Sankara’s Parents
(1-5) God Siva, the self-created and merciful Being, the destroyer of Cupid, manifested himself as His holy emblem, usually called Sivalingam, on a hill known as Vrishachala situated near the course of the river Purna in the Kerala country. Coming to know of the divinity and greatness of that Sivalingam through a dream, a king called Rajasekhara built a fine temple to house the Lingam and made arrangements for its worship. In that region there was a prosperous village settlement of Brahmanas known as Kaladi. In that village lived a learned and pious Brahmana by name Vidyadhiraja, as whose grandson the divine manifestation of the great God Siva, the resident of the temple of Vrishachala, was to take place in due time. As a fruition of the piety and good fortune of Vidyadhiraja, a son named Sivaguru was born to him. He did very well justify his name, as he grew to be like Siva in know- ledge and like Guru or Brihaspathi, the teacher of the Gods, in his power of speech:
(6-14) From early boyhood his life was spent as a Brahma- charin in the house of a Guru, a Vedic teacher, performing the duties of that stage of life like serving the preceptor, collecting alms, offering oblations in the sacred fire twice a day, and studying the Vedas. With the help of Vedic Mantras that one has learnt by heart, one can no doubt perform the Vedic rituals, but their meanings can be understood only by putting in special effort for that purpose. Though a difficult task, Sivaguru engaged himself in this study for several years. In course of time, when the teacher felt that his pupil had mastered all the Vedas with their meaning,
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- This Siva temple is identified with the Vadakkunathan temple of Trichur, which is traditionally called Vrishachala. But Purna, which is identified with modern Periyar, does not flow through Trichur. It flows through Kaladi, Sankaracharya’s birthplace, which is about thirty miles away from Trichur. In this text the diversion a miracle attributed to Sankaracharya, which of the river via Kaladi is is described elsewhere in this chapter. Probably it is a geographical in-
accuracy.
THE BIRTH OF SANKARA [[11]] 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 the Vedas with their meanings and the six auxiliary branches of knowledge relevant to it. Though you are devotionally inclined, it is better that you now go home. Your parents and relatives must be eagerly awaiting your arrival in their midst after these years of separa- tion. So do not delay here any more. The texts on good conduct say: A wise man is one who completes even before midday what he is expected to finish only by evening, and by today itself, what should be completed by tomorrow. Besides, everything has got its proper time. For, what you sow out of season will not fructify in the same way as what you have sown in season will do. This is especially true with regard to one’s marriage. Your parents must already be thinking about this question. Marriage is a problem which parents are naturally disposed to think about from the very time of the Upanayana of their sons. Every good parent wants to see his son married in proper time, because it is on the succeeding generations of male issue that the ancestors depend for their Sraddha food-offerings. There is also another compulsion in the matter. It is the dictum of the Vedas that all the rituals prescribed by them can be performed by a man only with a wife as partner and participant in them. Marriage is, therefore, unavoidable for a follower of the Vedas.”
(15-20) To this Sivaguru replied: “O Master, what you have said is true in a general sense only. There is an exemption to the rule of the Vedas you refer to. It is also laid down in the Vedas that if a person, after his study of the Vedas, is full of the spirit of renunciation, he can take to the life of a Sannyasin directly from the life of a student itself. The Vedic rule that one should marry and become a householder applies only to those who are not endowed with such renunciation. For my part, I desire to continue my life in your Gurukula as a lifelong Brahmacharin equipped with the emblems of that state like the staff and the deer- skin, and performing fire-worship and the devout chanting of the Vedas. The married state looks attractive at first, but after a time man feels it to be a great infliction, devoid of any charm. O Master! why do you try to hide this universal experience by your learned remarks? True, by doing Yajnas in the proper way, one can get
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the enjoyable state of heaven; but please note that this is secured only after subjecting oneself to great pain and suffering on earth in the performance of the Yajnas. Besides, the slightest deviation in observing the rigorous rules laid down for a Yajna might end in the total failure of the Yajna to produce the promised fruits like rain, progeny and the like. Wrong performance can have also a contrary effect harmful to the performer. If poverty makes it impossible for a householder to feed himself and give food to those who depend on him or come as guests, he will find himself in a hellish situation. Again, even if he has all his needs fulfilled, he will still hanker for more. Avarice has no limits. Happiness quits when avarice enters the heart. Goaded by avarice, a householder may go on accumulating, but all that can be lost in no time, and he will again begin his pursuit of wealth. Thus he rolls on in life.”
