Preface
3
CHAPTER – 1
4
Sri Sankara’s Digvijaya Yatra
4
Sri Sankara’s Digvijaya Digvijaya Yatra Yatra - Sankaracarya at Varanasi Varanasi
8
Sri Sankara’s Digvijaya - At the Four Dhams
12
CHAPTER –2
18
Kanchi the Southern Mokshapuri
18
CHAPTER –3
28
Sri Shankaracharya at Kanchi
28
CHAPTER –4
35
Sarvajnapitharohana
35
CHAPTER –5
40
Kanci – Sankaracarya’s Last Resort
40
CHAPTER –6
46
Sankaracarya Sculptures in Kanci
46
APPENDIX -I
54
Some References to Sankaracarya In Relation to Kanci
54
APPENDIX – II
58
Extracts from Madras University Historical Series No. 15
58
APPENDIX -III
60
Some References to Sankaracarya Inscriptions
60
Preface Sri Sa Sri Sank nkar ara a Bh Bhag agav avat atpa pada daca cary rya a st stan ands ds un uniq ique ue as a sub subtl tle e me meta taphy physi sici cian an,, a dist di stin inct ctiv ive e di dial alec ecti tici cian an, , a pr prol olifi ificc wr writ iter er, , a co comm mmen enda dabl ble e co comm mmen enta tato tor, r, a praise pra isewor worthypoet thypoet and a awor worldprece ldprecepto ptor. r. The Aca Acarya rya’snameis ’snameisahouseh ahousehold old wordinIndia.HisnameandHisfameasaphilosopherhasspreadfarbeyond theseas.Sankaracarya’sBhasyas(Commentaries)ontheBrahmasutras,onthe BhagavatGeetaandthe Bhaga vatGeetaandtheUpani Upanisadas sadas andHisotherimporta andHisotherimportantworksconstitut ntworksconstitute e the th e ri rich ch le lega gacy cy th that at ha has s be been en in inhe heri rite ted d by th the e pe peop ople le of th this is la land nd,, by th thos ose e professingtheVe profes singtheVedicDharm dicDharma. a. Theinsti Theinstitutio tutionsfoundedbytheGreat nsfoundedbytheGreat Acar Acarya,in ya,in differentplacesoftheland,standaslivingmonumentstohismemory. Somesacredspotorotherinmanypartsofourcountryhasbeenrelatedwith some som eeve event ntinSanka inSankara’ ra’s slif life-s e-stor tory. y. Kan Kanchi chipur puram,the am,theSou Southe thern rnMok Moksap sapuriof uriof BharatisintimatelyconnectedwithSriSankaracaryainmanyways.Anumber ofworks,Voluminousandshort,ofdifferentagesandclimes,indifferentforms and in diverse langua uag ges narrating the life-history of Sankara, contain informati infor mationaboutSankarac onaboutSankaracarya’ arya’sconncecti sconncectionswiththe onswiththesacre sacredcityof dcityofKanch Kanchi. i. Anattempt hasbeenmade inthisworktopresenttheabov inthisworktopresenttheabovesaidconnect esaidconnections ions asgleanedfromsuchworksandalsotoinclude,inthework,picturesofsome ofthesculpturesofSankaracharyafoundinthetemplesofKanchiandaround. OurthanksareduetotheSriMahalakshmiTempleCharities,Mumbai forthefinancialassistancerenderedforbringingoutthispublication. A.Kuppuswami
CHAPTER – 1 Sri Sankara’s Digvijaya Yatra
Bhaskarac Bhaska rachar harya ya the cel celebr ebrate ated d com commen mentat tator or of the Lal Lalita itasah sahasr asrana anama ma (th (the e one tho thousa usand ndnam names esof ofLal Lalita ita Dev Devi),in i),in his pre prefac face e to tohiscomme hiscommenta ntary,pours ry,pours forthhistribut for thhistributeto etoSri Sri San Sankar karaBhaga aBhagavat vatpad pada,in a,inaverseinwhichhecitesthe averseinwhichhecitesthe explanationfortheRgVedamantra,‘Dhenumpahvayamisidhugham’,foundin anancientworkby anancien tworkbyname‘Vi name‘Vishnju shnjudharm dharmottar ottara’. a’.Thisworkisa Thisworkisapurani puranictreatise ctreatise contai con tainin ning g the tea teachi chings ngsof of a gre great at Ya Yaksh ksha, a, by nam name e Pus Pushka hkara, ra,to to Sri SriRam Rama. a. Bhaskaracharya’sverserunsthus:
