fu lfflPT~~:cr I

addressed to Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada on the 15th day of the bright half of the month of A’svina in the year·

~~¥~ ~~W~~~~~r~c~eto:cr’=t_ mcf+rr~
f~lf~ ~~:I

*Compare the Jagadguru Para m para of the Dwaraka.

~~¥~ -m’if ~~ccr~ ~r~q_ ~~~cru:crTlliort

Mutt which runs as follows :

. I

e:r~CRllt ~wtft<5sf+r~:cr;:rq 1 ‘-

~r~wtcr~qr:crfll’r:, ~ ~~’;( ~:rcr~r~’fqlf;:cr~’-1 ~~'”\ o ~~~cre-c:ra-‘TlfrJTR+lf f~ftcrijflf ~rfficrrj

~Tf=qq_wcrr=iffll’r:, ~1,9 ~¥ qr11~’*~ q:crfll’rtp;ft=d’l=f. 1 ~o. er~..d <1ef~ ~~'”\ ~ , d’~ lft 9.>llcrum Cf~ijca+lll r~

~:I

~rri~ro:rr:crrrrr:, ~1,9 1.3¥ ~rcror~~~fq-li;:Rlf 1

‘-=> I ~

~~~~lf): S5i1+r~)~ep~~~cpf=qflflf): f~tSlf

~r.:rr~~r~JOt”r:, fcr?ll~~~ ~~~ \i~~crw~~m~q~: I ..

‘lll’t=€1’~ I

‘

~~'”\)( qllS(‘ ~’*eclfUimlli ~rnr~Cfi1:qrli’Turt \ilfrfcr

N. B.-No doubt some of the late Acharyas of the

.. , ~orsrn~:q;:r+f., crf~o:r t{Gf ~T~T~~:qrqfurt·

~; Dwaraka Mutt with a view to secure Sureswara for their own

,. ~~<:qrorsf+r~=tio:r ~~er: r

;l Mutt, have tried to identify Brahmaswarupacharya with ” ‘ ~~'”\r…. <T~rq_cr ~’*~ ~~t ta:frcr\iflllt=d”{re 2;~Sureswaracharya, but a.bsolutely no explanation is forthcomtlfr~ &T~ -srfd’ if~’llf ‘-; er~ ~~~~lf i3flf~~ ing for the change of his name to Brahmasvarupacharya.

sr~q;:f ere’!<a JOt ll Y~1sr~o:er:, ~rcrcfo:r~t~TT’l;f

*The following is the full text of King Sudhanvan’s. ~qctr~Rfli’Turt crctftosf+rti”‘tf;f :er 1 Copper plate published at p. 29 of the ‘Vimarsa ‘ :

THB AGB OF SANKARA

-2663 of the Yudhishthira S’aka corresponding to 478-477

~lf~T~~lf ‘111’: ~1’1Wctln;~ ‘il=f:

ssrrqc~cof~c:rrtRfCRIT”<lJ.fcr-~~ftc~fcr~« fcr~T”<:-.t[fu-~~ ri c:rrfe{~o:rcr1fij-&l!fcr-cruri~l=f elf~ ~err,41 ‘<Cfl¥1 Rr-J:I I¥1 Ch1″‘ m-;rfii=lf o~~lq”‘ ¥1 fcr~fcr~~q”( fer~

. ~ ~

.~q~~lfTlf¥1T””’f_fCT-f.;f~~ ritfif ~erfu…~Tl=f~”t:~-~trcrc41i~4CQlfT: ~Jl'”(flpffUf w:rrCA1 lPf m~~,_mmiJf

· · : ~f~”< qro:cnf qf”<5fftef~r”<a~~ 31’5=\iff~~T:T~~~ -u~flf fcrmccr:-~ifGff~ Rfrer\iflfTSCflTf”<~ «~ c:u f4″1 ~ ‘1Rl’ii’ffi’:1 ~~ cruri arr~qr~ ~~crcr.. ~elf~~ -~fmr=~ ~rlllrl~llf’!t ~”<f.:cr ~T:Tli~~ ~wfcr~.,.~~cH ·t:r~~r f~T’11..ll~l~~crcr1;:ft ~crrfo:r~ «cri’~~l=f~rfuf, ·fcr~&rr~riil’~~ ~&TCflfm ;r~u\ifa”~ qf~fl~~o:rmcil
-~qfu 1 i’W~’!fl~fl=fe51’1l~ fo:rf~~ fcr~lfffiCfl~srrqrrtrr”‘

~T:Tliu~rit aT”{Cflf -~~u-\ll’ifm~ .. ~f~&i~’\
‘·~~r-~Tfu -q)rrcref”” -~W”<T ¥tOT!iW~Cflf: qf~rfqcrr: 1
·ij”!i’t~u~~r zr1flT\if”‘”srren;:~o:r T:Tli¥11f~f”(&Tcrf ~CflUt~
. -\ilfTfertf~ ssrrffiGCfl’PR’1T1=”1′: 51’ai’1f~’\~ 3N ~~N3Tf~ir
-~~Pr~1lfCfmcrTi{ ~~errT:Tuf~~~ffffl=f~Cflf=tffli’T’l_~ -q)lf
“CfeTif fcrcr ~er 3Tf~l=fafcrc:r arclf•=cft~ fermCfT’ffcr «cf~~
“qcqq I~Iq (ilflf~lf -~;:~T:qflffifI 3TCf ~~Cflf4Tf~rftt

…

:~~ crr~flftSC qf~:q~lft R”f~ crrf~clfl~~~: Tf¥t”hfCf· ‘fccrfa qfp;:~q~ fcti~ ar”<;nrzrt ~;l -qcmfe{acr~;:rr-qfo:rfmr

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARY A

B.C. It was therefore with a view to secure Sureswaracharya as the first in the list of their .Acharyas, the advocates

“qifCf~lt:>5lltfe{ ~~~T ~T<!l’Clf, 1FTGff%f~~Cfl~~ o:rr~:rrr ~;:r: «f~~;[“qifcr~T~ ?;ff<!lt51JfTf<r ~Cfl~1lli’T<rT wT’!iCI’Tli’T~fermfTS~’l ~TfCfl’Cfl’ ~fe{Cfl a~ fcr~fCf~li’Tff CJlTfn ~cf~l=fll’T’f l=f1ls’fflf~4Vrrl=f~lf-~~r:qp:rr~=tr~ arf~q ucr~TCflTsf’+f: tffer~~f~f’l=alf1 ~et ‘tf~+=li 3fr=qrff~~~=tfef{5TT R~ anf~~ ~er~~ 1 ij’ ~~ cr~ctfto’!:furr:s:qr fo:r;:;rfo:r~ ifGf lfO’s~ · lfTcrP:r<=er) cf~ mq ~:ro’ij’llr~ I ij’cf Cflf er~~lfO’s~PH·· ~W&T~:, cr:a-<=l=fcrs~ifcrrss~r~~!f. arfer<nT”<fet<!l’CiT crf’i&rTlf~ ‘tf 1 l=f~firf””aflfsrij’CfaT ~’ ~{~::r”{r.;::rrlf ~er, ~Cflcr.

r~ ‘ ~~IJfcr:1 ij’Cf~Cf olfeff~T4″Cflf ~;:~ ~FTGfcrT ~m~rr~ 1·

3Tftnrriifij’~CJ1 f.:r”<~~q~mfcr1 ~~1lf4’TC{li’T ~ifc~fcr=CJ~ fcr:q~ I trfurr\ifcm-fQ” lf~T~ffirrccr cf~ISliTfe{-fcrfutscNPl ~&lul ;rrcr~ ~er ~”qfTCf~mtrJor;:rr ~ferOfin~ …-~fa:, o:r ~ f<:rfo:r¥ftt ~Cli’Cf1lrR f~;.er) ~ifcrmrr ij’~cr~;a: ~~ttl~~TSflfC{Tf<r i’W&l~Tfe{cf~cf:, 4″\:J:Hft:UfT, ~~:a-m-w”‘” arr~hra-~~crt fcr~fi:cr ~fer~~~~fer, tGf~er 3Tf~ ~)~4:J:f: 1 ~fet1So”<~2fi ~ ~~~ arr~”” ~CR? ~ ~-qr~~o:=r

~rcr-q)…-: 1

N. B. All these statements are corroborated by Chitsukhacharya in his Brihat Sankara Vijaya, where however the actual Abhisheka of Sri Hastamalakacharya (Prithvidharacharya) as the 1st Acharya of the Sringeri Mutt is . placed on Pausba ~ukla Purnima in the year Pingala . 2656 y.s. correspondmg to 483 B. C.; the Sringeri Matba ..

“.222 THE AGB OF SANKARA

·of the Kamakotipitham at Kumbhakonam, had f0rcibly <-drawn the name of Sureswaracharya from the list of the ·Achar}’as of the Dwaraka Mutt, by substituting Padmapada·charya the first and the next great disciple of the Guru in his place. In doing so. they were naturally forced ·to place Hastamalakacharya in Govardhana Matba and -visvarupa in Sringeri, as their respective first Acharyas. ‘When so much was done by the advocates of the Kumbba· <.konam Mutt, the advocates of the Sringeri Mutt naturally ‘-took advantage of the situation by securing Sureswaracharya

as the 1st Acharya of their mutt by identifying Visvarupa ~with Sureswara, whose name, they afterwardi directly intr~duced in their Mathamnayas. * and Guruparamparas.

‘ having been already constructed in 2648 y.s. (corresponding

‘

I. ~to 491 B. C.).

N. B. The Mathamnaya and the Guruparampara are

•preserved ln the Govardhana Matba at Jagannath entirely ‘·’agree with the above statements. Vide pp. 56-59, Vijnapana ·-of Mitrapramoda of Vidyanataka published by Vidyaprakasa ·of Govardhana Matha.

*The Mathamnaya of the Sringeri Mutt practically agrees -with that of the Kumbhakonam Mutt as recently framed by ·1hem and both of them place Padmapada in Dwaraka Mutt,

Totaka in Jyotir Mutt, Hastamalaka in Govardbana Mutt -and Visvarupa in Sringeri Mutt. But the Sringeri Mutt first ··identifies Visvarupa, with Sureswaracharya, and thereby the ·name of Sureswaracharya is directly inserted instead of Visva•

rupacharya in their recently published Mathamnaya and -..Quruparampara. Similarly the Guruparampara published by ·1he Kumbhakonam Mutt during recent years has introduced ~suresvaracharya as its first Acharya though the same is ,contradicted by ,Gururatnamalika of Sri Sadasiva Brah

d .

:·l·

‘!

w____ _

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARY A

Before concluding this subject, we would like to throw a suggestion given with regard to the date of Sankara’s birth as presened in the Sringeri Mutt. Evidently Sri Vidyaranya Swami or one of his successors must have fixed the date of Sankara from some one of the Punyaslokas reJating to Sankara’s death. We know that the date of his death is r·entioncd in the Punyaslokamanjari, Brihat

Sankara Vijaya, Prachina Sankara and Vyasachaliya Sankara Vijaya as being 2625 of the Kaliyuga. The follow• ing is the stanza from the Punyaslokamanjari of Sri Sadasivendra Sarasvati.

u ~~·ai~n~lit rnr t=rer~qf~IScf~lfifli’T

-.:> 00

t=r~t=r)~oeerr.=a’SfQT~~: ~Ut:fef~q: 1 ~(~ ~)~~Jf’t ~P!ISlffq ~~~~sfq(~~~~):q ~ fcrf~~ ~~arf&rmrferCI~f~~Clil~~r q=t 11”

mendra and its commentary calJed Sushama by Atma

bodhendra Saraswati which give only Mahadeva or Sarvajna

Sankara, the author of Samkshepa Saririka as its first

Acharya. Compare stanza 38 of Gururatnamalika and

its commentary by Atmabodhendra : ~f~~;:r etc. to

aTrolf~ 1-(Vide Jagatguru Ratoamala Stotras pp. 46 to 48 in the new edition published by Kanchi Kamakoti Kosasthanam.-Ed.)

N. B. Evidently we can trace the hand of some new advocate of the Kumbhakonam Mutt in the so-called Stanza 32 of Gururatnamalika beginning with:

~fqcrrerer-qcqqr~-~~a-rl=f~t=r~frrft: t=rfa>rQTta-r;:r 1 :q~us~cr lf~~ q’Ji!SCf~ ;:r ~~) fin: ~ ~~11 ~ ~ 11

THB AGB OF SANKARA

“The Great Guru, who, born as an incarnation of thegreat God Siva Himc;elf, reformed the six: systems of orthodox religion by establishing the Advaita system or Philosophy which reconciled all other systems, and who shone Jike the radiant sun by driving out the darkness of Ignorance from all quarters, passed away from the world by entering into his own essence at the age of 32 on the llth· day (Ekadasi) of the bright half (Sukla Paksha) of the month

·of Vaisakha, of the yeu Raktakshi in 2625 of the Kaliyuga.

The Brihat Sankara Vijaya of Sri Chitsukhacharya*

the first and the foremost of the Sankara Vijayas relating to the history of Adi Sank·ua referring to the time and place of Sankara’s death remarks:

* Sri Chitsukhacharya succeeded Sri Brahmac;warupacbarya as the 2nd Acbarya of the Dwaraka Mutt, in the· year 2691 of the Yudhishtbira Saka (448 B.C.) and attained< the Brahrni!Jhava on Pausha Sukla Tritiya of the year 2715 of the Yudhishthira Saka ( 424 B.C ) at the advanced age of 80 years He himself states in his Sankara Vijaya in the

first or Upodghata Prakarana that he was a native of Gok.aroa In Kera1a, that his Purvasrama name was Vi~hnu Sarman~ that he be:;ame closely acquainted with Snkara evenwhile he was a boy reading in the Gurukula as one of’ his eo-students, that he had very high admiration for Sankara’s talents and extraordinar.,r knowledge of all the Vaidika and Laukika lores, even before he took the permission of his mother to become a Sanyasin, that he flJllowedl Rankara in all his wanderings in search of a Guru to forma11y initiate him into sanyasa, that he never departed from Sankara from the time he left his native place· until he attained his marvellous Brahmibhava at Kancbi, in.

the presence of the Goddes Kamakshi.

L_____ _

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

22S

” arimrr~r~~~ =tf mrr:
arr~nr ~~’A”~~lf ~l=lfar~;r 1

“

~ffi’~’iI?JI’CflJ,Uff’=lfN ~u+tCl If.:r ~f~+tTfif :q frf’q=tU:f lf~Tf~Cfin:q'”\ I I

Speaking about him Atmabodhendra writes in his commentaty on verse 18 of the Jagadgururatnamala of Sadasivendra Saraswati, the 56th Acharya who adorned the Kamakotipitha at Kanchi between 1512 to 1538 A.D. as follows :

1 t ~et !:[….A •,_..c::: “‘ ~

‘-I “‘9 I if:U”1l ~ICfijf~. . • • • ••• (j’~ij’I ~Cll’T~: I Cl1t

mrr fcr\i{fl:+rcr………~~:t;~~<:fcr\1flf-. 11 f~cr~~q;:r1lf

0 •••••••••••••••••••••

••····•··•••·••·•·············
···••·············•········ ······

. “

• • • • • • • • • • · • • • • • • • • • • if’li ~TJf 11

“‘ “

(S~e. pages 17 to 19 of Jagadgururatnamala stava

new ed1t10n.-Eo.).

It is clear from this that Atmabodhendra places very
great confidence on Brihat Sankara Viiaya as b · th

d t’ f . . . ” , emg e

prfohuc.~n o Sr~ SarvaJna Ch1tsukacharya, an eye-witness

o t e he and domgs of Adi Sankara from the b · ·
the end of his career and as being one of S kegm?mg to

d’ · an ara s own

Irect ISCiples and eo-students Chitsukh h. If that he was older than Sankara by S years aInImths~ sa~~

h• h · • IS WOfA:

w Ic consists of 224 Prakaranas Chitsukha h .

full a t f Ad’ ‘ as given a

ccoun o 1 Sankara, ·or Sureswaracharya and of their Purvacharyas, commencing from th

Nara d d’ . e supreme

ya;: an en mg With Govinda Bhagavatpada, and

~26 THE AGE OF SANKARA

crrurr fcrf\ifClf :q fcr:rftr~rl1~~t ~~’Pilol=lfer~~ :q Q”;f cfi’f5=:0lffl\ l fcr[[uf:qqq f{T ~fl=fm+rrlfr ~: ~~= ~~~~ti fcrf~(.’ii 11

·Gf~’q’Oq~~:;r~ilT~~ferffZ”~TiS~

[lf,ir~ ~~”{f{T er~r fcr~&r I

-~~~~~re fS!:l~~.,:

~f~crr erlilff~~ f~crnt srrr~ 11 ”

· ‘ Having established the Advaita philosophy agreeable . ~0 all classes of philosophers, from the snowy r peaks

-ofthe Himalayas to the blue borders ·of Rama’s Bridge,

‘having purified the si~ religions of the country such as

Saivism etc., by wiping out the evil practices, such as

marking the body with a piece of red-hot iron etc., that crept

into them and by explaining them away according to the

principles of his own monistic philosophy ; and having

the book is accordingly divided into -3 parts (1) Purvacharya · Satpatba ( ~:qn:f ~~:); (2) Sankaracharya Satpatha ( ~,;<J=t:tllf ~~:); and (3) Sureswaracharya Satpatha {~tiCI~i=c:tllf m~:). It is narrated In the form of a -dialogue between himself and one of his disciples who

afterwards succeeded him, as the 3rd Acharya of the

:Saradapitha of the Dwaraka Matha under the name of

-Sri Sarvajnacharya. Chitsukha mentions the various works

written by Sankara and Sureswara. Excepting the

Bhashyas which are simply referred to, almost all the miaor

works and Prakaranas of Adi Sankara are quoted in full

vwith the various occasions on which they were composed.

·sUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 227

tConquered the Invisible Goddess of Learning who manifested ·herself in the sky and having ascended the Sarvajna-pitha \(the throne of the all-knowing master) at the city Kanchl (Conjeevaram), the Emperor of Ascetics, worshipped by ·the most learned of his time, passed away into the Supreme Being leaving his mortal body in front of the Goddess Kamakshi. Having thus adorned the Earth for a period of .32 years, and having taught 1the Eternal Dharma to the world in its entirety, the King of the Gurus, Sri Sankara -chary a attained the state of eternal happiness in the year 2663 of the Yudhishthira Saka (corresponding to 477 B. C.) duly honoured by Rajasena the King of Kanchi at that time.’

The Prachina Sankara Vijaya of* Anandagiri, referring :to the death of Sankara, has the following stanza :

” Cfi~lfQ~~:q ~t~urrecr;:p:r;f: UcCfiT31CfiTfu’Sf~

tiT~ -=lf~lf ~~~~qfcr~ ucf~~~ f!,f’f~ 1 Cfifl=ff~lfT: ufcrq tr \iff~ frrfcrtir ‘!;:f!,~Q’ffi’~C{~ ~~ ~cf olft:f~ ~~~ttli ‘f:tf11 -srq~ ~11 “

* Next to Brihat Sankara Vijaya, this is perhaps the most ancient book relatiag to the life of Adi Sankara. It Is .ascribed to Anandagiri or Anandajnana, the famous

.annotator of all the Bhashyas of Sankara and the Vartikas of Sureswara. He is the 7th Acharya of the . Kamakoti Pitha of the Kanchi Matha and according to th~ Punyaslokamanjari and the list of Sankara’s successors .in that Mutt, be is said to have died on his way to Sri Saila in Krodhana ofthe year 2986 ofthe Kaliyuga (116 B. C.) after occupying the Kamakoti Pitha for a period of 69 years. He describes ‘himself in this work ac;; the disciple of Sri Suddhananda. On account of its ancient nature it has become known to the

THB AGB OF SANKARA

• -Having ~laced Sureswara in charge of the KamakotiPith~ as guardian to the young ascetic Sarvajna Muni whom he h1ms~lfinstaiied on the Pitha as his worthy successor,. and haviDg once entered the temple of the Goddess Kamakshi the great master (Sri Sankaracharya) devoid of all worldl; desires,. attained the supreme state of happiness, unattainable· by ordmary mortals, by casting off his mortal body (in a corner of the said temple) in the year 2625 of the Kali· ‘Yuga.’

The ~ext book which gives an account of the death or Sankara IS the Sankara Vijaya Kavya t of Vyasachaliya,

later writers under the name of Prachina Sankara v··

th h ‘t i · 1 IJaya,

oug 1 s ~Imp Y called ‘ Sankara Vijaya ‘ by the author

himself. It IS a small w~rkl consisting of only 11 Sargas

and appe~~s to be mamly an abridgement of Brihat

San~ara Vtj.aya, for be specially states in the introductory·

portion · of the first Sarga that he composed this short

account as Chitsukha’s work was to massive to be read. This.

w?.rk is referred to both in the so”‘called Madhava’s Sankara “”VlJ&ya and ~adananda’s S~?kara Vijaya under this very

name Prachma Sankara VIJaya and Dhanapati Sud, the

comment~~or of both of them, says it Is the production of”

AnandagJD, the famous annotator of Sankara’s works and

as a matter of fact both these works clearly appear to

be a compilation from this ancient work.

t This is evidently one of the genuine Sankara Vijayas. but written long after the time of Abhinava Sankara g:’races o~confusion between the two lives of Adi Sankar~. and AbhJDava Sankara can be perceived in this work here and there. Atmabodhendra who quotes very largely from 4his work, ascribes it to Vidya Sankara, the Sist Acharya.

229″

SUCCBSSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

·commonly known as Vyasachaliya ; and the following is the account found at the end of the 12th Sarga in the said work:

-of the Kamakoti Pitha, and the immediate predecessor of Sankarananda, the author of Atmapurana and the famous annotations OD the Prasthana Traya. According to the list or Acharyas in the Kumbhakonam Mutt, he ·occupied the Kama., kot•i Pitha from 1296 to 1384 A.D. In his purvasrama, accord., ing to the Punyaslokamanjari, he was known as Sarvajna Vishnu, son of Sarngapani of Vyasachala, from which place he was called Vyasachala Kavi. The followers ofthe Sringeri Mutt on the other hand, claim him as one of their own Acharyas under the name of Vidya Tirtha, the Paramaguru of Sri Vidyaranya, and according to the list of Acharyas preserved in that Mutt, he is said to have attained his -siddhi on Kartika Sukla Saptami of the year Srimukha in 1255 of Salivahana Saka (corresponding to 1333 A. D.) at

the very advanced age of 105 years~ This work is also referred to in the so-called Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya under the name of Vyasachaliya, from which work, indeed, the major portion of the existing Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya appears to have been compiled only with -such omissions and modifications as suited the exigencies of the Sringeri Mutt. I had only an imperfect copy of this valuable Sankara Vijaya of Vyasachala, but thanks to the Kumbhakonam Mutt, I have recently secured a complete .copy of the said book, which consists of 12 sargas, .comprising of 99 pages of foolscap size with about 35 lines ·Of closely written matter in clear grantha character on each page. It is surely destined to throw a good deal of light ·On the existing Sankara Vijayas-chie:fly on the so-called Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya, and we hope to publish the :Same at an early date.

!ZJO

THE AGE OF SANKARh

~et f~~f~ fcrerrlf ~err ij”q~=p:ftot:r~~w JTi Fr~ 1 ff~r flfuJrfq a-~:ftq-qch:=tr fJT~: ij”l=~rfcra-· <nnfciT

. .., , Cf1’ffi’l!CJ”HT i:fi1’3=~Tf{_ lt C~ l’ftl

f{Cfl: ·~~ ~~~J~lf ~:q~qf

P~Tif lf\lf ‘1Pl~F~~ \ififT’lr+r t

f~&l: .~2fi’=~: f~~~r~ ~~f~~ .

m;; ~1511′ lf?r Jr)~: 31Wa: 11 ~W:qlf’l Grrfqffi”l=~\irrf.:r fcrCfiTij”lf’=t_ ~cr;n m-~’f’1~lf I arr;;;:~-~~fa-JT~~ ilrrWf: ‘ ~~. 1!;

$SI”T~~t;:~ \lf:qfcr 5fCOT~ …. 11 ~’t 11′ ~Cf~ =tr ~~ :q ij”JTr;:ra-\lfr: 11er c:rf~ ~:qrss;:cr~ +fO:’ef<nn:Jf 1 ~q~~~~~~~ ‘ i5fzr ~lf~ f&rfa-m-~=trr~r ” ~~ ,, ~~;:~ -;:f~m«zr wf~JJ”a-m~T;; ::rlTm)~rrr . Olf)JfOmfcr~ ~a-) f;;~~…. ~~~lf ifh)~Jfrc=r t · ~~W’l cr~’efffl~ fcr~~r: m~ ~1f: ~f\lfcr: ‘ ‘>Tfff=ti~~~~r~)fer~i!lSUf’t_ ijf.lfiff ‘i+r: 11 ~~. l&~

crti’~: ~~·fcr~-~ff:f-~ ~~a-rf&r;;rfl=’i C{fif-~Cf~-l!~rqfd~~ t’ ~’tij” ijff~ ij”fq~ q~~etdll:fl:

…