(21-26) While the discussions between the teacher and the disciple were going on, the father of Sivaguru happened to arrive at the Gurukula in order to take his son away. With great difficulty the father somehow persuaded him to return, and after offering ample Dakshina (honorarium for service received) to the teacher, the father and the son went home. Reaching home, the son pro- strated himself at the feet of his mother, and the mother had the feverish heat of long separation abated by embracing her son. For, the contact with the body of one’s own child is more soothing than sandalwood paste or any other unguent. Relatives also gathered in large numbers to see the boy who was returning after many years of life at the Gurukula. The head of the family received and honoured them all according to their status and relationship. The father, whose name ‘Vidyadhiraja’ was justified by his vast scholarship, now tested his son by putting him many questions in the light of the Vedic standards of competency like Pada, Jada and the like. To these and the other questions put to him on the philosophies of Bhatta, Prabhakara, Kanada and others, the son gave appropriate answers with a smiling face, always bowing down to his Guru in his heart. The father was delighted with the son’s proficiency in ’the Vedas and the other Sastras. It is but natural that a son’s speech, which is always pleasing to a father, should be all the more so, when it is enriched with the knowledge
of the Sastras.
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THE BIRTH OF SANKARA [[13]] (27-35) Now, on hearing about the extraordinary learning and noble character of Sivaguru, there appeared on the scene many a Brahmana with marriage proposals for him. Though there were parents of girls ready to pay huge sums as dowry, the father of Sivaguru at last decided on a match for his son with a girl of a very noble and reputed family. The final settlement, however, came only after some more of the usual higgling about the place where the marriage ceremony should take place-whether it should be in the bride’s house or the bridegroom’s. Finally, by common agree- ment Vidyadhiraja, the bridegroom’s father, and Magha-pandita, the bride’s (Arya’s) father, fixed an auspicious date for the marriage ceremony and had it performed in the presence of a very large number of relatives. Well-groomed and bedecked, the newly married couple looked at each other, their faces charming with a tinge of shyness. They atained to the highest limits of satisfaction by each recognising his or her ideal in the other.
The Advent of Sankara
(36-45) After the marriage, it is incumbent on the householder to perform the daily and occasional rites laid down in the Vedas. For this, adepts in rituals were engaged to light up the three fires of· the householder-the Garhyapatyagni, Ahavaniyagni, and Dak- shinagni, without the maintenance of which no householder is eligible for the performance of Vedic Yajnas. Subsequently. Sivaguru performed many expensive Yajnas having the felicities of heaven as their reward. It is even said that getting accustomed to consume the sacrificial offerings of Sivaguru daily, the Devas lost all taste for their daily food of Amrita in their heavenly homes. By fulfilling through Panchamaha-Yajnas the wants of the Devas, Rishis, Pitris, men and subhuman beings, Sivaguru shone in the world like an earthly Kalpataru (wish-fulfilling heavenly tree), whose flowers formed the offerings he made for the satisfaction of all. Days, months and years rolled on, with Sivaguru con- tinually engaged in the performance of rituals laid down in the scriptures, in the unbroken repetition of the Vedas, and in benefi- cent activities for the good of others. Beautiful in appearance, wealthy by all standards, deep in learning, patient like the earth, and free from pride, he lived the life of an ideal householder for many years. But still he did not have what every householder
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should have a son. All the blessings of life-fertile fields, aboun- ding milch cows, plentiful wealth, well-built mansions, and hosts of loving relatives-all failed to give joy to that Brahmana for the reason that he had no children. Seasons and years passed in anxious expectation for the arrival of a son, but it looked like hoping against hope. So in a mood of great disappointment, he said to his wife one day, “What shall we do now? Half my adult life is over, and yet I have not seen the face of a son, the source of all happiness for men. Without a son, not only shall I be dying in a sense of futility, but I will be a liability to my father, too. Dear one, we shall be getting the disrepute of being childless. For, man’s reputation is based on his issue, just as only a tree that flowers and bears fruits at the proper season receives the recognition of men.”
