Bhagavatpadabhyudaya by Lakshmana Suri (study)

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

This page relates ‘Dispute over Shankara’s Birth Place’ 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.

Dispute over Śaṅkara’s Birth Place

Almost all the Śaṅkaradigvijayās accept the place of his birth as Kāladi. But Anandanandagiri’s Śaṅkaradigvijaya (its Calcutta edition published in 1868) gives another information. According to this edition he was born immaculately at Chidambaram as the son of Viśiśṭa.[1] According to Śivarahasya the birthplace of Śaṅkara was Śaśalagrāma in Kerala.[2] One is at a lost to identity that place. In this manner not to speak of the place of his demise, even the place of his birth, which is the one biographical point on which all other Śaṅkaravijayās are agreed, is disputed atleast by one version of what is considered today by many as authoritative text, namely that of Anandanandagiri, in his Calcutta edition of 1868. This deviation made is the result of confusing Ādi Śaṅkara with Abhinava Śaṅkara, whose native place is Cidambaram. The same confusion might have entered into some of the other details connected with the hero of Anandanandagiri’s Śaṅkaravijaya.[3]

The Head of all the Śaṅkara maṭhās are called as Śaṅkarācārya’s. This is indicated as a little, not as an individual’s name. This was the main confusion of biographical and literary details connected with them. This confusion has got worse interference with manuscript copies in the past made by the authority of particular Śaṅkara maṭhās. Inorder to enhance the prestige and supremacy of the institution that patronised them. As a result we had so many traditions about Śaṅkarācārya, who dares to swear by any of these traditions as truly historical and the others as fabricated. In this confused situation Mādhava’s Śaṅkaradigvijaya had the one outstanding superiority over all other available Digvijayās. The poem emphasizes that it is the product of Nava-kālidāsa or a modern Kālidāsa, as the author describes himself in his composition. It contains the exposition of some of the moot points in Advaita metaphysics. It can be described as a unique philosophical and historical poem. There are so many uncertainity about Śaṅkara’s life. These might be about biographical details. But the historicity of Śaṅkarācārya stand on the following firm foundation: inspite of all the differences among authorities in some important details in his life, the main outlines of it stand clear. The differences in details could not change these common factors representing different tradition. There is also the influence of Śaṅkara on most of the great temple and holy places of India. Among them the important factors are where he lived, reached, renovated edifices and contributed so immensely to their holy traditions that his name and doings had become almost legendary, creating an image that have remind indelible on the Indian mind. In addition to these all there are his great commentaries on three source books of Vedanta, Vedanta sūtras, Upaniṣads and Bhagavatgīta.

Some biographical accounts accepted uniformly that the birth place of Śaṅkara is Kāladi. Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin says:

1 jantoryadāśritātkālaḥ ḍīkate bhayavihvalaḥ
  iti hetorvadantyenaṃ kālaḍīti vicakṣaṇaḥ ||
[4]

It is stated that Kāladi was the birthplace of Śaṅkara. Mādhava already has the same opinion.

2 tasyeśvarasya praṇatātihartu prasādataḥ prāptanirītibhāvaḥ
  kaścittadabhyāśagato'grahāraḥ kālaṭyābhikhyo'sti mahānmanojñaḥ ||
[5]

God Śiva, the self-created and merciful being, the destroyer of Cupid, manifested himself as His holy emblem, usually called Śivaliṅga [śivaliṅgam], on a hill known as Vṛsācala situated near the course of the river Pūrṇa in the Kerala country.

Satyānanda Sarasvatī and Daṇḍi Svāmi share this view.

kaścittadabhyaśagāto'grahāraḥ kālaṭyābhikhyo'sti mahānmatojñaḥ |[6]

He saw the beautiful village named Kāladi surrounded by Brahmin Agrahāras.

gaṅgā pavitrā'sti yathā nadīṣu khyātaśca tīrtheṣu sa tīrtharājaḥ
  yathā nagendreṣu tuṣāraśailogramastathāsti hi kālaḍīti ||
[7]

How the Gaṅga is sacred among all the rivers, how Himālaya is adorned the royal position among all the mountains like Kāladi adorned the famous positions among all the villages.

