Canto I—Depicting of Avatāra

The author Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin says that he bows at the feet of Śaṅkarācārya.^[1] Who is ‘Paramahaṃsa parivrājakamūrti’ and his ‘Upāsanā mūrti’. The most ancient authors have described about the eternal glory and greatness of Śaṅkarācārya. The author’s little knowledge is not sufficient to explain the greatness of that Ācārya. He is like a bird flying high in the sky. So he has not mentioned things in detail. He prays that if he has made any error please forgive.

Śaṅkara’s Parents

Vṛṣabādri temple in Kerala, near the Pūrṇa river is blessed by a holy Śiva idol. The king of Kerala called Rājaśekhara know about the divinity and greatness of that Śivaliṅgam in a dream.^[2] He made arrangements for its daily worship. In that region there was a prosperous village, which was a settlement of Brahmanas named Kāladi. There lived a learned and pious Brahmana. His name was Vidhyādhirāja. As a fruition of the piety and good fortune of Vidhyādhirāja, a son named Śivaguru was born to him. He grew to be like Śiva in knowledge and like Guru or Bṛhaspati, the teacher of the Gods, in his power of speech.

From early childhood Śivaguru spent his life as a Brahmacarin in the house of his Guru. There he studied all the branches of learning including Vedas. In course of time he mastered all the Vedas and Vedāṅgās. Then Śiva guru engaged himself in the exhaustive of Vedic literature study for several years. When the teacher felt that his pupil had mastered all the vedas with their meaning he addressed the student thus one day ‘my dear boy, you have been staying here pretty long as a religious student. During these years you have completed the study of the whole of Vedas with their meanings and the six auxiliary branches of knowledge. Though you are devotionally inclined, it is better that you now go home. Your parents and relatives must be awaiting your arrival after these years of seperation. So you do not delay to go home. The texts on good conduct say: a wise man is one who complete even before midday what he is expected to finish only by evening, and by today itself, what should be completed by tomarrow’. Everything has its proper time and your parents must already be thinking about your marriage. But Śivaguru was unwilling to leave his master.

One day father of Śivaguru arrived at the Gurukula to take his son away. With great difficulty his father persuaded him to return. And after giving Dakṣina (honorarium for service received) to the teacher, the father and the son went home. Reaching home, the son prostrated himself at the feet of his mother. Father of Śivaguru tested his son’s Vedic knowledge by putting him many questions. Śivaguru gave appropriate answers with a smile face always keeping great reverence towards his Guru in his heart. The father was delightened with the son’s proficiency in the Vedas and other Śāstras. The extra ordinary teaching and noble character of Śivaguru there appeared incited many a Brahmana to come with marriage proposals for him. The parents of girls were ready to pay huge sums as dowry. The father of Śivaguru at last decided on a match for his son with a girl of a very noble and reputed family. Finally by common agreement Vidyādhirāja, the bride groom’s father, and Māgha Paṇḍita the bride’s (Ārya’s) father, fixed a suitable date for the marriage ceremony and it was performed in the presence of a very large number of relatives.

Advent of Śaṅkara

After the marriage, Śivaguru executed without fail the daily and occasional rites laid down in the Vedas. Day, months and years rolled on. But he was not blessed with a child. They were very sad. Śivaguru told Āryāmba that ‘without a son not only shall I be dying in a sense of futility, but I will be a liability to my father too’. Hearing these words, his wife said ‘Lord Śiva is the Kalpataru for man. By supplication to him we shall get what he want. Men think that divine images are mere inert things. But quite reverse is the case. Inertness lies in the nature of unregenerate man’.^[3] Śivaguru accepted her suggestion. He began to perform austerities and offer prayers at the shrine of Śiva at Vṛṣācala. Strictly observing the rules of purity and taking only fruits and roots he spent all his time in meditating on Śiva. His wife Āryāmba too stayed at Vṛṣācala observing the rules of austerity. One day God Śiva appeared to Śivaguru in a dream, and offered to give whatever boon he wanted. On praying for the birth of a son, the great God said ‘I grant your prayer, but you have to select either of these two alternatives either an all knowing and virtuous but short lived son, or one who would live very long but without any special virtue or greatness. Guru selected the first option, and then the lord blessed him to have a son who would be ranked as “all knowing”, but would have only a short span of life. He was ordered to go home with his wife.

Soon Āryāmba became pregnant with a foetus that was the incarnation of spirit of the Great God Śiva. As her pregnancy advanced, her whole body became lustrous like a shining sun difficult to look at. A general lassitude crept on her, making everything burdensome to her. Whatever was rare she would like to have, but on obtaining it she would lose all interest in it. Āryāmba’s relatives brought many delicacies to please her but her interest in them would abate on hardly tasting them. The life of a pregnant mother is indeed full of ordeals. That is the general rule. The service of Śiva is the means for the eradication of all suffering. Āryāmba sometimes heard in dreams Vidyādharās praising her with great musical hymns, sometimes found herself riding a big bull of milk-white hue, and at other times saw men worshiping the deity and receiving boons.

When Āryāmba gave birth to Śrī Śaṅkara the planetary position was as follows: The Lagna was fully like Guru, Mars, Sun and Saturn were exalted and Guru was at Zenith. The child Śaṅkara was born on the fifth lunar day of first or bright fortnight in the month of the year, when the Moon was in the seventh asterism, viz. the Punarvasunakṣatra. It is also believed that these details are suggested individually and collectively by the letters contained in the name Śaṅkara itself, according to the Kaṭapayādi formula, combined with a chronogram. Accordingly the fifth lunar day is indicated by Sam (=5), the first fortnight by ka (=1), the second lunar month by ra (=2) and the seventh asterism jointly by the entire name, viz. Samkara (=sam {5} + kara {2} = 7).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vide Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin, Bhaghavatpādābhyudaya, I. 6, Tanjore: Parimal Publication, 1927, I.6, The summary of the section is based on chapter I.

[2]:

Ibid.,

[3]:

Ibid., p.9.