In the Inth e ab abov ove e ve vers rse e it is st stat ated ed th that at “i “in n th the e co cour urse se of th the e ex expl plan anat atio ion n of th the e contentsofthethreeVedasbythegreatYaksha,namedPushkara,toSriRama speciallynarrate specia llynarratedin dinthe the ‘Vis ‘Vishnudha hnudharmott rmottara’,themeaningofthe ara’,themeaningoftheRg(mantra Rg(mantra) ) –‘Etam Sanka Sankaracar racarya. ya.Ibowuntothat Ibowuntothat precep preceptorofprecep torofpreceptors,San tors,Sankarac karacarya, arya, withhisfourdisciples.” Reference Refere nces s to San Sankar karaca acarya rya as an aninc incarn arnati ation onof ofSiv Siva, a, Sur Surya yaetc etc., ., are see seen n in some som eof ofthe the pur purana anas s andsomeother anc ancien ient twor works. ks. Per Perhap haps s theearli theearliestof estof referencestoSankara(ortooneofhisillustrioussuccessorsbearinghisname), byforeigners,istobefoundinaninscriptionofakingofCambodiaofthe9th centuryA.D.ThisinscriptioninCambodiaspeaksofthekinghavingundergone study stud y of ofthe the Sas Sastra tras s und under erSan Sankar kara, a,an anall all-kn -knowi owing ngper person son.. The ver verse sein inthe the inscriptionisasfollows:-
(YenadhitaniSastraniBhagavacchankarahvayat; Nissesasurimurdhalimalalidhanghripankajat) Sri Sa Sri Sank nkar ara a wa was s bo born rn at Ka Kala ladi di ne near ar Ti Tiru ruch chiv ivap appe peru rurr (m (mod oder ern n Ti Tiru ruch chur ur), ), in KeralatoSivag Ker alatoSivaguruandAryam uruandAryamba. ba. A Afewyear fewyears saft after er his bir birth,Sank th,Sankara ara los lost this his father.SankaratooktothestudyoftheVeda,afterhavingbeeninitiatedinto brahma bra hmacha charya rya(ba (batch tcherl erlorh orhood ood). ). The you young ng boy sho showed wed mar marks ks of a gen genius ius.. One dayhe wasbathin wasbathingintheriver gintheriver nearby nearby. .Acrocod Acrocodile ile caugh caughtoneofhisfeet toneofhisfeet andbegantodraghimdeepintotheriver.Knowingthattheonlywayopenfor escapi esc aping ngfro from m the dan danger ger wasby tur turnin ning g an anasc asceti etic, c,San Sankar kara aqui quickl ckly y utte uttered red the mantras and did in sh sho ort the necessary things for getting into the sann sa nnya yasa sasr sram ama. a. Th The e cr croc ocod odilile e to too o le left fthi his s fo foot ot.. Th The e yo youngasc ungascet etic ic’s ’s st stro rong ng resolvewasapprovedbyhisagedmother,thoughreluctantly,forshedesired heronlysonshouldbealiveatanycost. Ramabh Rama bhad adra ra De Deek eksh shit ita, a, an er erud udit ite e sc scho hola lar, r, pr pres esen ents ts a su succ ccin inct ct sk sket etch ch of Sanka Sa nkara ra’s ’s lilife fe-s -sto toryin ryin hi his s ka kavy vya, a,‘P ‘Pat atan anja jalili Ca Cari rita tam’ m’.. Th The e sc scho hola lar r be begi gins ns th the e stor st ory y in th the e ei eigh ghth th ca cant nto o of hi his s wo work rk, , wi with th th this is in inci cide dent nt of th the e cr croc ocod odilile’ e’s s catchingthefootofSankara:-
