Vedas and Adi Sankara - Part 8 By Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji.

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Radhe Krishna To all,

 

Sankara was born to the couple Aryamba-Siva Guru. Sri.Sri.Chandrashekara

Saraswathi Swamigal (Periyava) has said that these people belonged to dakshina

kshetra who had migrated to Kaladi because Siva Guru is the name of a deity in

Kumbakonam. So Siva Guru must have gone from here. And Arya is the name of

Goddess Kamakshi. Mooka has first sung ‘Arya Shatakam’. It is from Dravida

desam they must have moved to Kerala, which is Parasurama kshetra. Many have

thus migrated to Kerala for, we find that many names found in Tamizh Nadu are

also found in Kerala,as also a lot of Tamizh culture and traditions are found in

Kerala. Monsoon is very strong and continuous in Kerala so much so that some of

them found it difficult to live in such a changed atmosphere. So they returned

to Tamizh nadu. But these people still wear tuft on their forehead as per Kerala

tradition.

 

The couple Siva Guru-Aryamba was childless for a long time. So, they performed

ghee abhisheka to Vadakkunatha swami in Trissur as there was a belief that one

was blessed with a child with ‘nei (ghee)abhishek’ to this God. They spent

that night in the temple precincts and they each had a dream. Lord Siva appeared

to both of them in their dream and declared that He Himself would be born to

them as their son. They were both filled with joy. In the morning when each

eagerly wished to tell the other about the dream, to their surprise they found

that both of them had had the same dream. Achãrya (Sankara) has shown his

bhakti for his mother in his slokas by including a line with her name ‘Arya

mahãsevita’ - One worshipped by Arya.

 

A son was born to the couple. The child was very lustrous (‘Maha tejasvi’).

The Child was named Sankara. Sankara was the name given to Him and it stayed so.

After a time the father Siva Guru passed away. ‘Upanayana’ was conducted for

the child at the appropriate time and he was given Veda adhyayana. The child was

taught ‘Shastra abhyãs. The death of the father brought the realization to

the child that life was temporal in nature. He felt that he should attain the

purpose of his birth. There was a Krishna temple on the banks of the Purna

river. This was their family deity. This is near the old Sringeri Mutt. Everyday

Sankara worshipped this Krishna. While he first composed a sloka on Krishna He

sang -‘Mama kulapati’.

 

Sankara used to bathe daily in this river Purna. His glory (‘Prabhãva’)

comes out when he turned the course of the river and made it flow near his home

as his sick mother was unable to walk up to the river! Such was his tapas. The

mother was wonder struck. After the completion of the studies of the Vedas while

still in Brahmachari ashram he carried on the practice that pertains to this

ashrama. So, he begged for food at doorsteps. A brahmachari should beg for his

food. It is not so for a householder who can take ‘unchavridhi’ if he

desires to. By the very call, “Bahuti Bhikshãm dehi!†or “Bhikshãm

bahuti dehi!†the householder knows who is at the door - a brachmachri (the

former call) or a sanyasi (the latter call). This is because a brahmachari can

be offered either cooked food or rice and grains whereas a Sanyasi who is

forbidden to light fire can be offered only cooked food.

 

One day Sankara stood at the door of a very poor woman and called out, “Bahuti

Bhikshãm dehi!†The hostess saw the ‘Maha Tejasvi’ child. She yearned to

offer something to the divinely charming child. But,alas! There was not a grain

in the house! The divine child knowing the woman’s plight and with a desire to

bless her called out, “Mother! I have obtained rice but I need some dish to go

with it. Please offer anything that is available at homeâ€. This brahmachari

needs no side dish but it is only to bless the woman such a request was made.

She searched the ‘empty’ pots and found a ‘goosebury’ kept aside for

‘dwãdasi’ (12th day after the full/new moon when one consumes food after a

day of fast on ‘Ekãdasi’ - 11th day after the full/new moon)

‘pãranai’. With deep embarrassment and tears in her eyes the woman dropped

this into the child’s begging (‘bhiksha’) bowl.

 

The pleased child immediately sang, “Angam Harerpulakabhushanam ãsrayanti;

Bringãnganeva mukulãbharanam tamãlam†(Kanakdãra stotra) on Goddess

Lakshmi and it rained golden gooseburies in the courtyard of the woman’s

house! Even today people of this lineage live in Kaladi. Such was the glory of

Sankara even in His childhood.

 

!!! Will Continue !!!

 

Regards

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

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