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(46-53) Hearing these words, his wife said: “God Siva is the Kalpataru for man. By supplication to him we shall get what we want. The story of Upamanyu in the Mahabharata is proof of this. God manifests to man through His images. Men think that divine images are mere inert things. But quite the reverse is the case. Inertness lies in the nature of unregenerate man." Accepting the suggestion of his wife, Sivaguru went to perform austerities and offer prayers at the shrine of Siva at Vrishachala, the Great God whose half is formed of his consort Uma, and whose matted locks bear the crescent moon as an ornament. Strictly observing the rules of purity and taking only fruits and roots, he spent all his time in meditating on Siva. His wife, too, stayed at Vrishachala, observing the rules of austerity. One day God Siva appeared to Sivaguru in a dream, and being propitious, offered to give Sivaguru whatever boon he wanted. On his 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.” Sivaguru preferred the first alternative, and the Lord blessed him, saying that he would have a son who would be ranked as “all-knowing”, but would have only a short span of life. He was commanded to go home with his wife.
(54-70) Waking up from his sleep, the Brahmana communicated the vision to his wife. Accepting the divine assurance with fullTHE BIRTH OF SANKARA [[15]] faith, both of them rejoiced very much and returned home with the conviction that a virtuous son would soon be born to them. As a form of worship of the Lord, they made liberal gifts to holy Brahmanas and feasted them. The leavings of these holy men were taken by the couple as Prasada of the Lord, whose power entered into them through the sanctified food they partook of. Subsequently, Sivaguru’s wife became pregnant with a foetus that was charged with the spirit of the great God Siva. As her pregnancy advanced, her whole body became lustrous like a blazing sun difficult to look at. What wonder is there if in course of time it became difficult for her to move about, bearing within, as she did, the energy of Siva who is the support of all the worlds and who manifests in an eightfold form as earth, fire and the rest. It is not quite correct to say that Siva, who is all-pervading, came to dwell in this body now. He was already present in her, but now manifested Himself in this special form. She began to feel the contact of even tender and sweet-smelling flowers a burden. What then to speak of ornaments? A general lassitude gradually crept on her, making everything burdensome to her. Another psycho- logical change, characteristic of women in pregnancy, came over her. Whatever was rare she would like to have, but on obtaining it, would immediately lose all interest in it. Thus the relatives brought many delicacies to please the expectant mother, but her interest in them would abate on hardly tasting them. Well, the life of a pregnant mother is indeed full of ordeals. But this is only the general rule. To be the vehicle for bearing the Saiva energy should be a pleasure and a privilege, and philosophers say that the service of Siva is the means for the eradication of all suffering. In dreams she sometimes heard Vidyadharas praising her with great musical hymns, sometimes found herself riding on a big bull of milk-white hue, and at other times saw men wor- shipping the Deity and receiving boons.