~~~ ij”JT=ii~~~ +rifu<nmcff~~Jt. 11 ~\9 1″

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 231!_

51FTISGJfT faf~~’ef lJ.~~GfT~tf ~ci~~~ l=f~ ~f~cr l=fr~ll4’cr 1 ~TCilTlfCfiTfufGr~~ ;:lf~crrcr ~crql3 ~tct ~crf~5rJfd”~~cr i~~cr=tur 11 6 t 11

!ic~ ~ ~~~~~: ‘!i”CT~cw~ucrrc=r,.. +rrcrrrr 5r0f1T~rr f-Iifl=fFcrfrr<:t frrrr~rcr 1

‘ ~ ‘

cfiro:=;:qt fqJT:Olf crq <:rcraf~~~q

.–,:) -……I G

~~lfcr -enfl:cr q~if ~cp:rifcr f~~1l 11 6 ~ 11

~r +n~l=lf q~sfcr::prf~=tr f;:rf<STi ~Cfi;:q~f~~d”~T Olff~ucrrr,_ ~Cf’lFC”J””{, qf~~~ ~aPT ~l=TTQ:;Jc~””Dt…. I lf: ~~T fe:-~~~a: q;;:;5″fa d’a ~Ri <:ffT~rf q;~

… ‘

~1{ ~~~qr~crrrr +r~a-C”J”Hf f~?f~e.~ ;:p:r: 11

‘Having thus non-plussed the Goddess of Learning and· having ascended the Sarvajna-Pitha in the Kanchi Matha established by himself and having been duly honoured by the learned men of his time who came to refute with him, Sankara made up his mind to live at Kanchi for sometime.

‘ The one great tree named ~ankara thus spread itself in four quarters with four main trunks in the form of his four great disciples in turn, removing by its refreshing shade the heat of the sun engendered in the hearts of men, with jnana or the knowledge of the Supreme for its flowers~ and with moksha or final liberation for its fruits.

‘The great moon called Sankara shines forth resplend.o ently on all sides causing the lotus-like faces of his opponents. to fade, expanding the lily-like principles of his own system of philosophy, and delighting the hearts of all men sunk in the ocean of samsara or worldly misery.

232 I

THE AGE OF SANKARA

‘ Thus this rare moon of a Sankaracharya, though moving on the surface of the earth, shines forth with unprecedented glory, removing the darkness of the worldboth external and internal, alike in the bright as well as ia the dark half of the month with a uniform and undimi~ nished splendour.

‘The great sun of a Sankara Bhagavatpada shines forth gloriously, revered by all the people, removing their darkness ‘Of ignorance, gathering all that is beneficial to the world with the wide•spread rays of his splendid intellect, standing forth ‘On the top of that splendid mountain of endless Veda, high above in the firmament of his · Ufe, revealing the wonderful me~nings hidden in it with the light of his marvellous and

. inimitable speeches.

.:r.

, I

‘On one occasion, on an Ekadasi day which was ‘1 I specially dear to the Supreme Narayana, the giver of final

I. beatitude, in the bright half of the month of Vaisakha of the year• Raktakshi in 2625 of Kaliyuga while passing ~y the

* We find a wonderful corroboration of this date from quite an unexpected source. Thus in describing the birth of Kumarila Bhatta, the Jina Vijaya declares :

“;rr~r: ~~~ ;:r~ (~ ~ o ~) 1=1”!\ifrift =if l=I’Jl=!’a-: 1 ~er~ oemrr lJ’ferfiSOw~zr cl 11

C’ .. ~

~~=qflf’ ~”11 <fll Cfl’t:fi=fli os~lf er11 ~if: 1

\if’Rf: SJT2″‘4’er ~~ft:””f fcrilf) q~~ ~~ 11,

·.a ‘

(Vide p. 4. Samskrita Chandrlka, under Mahakav~ Kalidasa.)

‘It was the year Dhatu when 2109 years had elapsed in Yudhishthira Saka calculating tho figures Nanda (9),

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

-side of the temple of the great G.:>ddess Kamakshi, the great Guru suddenly longed to cast off his mortal body.

Purna (0) Bhumi (I) and Netra (2) in the reverse order, be it known, that it wa~J in tpat auspicious year that the great advocate of Karmakanda, Bhattacharya Kumara was b’Jrn.’

It is clear from this that Kumarila Bhatta was born in the year 2109 ofYudhishthira Saka, corresponding to the year 2577 ofKaliyuga (525 B.C.). Again it is stated in the same work-Jina Vijaya :

11 q-~:qrct q-:>-=if({~ cri ~~~lf ~-~fa-1

+r~:qp:f ~l=!’r~~zr ~w:f ~crrtt fucr: 11 “

((Vide p. 6 Samskrita Chandrika Nos. I to III”Vol. IX)

‘Thereupon when 15 years had elapsed from his birth Sankara met Bhattacharya Kumara (for the first time)’

It will be thus seen that Sankara met Kumarila for the first time in the beginning of his 16th year, that is about_ 494 B. C. as will be shown below.

Referring to the date of the death of Sankaracharya th~ Jina Vijaya states :

11 ~f{f Gfiur ta”~T ~f”‘” tf~i~T (~ ~ ‘-\ \9) erT~ifR(I

~~if ~icrr~ ta”TWT&r ~ere~: 11″

(Vide I bid p. 6)

‘ When we calculate the figures Rishi (7) Bana (5) Bhumi (I) and Martyaksha (2). in the reverse order and obtain the total number of years 2157 in the Yudhishthira ‘Saka, we arrive at the year Tamraksha (Raktakshi) as tho year of Sankara’s death.’

!J4 THE AGE OF SANKARA

‘He at once placed the young son of Vardbana who had come to know everything worth knowing in the world even before be hardly completed liis 8th year and whom he himself bad initiated into Sanyasa under the appellation of Sarvajna Muni as his immediate successor in the matha known as the Kamakotipitha with Sureswara, the best of his disciples to act as his guard an and regent.

‘Having thus fulfilled the mission of his life and having once for all explained to the world the secret teaching of the Upanishads, the Great Master Sankara attained his wonderful Brahmibhava at Kancbi abandoning the mortal body which he assumed at his own free will and compassion and entering the Supreme state of Bliss which was his own.

‘ Having firmly taken root in the centre of the world known as Kanchi, occupying the other parts of the country by its large branches coming out from its four main trunks, removing the beat of the fever of ignorance by its thick and cool shades, bearing the most sweet fruit called

It is therefore plain from this that Sankara died in the year Raktakshi corresponding to the year 2157 of Yudish.. thira Saka (2157 + 468 or 2625 of Kaliyuga) corresponding to 477 B.C. which is exactly the date given of Sankara’s death in the various Sankara Vijayas above referred to.

The Jina Vijaya also refers to King Sudhanvan as a contemporary of Kumarila and Sankara, and speaks of him as a wicked king and as a persecutor of the pious Jainas~ ln fact it says :

” ~’Cf«:f’frlfCfiT -u~r ij”)sfq ~~Se ~a-~r “+tfcr •
fiif’TFrt ~if mer.;t ~~iflf~~crlf 11″

C\ ….. ..;, …..

