KALADY: MYTHS AND MIRACLES OF SHANKARA’S CHILDHOOD.

KALADY: MYTHS AND MIRACLES  OF SHANKARA’S CHILDHOOD.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN:  ( BY S.NEERAJ KRISHNA. )

It was 101 years ago that the Sringeri Mutt zeroed in on Kalady, on the banks of the Periyar river, as Shankara’s birthplace. It was not just another birthplace; it was the fountainhead of a spiritual revolution that reinforced the matrix of Vedic culture or Sanatana Dharma. Sharnkara, regarded globally as the greatest Indian philosopher ever, spearheaded that revolution from Kalady to Kashmir within a life span of just 32 years.

We Indians have “a myth-making tendency which clothes the bare bones of history with the full flesh of their poetic significance” writes Y.Keshava Menon in his book ‘THE MIND OF ADI SHANKARACHARAYA’ as he censures the ‘fanciful’ biography of Shankara, the Shankara Digvijaya, written by Madhava Vidyaranya, the 12^th pontiff of the Sringeri Sharada Peetam.

However, the Ramakrishna Mutt’s Swami Tapasyananda, who translated the biography in English, has an explanation. “A highly poetic and mythological narration of the lives of individuals or events marks the measure of the tremendous impact these individuals and events have made on the racial mind of a people in those ancient days when correct recording was not much in vogue and impressive events easily took a mythological turn,” he writes in the introduction.

Shankara’s life was a dream come true, literally. Back in the 8^th century AD, a humble priest f a Durga temple, Shivaguru, and his equally pious wive, Aryamba, were  a well respected couple dwelling in Kalady, yearning for a baby. The elderly couple fell at the feet of Lord Shiva at the Vadakkumnaathan temple in Kerala’s Thirissur district, and started performing austerities.

One night, Shiva guru had a dream. Lord Shiva gave him two choices: either a prodigious son with a short lifespan or a mediocre one with longevity. The learned priest opted for the prodigy. “Shiva guru wife became pregnant with a foetus that was charged with spirit of the great God Shiva,” says the SANKARA DIGVIJAYA, which notes divine menifestations in great deal.

Shankara evinced perfection even as a toddler. By the age of three, he mastered the Sanskrit language and verses. After his father’s death, Shankara resided at the nearby GURUKULA. He mastered the Shastras and Upanishads with ease. The young boy’s gasp over the subjects and the insatiable thirst for knowledge left even his gurus marveling.

Soon, stories of miracles grew around the boy. Once during his daily rounds of seeking alms, Shankara came across an impoverished house, where he encountered the tears of a woman. Pained by penury and the inability to offer alms to the young bramachchari, she apologized and offered the only thing she had in her home—a gooseberry.

Moved by the woman’s helplessness and yet the generosity, Shankara composed a hymn invoking the Goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi.  Pleased at Shankara’s prayer and convinced by his reasoning, the Goddess showered golden gooseberries into the woman’s home. The hymn Shankara composed came to be known as the “KANAKADHARA STOTRA”. The blessed house—Swarnathu Mana (golden house) –still exists about 30 km from KALADY.

Kalady has more stories of miracles to offer. Indeed the name Kalady—which means under the feet in Malayalam—is linked to one such story of the Periyar river changing course in response to Shankara’s prayers. “It is historically proven that the river did change her course,” says Prof. Subramaniya Iyer, honorary manager of the Sringeri Mutt in Kalady. The Sanskrit scholar recalls a newspaper clipping—a report about a satellite study that showed the changed course of the river.

History has it that by the age of seven. Shankara was eager to take up Sanyasa.  However, it took another miracle to get his mother to agree. And it was this respect and devotion towards his mother that eeventually brought Shankara back to Kalady. Before leaving home on his spiritual quest, Shankara had promised Aryamba that he would be back by her side at the time of her death and perform her last rites. 

It is said that once while meditating in Sringeri, Shankara had a vision of his mother’s end nearing.  At once he reached home, and invoked Lord Krishna to give her MOKSHA. Shankara went on to break the norms of a SANYASIN who, by renouncing all worldly likes, was not entitled to perform Aryamba’s last rites. He ignored the protests from the orthodox Namboodiris in the neighbourhood, and conducted her funeral in his backyard.

Descendants of the only two families who helped Shankara still live near the temple. “The pyre was made of plantain stems and Shankara lit it by manifesting fire using his divine energy,” says Raman Namboothiri, one of the descendants. A stone lamp post marks the funeral spot inside the temple.

After the funeral, it was time for the love for his motherland. Shankara embarked on his all-India journey to revive and re-establish Sanatana Dharma a journey that changed the cultural foundation of a nation. Students of Sringeri Mutts Vedapaathsala, meditates in the temple. Students from here go on to become priests in various temples, including Badrinath. “Many of our students are now priests in foreign countries, too,” adds  Iyer.

Though in decline, tradition continues.