Bhagavatpadabhyudaya by Lakshmana Suri (study)

by Lathika M. P. | 2018 | 67,386 words

This page relates ‘Cosmology and the powers of Maya’ of the study on the Bhagavatpadabhyudaya by Lakshmana Suri: a renowned Sanskrit Scholar from the 19th century. The Bhagavatpada-abhyudaya is a Mahakavya (epic poem) narrating the life of Shankara-Acharya, a prominent teacher of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. This essay investigates the socio-spiritual conditions of 8th century AD in ancient India as reflected in Lakshmanasuri’s work.

Cosmology and the powers of Māya

Māya is a phenomenon that can not be defined in real life terms. It is psychological as well as ontological. Māya is ignorance which effects the subject plane of mind and the sense. On the other hand the whole of the objective world is a creation of māya self alone is the ultimate reality, is the Brahman.

The māya has two powers the power of veiling (āvarana) and the power of creation (vikṣepa).[1] The power of veiling covers the infinite unchangeable self by veiling its self-luminosity as cognizer. It veils the shining unchangeable self perception of the self as finite, external and limits the pure consciousness. Ajñāna fills our mind with apprehensions about the fear of re-birth. It is this Ajñāna (Māya) that causes enjoyment of pleasures and pains. Under covering power of Ajñāna the self appears as an agent and an enjoyer of pleasures and pains and subject to ignorant fears of re-birth, like the illusory perception of a piece of rope in darkness as a snake: because of the creative power of ignorance rope, the real nature of which is hidden from view, appears as a snake, so ignorance by its creative power attributes on the hidden self the manifold world-appearance. The pure consciousness under the power of Māya, can be regarded as an important causal agent (nimitta). Its nature as pure consciousness forming the basis of the creation of the world appearance is emphasized. It is the material cause and that emphasizes its covering part, the Ajñāna. It is like a spider, which so far as it weaves its web, can be regarded as a causal agent. The creative powers (vikṣepa-śakti) of Ajñāna are characterised as the manner of samkhya pṛakrti as sattva, rajas and tamas. The pure consciousness as the basis and with the associated creative power of ajñāna predominating in tamas, space (akāśa) is first produced, from ākāśa comes air, from air fire, from fire water, from water earth.

In Śrī Śaṅkara’s pilgrimage to the North, he visited Dvāraka for the darśan of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then he stayed there for long time and established the Western Śaṅkara MathKālikā piṭha’. He appointed Hastāmalaka as the first head and ordered to propagate doctrines of Advaita. Then he went to Ujjain from there, it being one of the Dvādaśaliṅga stotra. There he sang in praise of Lord Mahākāleśwara.

This is known as Dvādaśajyotirliṅga stotra.

avaṃtikāyāṃ vihitāvatāram |
muktipradānāya ca sajjanānām ||
|akālamṛtyoḥ parirakṣāṇārthaṃ |
vande mahākālamahāsureśam ||
[2]

Meaning: “I offer my obeisance to Mahākala, the Lord of gods, who has descended to Ujjain with a view to confer liberations to the good people and protect people from untimely death.”

Śaṅkara with his disciples proceeded to Badarinath from Kashmir. According to Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin Śaṅkara consecrated the idol of Lord Nārāyaṇa which was immersed in the river Alakananda. It is said that Lord appeared in his dream and asked him to do so. At Badarinath Śaṅkara met his Guru Govinda Bhagavatpāda and offered him obeisance by chanting the ‘Dakṣiṇāmūrti Aṣṭakam’.

Śaṅkara’s journey to mount Kailāsa deserves special mention. All the biographies of Śrī Śaṅkara have given an account of his travel to kāilas. It is said that he reached Kailās through Yogic power. He had darśan of Lord Parameśvara and Devi Pārvatī. Śaṅkara sang two hymns in praise of Lord Śiva, Śivapadādikeśānta stotram praising Śiva from toe to head and Śiva- Keśādipādānta stotram hymns praising Lord Śiva from head to toe. The former has been sung in 41 verses and the latter in 29 verses. Pleased with Śaṅkara Lord Śiva gave him 5 Sphaṭika Liṅgas and instructed him to arrange for worshipping them for the welfare of the world. He also gave instructions on the mode of worship.

Śaṅkara established the ‘Ṣaṇmatas’ or the six schools of worship. He taught everyone the truth that all deities are manifestation of one supreme Paramātman. He established the worship of Śiva, Viṣṇu, Ambika, Surya, Vināyaka and Subrahmanya and came to be known as ‘Ṣaṇmatasthāpanācārya’. By this system people can worship any God of his own or ‘Īṣṭadevatā’ without offending the other Gods. He created the ‘Pañcāyatana pūja’, the other five Gods will be made companion to his Īṣṭadevatā. In this way the devotee will be made to feel that the other Gods are different manifestation of his own Īṣṭadevatā and that there is no difference between deities.

Śaṅkara gave stress to the importance of temple worship. He gave a new life to temples by performing Saṃprokṣaṇa ceremony, installing auspicious Yantrās in many places thus converting the harsh and cruel deity into a benificient gracious and merciful God.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

asyājñānasyāvaraṇavikṣepanāmakamasti śaktidvayaṃ | āvaraṇaśaktistāvadalpo'pi megho'nekayojanāyatamādi-tyamaṇḍalamavalokayitṛnayanapathavidhāyakatayā yathācchādayatīva tathājñānaṃ paricchinnamapyātmānamaparicchinnamasaṃsāriṇamavaloka-yitṛbuddhipidhāyakatayācchādayatīva tādṛśaṃ sāmarthyam | vikṣepaśaktistu yathā rajjavajñānaṃ svāvṛtarajjau svaśaktyā sarpādikamudbhāvayatvevamajñānamapi svāvṛtātmani vikṣepaśaktyākāśā-diprapañcamudbhāvayati tādṛśaṃ sāmarthyaṃ ||
 
Sadānanda, Vedantasara, Ed., Gajanana Sastri, 7

[2]:

H.R Bhagavat, Minor Works of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya, p.400.

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