(Vide Ibid p. 6)

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 23

Moksbananda, and being praised by the Dvijas (Birds) who paticipated in the said fruit, the mighty tree of Sankara stands forth gloriously in the world ! We offer our respect-· ful salutations to him on all the three periods of the day.’

Evidently the year 2625 which clearly refers to the Kali Era, must have been mistaken for that of Yudhishthira Saka. lfaking the Yudhishthira Saka, like the Jains and the Buddhists, which was then prevalent in the province of Mysore, to have commenced 468 years after Kali Yuga, they must have rendered the year 2625 into Kali Era by adding 468 years to it, and so must have fixed Sankara’s death in the year, 3094 of Kali Era. Now in Sringeri and other parts. there is up-to-this day, a tradition that Sankara studied all the Vedas in his 8th. year, that be learnt all the Sastras in his 12th year, that be conquered all his opponents in his 16th year and that be passed away from the world in his 36th year. This is evidently based upon the following * stanza quoted by the Abbiyuktas :

” =q~cf~~SClt cri, ~f~qf ~;;i·m~fcr~ 1
q)~~ ij”cff~t;;far, q?:f?fqf ~f-=n:+lfmcr 11 ”

‘-“‘ ‘

Mr, Nagamayya refers to this tradition in his Trivand-rum State Manual (Vide Vol. 11. p. 389). Accepting the tradition we will arrive at the date 3058 of the Kali Yuga as the year in which Sankara must have been born.

* There is also another version of this stanza in our parts as follows :

11 3TISCcrtl ~~i{, G:”~ ij”cf~TH?f~ I q~~ ~CfFI” mm:r’ [1~~ lfR ~+lfil”T 0 ll IIV

“‘ “‘ ….

~236 THE AGE OF SANKARA

· deducing 36 from 3094 which will leave exactly 3058 as the :balance. In some such way, the authorities of the Sringeri Mutt must have originally arrived at the year 3058 of the t:Kali as the date of Sankara’s birth. Accepting Vaisakha Sukla Panchami as the dav on which he was born, as is ·uniformly accepted by all th; Mutts, they must have arrived .at the present date of Sankara’s birth as preserved in the

· · Sringeri Mutt ; and a proper understanding of the method _.by which they arrived at this date, will· certainly furnish a clue that Sankara actually died in the year 2625 of the . : KaU Yuga and not in the year 2625 of the Yudhishthira Saka, as understood by the Buddhist and the Jains. That such <mistakes are often made will be apparent to every one from . a consideration of the fact that the years mentioned in the Dwaraka Matha have been mistaken for those of the Kali ~Era, even though the records of the Dwaraka Mutt clearly ,r~fer them to Yudhishthfra Saka, as understood by the Hindus, commencing 37 years before the beginning of the fKiali Yoga. For instance, Brahmasri Kokkanda Venkat”‘ ·ratnam Pantulu, in his Telugu Sankara Vijayadhvajamu ··published by him under the auspices of the Sringeri Mutt ‘·refers the years mentioned in the Dwaraka Mutt to the Kali Yuga when he says : ” ~~.s~T”L~/fl~D ~~d.e~iS~

1{)a)~~o~-cr> .~……~~ ‘(~ X”U”?J::h-lvo ..!!>E.3o ~r~ ~.X”

‘-Q .._

r. that according to the Guruparampara preserved in the ..Dwaraka Pitha. Sankara was born on Vaisakha Sukla Panchami of the year 2631 of the Kali Yoga-which will -give us 471 B.C. as the date of his birth, and not 509 B. C. which we get by taking the year 2631 as referring to Yudhishthira Saka-which Saka is actually mentioned in those records. Or again it is possible that the date of ::Sankara’s death was given in some of the Punya Slokas

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 237′

relating to him as 2625 without marking the Era to which it referred, as in the oft-quoted stanza :

1′

fiifer;:rr~~cr~~ fer~~ ;rrf~ +rrer~ 1

~eWi fa-~1 G:~~~~lf~: tlJ:a: 11 ”

which was clearly said of Abhinava Sankara or the 38th . Acharya of the Kanchi Kamakotipitha and which has been wrongly attributed as referring to Adi Sankara. Here the· year 3889 is simply given without stating whether it referred to Kali Era or to any other era prevailing in India • Finding, in some such way, that no era is specifically mentioned, the heads of the Sringeri Mutt must have originally· taken the year 2625 as referring to the Yudhishthira Saka which was prevalent among the Jains and the Buddhists in: the Mysore Province, and must have arrived at this wrong date-3058 Kali Yuga-as the date of the birth of Adi Sankara.

Further, the suggestion made by us is strongly corrobo~· rated by another admitted fact which clearly goes to show that the year 3058 Kali Yuga, corresponding to the year Iswara of the 60 years’ cycle, commencing with Prabhav~ etc, could not have been the date of Adi Sankara’s birth even according to his horoscope as preserved in the Sringed · Mutt. The horoscope is evidently based on the following stanza 71 of the second canto of Madhava’s Sankara,_ Vijaya :

•

u Wt~-~~ ~~~a-~~ ~~r'{
$5fftrrcfcr1cr ~f~rrr ~~crtf&r~ ~ 1
\ifTlfr ~err f~~~r frr\if~t~
wf ;J~ ~fcr~a-~ ~u ~ ~;:~ 11 \9 ~ 11 ,

-.238

THE AGB OF SANKARA

The stanza literally means :-‘That chaste lady, the wife

~of Sivaguru gave birth to a son, without any difficulty oJ7 •pain, like the Goddess Parvati. OD an auspicious Lagna, :; aspected by benefics, when the Sun, Mars and Saturn were in their exaltation and Jupiter in Kendra.’ This is ~the interpretation given by the commentator himseJf, but ·some scholars like Mr. Pitchu Iyer, interpret the latter half

of the stanza as meaning ‘ that the Sun, Mars, Saturn and .Jupiter were then not only in their exaltation, but occupied ~cardinal positions in relation to the ascendant.’

The following is the detailed account of the horoscope :as preserved in the Sringeri Mutt, and as published by “Brahmasri Kokkanda Venkataratnam Pantulu Garu at the

•end of his Sankara Vijaya Dhvajamu :

‘·

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

~crf~~r \ifTCI’CfiT+~G:lf
Cfi~lfT~ifCJ’TG({T:-~ o “\ ~
~~TfG: if~CfCij”‘U:• ~ ~”\ “\ ~~~ o “\ ~
~~:qrfG: ~T’i(llTm:-~~~\So”\~~~~\S
~~c::q~ atf’t:f~rm:-\S~ ~ ~~’ls”oo ~
~~SC:qrf~ :qr;:~m-“r:-~”~ ~~ ~~o ~~~
~~:qrf({ ~lf~lf:-~ ~ ~”\ ~0 0 \S ~¥ ~
~~rfG: mcr~ifUTT:-‘S ~¥¥ o ~¥ ~ ~”\~~
~~~ ~ 11 elm~ ~-“\, ~ClfCIT’i(:

lf’b”lff~’i(Olff~ ~~lie!~~=

:~Ci(fcr: o-~ ~-~ ~ o trfcr: “\~-~o, arf~;:rr-¥ “Uc:r:

~lfiC’.:”€1′”~:.:;, ~ ~ ~-~~-‘Is’~ iffa: ~o ~-“\~~ 3TffT-~ ~=

~’li~= ~ ~-~-~~-“\~ iffu: ¥~-~~. ~crhn~r-¥ ~=

~~,’t:f: 0-~ 0 -“\ ~~ qfu: ~ ~~-“\ t ~’i(Uff~ GJ:Tf:

~if~:.:;, .:;, ~ o-~-~l.-~'( iffa: ~-¥~\ ~l.’nl’-~ q~:~-~ 0

~lfi~~=;lfi: o-~-r. .. 0 \ ~-~ iffa”: ‘S”\-~ ~ arf~;:ft-~ ~~: .:;,

~’li~~fif: ~-~¥-~~-~”\ Cf~iffa-: o-~~ ~crFsl”m-~ ~:

~lli~U~: t-‘S-~”\·”\ trfa: ~-t ~ iif:et”CfiT-¥ ‘i(Tv:

~~Et;~: \S-\S-~”\-“\ 3fi{,’Uf.IT~ ~:

~~~11 cl~r~ ~-“\, anf({CCR:-~ ~-~¥, arr~t-“\~~ ~, arfcr ~-¥”\, err-~~-~¥ at~:-~ o-~~’ ~~:-~-~\9qcr~ ~~f~ ~lf~rfG: ur;:Jr~f~~fG::-~ ~-~~~ flJ”‘!~ ~fCfcr:-¥-~ ~, ~tSlf-~-~, fJf~Yf\?iil, v~~<llfi; GJ,’t:fiCJCfirur, C{~~ ~~ ifcrti, ~firn:mi, ~Tff~~, t(cf

~~—··

240

THB AGB OF SANKARA

fter~lf~cnr~t ~~a-l=faT.a-n:~ ~r1=f=ij~~~lftrcra:q”RRT’4′ ~crtf’f’1f GA”ifCilre: 11 “

Now the whole of this horoscope supposed torepresent the date of Adi Sankara’s birth with all its detailed figures and diagrams is solley constructed upon the basis of” the above stanza in *Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya. Granting

i I. ,. *Placing any construction what-so-ever upon the stanza whether as given by the commentator or by the Cochin Government astrologer, it is in no way possible to· obtain the grand sketch of the horoscope as given above by Kokkanda Venkataratnam Pantulu. According to the construction as given by Dhanapati Suri in his commen· tary called Dindima upon Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya, Sun, (~q:), Mars (~\if:) and Saturn ( ~f.:r:) were in their exaltation.(~~) and Jupiter (~~:) in Kendra (~;:st} at the moment when Sankara was born; for he says in, commenting upon this stanza :

