शङ्कर-विधवा-पुत्रता-कथा-मूलम्
शङ्करस्य विधवापुत्रत्वं क्वचित् शङ्कर-विजये, केरल-लोक-कथासु च दृश्यतय् इति -
- There is a legend in Kerala. When a widow had gone to a Śiva temple alongwith several girls in Kalaḍi, some of them prayed for a male child. Along with them this young widow too having prayed, she became pregnant and gave birth to Śankara (NKS, p 14). Whether this story and the Kūṣmāṇḍa-Śankara-Vijaya were there before and on their basis the story of Anantānandagiriya-SankaraVijaya was born, or whether that itself was ancient and these story-writers gave spice to the story, no one can say.
Source: TW
Source: TW