THE DIGVIJAYA YATRA!!!!
GREAT JOURNEYS!!!
ADI SANKARA!!!!
"Adi Shankara strove hard to synthesise the diverse currents that were troubling the mind of India of his day, and to build a unity of outlook out of that diverity. In a brief life of 32 years, he did the work of many long lives and left such an impression of his powerful mind and rich personality on India that it it very evident today. He was a curious mixture of a philosopher and a scholar, an agnostic and a mysitic, a poet and a saint, and in addition to all this, a practical reformer and an able organiser" ........ Jawaharla Nehru in The Discovery of India.
The historicity of Adi Shankaracharya stands on firm foundation despite scholarly quibbles over biographical details. What we have today are a set of traditions about Adi Shankara, with few historical records from his period.
This package sticks to accepted traditions. For instance, Shakara's date 788-820, as fixed by Max Mueller. So also the dominant belief that he attained 'Samadhi' at age 32 in Kedarnath. Plus all the feneraly undisputed facts of Shankara's life:
> He was born in Kalady, to Shivaguru and Aryamba, a Namboodiri couple.
> He left home at the age of eight to take up sanyasa; he was initiated into sanyasa by Sri Govindapada
> He wrote learned commentaries on the Vedanta Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
> He confronted various cults on the universality of Vedic thought. He travelled all over India, refuting non-Vedic doctrines and establishing non-dualism as the true teaching of the Vedas.
> He established centres of Advaitic learning in many palaces, notably the four mutts assigned to his disciples--at Sringeri under Sureshwara (Mandana Mishra, whom he defeated in a debate), Dwaraka under Hastamalaka, Badrinath under Totaka and Puri under Padmapada (his first principal desciple).
> He also left his impress on many great temples and holy places of India, where he preached, renovated edifices and contributed to their traditions. The map traces Shankara's journeys (based on accepted traditions and Madhava Vidyaranya's 15th century compilation Sankara Digvijaya, translated by Swami Tapasyananda and published by Ramakrishna Mission, 2009).
1. Went from Kalady to OMKARESHWR on the banks of Narmada, where he met his guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada, the disciple of Gaudapada, the famous author of the Mandukya Karikas. Govindapada initiated Shankara to the knowledge of Veda Sutras and Brahman.
2. Govindapada asked Shankara to go on a mission to spread the Advaitic concept of Vedanta. He arrived in VARANASI, preaching and writing about the spiritual truths of the Vadas. One of Shankara's four principal disciples, Padmapada, joined him there.
3. From VARANASI he reached BADRINATH, after a long and difficult journey through forest tracks and mountain trails. He wrote commentaries on the Vedanta Sutras of Badarayana, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Vishnu Shasranamam, and treatises like Upadesa Sahasri.
4. From BADRINATH, Shankara set out on a spiritual conquest of the whole of Bharata. He stopped at PRAYAGA to meet Kumarila Bhatta, who asked Shankara to defeat Mandrana Mishra in a debate, with the latter's wife, Ubahaya Bharati as umpire.
5.Shankara went to MAHISMATI (Mahishi village Bihar, say Sringeri records) to meet and debage with Mandana Mishra. Shankara won the debate and Mandana became his disciple and took the name Sureswara.
6. Shankara then went southwards to SRISAILAM -- a wooded place, near a holy river, where he worshipped Mallikarjuna linga and Bhramarambika. He styed on the banks of the river and expounded his commentaries.
7.Shankara moved to GOKARNA, on the western coast of India. He stayed there for a few days worshipping at the shrine of Shiva in Ardhanareeshwara form.
8. Then he went to MOOKAAMBIKA, the shrine of the Divine Mother, surrounded by dense greenery. Visited a village named Sri Bali. There he met the mentally challenged son of a Brahmin who later became a principal disciple, Hastamalaka.
9. From theree Shankara and his disciple travelled to SRINGA-GIRI (SRINGERI), where sage Rishyasringa had meditated, on the banks of Tungabhadra. Shankara built a temple and installed an image of Divine Mother, which is there even now. A new disciple, Totaka, joined the Acharya.
10. From Sringeri he returned to KALADY to perform his mother's last rites.
11. He then started on his Digvijaya Yatra, a missionary tour programme. First to RAMESHWARAM, where he worshipped Lord Ramanatha (Shiva). And then, travelled through Pandya and Chola territory to reach Kanchipuram. There he is said to have installed a Sri Chakra (talisman) at Kamakshi Amman temple.