I ~q ~~~ ~~if ~~l!,cRr, ~~if a-if ;:~ =if, ~:q·

~~~~~~-f;:riSI~'{\·1 uftcffirf;:r- \3’~~~rrrrf;:r ~r01t ~ir-

lt ~-C{‘tlf..l{tfTS~’1T·~~m: I

~’t-crf~ =if f~qrcpu~~: 11 ”

~Rr I 31’\ifT ittr:, l{tfT ~:, 3fW;:riCfii=lff, ~~~:

~:, w.fT lf’Ff:, crfur~ ~m1 a-~:q, ~ittr~~’ ~~li’Tlt atCfi~, <fc:t~d lfi=~ ~w-~~~ ~~1 :er ey;;:i ~;:r~~Rr ~’f<Tf~• ( =tfCflT~T ~’!Cfem~~T~), f~~u·

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

that the interpretation put upon it by Mr. C. V. Pichcbu Aiyar, the Cocbin Government Astrologer, is the true

ll’llri ~r, ~f~rrr ~~crcrr (., ccrnr~rcrCftr+fq-rf~crr), ~l=frt f~, ~~Ft, ~T ~f’lfcfG”T, ~pn~ ~~<i, ~~Ft a-aq: I aA”;:r ll’mr~~Cff lfflflfT sr~~lf ~rf~cr: ~~~r~lf~?rur srr~~~~fu G:f~~ I Cfij’;:CffCf~CflT £9″;:~: I I \9 ~ 11

In this case ~lf (Sun), ~iif (Mars) and ~frr (Saturn

must be respectively in ittr (I or Aries) +I’Cfl”< (X or Capri

cornus) and ~~ (VII or Libra), if they should be in their

exaltation ; but whereas, according to the horoscope in

question only Surya is in Mesha, and Kuja and Sani are

respectively in Mina (XII or Pisces) and Dhanus (IX or

SagittariusJ which are not their places of exaltation. Again

the Kendra and the position of ~~ (Jupiter) will depend

upon the Lagna, a moment of time in which Sankara was
· born. If according to our learned Pantulu who is advocat
ing the opinion of the Sringeri Mutt, Sankara was born in
Mithuna (Ill or Gemini) Lagna, then, according to the

interpretation of the commentator, Guru (Jupiter) must be

either in Mithuna itself or in Kanya (VI or Virgo), Dhanus

(IX) or Mina (XII), whereas, according to our learned Pandit, Guru (Jupiter) is placed in Kumbha (Xf or· Aquarius) which is in neither Kendra nor Tunga.

Further, if the stanza should be interpreted to mean that Surya (Sun) Kuja (Mars), Sani (Saturn) and Guru (Jupiter) were not only in their exaltation ( <.!W’) but also in Kendra as is actually interpreted by Mr. C. V. Pichchu Iyer and Dewan Bahadur L.D. Swamikannn Pillai-then

242 THE AGB OF SANKARA

·one, (with which our eminent scholar, Dewan Babadur

L. D. Swamikannu PiJiai seems to agree) the stanza by itself cannot show in what year Sankara was born, as the ‘Particular combination of the planetary bodies can be ·obtained once in every cycle; and Sankara might have been born in any one of the~e cycles. Against a11 the usual practice of oriental poets and historians, the author of this ‘Sankara Vijayam. whoever he may be, has not chosen to

they must respectively be placed in Mesha (J), Makara (X), il’ula (VII) and Karkata (IV), and the Lagna of Sankara’s birth must likewise be either Karkata, Tula, Makara or Mesha, but in no case in Mithuna Lagna as assumed by 1he advocates of the Sringeri M’utt. Excepting the fact that · Sankara is said to have been born in the muhurta called Abhijit which corresponds to the ghatikas 14 to 16 in 1he mid-day, which may come either in Mithuna or in Kataka, according to the number of days elapsed in the month of Mesha (corresponding to Vaisakha Sukla Panchami, which is accepted by all Mutts as the day of :Sankara’s birth) evan if 5 days had elapsed in the month, the Kataka Lagna will commence about 14-15 and last till 19-10. If a few days more had elapsed, then the Abhijit muhurta must be placed entirely in Kataka. So it is highly probable that Sankara must have been born in Kataka Lagna, which will then satisfy all the conditions Tequired by the stanza according to the second interpreta’tion. The position of the other planets is not given, and we can only fix the position of the Moon ( v~) in

Mithuna (Ill Gemini), having regard to the position of the Sun in Mesba, since it is uniformly accepted that Sankara was born in Mesha Sukla Panchami. Accepting the second interpretation. the foJJowing may represent the

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 243

:give the year of Sankara’s birth, either according to the era of Kali Yuga or any one of the numerous Indian eras

probable horoscope of Sankara as far can be noted from .the particulars have given in the stanza itself:

N.B.-Nothing is however stated regarding the Lagna under which Sankara was born. We may take it to be Kataka Lagna. The Sringeri Mutt holds that Sankara was born under the constellation Ardra, the Kanchi Mutt, on the other hand holds that he was born under the constellation Punarvasu. As we have however fixed the Lagna to be Kataka, Sankara must have been born in

Punarva su and not in Ardra.

TIIB AGB OF SANK.ARA

such as Yudhishthira Saka, Vikrama Saka, Salivahana’ Saka, etc., and has not given even the particular year· of Prabhavadi-gatabda, nor has he given, at least the month, Nakshatra, Tithi, Vara or Lagna under which Sankara was born. If it be considered to be complete in itself, (which is not, however, the case, as will be shown below), it is nothing but a random statement in imitation of Rama’s Jataka in Valmiki’s Ramayana without its particulars as to the month, Tithi, Nakshatra etc., and it has been rightly considered by all authorities as entirely worthless. Mr. Pichchu Aiyar himself is forced to admit the weakness of his argument ; for he says : ” Furnishe<t with the above data, some may ·suppose that the Acharya’s

· birth-date can be easily determined, if the year in which· this particular planetary combination occured, for thecombination referred to in the sloka is not confined to anyone particular year in the past. It may have occured in several cycles.”

The Cochin Government Astrologer has, however done one great service to the country by pointing out that such· planetary combination could not have occured in the year· 3058 of the Kali Yuga, corresponding to 44 B.C., as is now held by the Sringeri Mutt. The learned astrologer is also positively certain that this particular combination of theplanetary bodies did not occur in the year 3889 of the Kali Yuga corresponding to 787 A.D-the date usually•

given by Max Muller and other Oriental scholars as referring to the date of the birth of Adi Sankara on the authority of an imperfect understanding of a solitary verse picked out of a small composition in Sanskrit by an anonymoug. writer, which evidently refers in unmistakable terms; (when the whole composition is properly understood) te>

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

the date of the birth of the Abhinava Sankara, the 38th Acharya of the Kamakoti Pitha at Kanchi. Supposing, then that Adi Sankara was born between the latter half of the 8th century and the former half of the 9th century of the Christian Era (for which, however, there is absolutely no authority), Mr. Pichchu Aiyar argues that Sankara must ‘be placed in the year 805 A. D. if really this particular planetary combination occured during his birth-time ; and Dr. Swamikannu Pillai, a no less authority upon the subject, entirely agrees with Mr. Pichchu Aiyar upon these ~,Points and actually gives 805 A.D. as the date of the birth ·of Sankara.

On the other hand, apart from this negative proof, we have also secured positive evidence upon the point. We have ascertained from two of the greatest modern astrologers of Southern India, that this particular combl• ».ation of the p1anetary bodies did actually occur on Vaisakha (Mesha) Sukla Panchami of the year Nandana in 2593 of the Kali Yoga, corresponding to 509 B.C.-the date of the birth of Adi Sankara as is uniformly held by all the other Advaitic Mutts established by Adi Sankara in India and so the stanza above quoted is perfectly correct so far as it goes, if Sankara was born in 509 B.C. Fortunately for us the clue has been obtained, and the doubt so long entertained has vanished, by the discovery of a comp1ete manuscript copy of Vyasachala’s Sankara Vijaya from which the above stanza has been stealthily taken by the author of the so-called *Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya,

*This Sankara Vljaya which goes under the name of Madhavacharya or Sri Vidyaranya Swami, could never have been the composition or compilation of that great Vedic savant to whom it is now ascribed or attempted to be

246

THE AGB OF SANKARA

who is obliged to omit, of course, the stanza immediately preceding the above one, giving full particulars of thedate of the birth of Sankara. which indeed, did not agree with the date already assumed by the advocates of the Sringeri Mutt.

The passage in question is found in Vyasachala’s Sankara Vijaya as stanzas 20 and 21 of its 4th canto as follows:

ascribed. The author of it, whoever he may be, must be guilty of plagiarism of which charge the famous Vidyaranya Madhavacharya could not be guitly. A comparison ofAnandagiri’s Prachina Sanklua Vijaya and Vyasachala’s

Sankara Vijaya Kavya with this so-called Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya or the Samkshepa Sankarajaya of Madhava as it is actually styled by the author himself, would at once show that the latter must have been mainly copied from the two former Sankara Vijayas-of course, with such omissions and commissions, mutilations and modifications, as every plagiarist or chora kavi used to do, as is well said by the celebrated author of Harsha Charita in the following stanza :

11 atrl~CfuTifUC{~lfT q.:erf~fi:r~~~: 1 31’11 €ll1 er: «crt lfe~ ctifcr ~R) fcr+rr~ 11 ”

This remark is literally and absolutely true of the author of the so-called Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya, which we have proved to be the work of a comparatively modern advocate of the Sringeri Mutt, and consequently of nohistorical value.

N.B.-The Vishva Kosha, the Benga1i Encyclopaedi~t edJted by Nagendranath Bose of Calcutta, published in 1892.

l I

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 24?

~Cfl~ ~~-qq-~f~Hf~
~’)~if f~qurr cr~q-ecr+rrf;:r 1

-:>

~sferq~lf fer~u crfua-~rm err~ ~~ ~ft{fcnr ~+rii”Tffli”Cfa-ll ~ o I I

-:> -.:>

discussing, about the Sankara Vijaya of Madhava writes as follows : ~~;:~ +rrercr~rlf fcr~f:qcr ~”111: 5ffij’;[ ~ I· f~ «&iq ~~~-f~if ~~CfiT ~fa:::till ~~Cfi~ ~«T 5ferRr ~)err ~ fCfi, ll”~ llTCTCfT’TfT~ ;=ffTfT ~Cfi ~«~ ~if~) ~oTCf~~ arrerf;:rCfi OlfCffer epf ~:qr ~ 1 ~«c# ~r~ ~« ~~Cfi ~~=t:AT

-:>

5I”‘OTT~ llTCTCfT’TfTlf f:tl aFll”fr!f ~:q;::rr qf;[fer ~ f~~~ q’~Cfl ~ 1’-(The work said to be written by the famous Madhava (Vidyaranya) enjoys a great popularity. But this Samkshepa Sankara Vijaya reveals a wide divergence. It is clear from this that some inferior scribe with the

pseudonym of Madhava must have written this. It differs widely from the great author ( Vidyaranya) both in styleand diction.)

The reader is also referred to an article in Telugu with the caption ‘f’o!t5 :l~~!~ <S.’bo.S.S~?’ by Veturi Prabha”! kara Sastri, of the Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras,. published in the Literary Supplement of the Andhra Patrika of Durmathi Margasira (1921-’22) where an interesting note about the author of the above mentioned ‘ Sankara Vijaya ‘ is given. Here is an English rendering of a portion of that article-‘ I happened to meet at Bapatla, Brahmasri Vemuri Narasimha Sastri, during my recent tour in the Guntur district, in quest of manuscripts. I mentioned casually to him my doubts regarding the authorship of ‘Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya.’ H~ revealed

248

THE AGE OF SANKARA

~~;r ~+1 ~1f~a-~~~liT~
~rqrcrcr1cr ~f~o:rr ~~cr1f&r6′ :;:r

\ifM..,.ij”CJf”f~cr~~) f;:r~~q ~~ ~pr ~fcn_!6′ :;:r ~~1 :q ~~ 11 ~ ~ 11 ” .”In the auspicious year Nandana corresponding to

2.593 of the KaJiyuga, while the Sun (the jewel of the 4ay) was on his northern course (Uttarayana), on Sukla Paksha Panchami of the month of Vaisakha (Mesha) on Sunday in combination with Punarvasu, the nakshatra presided ?~er by Aditi, and in an auspicious Yoga, and in an .ausptctous Lagna (Karkata) with auspicious Grahas

to me some startling facts. When he was at Madras some 15 years ago, he had the acquaintance of the late Bhattasri Narayana Sastri who wrote the ‘ Sankara Vijaya ‘ published in the name of Madhava-i.e. Vidyaranya and that four others helped him in this production. The importance of the Sringeri Mutt is very much in evidence in tkis ‘Sankara Vijaya~’ Taking a copy of the Vyasachala Grantha, available at the Sringeri Mutt, Bhattasri Narayana Sastri made alterations here and there and produced the ‘.Sankara Vijaya ‘. in question. That he was an expert

in such concoctions, is widely known among learned men.’ . To cite another evidence to prove the spuriousness of this Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya, Mr. N. K. Venkatesam Pantulu of Anantapur has clearly stated that the style of the ‘ Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya ‘ differs from Vidya. ranya’s. Further Mr. Pantulu writes, that the author of the said ‘Sankara Vijaya’ also adopts bodily twenty-four slokas in the 12th Sarga, from another work known as ‘ ~ankarabhyudaya’ by Rajachudamani Dikshita, a great court-poet of Nayak Kings.-Ed.

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

.and aspeeted by benefics, when Sun, Mars and Saturn were in their exaltation and Jupiter in Keudra, the chaste lady (Aryamba), wif~ of Sivaguru, without any pain of labour, gave birth to a son, (Adi Sankara) like the God~ess Parvathi, the consort of Lord Mahadeva, who gave btrth to Kumaraswami, without actually conceiving him in her womb.”

Now the passage is intelligible and consistent with the usage of poets and· historians, and it certainly now has a cScientific value as a chronological record. Without the first ·stanza which gives the particulars indicative of the era, year, month and date, the second stanza which merely .exhibits the places of four of the planets at the particular moment of Sankara’s birth, will be perfectly useless for the purpose of constructing any genuine horoscope. Without the previous portion, the subsequent portion of this passage referring to the time of the birth of Sankara, would indeetl, ·be a mere astrological excrescence ; and yet the author of the so· called Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya while he had no scruples to copy out the verses whole-sale from Vyasachala’s · Sankara Vijaya, had been obliged and commanded to copyout only the latter portion of Sankara’s horoscope; as the former portion, if retained, would directly militate against

•the date already assumed by the he:1ds and advocates of the Sringeri Mutt, on whose behalf, the author was evi• dently engaged to make this huge fabrication out of the two genuine works of Anandagiri aad Vyasachala. But alas! neither the author nor his employers knew when they re· tained this second stanza along with numerous other stanzas :from Vyasachala’s Sankara Vijaya, that they were leaving a thorn in their way, and the verse alone which they wished to retain in imitation of Rama’s Jataka would recoil as a

:strong piece of internal evidence against their own theory.

THB AGB OF SANKARA

Indeed, the whole of the second Canto (Sarga) of th~ so-~all~d Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya is a bare copy and adaptation of Cantos I and IV ofVyasachala’s Sankara Vijaya ;· as the first canto with the exception of the introductory verses and a few additions and alterations is freely borrowed’ from Anandagiri’s Prachina Sankara Vijaya from which the· so-called Madhava and Sadananda freely rifle and adopt Into their works whatever passages that are found there provided they are not calculated to prejudice the interest of·

, the Sringeri Mutt. In fact, plagiarism cannot reach a higher limit than it has reached in this work. The accompanying * analysis will be sufficient to prove the nature and . extent of the plagiarism from which a generalestimate or· the whole work can be gathered.

*Analysis of Canto H of Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya as compared with Cantos I and IV of Vyasachaliya Sankara Vijaya:

(a)

Stanzas 1 to 5 of Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya is an· expansion of Canto I of Vyasachala’s Sankara Viyaya. By thus expanding, the author evidently wanted to introduce· Rajasekhara, the author of Viddhasalabhanjika, Karpuramanjari. BaJaramayana and Prachanda Pandava as a contemporary of Sankara, and the King of Kerala at· that time. Rajasekhara however cannot be earlier than 9th centuary A.D~ and the internal evidence goes to show that Rajasekhara is not regarded and a writer of any great antiquity, although, no doubt, in the opinion of the author· of this huge fabrication of considerable merit.

(b)

Stanzas 6 to 46 of Canto 11 of Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya beginning with ‘ ~ ~W=t:fRT ~~if~crr«r ‘ etc., and ending with 1tfi~ f~~~ \lf’W~q1hr'( 11 ~-~ 11 are exactly·

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 251\

Before concluding the subject, we would like to give, in this connection, tthe reference contained in other Sankara Vijayas or other works. relating to the date of birth of · Adi Sankara. We have already noticed the verse referring to Sankara’s birth as given in Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya. 1’he Sankara Vijaya Vilasa of Chidvilasa gives some further

the same as stanzas 2 to 42 of Canto 1 of Vyasachala’s Sankara Vijaya.

(c)

Stanza 47 of Canto JI of Madhaviya is a slight modification of stanza I of Canto IV of Vyasachaliya.

(d)

Stanza 48 of Canto 11 of Madhava’s work is a mere paraphrase in a different metre of the substance of stanza 2 of Canto IV of Vyasachala ‘s work.

(e)

Stanzas 49 to 65 of Canto 11 of Madhaviya, Sankara Vijaya are exactly the same as stanzas 3 to 19 or· Canto IV of Vyasachaliya Sankara Vijaya.

(f)

Stanzas 66 to 70 of Canto li of Madhava’s book. are new and in different metre, descriptions of the preg.. nanc}’ of Sankara by Aryambal in imitation of the· pregnancy of Gautama Buddha by Maya Devi in Asva~ ghosha’s Buddha Charita, and that of Sankara himself in Rajachudamani Diksbita’s Sankarabhyudaya.

. (g) Stanzas 71 to 75-~~~~;r ~r~ etc., to S5fTOli’HH~ f:q~+r~ fcrCfi=CfT Gf~Cf 11 \9 ~ 11 if are same as stanzas 21 to 25 of Canto IV of VyasachaJa’s Sankara Vijaya, excepting the fact that the so-called Madhava omits stanza 20 of the said work beginning with “ar;~ ~· ‘VR’5crtf-~ruf&T«~~ ” etc. , already quoted and explained

above.

(h) Stanzas 76 to 78 of the Canto 11 of Madhaviya Sankara Vijaya beginning with ” wTif’ij’ U~Tf~ ~~ 5ftr~ ” .

THE AGE OF SANKARA

“particulars about the date of the birth of Sankara, but · «?De can easily see that it is all purely written in imitation of Rama’s horoscope in Valmiki’s Ramayana. This is

”What it says abo’ut Sankara’s birth:

“era-: «rc::~l:r ;rrf« ~9;oi~~w&1~ 1 f~~ ~rerqcrr :q ~R=il~~ ~~q~:qif; 11 ~~,g 11

lf&r~ :qrsf~f\lf~rlf~R”~sf({fa~~~r 1

~lfT~0~~61 mrr,+r=cr ~’hf«1{ I I ~~ I I SI’Wff Cf’llT «r-ecr’f fm~cr q”:sft=f’ll{ I _\iPlt=a f;rcr tTIW”TifT, ow «CliCRlr lNT 11 ~ ~ 11

(Vide Sankara Vijaya Vilasa, Adhyaya V, verses 37 to 39)

··etc., and ending with “nt\if Cfffi'({~~T\if ~\ifiD ll \3~ 11”

-are~ no doubt new and show the author’s poetic skill ia ,, expanding Anantanandagiri’s description on the subject.

(i) Stanzas 79 to 80 Canto 11 of Madhava’s work are

>the same as stanzas 26 to 31 of Canto IV of Vyasachala’s :: Sankara Vijaya.

(j)

Stanza 84 of Canto 11 of Madhaviya is a slight ·emendation of stanza 32 of Canto IV ofVyasachaliya.

(k)

Stanzas 85 to 93 including this concluding verse ,of Canto 11 of Madhava’s Sankara Vijaya are new and have no correspondence with Vyasachala’s work. These

··verses have been added to the work to verify Sankara as an incarnation of Siva, and to give a personal description of ··the appearance of Sankara even as a child. Some of the ·descriptions are already found in Chitsukhacharya’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya, although the author does not refer to him, · either directly or by implication. On the other hand the -works of Anandagiri and Vyasachala are directly referred to

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

According to this, Sankara was born in Vasanta Ritu (Spring season) in the noon of an auspicious day in the Abhijit Mahurta and under * the constellation Punarvasu. It is also added that at that time of his birth five planets were in their exaltation. What these planets are, we are not told. Nothing either astronomically or astrologically can be done to find out the particular day on which the planets assumed such position. We shall presently show how these stanzas are a mere modification of the verses found in Brihat Sankara Vijaya of Chitsukhacbarya whose verses are copied freely even without the slightest variation. The work advisedly omits all references pertainting to Sankara’s birth which go to fix it at 509 B.C ; in as much as the authorities of the Sringeri Mutt, on whose behalf the work was evidently compiled by a comparatively modern writer, had already placed his birth in the year 3058 of the Kali Vuga corresponding to 44 B.C.

Sadananda’s Sankara Vijaya is even more silent than. the above two. It says :

” ~~R’cf ~~ ~~ tCffvq~~ ~~q:s::q-Et; l «T m ~~~~ ~u~lf iif~~ql{_ 11 ~ ~ ll ” (Vide Sankara Digvijaya Sara, Sarga I. v. 33)

in Madhava’s Sankar~ Vijaya, and the author, whoever he may be cleverly allows the readers to draw the conclusion that his work was mainly composed on the basis of tbe Prachina Sankara Vijaya and Vyasachaliya.

* There is however another variant ‘ “ifTil:IT l[ij’ ‘ in place of ‘ 3ff({fa ~lfij’ ‘ which will show that Sank~ra

was born under the constellation Ardra, in which case he must have been born in Mithuna Lagna, ·which we havq shown to be impossible under the circumstances.

~254 TIIB AGE OF SANKARA

‘ Aryamba gave birth to Sankara, the world-teacher in .-an auspicious hour and in an auspicious Lagna when five -of the planets were in Uchcha (exaltation). It is therefore .;·an absolutely worthless piece of evidence for fixing the ··-date of Sankara’s birth.

Vallisahaya Kavi’s Sankara Vijaya is equally worthless ~upon the point. It simply says:

11 ~+ilfi \Tlil fd ~St quro)fcRI’ 5Tf~~ ffittr 1

~ ~ .

f~«TSWf ~IT~~ ~Rrl{mf~;p~·~ 11 “

(Vide, Acharya Dig-Vijaya, Kolahala I. p. 21) ‘Aryamba gave birth to· a child who was like a lion ··to hls elephant-like opponents, on an auspicious and well -:known day, which was deemed brilliant in every respect -from an astrologer’s point of view.’

Rajachudamani Dikshita’s Sankara Vijaya known as · .Sankarabhyudaya, though excellent in itself, contains no

•’particulars whatsoever regarding the time of the birth or .Adi Sankara. It simply states :

11 ~+i~f;; fc{;i –~~~~~~~~I 5rl’Wf ~~ID ~T~Cf ~f:qft:llal 11 ~~ 11 ” ‘ That noble lady (Aryamba) of pure smile gave birth ·to a son (Sankara) who could not patiently put up with ·1he wicked religions of the selfish people, on an auspicious <lay, as if he was jealous of the Mother of Guhaswami · ··(Subrahmanya).’ So, whatever may be the value of these five Sankara ·vijayas (of Madhava, Sadananda, Chidvilasa, Vallisahaya .and Rajachudamani Dikshita), they do not in any way ·.assist us in arriving at the date of Sankara; and we need !not trouble ourselves any more with these five works.

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 255

‘For the same reasons, we have to pass over the Sankara ·vijaya of Anantanandagiri, known as Acharya Vijaya mistaken by many as the work of Ana,ndagiri himself, the famous annotator of all the Bhashyas of Sankara and the Vartikas of Sureswara. No doubt, the work was written long before the controversy between the Kumbhakonam and ·the Srlngeri Mutts had sprung, but it was written certainly long after the confusion between the lives of Adi Sankara :and Abhinava Sankara had arisen in the minds of the

people. For the author says :

” There was a Brahman of great repute by name Sarvajna at Chidambaram. He had a daughter by name Vfsishta from his wife Kamakshi. She had been given in marriage to a learned Brahman by name Visvajit, and ‘Sankara was born to them” The author/then, concludes:

11 ml:ff ~ ~~l=r ~rf~ fcrf~ts~rq+fq~cr: 1

m~”Uij”f ;:~~r~cr: ~~~:;rr~ ;:rr;rcr: 11

amff =a”~ ~tStfGJ:fise: ~ij”W: ~:;r)f~crr I

~~ {o:if~lJT f~~T: ~Cf~~)~ f:q~ ~1{_ 11 ”

~~rr;;;:crr;:ro:~flrft~crr arr:qrti’~

5Q”T~~-nr~~qr~:;rrlf1~ 5Q”T~crf«~cr