(Attrantaresaritinakragrhitapadah, SannyasyaSankaramunirduritadvimuktah.) Theversesaysthathisfoodhavingbeencaughtbyacrocodile,intheriver,the sage Sanka Sankaratook ratook totheasceti totheasceticorderandgot corderandgot freedqui freedquicklyfrom cklyfromtheclutches theclutches ofthecrocodile. ThenSan Then Sankar kara aarr arrang anged ed for his mot mother her bei beingtakencare ngtakencare ofprope ofproperly rly,,andwith andwith her he r co cons nsen ent t le left ft Ka Kala ladi di. . He be bega gan n to tr trav avel el no nort rthw hwar ards ds fo forr be bein ing g fo form rmal ally ly initia ini tiatedinthe tedinthe san sannya nyasaashra saashrama,bya ma,bya goo goodprecep dpreceptor tor.. Incour Incourseof seoftim timehe ehe reac re ache hed d th the e ba bank nk of th the e Na Narm rmad ada a ri rive ver. r. Ac Acco cord rdin ing g to tr trad adit itio ion n an and d mo most st literary evidences, the boy ascetic got formally initiated by Govinda Bhagav Bha gavatp atpada ada whowas res residi idingin ngina asma smallcave llcave onthe ontheban bank kofthe oftheNar Narmad mada. a. Accord Acc ording ing toa ver verse se in inthe the San Sankar kara-v a-vija ijaya, ya, aut author horshi ship p ofwhichis asc ascrib ribedto edto Madhava Govinda Bhagavatpa pad da initiated Sankara by imparting all the mahavakyastohim.Theverseisasfollows:
(Bhaktipurvakrtatatparicaryatosito(a) (Bhaktipurvakrtatatpari caryatosito(a)dhikataramyat dhikataramyativaryah; ivaryah; Brahmatamupadidesacaturbhirvedasekh Brahmatamupad idesacaturbhirvedasekharavacobhiramusmai aravacobhiramusmai.) .)
Chidvilasa’sbiographyof Chidvilasa ’sbiographyof/Sank /Sankarach aracharyaalsonotesthat aryaalsonotesthatSanka Sankarawas rawasinitia initiated ted intoallthemahavakyasbyGovindaBhagavatpada,thus:-
(“Mahavakyanidivyanitattvamasyadikanyapi; Mumuksubhihsadadhyeyamrahasyamyadyadasti Upadisadatahsarvamvedantarthaviniscitam; Sanyasibhirvidheyamstuvisvesassmrticoditan.’)
Theseveralbiographiesdealingwiththelife-stor Theseveralbiographi esdealingwiththelife-storyof yofSankar Sankaraand aandotherworks otherworks givingbriefsketchesas givi ngbriefsketchesaswellarenot wellarenotcompl completelyunifor etelyuniformin mindetai details. ls. But Butstillall stillall theseworks indic indicate ateSanka Sankara’s ra’slongand longand extens extensive ive tour,on foot,through foot,throughthe the lengthandbreadthofthecountry(perhapseventwice),forthepurposesof cond co ndem emni ning ng he here reti ticc re reliligi giou ous s se sect cts, s, of sa safe fegu guar ardi ding ng th the e Ved edic ic Dh Dhar arma ma, , of establishingthesix-foldpathofdevotiononasoundVedicbaseandforthe propagationofAdvaitaVedanta.Itisnowonderthatmanyaholyspotinthe coun unttry claims some ki kin nd of association or other with the name of Adi Sankaracarya. MostbiographicalworksonSankaraandotherworkshavingsomeincidental informati infor mation on about aboutthe the grea great t Acary Acarya a unifo uniformly rmlynarr narrate ate Sanka Sankara’s ra’s cover covering ingthe the four fo ur dh dham amss or th the e tr trad adiiti tio ona nall fo four ur Co Corrne nerrs of Ind ndiia – Dv Dvar arka ka in th the e we west st, , Badrinathinthenorth,JagannathPuriintheeastandRamesvaraminthesouth – du duri ring ng th the e co cour urse se of hi his s di digv gvijijay aya a or to tour ur of th the e vi vict ctor ory y of th the e di dire rect ctio ions ns.. More Mo reov over er th the e th thre ree e po popu pula larr bi biog ogra raph phie ies s of Sa Sank nkar araa vi viz, z, th the e Sa Sank nkar arav avijijay aya a ascrib asc ribed ed to Mad Madhav hava, a, (Na (Navak vakali alidas dasa) a) Cid Cidvil vilasa asa’s ’s bio biogra graphy phy and Ana Ananda ndagir giri’s i’s workagreeintheAcarya’svisiststofourofthesevensacredmokshapuris– Kasi, Kas i, Kan Kanchi chi,, Ujj Ujjain ainand andDva Dvarak raka. a. His Hisvis visits its to Ayo Ayodhy dhya, a, May Maya a (Ha (Hardv rdvar) ar)and and Madhuraarenotruledout.