12. Shankara visited TIRUPATHI, worshipped Lord Venkateshwara, and headed to Vidharbha, where he was well-received by the King.
13. He then went to DWARAKA, via Saurashtra. After defeating opponents in debates there, he went to Ujjain and worshipped the Shiva deity (Mahakala).
14. His next stop was the KAMARUPA, kingdom (Assam), where he defeated Navagupta, a leading thinker of the Shakta school and commentator on Vyasa Sutras.
15. Then through Kosala and Anga Kingdom to PURI (Orissa).
16. From there to Mother Sharada's shrine in KASHMIR. More arguments, more victories over other sects.
17. From Kashmir he travelled to BADRINATH where he spent his last days expounding on his advatic commentaries.
18. His final journey was to KEDARNATH, the holy land of Shiva, where he attained Samadhi.
1. Went from Kalady to OMKARESHWR on the banks of Narmada, where he met his guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada, the disciple of Gaudapada, the famous author of the Mandukya Karikas. Govindapada initiated Shankara to the knowledge of Veda Sutras and Brahman.
2. Govindapada asked Shankara to go on a mission to spread the Advaitic concept of Vedanta. He arrived in VARANASI, preaching and writing about the spiritual truths of the Vadas. One of Shankara's four principal disciples, Padmapada, joined him there.
3. From VARANASI he reached BADRINATH, after a long and difficult journey through forest tracks and mountain trails. He wrote commentaries on the Vedanta Sutras of Badarayana, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Vishnu Shasranamam, and treatises like Upadesa Sahasri.
4. From BADRINATH, Shankara set out on a spiritual conquest of the whole of Bharata. He stopped at PRAYAGA to meet Kumarila Bhatta, who asked Shankara to defeat Mandrana Mishra in a debate, with the latter's wife, Ubahaya Bharati as umpire.
5.Shankara went to MAHISMATI (Mahishi village Bihar, say Sringeri records) to meet and debage with Mandana Mishra. Shankara won the debate and Mandana became his disciple and took the name Sureswara.
6. Shankara then went southwards to SRISAILAM -- a wooded place, near a holy river, where he worshipped Mallikarjuna linga and Bhramarambika. He styed on the banks of the river and expounded his commentaries.
7.Shankara moved to GOKARNA, on the western coast of India. He stayed there for a few days worshipping at the shrine of Shiva in Ardhanareeshwara form.
8. Then he went to MOOKAAMBIKA, the shrine of the Divine Mother, surrounded by dense greenery. Visited a village named Sri Bali. There he met the mentally challenged son of a Brahmin who later became a principal disciple, Hastamalaka.
9. From theree Shankara and his disciple travelled to SRINGA-GIRI (SRINGERI), where sage Rishyasringa had meditated, on the banks of Tungabhadra. Shankara built a temple and installed an image of Divine Mother, which is there even now. A new disciple, Totaka, joined the Acharya.
10. From Sringeri he returned to KALADY to perform his mother's last rites.
11. He then started on his Digvijaya Yatra, a missionary tour programme. First to RAMESHWARAM, where he worshipped Lord Ramanatha (Shiva). And then, travelled through Pandya and Chola territory to reach Kanchipuram. There he is said to have installed a Sri Chakra (talisman) at Kamakshi Amman temple.
12. Shankara visited TIRUPATHI, worshipped Lord Venkateshwara, and headed to Vidharbha, where he was well-received by the King.
13. He then went to DWARAKA, via Saurashtra. After defeating opponents in debates there, he went to Ujjain and worshipped the Shiva deity (Mahakala).
14. His next stop was the KAMARUPA, kingdom (Assam), where he defeated Navagupta, a leading thinker of the Shakta school and commentator on Vyasa Sutras.
15. Then through Kosala and Anga Kingdom to PURI (Orissa).
16. From there to Mother Sharada's shrine in KASHMIR. More arguments, more victories over other sects.
17. From Kashmir he travelled to BADRINATH where he spent his last days expounding on his advatic commentaries.
18. His final journey was to KEDARNATH, the holy land of Shiva, where he attained Samadhi.
No comments:
Post a Comment
பதிவினைப் பற்றி தங்களின் கருத்தை பதியலாமே நண்பரே!!