~~~)~m~~~ffrcr”Pnr 11 ~ 11

~ ‘

From the concluding portions of the second Prakarna it is clear that the author of this work confounds Abhinava ·sankara, who was born to Visishta by Visvajit at Chidam baram with Adi Sankara born to Aryamba by Sivaguru at Kalati, and further the work does not give the year of Sankara’s birth either according to any of the eras current in India, or even according to Prabbavadi-gatabada ; nor even the day, month or constellation under which

Sankara was born.

·:256 THE AGE OF SANKARA

Passing to th«? Sankara Vijaya of Govindanatba, bet~er known as Keraliya Sankara Vijaya, we come across wtth some better particulars which go to corrobor.ate our

. conclusions as to the actual date of Sankara’s birth~
Referring to tbe time of Sankara’s birth, the author says :

u srcri ~;;r :qrswr ~~~~ I ci~ ~f«, q-s:=q+lft ~~~~ ~’term 11 ~~ 11

m~~m~~l’l llmr~ ~)~’1’1\ 1 GJ~li’Cffi’ ~~\7lf)fa-~«~e tflTTf&Talf 11 ~’If 11

~ ~ ‘

~i=f ~WCIT lrfa-~CfTt={ ~fcr llT1,1Sf: I ~ :q lfTilTStll”l ~~ll’ fi\if~?f~ ~~~ 11 ~~ 11 -(Vide* Keraliya Sankara Vijaya, Canto 11, V, 53-56.)’

* The above work has been recently published at Pattambi in Malayalam character in connection with the· installation of the idols of Sankara and Saradamba at Kalati by his Holiness Sri Sivabhinava Nrisimha Bharati· Swamigal, the late Sankaracharya .of the Singeri Mutt in·

1910 with a number of omissions and commissions.
unde~ the name of ‘Acharya Charitam~; and a comparison
of the said work with the old manuscript copy of Keraliya
Sankara Vjjayam in our possession and with the manuscript
. copies (No. 22-3-11 and 15 B-5-5? of. the said work ln·
the Government Oriental Manuscript Ltbrary, at Madras
and with the select passages quoted from it in Atmabodhen
dra’s commentary on Gururatnamalika shows that the

present publication of Acharya Cha~.itam is practica.lly t~e same as the Keraliya Sankara VJJaya. The work ts

. wrongly ascribed by the publisher to one Govinda, and hedraws this conclusion from stanza I of the lOth Adllyaya or the said work, where however the reading.

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

“When the pregnancy had fully advanced she (the wife of Sivaguru) brought forth a son (Sankara) in the auspicious year of Nandana under the constellation of Punarvasll,

11 ~

mfcr«{‘tflr’i ll’fCf+rfCRr ~~lf<:r: I

~~T~~RT~ :qf~ wTCflWA”‘f_ 11 ~ 11 ”

is a clean mistake fer ~q)fcr«{‘lT~’i etc., which is the actual reading of the manuscripts above referred to and which shows that the real name of the author is Govinda· natha, a devotee of Vishnu, and evidently a native of Kerala, from which fact the work came to be known as Keraliya Sankara Vijaya. In place of stanza 53 given above, the Malayalam Edition reads only one line as follows :” srcr;i ~:qrs~ ;:r;:~ «t:r~ qr~ “

~ ~” ~

which means simply that when she was fully advanced in pregnancy she brought forth a child on an auspicious day. It is evident from the several omissions and· commis.sions contained in the edition, that the publisher is an advocate of the Sringeri Mutt, that he advisedly omits any passage in the said work w!tich went in any way against the prestige, reputation and interest of the said Mutt and that he has added, in time and out of time, such of the narratives that went in support of the theories maintained by the heads of the said Mutt. In fact, as it is stated in the preface the publisher intended to present this work to His Holiness the late Saokaracharya of the Sringeri Mutt, when he established the idol of Sankara at KaJati, the admitted birth place of Adi Sankara. Another favourite theory with the beads of the Sringeri Mutt, in the life of Adi Sankara, is their a~cribing to this Sankara, the Sarvajna-pithadhirohanam

17 .

·. ‘

THE AGE OF SANKARA

‘258

the 15th day of the bright half of the month of Vaisakha. At the birth of the son, the ascending sign (Lagna) under

at Kashmir, which even according to all impartial opinions, ·is ascribed only to Abhinava Sankara or the 38th Acharya ·of the Kamakoti Pitha. The heads of the Sringeri Mutt, ·evidenly did not like the idea that Sankara lived his last -days of life at Kanchl, and that he established a Matha 1here for himself, and ascended the Sarvajna Pitham ‘there, thinking that· it will thereby enhance the value and importance of the Kanchi Mutt. So the heads of the :Sringeri Mutt, including the author of the so-called JMadliaviya Sankara Vijaya, wanted to omit that fact, and =atarted the theory that Adi Sankara, after establishing ·the Sringeri Mutt, went back to Kashmir, and there after -ascending the Sarvajna Pitham he disappeared finally in Dattatreya Guha, which is true only of Abhinava Sankara.

So the publisher of this work, thinking that this “Stanza will go against the reported date of Sankara’s birth ;as maintained by the SringerJ Mutt, has altogether omitted

the 2nd line, ·and substituted ‘ ~~ in place of ~~

as~ according to the Sringerl Mutt, Adi Sankara was bom in tJ:te year Isvara ( ~) and not in the year Nandana ( ~), and under the constellation Ardra ( arrsci) .and not Punarvasu ( ~cf~).

The very same dodge is played by the publisher with ·regard to the Sarvagna-pithadhirohanam of Sankara at Kancbi. Unwilling to grant that Sankara ascended the “Sarvajna-Pitha at Kanchi, the 9th Adhyaya of the present publication is hopelessly meddled with and confused.

The following is the beginning of the 9th Adhyaya of

SUCCI!SSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 259

-which he was born was very auspicious and aspected by ‘benefic planets which were powerful and in their exaltation.

‘Acharya charitam’ as it is now published in the Malayalam -character :

” «cilf: fu~ ~~Cffi: ~~~) ~f~~~: I ~flf SfC{~Q]”f~ ~lf: Cfil”S=:q”f~ i)”Cf: 11 ~ 11

~aT~~Tar ~NT ~RCfffU~ I m Cf)l’~qr~’ffmfi ~~ f~zrif ~~lf 11 ~ 11

‘ c:. …

Cf)l’lfT&-1:JT t=rrlf crrt~Olff: ~~ere~~ lfftercrr~ 1

«CfmtilolfT(l~ flf~l!f l!Fr~ifcr: 11 ~ i 1

Now in the 7th Adhyaya, a full description of the city ·of Kanchi, and of the construction of the three great 1emples at Kanchi with the help of Rajasena, the king of Kanchi, at that time, and of the establishment of a Matha by Sankara at that sacred place is given. In the 8th Adhyaya, a description of Sankara’s victorious tour to Rameswaram and to other parts of Southern India is

.appended. Now, then in the beginning of the 9th Adhyaya, the above verses show that the great teacher Sankara finally ·eame to Kanchi, and on reaching that sacred city presided over by the Goddess Kamakshi, he desired to ascend the :Sarvajna Pitha there. In the original manuscripts, the 2nd stanza is not at all found, and it seems to be a spurious and ·unaccountable addition in the printed edition.

What does the reading in the printed Malayalam edition indicate 1 It shows that Sankara (after visiting ‘Rameswaram and other places in Southern India) again .came to Kanchi and there-‘ adorning the celebrated

THE AGB OF SANKABA

On the birth of that Brahman’s son (Sankara) the Yoga was

such that he was.destined to be Sarvajna (all knowing).'”

country of Kashmir by his lustre in the Bharata Mandala which was enhancing the beauty of Jumbudvipa, he wanted to ascend the Sarvajna Pitha in that sacred city presided over by the Goddess Kamakshi.’ Where is Kanchi and where is Kashmir? What has Kanchi to do with· Kashmir? What has Kashmir to do ·with the city of the· Goddess Kamkashi 1 One is entirely at a loss to understand! why Bharata Mandala and Jambudvipa are introduced here. And what is the construction of this 2nd verse’! There is no· further mention of Kashmir, and one cannot understand bow· · Sankara went from the soot bern-most corner of India to the northern-most corner of that great continent, if he really· wanted to ascend the Sarvajna-Pitha at Kashmir, which event Is unmista,kabJy assigned to Abhinava Sankara by Sri Vakpatt Bbatta of Kashmir in his Sankarendra Vilasa, a poem in. sbt Cantos (compare-Canto V. verses 1-35). ·

It is an ugly trick and an unsuccessful attempt to. fabricate. The author according to this edition does not~ leave Sankara at Kashmir, but he at once makes him to go.. back to his native place Vrishachala in Malabar near Kalati,. his birth place, aBd there after making him pray to God .. Vishnu, allows him to exit from the world. Although it shows that the author, or rather the editor who had. Introduced this portion of the story with regard to the last days of Sankara’s life, was a patriot of his own native.

place, the remaining portion of the printed book itself, and the original manuscripts and quotations made from the said work· by Atmabodhendra in his commentary on Gururatnamalika more than 200 years ago, and published about .30 years ago, do not in any way support this portion of

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 261

This description of the date of the birth of Sankara will be seen to tally exactly with that given in the earlier Sankara

the story. A mere perusal of this portion of the book will

·show how fiat the verses are, and how absurd and incohe

·rent they are. The tenth and last Adhyaya in which tho

author summarizes the life of Sankara in the form of an

Ashtaka, clearly falsifies the story that Sankara ascended

the Sarvajna-Pitha at Kashmir, and died at Vrishachala in

Malabar, as attempted to be suggested in the previous

Adhyaya. We shall only quote the last stanza of the

Ashtaka and leave our readers to judge the matter for

themselves :

~T~Ss=q+lf ;:r <:r~r~, ar~ crcr ;:prs=t=ft2;~ ‘SITI:ff~,
r~c:r~ ~~Cfc:rr ri~m 11crr ,

-=>

~wrs~ ‘ISffSf’lflrCJ; f11crr, ~Cfc:r: ~IS~ ~ac:r: ~\ilf iRICfF( iia~c:r1,fc:r: 55fT~~<:: q~ ;:r: 11 ~ 11 The original manuscripts read in place of ” CJISfrfif …

&.: ·~ 11 c:.

·’lfl~Cfi ll=f”CJI of the Malayalam editios “~TfSf’lr’f’Cf)

~~11 • ‘

1+t~ 1 meanmg by the expressioD “i[\ifffSf’lTl£Cfl 11 the Lord of the Hasti-Saila or Varadaraja. the name of the God Narayana at Vishnu Kanchi or Little Conjeevaram.

The editor not content with the Ashtaka which gene-rally goes under the name of Acharyashtaka ( arr::crtlfl6a”c:pq-) adds a few more verses, paraphrasing what has been already stated, although they are not found in the manus.cript c?pies. The 9th verse of this Stotra may be quoted

.as an mstance :

11 i.lfTCf: ~~~~cr~, ~crCf~T 1{cCfTS~, m”6lfTOlf~T 1 ~tt=>-~mssssrirJT :er~), w;oc:rr :er f~ISlfTif cru;r11

. ~ ~

mB AGB OF SANKARA

262

Vfjayas with regard to the month, the constellation and the year under which he is said to have been born ; though,

. ~4i I~’fflq'{ ltcl:f ~fiiRfcrT’l CfTUTTs:=if, «;:{#I aI’I” I

~ ‘ ‘

lRarr srrccrcr~ lJ:ferm:r:, S~..Tro~~= ~;:r: 11 ” In both these verses the fact that Sankara ascended

the Sarvajna-Pitha at Kanchi is cJearly stated, though the editor by cleverly changing the . expression tr\illfir Into cflsrrfs:: and if\~ into crqr:q<n intends and evid

c. c:.

ently wants the readers to believe that Sankara died at Vrishachala instead of at Kanchi where he actually died according to the version of the manuscript copy which is

· supported by the quotations already made from the work · and published more than 30 years ago. The following is the version of the manuscript copy io our possession:

11 ~m

fYlf~~ ll’l«r m’l”rw:r_ ~w~fuCfl: ~mmmnr~ ij”cT~ fil ~’ef..¥fFnr 11

-:1 ‘

~~”{ crf~ ~~~~s~1

. . ..-. . . .