Sri Sankara’s Digvijaya Digvijaya Yatra Yatra - Sankaracarya at Varanasi
AsregardsKasi,thecelebratedmokshapurionthebankofthesacredGanga,it is st stat ated ed in al alll bi biog ogra raph phie ies s th that at Sa Sank nkar arac acar arya ya st stay ayed ed in th that at ho holy ly ci city ty fo for r a considerablylongperiodinhisteenyears.Itwasduringhislongstaytherethat thecommentari thecomme ntariesonVyasa’sBr esonVyasa’sBrahmas ahmasutrasand utrasandon onthe the Upani Upanishadsandonthe shadsandonthe BhagavatGitawereproduced Bhaga vatGitawereproduced.The .Thehisto historic ric meeti meetingof ngofSanka SankaraandVyasa,and raandVyasa,and Sanand San andana ana bec becomi oming nga a dis discip ciple le of ofthe theAca Acarya rya are aresom some e of ofthe the oth other ernot notabl able e eventsofthestayatVaranasi. SelectpassagesfromsomeoftheSankaravijayaworksregardingtheAcarya’s visittoVaranasi,thespiritualcapitalofIndiaandhisstaytherewillbeof interest. a. Madhava’sSankaravijay Madhava’sSankaravijaya:a:
(Thegreattapasvin(Sankara)reachedKasi,withjunglesofKadambatreesnear byandonthebankoftheriverGangaandresplendentwithsacarificialpillars ofgold).
(TheresidentsofKasi,whosemindswerefilledwithgreatwonderon beholdingthesuperhumanbrillianceoftheboyascetic,(Sankara),praisedhim thus).
(Havingbeenpleasedbythewonderfulself-controlandskillofSankara,Lord Sivamanifestedhimselfbeforehimandpersuadedhimtowritecommentarion theBrahmasutras).
(TheaboveverserecordsthewordsofSageVyasaattheendofaheated debatebetweenthesageandSankara’scommentaryontheVedantasutras. Vyasaexpresseshisgreatsatisfactionandappreciationofthecommentaryand suggeststhatSankaramayproducecommentarieson(uncoverd)Upanishads. Thenthesagestatesthathewillbegoingawayaccordingtohisowndesire).
b. Chidvilasa’sBiography: This wor This work k dev devote otes s fou four r cha chapte pters rs for forthe the sta stay y of ofSan Sankar kara a at Va Varan ranasi asi and the happeningsdur happen ingsduringtheperi ingtheperiod.Thefirststanzaofthe12t od.Thefirststanzaofthe12thChapter hChapterofthework ofthework
relate rela tess Sa Sank nkar ara’ a’ss ar arri riva vall at th the e sa sacr cred ed ci city ty al alon ong g wi with th hi hiss di disc scip iple les. s. So Some me subsequentversesnarratehisresidingattheManikarnikaghat,thedailybath intheGangaandworshipofVisvanatha,thegrea intheGangaandworshipofVisvan atha,thegreatrejoici trejoicingofthepeoplewho ngofthepeoplewho chantedtoseethegreatyoungascetic,therespectshownbytherulerofKasi andthedevotionofSanandana(padmapada),toSankara.Inthenextchapter, (13)thediscipleTotakaisintroduced.The14thand15thchaptersdealwiththe produc pro ductio tion n of ofthe the fam famous ousbha bhashy shyas, as, Vy Vyasa asa’s ’smee meetin ting g San Sankar kara, a,(th (the e for formerin merin the th e di disg sgui uise se of an ol old d Bra rahm hmiin) n), , th the e pr prot otrrac acte ted d on Vya yasa sa’s ’s su sutr traas, Vya yasa sa revealing at last his true self and expressing his great satisfaction and apprec app reciat iation ionof of San Sankar kara’s a’sglo gloss ss and andhis his ble blessi ssings ngs etc etc.; .; aft after er San Sankar kara’s a’shav having ing goneroundVyasaandbowedtohim. TheVerses,thepurportofwhichhasbeengiveninbriefabove,readas follows;
c. InAnandagiri’sSankaravijayathe52ndprakaranawiththehead InAnandagiri’sSankaravijayathe52ndprakaranawiththeheading‘Vyasaing‘Vyasadarsanam’commenceswiththefollowingpassage:-
(Atnoon,oneday,whenthegreatGuru(Sankara)wassittingindeep meditationattheManikarnikaghatinVaranasi.Vyasacamethereinthe disguiseofanoldman,VyasasawtheyoungSankarasurroundedbysix thousanddisciplesandlookinglikeSivainthemidstofpramathaganas,asIndra inthecentreofcelestialsandlikeBrahmaseatedinthemiddleofsages.Vyasa askedthediscipleswhotheyoungmanwas).Thereupontheytoldthe disguisedmaninreply:
(“Oholdman!ThisisSankarathepreceptorsteepedinbliss.Having annihilatedhereticsectsinplaceslikeRamesvaram,havingproduceda commentary,withdecidedmeanings,oftheBrahmasutrasandhavingtrained wiseanddiscerningstudentsforexpoundingtheAdvaitadiscipline,heshines asRudraonthebankoftheGanga.”)