Temperamentally very sensitive even to joking criticism in privacy, she now imagined herself to be a great controversialist seated on the throne of learning after having defeated the opponents of other schools of thought. Together with this, her sense of fraternity with the learned and the pious, her repugnance for all sense enjoyments, and her several other noble qualities now manifesting, declared the unique purity and greatness of the child
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in her womb. The line of her abdominal hair, resembling the mossy growth in the rivulet of radiance that flowed to the navel after encircling her hillock-like bosom, shone as a unique Yoga- danda (Sannyasin’s holy staff) placed there by the Creator himself for the use of the divine child within-as if to declare that he was a Sannyasin, even in his pre-natal state. In the guise of her two breasts for suckling the child, the Creator had verily made two jars filled with a new type of nectar that is Mukti itself. It looked as if the two breasts of the mother stood for the theory of difference and the thinness of the middle region for the doctrine of Sunyata (nothingness), and the child within were refuting and correcting these by the enlargement of the breasts and the abdomen caused by the advancement of pregnancy:
The Infant Sankara
(71-82) At the birth of the baby the’ planetary position was as follows: The Lagna was fully aspected by the benign planets like Guru. Mars, Sun and Saturn were exalted and Guru was at the zenith. It was an easy delivery, as if Parvathi were giving birth to Skanda. At the sight of his son’s face, Sivaguru was drowned in a sea of joy. Somehow controlling himself, he proceeded to bathe for performing the post-natal rituals, and bestowed much wealth as Dakshina on pious Brahmanas as part of those rites. The holy influence of the new-born divine child manifested itself everywhere in strange ways. The lion and the elephant, the tiger and the deer, the rat and the snake-these and such other mutually antagonistic creatures gave up their enmity, united as comrades. and even stroked and scratched one another’s bodies in their newly developed friendship. The trees shed luscious fruits, creepers rained flowers, streamlets brimmed with clear crystal water, clouds burst into showers, and waterfalls cascaded from mountain ranges. Books contrary to the Advaita doctrine tumbled down from the hands of scholars teaching them. The face of Vedic revelation beamed with joy, while the lotus of the heart of Vyasa-the great Vyasa who codified and expounded the Veda-bloomed. The four quarters became clear and were filled with a gentle breeze convey- ing the fragrance of flowers. The flames of sacrificial fires rose high and bright. From the heavens the Devas rained fragrant flowers, which were as pure and lovely as the hearts of good men,
THE BIRTH OF SANKARA [[17]] in order to honour this advent of Siva’s incarnation; and the blessed mother with the child in her arms shone like the sky with the brilliant sun, or like the earth with mount Meru, or like knowledge in the hands of scholars endowed with humility. The learned astrologers, who were received with honour by the head of the family, made the following prediction about the child’s future:
“This child will grow into a scholar capable of defeating any opponent in debate. He will be the promulgator of a new philo- sophy. He will gain recognition as a master of all learning. His reputation will last as long as the world exists. This child will indeed be a perfect man. What more can we say!” About his lifespan no question was put and no prediction was made also. For, virtuous men never speak words that cause pain. A large number of ladies of related and friendly families assembled near the confinement room and saw the face of the infant with the same joy and relief people feel on seeing the cool rising moon on a hot summer night. The light kept in the room at night was rendered quite dim and invisible by the brilliance of the infant, so that visiting ladies wondered how the room was lit up without any lamp at all.
(83-93) Sivaguru named the child as Sankara to indicate that he is the bestower (kara) of happiness (sam) to all who resort to him, or may be, to commemorate the fact that he was born out of Sankara’s (Siva’s) grace bestowed on him as a result of long obser- vance of austerity and prayers. Though the child was all-knowing and possessing all powers, he none the less passed through all the usual stages of an infant’s growth. He smiled, he kicked his legs, he turned on his abdomen. The sight of him in his cradle filled the hearts of good men with joy, while it brought gloom on the face of proud and argumentative scholars. While he lay on a soft bed and kicked at the cradle sides with his infant legs, it looked as if the hopes of all dualistic scholars was being shattered to pieces. When the child began to lisp two or three syllables, the dualists became silent, and when he started standing up and taking a few steps with a smiling face, those heroes took fright and ran away helter skelter in all directions. The Kokila found a rival in the sweetness of the infant’s prattle, while the swan felt abashed when it saw the beauty of his steps.
When the child began to toddle, the ground looked as if it were [[18]]
covered with saffron and coral bits, being coloured with the pinkish tinge of the infant’s feet blended with his moon-like bodily lustre. The enlightened men could see in that child the reflection of Siva’s form with the crescent moon in its locks, the third eye in the fore- head, the trident resting on the shoulder, and the body sparkling like crystal. His infant body gradually grew in size like the affluence of a virtuous ruler, the fame of a diligent scholar, and the disc of the waxing moon. With unwinking eyes men gazed at the picture they saw in the child of the Siva form with the crescent moon on the head, the serpent round the chest, the Chamara mark on the sole, and emblems like Damaru and the trident in the palms.
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Thus, when in the course of time, confusion had set in the minds of men regarding the values of life, when the path to heaven was disturbed and the way to Moksha closed, when the whole species of man had degenerated as never before and utter doom was about to overtake mankind, came this manifestation of Siva as Sankaracharya.