ij”Jf ij”~~Ttll’ ~ ~fl= ll.,..a

tc:r crcrcr m!Slf …………q'”””fi….. u

-:1 “‘

m~qn:~tf11ur f~~lilq;rr~ I ~;t ~)f(;rftc5 mef crij-fu :q 11 “

~Cl~Tm ~~CITllT~ ~crcfq-Jo~~: I ~~RCfii ~~fi>rfcrtilr \if~~~; 11

~~~ {‘4\if ~~ a-ier ~~1 ORCfiJ~lf)fu ~r~ ~q-~ ‘RIJ 11

‘ ~~er ~~u;;rrl:f1 ~~f~Jcr ~er fa~ 11 ‘”

263.

SUCCESSORS OF SANKAR.ACHARYA

no doubt, it does not, give the year of his birth in. one of the various known Eras, such as Kali Yuga, Yudhishthira Saka etc. Further, it does not say underwhich Lagna he was born, though it sufficiently indicates,. that Sankara was born under a very auspicious Lagna aspected by beneficent planets which were very powerfu} and in their exalation. Perhaps, it is this suggestion that has been followed by Chidvilasa when he says that fiveplanets were in exaltation at the time when Sankara was.

born.

The next Sankara Vijaya, going back from our own times, is that of Vyasachala already quoted at length. This work is noticed by Rev. WiJiiam Tailor in his Catalogue or Sanscrit Manuscripts published in 1860; and it is interesting to note that none of the Sankara Vijayas ascribed to. Sadananda, Madhava and Chidvilasa are noticed by theRev. William Tailor in his extremely useful Catalogue or

This version of the story is further corroborated by, Brihat Sankara Vijaya, Prachina Sankara Vijaya, Vyasachaliya Sankara Vijaya, and Anantanandagiri’s Sankara. VJjaya, besides the Punyasloka Manjari, Jagadguru-Ratna-. mala and Jagadguru-Kathasangraha, all of which fix theplace of Adi Sankara’s death at Kanchi.

This absurd trick has been carried by the publisher of this Keraliya Sankara Vijaya even into the contents of the book. In describing this so-called Sankara’s trip to. Kashmir the publisher gives :

” Cfi 1.:>-=ifr-Cfil~R·lfnrr ” which, on the face of it, shows the absurdity of the theory attempted to be established by the publisher.

THB AGB OF SANKARA

Sanskrit Manuscripts-and the only possible inference ill that these works were not in existence in 1860, when the Catalogue was published. In fact, we have not been able to notice any of these Sankara Vijayas in auy of the Catalogues of Sanskrit Manuscripts, published before 1860.

·This date is further corroborated by the Sankara Vijaya ·

. of Anandagiri, the famous annotator of Sankara’s Bhashyas, which has come down to us under the name of Prachina. Sankara Vijaya. In the first place after describing the various would-be* disciples and contemporaries of Sankara, and showing them each to be an incarnation of a particular Deva or Deity in the middle of the second Sarga, ·and • after giving a detailed account of Kumarila Bhatta, the· great advocate of the Karmakanda of the Vedas in ‘thelatter part of the said Sarga, and after giving an interesting and charming account of Kerala Desa and of Kalati and its surroundings in the beginning of the 2rd Sarga, and after narrating the early life of Sivaguru and Aryamba, and the boons conferred on ·that pious couple by God Siva Hhnself, and the consequent pregnancy of Aryamba and its speeial and wonderful nature, the work proceeds as follows :-‘ · · ·

Wt5tll1!q:_ ij’if~fcrfir~’+lw~rf
ij’ql~~Cfi f~le1 ~~ ~~ I

fc:rmf~w:rtr~ifTfHI” ~~ fucm§~TC!_ anlfTtRr ~fer~~~ ~f:cr: ~ilr~: 11 ~~ 11

fa-~ 51’lllc~-~crf~-~ur-~~
lfT ;:r;:~~ f~’flf’O’fT CfG:i’eiCf+rTf\if I

“‘

*Compare the venes already quoted from the second Canto of Prachina Sankara Vijaya.

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

uersRa-~~frr frrifcr • lf’W~i~ scliTRCfCfT’t fucr~~: ~ :cr ~~~fer 11 t ~ ”

. ‘G.od Siva Himself was born as son to Aryamba, the ‘Wife S1vaguru of the family of Vidhyadhipati, in that wonderful country (K e r a I a) where thousands of Pandits ·tive like snake-charmers able to put down the poison of ·

pride in the arrogant serpent-like scholars, with his splen·dour transcending the lustre of one thousand Suns, Him, ·the father Sivaguru called Sankara, who was born in the fourth . (Karkata) La g n a under the constellation of

*This is the reading of the copy of the manuscript in -our possession. We have interpreted the expression 3fW~r.J (Anga-Lagna) to mean the fourth or the Karkata-Lagna, or Anga ( 3TW) in the technical. language means four as _representating the four angas known as Ratha, Gaja, Turaga and Padati. The reading of this passage as quoted by Atmabodhendra in his commentary on Guru RatnamaJika iS I ~:=f~iij’ 1 in plaCe Of I arw~rif 1 implying that

“Sankata was born in the Lagna called ~(Missile) or
more plainly Dhanur-Lagna. This idea that Sankara was
born in Dhanur-Lagna is entirely foreign to all othel’

·sankara Vijayas which place his birth in the mid-day
{ lfe”lfT@) and not in the night, which must be the case if
Sankara was born under Dhanur-Lagna in the month of
Vaisakha (Mesha). The quotation of this passage as given
in th~ compilation known as Srimat Sankara Bhagavatpada

•Chantram published in Telugu character in the yeal’ Hevilambi by the Kala Ratnakaram Press at Madras has

_·’ 3f~i~ which is evidently a misreading for arw~rif or -aRif~ as the case may be.

266 mB AGB OF SANKARA

Punarvasu, in the month of Vaisakha (corresponding to the:. solar month Mesha), when the Sun was on his northern path (Uttarayana) in the year Nandana on the lapse or 2593 years after the commencement of the Kali Yuga.’

Evidently the Kumbhakonam Mutt has been misled by· a clearly wrong reading of this passage as given in Atma· bodhendra’s Sushama-“~~~” in place or

11 ar)li~ “-and while it accepts our account of the particulars of the time of the birth of Sankara in all its. details. it has wrongly assumed Sankara to have been born· tinder Dhanur-Lagna (IX or Sagittarius), for our learned lecturer in the Government College at Kumbhakonam· Mr. N. K. Venkatesa lyer, M. A., in his ‘Sri Sankaracharya and his Kamakoti Pitha ‘ recently published under tbe · auspices of the Kumbhakonam Mutt, has after quoting a number of prophecies and forecasts about the birth of Adi Sankara in Siva Rahasya*, Linga

•~~~~m! 1i01Cl fq crq1er;;, 1

~ff

..:> cr<rr ferst \jf’flfrflf ~~ft 11 \9 11 ~er ;;rfut ijsw er~1ITflf ‘9lor ~~ 1 ~~ir lf~~fer ~facrlfTC( ~11 ~ 11 ~n:~r ~cr~r fll:sr: flf~: Cfl’OTrmr fi\jfr: 1 atT’I+il~ l~’fT ~er! aTTliTI?.IdT’fCfTf~: 11 ~ 11

..:>

~er ~~zrr .:f~: q;041lleti: 1

~fa ~fctatrol!_lSCCfT~~C{~'<tlfRr :q I I ~ ~ 11

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

267′

Puranat, Kurma Purana tt, Vayu Purana $, Bhavishyottara·

a-o:r ‘ef~~:q,-u Cfllf~ru ~l?.l”fi:a :q 1

6’l’fr ~;ij.’TC’fl’~Fr ~prr+rr~ ‘l’ci~a-: 11 ~ ¥ 11 ~~~~ir fcrsr~ lfci~: 1 mcrtillfcr lf~cr ~Cfi”U~~r fi\if’T~If: 11 ~ ~ 11

(VJde Siva Rahasya, Amsa IX Ch. XVI. St. 7 to 15)., t ” f~f..cr ~fcmt ;;r f;:\jff: “fl’fifUr cl Cfl~ 1

~~ifl JJ~l~ct : ~Cfl’U ;:rrew-rf~: 11 ~o 11 SI’Cfll~€t sr~~ ~litll” f~?.~Wcrr~a-: 1 lf et fcrsrr f’iti~ ~;r ~sfT.r ~~11 ~ ~ 11

Cflf~llir;:r fCT f~ ~~srlllfrcr q~ ‘l41r 11 ”

~ ~

(Vide Linga-Purana, Chapter 40, St. 20-22):,

t t ” Cfl~ ~~ lf~T~crT ~TctlT’fT lfT~cr~: q-{: I
« ~err ~~ “111fT ~Cld I~f:>=1f ~erCfl{_ 11 ~ ~ 11
Cflf~ clll?.ld I ( ~~T;rre~Tf~cr: 1

~ffnfsrfcrtser~ “ijCfCfl’rt f~crCfiJ 1=44 r 11 ~ ~ 11 ~~”lffcr ~m;r f~tlrrurt ~w«r~ij”IJ 1 «Ci~r~ ID~ f~ ~cft’IT :;:q ~ ({~rfT~ 11 ~ ~ It ~ et fcrsrr f;r~er~ ~;r ~TSt~’lflfa’: I

‘:l

fcrfu~ Cfllf\jff’t_ ({Tffri{_ lllfrcr ff q~Ji ~11 ~¥ 1t· (Vide Kurma-Purana, Chapter 27, St. 31-34),

$ ” ~~= f~~~ ~~~rscrcrf~fa-1”
(Vide Vayu-Purana)

N.B.-We have not been able to verify this quotation.· from any of the editions of the Vayu Purana.

TiiB AGB OF SANKARA

iPurana* and Markandeya Samhita;t summarised his conclu• ·sion as follows: “In accordance with these forebodings and -1lmidst such circumstances and with such determination, in the self-same hallowed village of Kalati, which has but recently been made public to the world by the establishment of a ~emple of Sri Sankaracharya at the place, in the· Kerala ··Country, as was granted in the boon of Sadasiva to Brahma, : the. Great Guru, Sri Sankaracharya, as the beloyed babe ·Of the devoted Brahman Sivaguru and his devoted wife

Aryamba, was born in the year of Kali 2593, in the · .. cycliQ year Nandana, in the month of Vaisakha, under the ·w constellation Punarvasu-also the constellation under which <the o~her Great Lord of the Trinity, Mahavishnu had

. 11 11 cti~QG~T ftn:r~~Fa-~TctlT1,~~cnT~lfT l .

~~: ~~ fqr1S~~1 ~~~rscr~~fu 11 11 . (Vide Bhavishyottara Purana, ·Chapter 36)

J “mfi!~~ac9 ~: tRf~q-: ~p=mf~~r ~WOll . =tfTCTTePT~Cfi~ 5f~~f;:r~urt ~~ ~’r:lT”{lf~ l

·Cfilwe~l~~~r~if f~CilJ.~ felmfeto:rr~~:q lf: . 6c9crtti fuct~~ ~fire”: ~~~lftF.f~ll t ll

‘ ~

. ‘

‘

‘CfiT:s:~ ~TePTlfCfiTf~ ctif~w~;riff Cfl(Wtff~ccrr ~ ~lfcr’-TT’U~oT:ef’fl1f@¥4 ~I (IIJ’~’Ell ;t I””lf~et+rflf, l

~~~TSSCliPlfqriS~ ij”~~F.f’f ‘EI’Rf~~T lf~Tcl=fT

~ 11

ffi~crro:r~fa-~\lffcr ~tfl:r~P:~rfer ‘EI’rcfT”<IlfTll” ‘1

c. ~C’\

(Vide Markandeya Samhita, 22nd Khand Parispanda ~vu, St. 1-8).

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 269′

Incarnated himself in the world in the Tretayuga as Sri Rama chandra, for the suppression of evil in Ravana and his kin, and for the establishment of Dbarma or Eternal Life i.e. life according to eternal or unchanging laws, in the bright half of the month, on the 5th day of the fortnight, with the · moon in the House of the Archer. ‘when the planets Surya, Kuja. Sani (the son of Surya,) and Guru were in Kendra.”

In the passage above quoted, the italics only are ours · and we have no doubt, that the expression under italics.

had been introduced into the above passage by the learned.·

lecturer, relying on the reading ‘ 3T~~~t;f’ in Ananda

giri’s Prachina Sankara Vijaya above referred to. The.

concluding portion of the passage “when the planets

Surya, Kuja,. Sani (son of Surya) and Guru were in Kendra” ·

is evidently based upon the stanza ‘ ~;;l qr~ qf~lfa-r

~ ~ -=>

etc., already quoted from the Vyasachaliya and Madhaviya

Sankara Vijayas and examined in detail ; but the learned·

scholar is not quite correct in interpreting the passage as.

meaning that the planets Sun, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter:

were only in Kendra at the time of the birth of Sankara ; for

the stanza according to any interpretation, expresses that

these planets we~e also in their exaltation, whether all of

them were also in Kendra or not. We fully agree with

Pichchu Aiyar and Dr. Swamikannu Pillai, in interpreting·

the stanza as meaning that these planets were both in their·.

exaltation as well as in kendra. The learned writer

himself quotes this stanza as an authority for his positiont

although he does not mention the source from which he.

quotes it. This point is made still clear by the following,

passage which he quotes:

” CfiTC?C~T~~ ‘fl+l’Cf~ ~~T~~Cff~ I

fcJ’-Trfet”<:T\lf’lT~T lf: 51’T~: f~cr~~ ~+rT 11

. ~

:·270 THE AGE OF SANKARA SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

We shall now pass on to a stiil more ancient authority, ·the Sankara Vijaya of Chitsukhacharya, known as Brihat

o~lffi ~~ CflWi qs:;:fr:;;:ql;f~~~ I

‘San~ara Vijaya which makes the matter perfectly clear. It

arr;:r;:~~trcrr: ri ~IStf’Cf~ fc~fq-:;;~~: 11 “

is satd to be written during or immediately after the time of

The author does not state from what work he has taken ·sankara, by Chitsukha, one of his own direct disciples and -this garbled and mutilated version ofthe passage; and from ·eo-students. who filled the responsible position of the 2nd ~~he invariably wrong version of the other passages which he Acharya of the Saradapitha of the Dwaraka Matha, and who

has quoted (without quoting chapter and verse) as foretel·was older than Sankara by 5years. As we have already stated ‘liog the birth of Sankara, it is clear that he has merely his work is divided into* 3 parts and into 224 Prakaranas: ·-copied all these passages from the Telegu edition of the –compilation known as Srimat Sankara Bhagavatpada *The first part known as Paramacharya Satpatha consists ·Cha~itram already noticed by us. There, this passage is ·of 30 Prakaranas, including the Upodghata Prakarana and

stated to be taken from the 2nd Prakarana of Ananda… it giv~s a brief account of the origin of the work, and of ·~giri’s Sankara Vijaya which is divided into Sargas and not . the hves and doings of the predecessors of Sankara ,·into Prakaranas; and further Anandagiri’s Sankara Vijaya is from Narayana downwards to Gaudapada and Govinda

·uniformly known under the name of Prachina Sankara Bhagavatpada, the Paramacharya Pnd Acharya of Sankara. ·Vijaya; and the passage from Prachina Sankara Vijaya Prakaranas 31 to 200 are known as Sankaracharya Satpatha·which we are now actually considering, is seperately quoted and it gives a full and clear account of the life of Adi ,,in ‘the said work.· A comparison ofthis passage with the Sankara including the various works written by him from

time to time. The last 24 Prakaranas are known as

passage which we are presently going to quote in detail Sureswaracharya Satpatha, and it deals with the life and

·.from Chitsukhacharya’s Brihat Sankara Vijaya, will clearly work~ of Sureswara. The whole book is written in a simple

·.show that this is a mutilated venion of that given by ·style m the form of a dialogue between Chitsukha himself

· Chitsukha.charya in the 32nd Prakarana of Sankaracharya .and one of his disciples who succeeded him in the Dwaraka

: Satpatha of his Brihat Sankara Vijaya. A proper uderstand· Matha, as the 3rd Acharya under the name of Sri Sarvajna

·ing of this passage will show beyond all possible doubt that
nacharya and who reigned in the Matha until Sravana Sukla

1 the planets Surya, Kuja, Sani and Guru were both in Ekadasi of the year 2774 ofYudhisbthira Saka, correspond

‘Kendra and in their exaltation. In that case, if Sankara ing to 2737 of the KaJi Yuga or 365 B.C. A comparison

-was born under Dhanur Lagna, then besides failing to get o.f this work with Chidvilasa’s Sankara Vijaya Vilasa, will

·the above mentioned position of the planets in question, ·dtsclose that the latter work has been mainly modelled

·we shall be reduced to the absurdity of placing Sankara’s and copied from the former, with such omissions and

‘birth in Krishna Paksha Tritiya or Chaturthi, instead of additions as the exigencies of the Sringeri Mutt required

··placing it, as is uniformly done by all authorities, including under its later Acharyas.

-.:the learned lecturer, in Vaisakha Sukla Panchami.