Thene Thenensues nsuesalongde alongdebate batebetweenthe betweentheagedman agedmanandSa andSankara nkaraonthe onthe meaningofsomeoftheBrahmasutras.Learningfromhisdisciple,Padmaada, thattheoldmanwasVyasaindisguise,sankarapaysobeisancetoVyasa.Vyasa having hav ingbeen beensat satisfi isfied ed wit with h San Sankar kara’s a’s exp exposi ositio tion n of the sut sutra ra ble blesse sses s San Sankar kara a anddepartsalongwithBrahmawhohascometheretograntanextensionof lifetoSankara. Thesedetailsarenarratedinthemajorpartofthe52ndprakaranaand inthenexttwoprakaranasofAnandagiri’swork.
Sri Sankara’s Digvijaya - At the Four Dhams
Sankaracarya’s travel to the four sacred traditional corners of India, popularly known as ‘Chardham’, is noted. Dasnami ascetics mak pilgrimages to these four corners Dvaraka, Badrinath Jagannath (Puri) and Ramesvaram to this day. Sankara Digvijaya narrates Sankara’s yatra to these traditional corners. The work describes the Acarya’s visit to Ramesvaram thus:
The above lines indicate that Sankara, accompanied by thousands of disciples and king Sudhanva, at first started for Ramesvaram where he worshipped Sri Ramanatha).
Fiveverses(56to60)inthe6thcantoofthesameworkpointstoSankara’s visittothenorthernBadrinath,whileverse73ofCantoXVnotestheAcarya’s triptoDvaraka,theWesternDham.Theversereads:-
The Chidvilasiya Sankaravijaya points to Sankara’s formal initiation into sannyasa by Govinda Bhagavatpada as having taken place at Badari, instead of at the bank of the Narmada, as stated in other biographical works. Thefollowingthreeverse(37,38&46)ofthe8thChapterofthework rela re late tes s th that at Sa Sank nkar ara a gr grad adua ualllly y re reac ache hed d Ba Bada dari rina nath th,, in th the e no nort rth, h, du duri ring ng th the e course cou rse ofhistourin ofhistourinsear searchof chofa apre precep ceptor tor for bei beinginiti nginitiate ated dint into othe the reg regula ular r asceticorderandthatatBadarihefoundGovindaBhagavatpada:-
Sankaracarya’sreachingJagannatha(Puri),theeasterncornerisnarratedby Cidvilasa:-
TheAcarya’spilgrimagetoDvaraka,atthewesternend,whereMahavisnu shineswithMahalaksmiandSankara’sstaythereforamontharenarratedin thisbiographyasfollows:
TheversesinCidvilasa’sworkpointingtoSankara’sstayatRamesvaram,the southerndham,readasfollows:-
(TheversesfoundabovespeakoftheAcaryas’sarrivalatRamesvaram,his bathingintheMahodadhiandtheRatnakara(theBayofBengalandthe ArabianSea),hisglanceatthevarioussacredwaterspotsandhutmentsofthe place,himselfperformingabhishekawithgreatdevotiontoSriRamanathawith GangawaterbroughtallthewayfromthenorthandhisworshipofSri Ramanathawithblivapetals.) Ananda Anandagiri giriSankara Sankaravija vijayareco yarecordsthec rdsthecover overage ageof ofth thefourdh efourdhams-th ams-the e trad adiiti tio onal corner ers s dur uriing his digvijaya by Sank nkaara, Sanka karra’s rea eacching Rame Ra mesv svar aram am at th the e So Sout uthe hern rn en end, d, hi his s wo wors rshi hip p of Sr Srii Ra Rama mana nath tha a wi with th th the e sacredwateroftheGangaandwithlotusflowers,duringhisstayattheplace fortwomonthsetc.,inthefollowinglines:The Aca The carrya ya’s ’s ya yatr