Canto IV—Depicting of Commentary

Śaṅkara reached the Kāśi township and preached Advaita philosophy.^[1] Kāśi was considered the intellectual and spiritual centre of the Bhāratavarṣa in all the ages of history. He worshiped the holy river Gaṅga which is originated from the feet of Mahāviṣṇu. Kāśi Viswanātha temple is situated on the glorious bank of Gaṅga. Soon after his arrival at Kāśi, a young Brahmin named Viṣṇuśarma, who was a good student of the Vedas, came with great splender and bowed Ācārya. When Śaṅkara enquired about the details of that Brahmin boy, he told that he was coming from Chola country and his house was near Kāveri. That boy begged Śaṅkara to accept him as a disciple. Śaṅkara saw the sincerity and devotion of this bachelor and accepted him as his disciple. Śaṅkara initiatiated him properly in to Saṃnyāsa and gave him the name “Sanandana”. After the investiture of Sanandana, many person came to the Ācārya and became monks and his disciples. Other disciples started imagine that the Ācārya was very partial to his first disciple Sanandana. Hence they grew jealous of him. The shrewd Ācārya in no time scented the jealousy of the disciples and wanted them to realise how deep was Sanadana’s devotion to the perceptor.

Sanandana becomes Padmapāda

One morning Śaṅkara was about to commence his Vedanta lessons usual on the banks of the Gaṅgā river. All his disciples except Sanandana were sitting infront of him. Ācārya saw Sanadana on the other side of the Gaṅgā. Śaṅkarācārya immediately called out to him and ordered him to joy in the discourse. Suddenly totally unmindful to the floods of Gaṅgā Sanandana began to cross river on foot obeying his master’s order. Because of such greatness of faith on his Guru, mother Gaṅgā paved way and each step Sanandana took, a lotus sprouted at each foot creating a bridge of flowers for him to walk across to his master. After this incident he came to be known as Padmapāda or lotus-footed.^[2] He was one of the foremost disciple of Śrī Śaṅkara and travelled with him through out the country. Later he was very famous and known by the name Padmapāda.

Śīva as disguised as an out caste–confronts Śaṅkara

At Varanāsi Śaṅkara, surrounded by his disciples, was going to the Gaṅgā to take his usual bath and prayers. In that time near the Maṇikarṇika ghat of the river, he saw a Caṇḍāla holding in his hands four ferocious, barking dogs and carrying on his head a toddy pot. This Caṇḍāla was fast approaching the Ācārya. In that time Ācārya instinctively cried out to the Caṇḍāla ‘Go away, Go away’. In return Caṇḍāla talked to Ācārya in a very refined language. He asked “you are always going about preaching that the Vedas teach the non-dual Brahman to be the only reality and that He is immutable and unpollutable. If this is so, how has this sense of difference overtaken you? There are hundreds of Saṃnyāsiṃs going about, induldging in high sounding philosophical talk, donning the ochrerobe and exhibiting other insignias of holy life like the water pot and the staff. But even a ray of knowledge is not in their hearts. Their holy exterior serves only to dupe the house holders. Then you asked me to move aside and make way for you? To whom were your words addressed? Great sir, to the body which comes from the same source and performs the same functions in both a Brahmana and an out caste? Or to the Ātman, the witnessing Consciousness which too is the same in all unaffected by anything that is of the body? How does such differences as ‘This is a Brahmana this is an out caste’ arise in non dual experience. The sun does not change in the least but it reflects differently in a liquor pot or in the holy Gaṅga. How can you induldge in such false sentiment like, ‘Being a Brahmana I am pure; and you, dog eater, must therefore give way for me ‘when the truth is that one universal and unblemishable spirit himself bodiless, is shining alike in all bodies. Forgetting out of infatuation one’s own true nature as the spirit beyond thought and words, unmanifest, endless, and pure how have you come to identify yourself with the body which is unstudy like the ears of an elephant? If you say that your conduct is meant only for the guidance of the world, in that condition how can you explain such conduct in the light of the non-dualistic doctrine. Wonderful of course it is the magic of the great magician which infatuates the ignorant and the learned alike!^[3]

The Ācārya was shocked while listening to the words of wisdom of this man. For the observation of this Caṇḍāla where indeed an attack on the inconsistency of Śrī Śaṅkara’s teachings of non-dualism with his personal contact in avoiding the presence of an untouchable. That time Śrī Śaṅkara recited a śloka in five verses called “Manīṣāpañcakam”. He declares that he who teaches him in the oneness of Brahman, he who teaches him the concept of self realisation is fit to be his Guru irrespective of cast whether he is a Brahmin or a Caṇḍāla by birth. After this incident Śaṅkara fell at the feet of the Caṇḍāla. Śaṅkara had a vision that he was the three eyed Lord Śiva, Visvanātha of Kāśi, bearing the Goddess indoxicating Gaṅga on His head, the four mighty and most faithfull Vedas singing his glory. Caṇḍāla was much pleased by Śaṅkara’s devotion.^[4] The Lord Śiva showered upon His grace and wished him complete success in his great task of writing a commentary on the Brahmasūtras and propagating and re-establishing all over Bharat the knowledge of spiritual unity of all beings as taught in the Upaniṣads, the Gīta and the Brahmasūtra.

Śiva commissions Śaṅkara

Śaṅkara fell at His feet with tears. At that time Śiva says that he understood Śaṅkara very well. He tested the depth of His spiritual understanding. And then he added that his blessings rest on him and Vyāsa alike. Vyāsa divided the Vedas, composed Brahmasūtras and he refuted the doctrines of the Saṅkhya, Kaṇāda and others. Taking only a few stray passages from the Vedas. They had produced commentaries out of evil intention. Brilliant people find no value in their writings. ‘Therefore, as you have got a real understanding of the purpose of the Vedas, you should write a new commentary on the Brahmasūtras, therein the false theories have to be refuted both through reason and scriptures. The commentary you are going to produce will receive praise even from exalted beings like Indra and it will be specially honoured in the assembly of Brahma. Defeating Bhāskara, Abinavagupta, Nīlakaṇṭa, Maṇḍana and the rest you spread the knowledge of the truth in the world. Then appoint competent disciples, resembling the sun in driving away the darkness of ignorance as guardians of the Vedic path, in different parts of the country. Having accomplished all this, you may return to my state with the satisfaction of having fulfilled your mission.’^[5]

After that incident his mind was fully engrossed in what happened on that day. It is flamed his burning aspiration to execute his preceptor Govinda Bagavadpāda’s instruction to write on exhaustive commentary on the Brahma Sūtras etc. He took it as a challenge. Soon he left Kāśi, reached Badarinath with his disciple and lived there for sometime. He had done long spiritual and academic discussions with scholars and sages and also with those who were engaged in spiritual practises and Upaniṣadic studies in Badarikāśrama region. The revered preceptor Gaudapāda appreciated Śaṅkara’s scholarship and spiritual insight and urged him to undertake the task of writing exhaustive Bhāṣyās on the Upaniṣads, the Gīta and the Brahmasūtras.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vide Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin, Bhaghavatpādābhyudaya, p.42, The summary of the Section is based on chapter IV.

[2]:

Ibid., p.44

[3]:

Ibid., p.48

[4]:

Ibid., p.53

[5]:

Ibid.,