271 THE AGE OF SANKARA

In the 32nd Prakarana of the said work, in the 2nd’ Prakarana of Sankaracharya Satpatha of the Brihat Sankara· ‘Y’ijaya, Chitsukhacharya gives the following description· of the birth of Sankara, and as the passage is important for purposes of comparison we have chosen to give the· whole of the Prakarana, especially as the book is still in. manuscripts and has not seen the light of the day as yet. except in the form of some garbled quotations here and there. The following is the full text of the Prakarana as i&’found in the copy of the manuscript in our possession:-

CfiT~~~ IDlfGfff ~((ii10 i!CfT~a-I

. Wlrrfer<ri5f cr;:r~: srr~; f~cr~~ ill1 11 ~ 11

o~ ~f~cr: ~~~ ~TCfiT’!,~€2:ffitf{: I anll’lf~CfiTfifCZ ttr~ lffCfcr cl~Flfmf~;:r: 11 ~ 1t.

WfT~ otlfifR~~ q-c-=~ ~ret t:r€2:f’lf~…. 1 ififR~ ~~f~g f+r~’l Cfi~urrf;;f<q: 11 ~ 11

OO’T ¥01 f~~’1Tcr~~lft 5rfcr~ ~~T I ~T q’eff”( ~efT tpf 11Tfqctr~¥01ct \lt ~11 I I ‘t II’

….

f;:r’qT;;tflri ~rcr1 ~f11 crrs.=cr\%:~H’f0″T 1 olf\lt llfCf cre:rsstrY~~T fucfCfiTtru~Cfiff 11 “\ 11

~~err fuCJ:q~ ~\j’Gff mlJT ifflfT-?-=tf ;yfira-r+r I’

e. ‘ ~ ~

~~~~ ~cn:f ~~CfiHr~~r 11 \ 11

~~~rr. ~m({r~~fq-if€2:~crttr 1 ere{~ ~ ~)~rf~: ~o:e:) ror ~;;rq_ 11 \9 lli

«J\lfflfa ~lf: “fiT~: q-~:;~6~trcr: 1

..::> …. …::

Cifl~T~Cfif0″CfiTfTr’ef~CT”<T 11~ eyqcr) I I ~ 11·

“‘

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA ‘1:13

ftro: 51″Cfilf~crTCfiT~T ~~: wf”<f~ilflf: I
SITlf: Sfqf&rur~Cff0″T i5f~~ lf~q'[CfCfiT: 11 ~ I t

;r;;;:!; q-F’efcrr: ~’ if1~~St:~)if1JTT: I
~’i!: ~~fur ~T ~o!freff”<&rlJT: 11 ~ o 1t

~ru-e:r fqo~tJro:f ~crtf~)~ f=tr~ ~~~ t
sr~~ iflfcr f:o:q~ ~crt srcrqcrr +rfcr 11 ~ ~ 11

CRI”: ~T ~lr ifffi tf9-:uf~1Tmluf I
tr~Fcr~ ~er~ li;;JTlf~fer~WCf1t~ cl 11 ~ ~ 11

~Cf1~~s~ er~~ ~P:r~ rrra::=t ~~ t · ittfUf~ tra ~~ cf~T~ ~Tfff ~)+r~ 11 ~ ~ I l

~~&l =tf q-s’1:fnrt fcr~t1 ~<:crru~ 1
~ctwffi :qrj1 0″~ Cfictc-~~ 11 ~ ¥ 11

if~~~~f~T+fl!g~ ~li’CfJf&rff I
~1″*Iftt cti-=sr~~ =tf ~~1 if~ ~~ WT 11 ~ “\ 1t

A’~Jffi ~~1 “<fcrurr ~)lra-~er 1
SI’TWJ crrr:f Uf’CCff fiff<:~Cf tf~T~ 11 ~ ~ 11

‘dG:lfl=tf~~~ lff’fifr~ ~~lf I

“‘ “‘ ‘

~f’f”<T~”lf: ~cra-i5frr~ m~lf’=Cf fe:~~ 11 ~ \9 11

q-r0~sfq-fcr~r&r iffcrfcrttrcr cr&r~ 1 arTi5fT1.~r~csrcr +r’if1 ~~ G f’1’c~Cf1+t_ ‘” 11 ~ ~ 11

OIT”(Cfef)qr.-crrrlf’f fcrf;:rf..~ ~”<t~~+r 1

l!~Rr ~auCfiTf€2:+rCfl<T~fcr~'” 11 ~ ~ 11 ~&’~ecfijfTCfiT~~~~cre:T~~~+{_ I ~Tf<;f~R>5″&rur)qcr, fcr~qr~Cfi~~~+{_ 11 ~o 11

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

. :.274 THB AGB OF SANKARA

$5f)f:qc~~:-

srli”Ri G:fS’Clfr~or f~~~ et ~cro:r:~lflf 1

~ ‘

qp:t qy~ <im ~PJIT ~~troTf~ ~crCfi’T 1 1 ~ ~ 1′

sr~ ‘f ~ut qfta” :qcp’h:rcr ~~refi~if, 1 ,GTG:~ ~G:1SGCfT ~T ~crsfcrfcr~crr 1 1 ~~ 1 1

c. c:. ‘-~

~,:qrSG:~a: fCfi~)~)sfq fctif~:qfa:qf~r~~: 1 ffi6tl’f ~uft ~tcrT q:~~ lfi:!~~cr~. 1 I ~~ I I

‘

a-:;r~T Cf~’fllfTsfq lf~TI=trn lf~TSS=i:f~’f I

~ . ‘

~l:rfif~ ‘SfW~;:~fq~~ fqcr)iiCfml”, 11 ~¥ I ‘ acr: ssr~crr fqor ~)sfq f’ff~ ‘Sfrttra f’fcf’f: 1 ~ll~ fifcr~t f’9~ fcr:a~ ‘fTS+lf~~ 11 ~~ I I

-:.-:.

~iJTCCIT f~crrq: t~uf lfiiCf’fT +ri.TOTT ~a: I fcrsrr ilTCfiTWli”Hf ‘];~r~T uq ~cfa I I ~~ I I

ij”G:TcB~ ~T ‘fffifq_ ~~cqf’f ij”t=aCfl\ I . . mt=lRT~T’\ lff~r+’fl”Sij”T fcr~lfl ~lf: SI”G:uefT~II~\91 l

l:TilTf’f -+~f~ fcr~+<:r) ~G:fcr~ift fG:~~ ~: I .<mrtfu ~lft f~ ot~l f.1 ~tfi~TA ‘Sfcfac:rf’\ 11 ~c: 11

‘];~;:~rorr:s::q ‘fro’S:l Cft~iifTCI’ li”G:T G:~T I erc:)e’fT ~~~) m~~re~r: ~G:f~1JfT: 11 ~~ 11

crcr: f~crr~ 1l’7crr ~urr~~cicrrsf~Cfil\ 1 wcr~ ~i:!f~: ~rei if,~CI’T ~Cfij”CJ: ~eft: 11 ~o 11

~m'{:55\Tfq~rS{! ~(!~1\if ~~·cr)w~~ f.:ro~t ~~fq~ lfifi ~ • arn e~ ~erG: crf~fut ~itor “+flft otcr1sft+r ~~~ ~er~r~?f 11 ~ ~ 11

“‘ -:>

~cfffi’f t];eTtiTUr! ~~f~ti lfT err ~or) clfmfo ssr’hr:;;~~~f;u~;:Sf :q~rfcrmcr lTClf~~Q1\”‘1 ~TSClf;at! ~fcrarf~errfcriffcoa tccl~ :q \if”T~lft: \ifTCf~CJ!:Cf ~CfTSs=tR ~fcrcr~t f’f~ll”Tm~Q:a-11 ~ ~11

S~.:Tfl=fcq~ij” -qf~ifl\ifCfiT=t:ff~cp::f-ssrrlT:;;~~~~rrcrctJT~ qr~)\if lT~t=G: f’f&rt=G:TP.fTG: ~f.-~~frfrG: flif~rG:flf-lTT’f llf’fij” ssrlf=i:fc~tl”a-TrSf ~cr~ra crtr1er~«err~, S5fT~~~~~fcr\if~ ~~u:qr~ij”cq~

ssrro~~srr~mcrr~~ aTf~;[ SI”Cfi~uf ~p:rrtal{ I

(1) ‘ In that celebrated Brahman village caJied Kalati, * which was then considered to be an ornament to the country of Kerala itself, Sivaguru, the son of Vidyadhiraja. became

* An obscure viJlage named Kalati, six miles to the east of Alwaye, now a station on the Cochin-Shoranur rail way Une, is traditionally mentioned as the place of nativity of

J Adi Sankara. Pazurpanai //lam in the neighbourhood of

….

Trlchur, has been in all Kerala understood to be the family \ to which Sankara’s mother Aryamba, belonged and her .cremation ground thereabout is still shown to the enquirer .as a place of interest. Kerala is a land of idyllic beauty. Nestled amidst jack, coco and areca-palms, bounded by the purling Poorna (otherwise known as Churni-c9fDir6ri1tLJLb r8 u Ff/ UJ ff1!J1 ), where the crocodile caught the legs of the boy Sankara, which culminated in his pursuit to become an .ascetic, Kalati in every way is a hallowed spot. The specified place where he took his birth is now crowned with a shrine -dedicated to him. The image of Sri Krisbna adored by Sankara’s mother is ensconced in a nearby shrine. The place

I .

l—·~····

THB AGB OF SANKARA

276

well known throughout, as the most pious and learned among the people. (2-3) ‘ Then the blessed Sadasiva, the Great Lord, ever bent on doing good to the world, desired out of His own Infinite Mercy to fulfil the wishes of Sivaguru, the devoted

husband of Aryamba, filled with Bhakti and Vairagya, and praying to Him, day and night, with his noble wife,. for the sake of obtaining a worthy son.

where Sankara conferred his benediction to a poor lady by

singing his ‘ Kanakadhara stotra ‘ still continues to bear the name ‘ swarnathu manaikal ‘ (6iv611 IT 6lJlJr ::j~ w&r.$ 6’iT) owned by a Nambudiri, who claims ‘to be a lineal descendant or the lady. A Siva and a Durga shrine in the vicinity where Sankara’s father Sivaguru worshipped can be seen even. to-day. It is said that here the ‘Dravida Sisu’ (The TamU ChUd) was fed with the breast-milk of Parvati Devi, when he cried of hunger, ( CfCf ~l{ ~~ CT~fllTCT~ Cfl;:~ ~er… ~~q~zr: c::~ ‘rl’cr~mcrr<a etc.) though some scholars

wrongly attribute this to Tirujnana Sambandhar. The present temples dedicated to the Acharya and Goddess Sarada were built in the beginning of this century tw<> thousand years after the World-Teacher left us. The style of these shrines are not in the usual Kerala model of architecture. The Vimana of the Sarada shrine is in the ashta padma {eight~angled) motif, while that of the Sankara.shrine is in the shodasa kona (sixteen faceted) form. A raised

platform and a tapering terrace-shaped dome lend both elegance and grandeur to the structures. In 1910, the con. secration of these shrines was performed by Sri Nrisimha Bharati, the Sankaracharya of Sringeri Mutt. Another small shrine is also connected with the name of Sankara. It was

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA

(

4) ‘ Then the Great God mysteriously entered into the womb of Sivaguru’s wife with His own self-shining lustre … .an? ~hat chaste lady conceived in her womb a son as brllhant as the sun himself.

(5)

‘_Then, like the Mother Earth bearing the precious treasures m her bowels, like the Sami tree containing the sa~re~ fire within its interior, Aryamba with that blessed child m her womb, became entirely devoted to Siva .

. (6-?) ‘On seeing his wife Aryamba pregnant with I ~hdd: Sivaguru the best of sacrificers, always remembering

….. i~ h1s . heart ~he Lord of Vrihsachala for having blessed him With a child and praising the Gread God for the great compassion shown by Him to the humble as well as to the exalted, became elated with joy like the milk-ocean at the sight of the full moon.

(8-11) ‘Then there came a highly delightful season fraught with all blessings when five of the planets were in their ascendancy. A pure and pleasant breeze blew bearing the sweet odour of the flowers of the white water”! …. lilies. The cardinal quarters were all propitious and clear I with the enchanting rays of the sun. The sacrificial fires

at this place, while the priest was chanting the rudram cNama Sankaraya’ that Sankara was born and was given the

na~e. ac~ordingly. Velliman tull (Gl6116irfilf1wtTw J’jlm),

denvmg Its name from a white-stag, which pointed a Siva j linga lying hidden, is nearby; when Aryambal became to weak

to ~o to Tiru Siva Periyur (~®8: ~611uGiutf1fY,ti”) meaning Tnchur, s?e was asked to worship the linga which the stag would pomt out. Kalati stands in its own glory as the cradle of Advaita and its dust is sacred, because the great Sankara walked there.-Eo.

278

1HE AGE OF SANKARA

flashed forth rising up and going round from right to left. All the relations of the family became enraptured and .contended. The fan-shaped celestial damsels danced out ·of joy. The Divine messengers (Devas) greatly delighted and standing in the midst of the sky, showered heaps of flowers on the face of the earth. Then there was celestial music going on in the world of Gods pleasantly and for a long time. · The mind of all good persons, though otherwise afflicted with sorrow became serene and composed.

(12-17) ‘Then, in the tenth month of her pregnancy which was fraught with all. auspicious signs, in the year 2631_ of the Yudhishthira Saka, in the auspicious year Nandana, on Sunday the 5th day of the bright half of

. the auspicious month of Vaisakha when the Sun was in Aries (Mesha), when the Moon had advanced to the constellation of Punarvasu, in the Lagna (ascending sign) known as Karkata (Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac) just at mid-day in the Muhurta (moment of time) known as Abhijit, with the ascending sign aspected by auspicious planets, when Jupiter (Guru) Saturn (Sani), Mars (Kuja) and Sun (Ravi) were in Kendra as well as in their exaltation, when Venus (Sukra) was in his ascent and when the auspicious planet Mercury (Budha) was with the Sun, that chaste lady Aryamba gave birth to a son, who was like Shanmukha (the six-faced God Subrahmanya) born unto Parvati, and who shone forth resplendent as the Sun rising out of the eastern shore, illuminating all the ten quarters of heaven

with his incomparable rays.

(18) ‘Even as a child, the new-born babe had large eyes and a very broad chest; his forehead too was very broad, and his arms were majestically long, reaching as far as his knees.

…..

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 279•

(19)

‘His graceful and attractive eyes with their slightly reddish corners surpassed in beauty the blooming lotusflowers with their filaments of a charmingly reddish hue • The lustre of the newly rising full moon was put to shade by the splendour of his fascinating face.

(20)

‘His lotus-like feet bore the auspicious lines marked with conch, discus and banner; he had all the thirty-two auspicious marks of a Mahapurusha.

(21-22) ‘That chaste lady (Aryamba) gazed with affec.a tion at the new-born suckling, who delighted the hearts of’ all persons that cast their glances at him ; and like Devakir at the sight of the newly-born babe Sri Krishna, she did not. obtain satiety at all in drinking him with her enraptured; eyes even as the chakori bird who does not feel satiety in. feeding on the beams of the lovely moon: beholding that wonderful child Aryamba bloomed forth in wonder.

(23)

‘ Even that wonderful babe moved his lovely lips a_ little and began to cry out with a most pleasing voice kicking. his tender and graceful hands and feet against the ground.

(24)

‘ The elderly women of that place then duly. performed the rites and ceremonies which were usually gone through at the birth of a child. In their ecstasy, they were wondering if the new-born babe was indeed. a manifestation of the full-blown moon just rising on the. eastern quarter of heaven.

(25)

‘Then Sivaguru, the father of that wonderful. child, having heard of his miraculous birth, became highly delighted in his heart, even like a poorman on suddenly obtaining a most valuable treasure hidden in the ground; and he became so enraptured at the sight of his son, that be surpassed then the Lord of Wealth in his liberalltlf and munificince.

THB AGB OF SANKARA

(26)

‘The noble-hearted Sivaguru, the foremost of sacrificers, having soon purified himself with a bath, invited all the learned Brahmans and elderly matrons of the place and made them pronounce benedictions on his new-born son.

(27)

‘ The household of Sivaguru, and in fact the whole village went into a great festivity which continued uninterrupted throughout all day and night. He gave heaps of grain and paddy unto all the learned men of the village and unto those engaged in performing sacrifices.