tra a to Bad adar arii in th the e no norrth th, , to Dv Dvar arak aka a in th the e we west st an and d to JagannathPuriintheeastishintedatbrieflyinthe56thPrakaranaofthework. Sankara’sworshipofSriMahakalesvaraandBhagavatiMahachandiinthe Mokshapuri of Ujjain in Central India, is related in both Cidvilasa’s and Anan An anda dagi giri ri’s ’s bi biog ogra raph phic ics. s. Sa Sank nkar arac acha hary rya’ a’s s vi visi sit t to an and d st stay ay at th the e So South uther ern n Moks Mo ksap apur urii of Ka Kanc ncii is vi vivi vidl dly y de desc scri ribe bed d in al almo most st al alll bi biog ogra raph phie ies s an and d ot othe her r worksnarratingthelife-storyoftheAcarya.
CHAPTER –2 Kanchi the Southern Mokshapuri
An oft quoted and popular verse enumerates the moks ksaapuris (cities of liberationfromthebondageofbirthsanddeaths)asseveninnumber:
(Ayodh (Ayo dhya ya;; Ma Math thur ura, a, Ma Maya ya or Ha Hard rdwa war, r, Ka Kasi si,, Ka Kanc nci, i, Av Avan anti tika ka or Uj Ujja jaik ikn n an and d Dvarakaarethesevencitiesbestowingmoksai.e.deliverance.) Oftheseseven,Hardvar,KasiandUjjainaresacredtodevoteesofLordSiva, while, whi le,Ayo Ayodhy dhya, a,Mat Mathur hura a and Dva Dvarak raka a are hol holy y to todev devote otees es of ofVis Vishnu hnu,, Kan Kanci, ci, the th e so sout uthe hern rnMo Moks ksap apur urii is sa sacr cred ed to de devo vote tees es of Si Siva va,, Vi Visn snu u an and d Sa Sakti kti al alik ike. e. Kanc Ka nci, i, po popul pular arly ly kn know own n as Ka Kanc ncip ipur uram am,, is a ci city ty of ce cele lebr brit ity y ac acco cord rdin ing g to a widelycommonsaying,(NagaresuKanci).ThePerumpanarrupadai,anancient workoftheTamilSangamage,pointstoKanciasanoldcityoftheworld:-
(Malartalai Ulagathullum palar tozha Vizhavu mempatta pazaviran moodur) The twoline twolines s(inTa (inTamil mil) )fou foundabove ndabove ind indica icatesthatKanci testhatKanci isan anc ancien ient tcit city yof of theworld,thefameofwhichishighlightedbyfestivalscelebratedbydevotees ofallfaiths. KanciispointedoutasthenaveloftheEarthintheKancimahatmyam:-
TheKamaksivilasamalsospeaksofKanciasthenaveloftheEarthinChapters 11and13:-(Chapter11-6-13-73)
GeographicallyspeakingKancimaybetakenassituatedroughlyattheCentre of th the e Ea East ster ern n He Hemi misp sphe here re. . Th The e La Lati titu tude de of th the e ci city ty is ap appr prox oxim imat atel ely y 12 12.5 .5 nort no rth. h. Itmaybe no note ted dth that at th the ena nave vellofa ofa hum human an bo bodyis dyisa alilitt ttle le ab abov ove e th the e centreofthehumanfram centr eofthehumanframe. e.TheMeruta TheMerutantra ntraalsospeaks alsospeaksof ofKanc Kanciasthe‘Navel iasthe‘Navel ofthe Ear Earth’ th’.. The Azi Azimut muthal hal mapofthe Worl orldwill dwill sho showthat wthat Kan Kanciisalmo ciisalmost st thenavelspot’oftheEarth. Cidambaramisfamousastheakasaksetra(thesacredplaceofEther) ofSiva.EvensoKanciistheakasapithaofDevi.TheKamaksivilasasays:-