Vyāsācala records the same place as his place of birth.

kālaṭyākhyo grāmavarṣe dvijāgrayaḥ |
satsantoṣī keraleṣvātitheyaḥ ||
jajñe kartā karmaṇāṃ coditānām |
tyaktānityaṃ ninditānāṃ vinītaḥ ||
[8]

In the famous village Kāladi there was a Brahmin. He performed Vaidika Karma, and behaved very well avoiding the bad actions.

However some Śaṅkara Digvijayās points that Kaladi is not the birthplace of Śaṅkara. ‘Śaṅkara Digvijayam of Ānandagiri’ said that Śaṅkara was born in Cidambaram.[9]

Dr.Veezhinathan says that the birthplace of Śaṅkara is Cidambaram. The editors of the 1868 edition Navadweep Goswami and Jayanasa Tarkapanchanana says that their edition is based on the text they proved with great difficulty. One is in Nagari letter, the second one is the Telugu and the other one is in Bengali alphabets. According to the text of Calcutta edition, Anantānandagiri is not giving the history of Ādi Śaṅkara but of Śaṅkarācārya who was born to Visiṣṭa of Cidambaram and lived there taking Saṃnyāsa and went on Digvijaya that are entirely different from the tours of Ādi Śaṅkara. Which are dealt in some other Vijayās. Śaṅkara of Cidambaram is largely concerned with reforming the country and not done much with philosophy. The event with Maṇḍana has been given only a casual mention in the form of a synopsis. In this and in the writing of bhasyas the two Śaṅkaras are getting mixed up. In Calcutta edition he attains siddhi at Kāñci as mentioned by Dr.Veezhinathan. But the point comes out of Calcutta edition is that it is Chidambaram Śaṅkara who attains siddhi at Kāñci so we cannot reply up on Anandanandagiri’s text to know about Ādi Śaṅkara’s resting place. There are more possibility that Cidambaram Śaṅkarācārya is the Abhinava Śaṅkara, whom even modern scholars mistakenly identified with Ādi Śaṅkara and given 758 A.D as his time. Moreover Anandanandagiri calls the hero his Parama-Guru (teacher’s teacher) but none has recorded that Ādi Śaṅkara or his disciples had a disciple called Anandanandagiri. Cidambaram Śaṅkara’s disciple was Anandanandagiri and Prachina Śaṅkaravijaya attributed to him is not available anywhere now. The final view is not possible with the existing information. We can only say that it is one of the traditions.

According to Ānandagiri’s Śaṅkara Digvijaya Śaṅkara was born at Cidambaram as the son of Visiṣṭa. Moreover some stray manuscripts are the only authority which says that ‘Cidambaram’ a famous religious center in Tamil Nadu, is the place of birth of Śri Śaṅkara. As noted above it may be that author mixes up the details of the lives of more than one Śaṅkarācārya. Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin is firm that Kāladi is Śaṅkara’s birth place and it has been widely accepted.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vide Mādhava Vidhyāraṇya, Śaṅkaradigvijaya, Tr., Swami Tapasyananda, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 2002, p. XXXIV

[2]:

Ibid

[3]:

Ibid

[4]:

Lakṣmaṇa Sūrin, Bhagavatpādābhyudaya, Upodghāta, p. 15.

[5]:

Mādhava Vidhyāraṇya, Śrimad Śaṅkaradigvijaya (text in Sanskrit with Tamil translation and notes), Ed., Paṇḍit N.S Anandakrishna Sastri, II. 3.

[6]:

Swami Satyananda Sarasvati, Śri Śaṅkaradigvijayam, Varanasi: Govinda Math, 2003, II. 3.

[7]:

Dandi Swami Nigamabodhatirtha, Śri Śaṅkarācārya Caritam, Delhi: Parimal Publication, 2015, I. 27.

[8]:

Vyāsācala, Śaṅkaravijaya, Ed., T. Chandrasekharan, Madras: Govt.: Press, 1954, I. 1.

[9]:

Vide Mādhava Vidhyāraṇya, Śrimad Śaṅkaradigvijaya, Tr., Swami Tapasyananda, p. xxii

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