(28)

‘He distributed amongst Vedas hordes of coins and heaps gems and fruits.

. .

(29) ‘He gave to the elderly

the Brahmans versed in of clothes along with

matrons of the village

gold-dusts and other valuable articles with cows full of milk and adorned with suitable ornaments and precious gifts.

(30)

‘Having thus pleased all the Brahmanas by valuable presents and sumptuous meals, even more than what he was went to do before, Sivaguru Dikshita, the foremost amongst the intelligent, dwelt happily in his house in the company of all his relations and well·wishers.

(31)

‘Then Sarvajnana said :-0, thou blessed Chit.; sukhacharya, the foremost of the teachers, I have now heard with rapt attention the marvellous account of the mi racu-, lous nativity of the Prince of Gurus (Sankara), and my heart is now filled with great delight. I intently long to listen from your sacred mouth to a recital of the rest of the wonderful life of that most glorious teacher of the world in a regular order of succession. Please have the kindness to narrate the wonderful life-story of Sankara to me who humbly offer my respectful prostrations unto you, my revered Guru who alone can remove the burning evils or this miserable life.

SUCCBSSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 281

(32) ‘Then Chitsukha said :-0 my dear Sarvajnana, -the foremost of intelligent men, whoever, attentively and with regard, listens even once to this wonderful account of the miraculous incarnation of the most holy and revered

… .Sankara, the best of Acharyas, I assure you that he will -certainly attain the summum bonum of his life, realizing, as he does, the substantial unity of the individual soul with ~the Lord of the Universe, living the life of a Jivanmukta ·Or liberated soul so long as he likes and move in this phenomenal world, by slowly casting off all distinctions of ·duality and separateness.’

I Thus ends the thirty-second Prakarana (section) en~

…….. ·titled ‘ The Account of the Incarnation of the revered ~Sankara Bhagavatpada ; in the part of the book known as .Sankaracharya Satpatha of Sri Brihat Sankara Vijaya, written ‘in the form of a dialogue between Sarvajnana Tapodhana and Sri Chitsukhacharya whose heart was like :that of the blessed bee delighted with profusion of joy by tasting the sweet juice of the honey flowing from the 1otus-like feet of the most revered Sri Sankara Bhagavat-! pada, the best amongst the teachers of the Parivrajaka class,

….,..

belonging to the Holy Order of Sanyasins known as .Paramahamsas.

Such is the simple account of the birth of Sankara as narrated by Chitsukhacharya in his bicgraphy of Sri San~ ·k:aracharya known as Brihat Sankara Vijaya. The life ·history of the Great Guru as depicted by him is throughout natural and unexaggerated, and clearly bears the un

…..

mistakable impress of an eye-witness and a contemperary writer. Chitsukha has, indeed, the highest regard for :Sankara, his eo-student, and even considers him, as a manifestation of a Mahapurusha and even as a ray of ‘the Great God Himself who pervades and illumines the

r282 THE AGE OF SANKAR \

Universe with His own incomparable, glorious, self-shining and spiritual light, and yet he dealt with him only as a man. Though the most intelligent of them all, He certainly does not go to the length of deifying him and his diSciples and contemporaries as various incarnations of gods, nor does he colour his life with supernatural incidents and divine interferences, with which later Sankara ·Vijayas, including that of Anandagiri, are replete. A mere comparison of chapter V of Sankara Vijaya Vilasa~ published by V. Ramaswamy Sastri, with the 32nd Pra~ karana of Chitsukha’s work above quoted, will be quite

·s”fficient to _convince any reasonable man of the way in which the former book had been manipulated and brought into existence from the latter work and of the nature of the additions that have been made into it, with a view to pander to the taste and vanity of some of the later Acharyas of the Sringeri Mutt, by the so-called Chidvilasa-most probably· a’ fictitious name invented by the real compiler in imitationof the name of Chitsukha-the supposed author of the work and about whom nothing whatsoever is known which can enable us to identify him with any of the Acharyas or successors of Sankara, in any of the five Advaltic Mutts: established by him.

The incidents of the Gods including Brahmadeva going~ to Mount Kailasa and praying to God Sadasiva for giving· a quietus to the warring faiths and creeds in Bharata,

· varsha, His solemn promise to the Gods that He would be born as Sri Sankaracharya on the earth to put down the wicked creeds and teachings prevalent among men, His graceful presence before the pious couple, Aryamba and: Sivaguru, asking them to choose between one short-Jived

omniscient son and one hundred-long lived idiots and His.

–

……

..i..

SUCCESSORS OF SANKARACHARYA 283

appearence before Aryamba at the time of his birth in theform of the Great God Siva Himself, with four hands, three· eyes and a head wearing the crescent of the Moon as. the diadem of His Crown are all later additions, of which. incidents there is absolutely no reference in the great work of Chitsukhacharya. The particu1ars of the time of · the birth of Sankara which are given in such details in the Brihat Sankara Vijaya enabling any intelligent man to· sketch out a complete horoscope of his life are cleverly omitted or altered to suit the theory an :1 prestige of the Sringeri Mutt. Apart from such comparison and internal evidence, there are ample materials left in the book itself to prove that the publication of the book now going under the name of Sankara Vijaya Vilasa, printed in Grantha· character in 1876, had been brought out in existence by some of the advocates and heads of the Sringeri Mutt~ during the controversy that arose between the Kumbhakonam and Sringeri Mutts, in the beginning of the second’· half of the last century.

We shall quote only one instance in support of our· conclusion. At the close of this Sankara Vijaya Vilasa of· the so-called Chidvilasa, as now published by V a villa· Ramaswamy Saslri, there is given an extract from the 9th Amsa of Siva-Rahasya, supposed to contain a true·· reproduction of the whole of the 16th Adhyaya of the said Amsa. We had our own doubts as to the genuineness of” certain passages in it for a long time ; and thanks to Mr. K. Sadasiva Chettiar, B.A., Proprietor of the SivaRahasyam Press, we have been now placed in possession . of three ancient manuscript copies of the whole of Siva· Rahasyam, two in old Nagari character and one im· Grantha character, and on perusing the same and carefully

comparing them with the extract given in the printed book,.

THE AGB OF SANKARA

-we found out the entire disappearance of all our doubts ~in the matter of two very important discrepencies in the t>]lrinted edition-both of which clearly and unmistakably ..strength our theory. One is an eJIIImple of addition, the ·.other is an instance of omission or mutilation. After the -41st stanza of the 16th Adhyaya of the 9th Amsa of Siva.,

Rahasya* ending with :

*The Siva· Rahasya or ‘ the secret docfrine of Siva ‘ is . a monument of Saiva-Siddhanta or the Spiritual Philosophy ·~s advocated by the Saiva-Visishtadvaitins. The abstruse “Problems of Brahma-vidya or the science of spirituality as

· .·depicted in the U panishads are handled here in a plain and ·direct manner and it ministers to the spiritual needs of every ;man with a realistic, and hence truly sympathetic and ·fruitful insight. The reality of the spirit (Slva), the nature ..of Brahman, (Pati), Essential as well as Relative, the cnature of the individual soul or Jiva, (Pasu), the nature of

attaining Spiritual enlightenment or Jnana, through Karma .and Bhakti treated in this great work, stirringly appeal to •’the spiritual needs of the average seeker after God. ~hereas the Upanishads lay stress upon the Essential nature ..of Brahman as being only negatively knowable, -even the ··so•called positive attribute Sat (Being) Chit (Consciousness) .A.nanda (Bliss) being only the denial of empirical being, ··empirical thought and empirical pleasure-the Siva-Rahasya, ~on the other hand, emphasises the Relative phenomenal aspects of the Supreme Being, as embodied in phenomena ·(VIsvarupa), as being the One Controller of numerous

Individual souls, as. being Immanent in all persons and in .all directions, as the Creator, and Destroyer, as Providence ;:and Preserver, and as the Benevolent Rulet (Isvara). It is . a Gospel of Grace and a monument of Theism, and accord'”!

SUCCESSORS C1F SANKARACHARYA

fttwcifCfcfi«fij”~ Ofiij-iCFfrcFre”: , q~trf~ cr\S3f~~ tr~rsf« ~~: 11 ¥ ~ 11

and before the 42nd stanza beginning with :

-t

I iT~~a-‘rotr~~ ~r~ ~wrtr~rcrtr ,

‘ ~ .

~q: srfa~~ur ~qs::~f~ ~zr 11 ¥~ 11

ing to it, one sees the Supreme Spirit by the Grace or·· Isvara, to obtain which Divine Grace, one should be·

equipped with a high type of morality, self-control, righte

ousness and a peaceful mind.

The Siva-Rahasya consists of 12 parts or Amsas cotaining in all over 100,000 slokas, in 1000 Chapters or Adhyayas. This stupendous work is written in a metrical style, which · is at once simple, eloquent and beautiful and forcibly appealing to every true devotee of God. According to .

many manuscripts, it is described as Mahetihasa ( ~f~«), on a par with Mahabharata, though a few of the manus-. cripts describe it as a portion of the Himavat-Kanda of the Skanda-Maha-Purana. The whole work is being published· in parts neatly printed and bound, in bold Devanagari type in royal octavo size, on superior paper by Mr. K. Sadasiva Chettiar, B.A., the Proprietor of the Siva-Rahasyam Press and the Publisher deserves every support from the philanthropic public.

N.B.-The 9th Amsa of Siva-Rahasya mainly deals with·, the lives of the Bhaktas, and the first amongst such Bhaktas. that would be born in the Kali· Yuga is Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada himself. He is said to have been born after the elapse of the 2nd Millennium of the Kali”!Yuga, and the .

–.-………… ..

.;286 THB AGB OF SANKARA

-~as found in all these original manuscripts, the following five tlines alluding to the conquest of Sarasvati, wife of Mandana Misra, by Sankara and his establishing her in the Srlngeri iMutt :-

” ~ij’: mqcr) ~1 GTTffi’ GITur1 fCff\ifclf crrll, 1 arrr~ :qft~ ~~rcrrt W’iflf~ 11

i . · ~~fa\ifCR ~~qflfCCJT ~~1 ~

llm”st~ ~~I~~ll~~ U~lfT ~q 11

L Cfi~ Cff’l’ crcr)s[crtr~: ~)~fCftSlffcr 11 ”

J . ··which passage is a clear innovation, fabrication, and spurii -ous addition to the. original Siva-Rahasya, manifestly ; . . · · introduced into that ancient work by the advocates of the

·sringeri-Mutt; for none of these original manuscripts includ. ing the version of the said Adhyaya as appended to the ·Telugu edition of Gururatnamalika has any such passage.

~ .

. Again the very last stanza of the 16th Adhyaya of the

t . •9th Amsa of Siva Rahasya as given in the printed edition ·of Sankara Vijaya Vilasa, betrays the forged nature of the -said publication. It is a case of mutilation and alteration. The stanza, as it is in the printed Grantha edition, on the <very last page of the book runs as follows :.cmrrr~rrrCf~fCJcr ~trr~lfill’f~~~rrTsrrta’\iflf: tfcfiflfi{ I

.(.next Bhakta that is described in the work is Haradatta, who is said to have been born after the elapse of the 3rd -millennium of the Kali-Yoga. Then is given a short account ~of the 63 Salva Bhaktas known as Aruvattumoovar in the ::famillanguage. This also furnishes a clue to the true age ·-of Sankara, as having flourished long before any of theso !Bhaktas.

–·—–·-····· . -·–·

287

SUCCESSORS OF SA NKARACHARYA

erR …. cl fCff\ifelf Cf~ij’f ~?f~w;{\ifT~: flT~r;; crcrr ~lTCIT’l’ ~crtr 11

‘ …. Two of the original manuscripts of the complete copy of Siva Rahasya in question as well as the extract of this Adhyaya as given in the Telugu edition of Gururatnamalika, pubJished in Saka 1819 in Kalaratnakaram Press, Madras, read the stanza as follows:

cr~l’lT ~)q Cf~lfftfcr ~llr~lfirrf~~T=tf’fT(\$rrccr\iflf: ~91T~~ I ffiif cl fcrfiif~lf ij~ij’T &=f?fqfT~?fCTT~ flf9-.:fFT ~ Cfif:S::OlfT ll~ nrfutnq-I 1 ‘6 ~ 11

“‘

A mere reading of these two versions i; sufficient to show how the verse in the original Siva Rahasya had been mercilessly mutilated by the publisher of the said book, Sankara Vijaya Vijaya Vilasa, to avoid mentioning the fact that Sankara attained his siddhi at Kanchi, a theory

. I

which was not liked by the Sringeri Mutt. The other original manuscript of the complete copy of the Sivao~

Rahasya above referred to differs from either of them and reads the stanza as follows:

cm)~-~1~-q~-nrf~-fcrlfcrcrlf”Fr

-:>

f~i!i·l =if’1 rfer~cr f~frcr\iflf st”CfiT+t+[ ucf~q1olif~~w fcrf\ifell” fl1S5Jl1 CfiT~llt fu~! CfCf ~: ij”=tf f~f.i ~11 ¥\9 11 This reading is faultless, and is practically same in substance with . that contained in the other two original manuscripts and in the Telugu edition : for the 2nd and the 4th Padas in the above two versions have no correspondence with the 1st and the 3rd Padas of the said stanza, in as much as the latter contain 14 syllables in each Pada, whereas

THB AGE OF SANKARA

the former contain only 11 syllables in each. Further, the· stanza as found in the first two versions cannot be brought under any recognised metre. To avoid the anomaly, we areof opinion that the 3rd version is the correct one. Further-· this reading’ seems to be supported by Atmabodhendra in. his commentary on Gururatnamalika (vide his commentary on ·stranza 24).

· We shall conclude this subject with the following sketcJl, of Sankara’s horoscope, which we have drawn in accordance with the particulars of the time of birth of Sankara as given. by Chitsukhacharya in his Brihat Sankara Vijaya :

;

if~

ft:r~~

ifFr

“‘

Cflif+l’

“‘

c:.

“

~-=sr:

~lf: ~er~

~~=

“‘

…..

.~r~ferns~~ ~~ ~~~ ~, cp~

cpcpC”

“

~’-\ ~~, ‘!fif\1{,~ ~EfiT~ ‘-\ o ~

rr~:

“‘

o/’i’1Cftf, ‘3″~UlfUT, lrtr~r~r,

\jfr~r.=flf

…

cr~Rcrt:rrn, ~Cf~q’~, qo-oq ~r

“”

fcr~r, m1:crm~, ~~er~ -=r~~,

lfcp~ ~c-~·~, arrflff~l{RCf,

!i31″:

f~ ~~~~+rrrerc’l”R Gf’1ii ~lflf:

W?T~t

CflrlfT~t

crf~~~

~’lftt

c:.

~f;r:

A brief life-sketch of the Author

Born 23rd Sep. 1869 at Tandalam

.., (Chengleput Dt.); studied Veda and Samskrit till his 20th year ; took his B.A. degree from. the Christian College.

Studied law and practised with hi brother Sri T. Venkatasubba Iyer.

· An active member of the V id wan Mano Ranjani Sabha.

Close friend of Sri V. K. Suryanarayana Sastri.

Started the Vidwan Mano Ranjani _series of publication.

A member of· the Suguna Vilasa Sabha; conduC?ted many Samskrit dramas.

A collector of rare books ; his library contained some 50,000 volumes. A polyglot.

Died in his 48th year-22od.Feb.1918

•

Released on

SRI SANKARA JAYANTHI

29th April, 1971

Other books of this Author

Samskrit

Vaidehi Vivasanam Drama

Haidimba Vaidaghdhya “

Hemarata (Shakespere) “

Sundari Sloka Manjari Elegy

Makutabhisheka Mahotsava Champu

Dharma Vyatikrama Vilapa Lectures

Bhagavannama Mala Hymns

Bhagavadprasasti Mala “

Guruparampara Namamala “

Ratnavali & Nagananda Editions

Tamil

Bhoja Charitram Drama

English

The Mistaken Greek Synchronism The Kings of Magadha Sri Harsha the Dramat;st Gaudapada Karikas Tamil as a Universal Alphabet