Themeaningofthisverseisthatthesubtlecaveinsidethesanctumsanctorum ofthetempleofSriKama ofthetempl eofSriKamaksi,at ksi,atKanci),whi Kanci),whichisthe chisthe place placeof ofpen penance anceof ofDev Deviis iis deemed deeme das asthe the suprem supreme eatmos atmosphere phere orakasa. TheTantr TheTantric ic text ‘Saubh ‘Saubhagya– agya– CintamanitoopointstoKanciastheplaceoftheAkasaPithaofSakti. TheKancipuranaofSivajnanaMunivarreferstoKanciasthenavelspot ofMotherEarthandastheall-pervadingatmosphereinsidethebiola,inoneof theversesasfollows:-
Anaiyal parappu nun nun bilamaki arutpara arutpara veliyaitikazhum veliyaitikazhum Anaikadal Udukkai nilamakatkundi nilamakatkundi sthanamam (Kancipuram – Veerattahasappatalam – 31)
Kanci is described as a sacred centre of pilgrimage in Puranas. In the Umas Um asam amhi hita ta ab abou out t el elev even en ve vers rses es sp spea eak k of th the e ti tirt rtha haya yatr tra a (p (pililgr grim imag age) e) of Vyasa,the Vya sa,the gre greatseer atseer,to ,tosac sacredpla redplaces ces suc suchas hasthe the sev sevenmoks enmoksapur apuris. is. Oneof theseversesreads:-
Intheabove verse verseitisstatedthat itisstatedthat Vyas Vyasavisite avisitedthedeltaoftheGoda dthedeltaoftheGodavari vari..The The conflue con fluence nces softheseven oftheseven sac sacredbran redbranche ches softhe ofthe God Godava avariwiththe riwiththe seagoby the name ‘Saptagodavaritata’. An anecdote about Vyasa’s visit to the SaptagodavariareaandtoKanciwillbeinterestinginthecontext. WhileVyasawasresidingatVaranasi,somesagesapproachedhimand aske as ked d hi him, m, “w “whi hich ch Go God d ne need eds s be wo wors rshi hippe pped d fo for r at atta tain inin ing g mo moksh ksha? a?” ” Vy Vyas asa a rais ra ised ed bo both th hi his s ha hand nds s abo bove ve th the e he head ad an and d sa saiid “W “Why hy?? It is Na Nara raya yana na th the e grea gr eate test st of al alll Go Gods ds.. “N “Nan andi dikes kesva vara ra,, wh who o wa was s ne near arby by,, go got t wi wild ld an and d cu curs rsed ed Vyasa,saying Vyas a,saying,,‘Letthyraise ‘Letthyraisedhandsrema dhandsremainassuchforever. inassuchforever.”Unabl ”Unabletogethis etogethis hand ha nds s do down wn.. Vy Vyas asa a pr pray ayed edto toVi Vish shnu nufo for r re relilief ef.. Vi Vish shnu nu ma mani nife fest sted ed Hi Hims msel elf f beforeVyasaandsaid“SivaisPara.Youshouldnothaveforgottenit.Prayto Lord Lo rd Si Siva va an and d ad ador ore e hi him, m, spe spend ndin ing g so some me ti time me on pi pilg lgri rima mage ge.. “A “Acc ccor ordi ding ngly ly,, Vyasamade Vyas amade alongpilgr alongpilgrimag imagefrom efrom Var Varanasidow anasidownsouth. nsouth.Incourse Incourseof oftime time he reac re ache hed d th the e de delt lta a of th the e Go Goda dava vari ri.. Vy Vyas asa a ba bath thed ed at th the e sa sacr cred ed sp spot ot ca calllled ed
‘Brahmasamvedya ‘Brahmasam vedyam’,where m’,where oneofthesevenbranch oneofthesevenbranchesoftheGodavari esoftheGodavari enters the sea. There he is said to have got the clue for deliverance from Nandikesvara’scursefromtheeffectsofwhichhehadbeenstillsuffering. VyasareachedKanciincourseoftimewithhishandsstillunabletobe broughtdown.ItisstronglybelievedthatonsingingthepraiseofLordSiva,at Kanc Ka nci, i, Vy Vyas asa a go got t fr free eed d fr from om Na Nand ndik ikes esva vara ra’s ’s cu curs rse. e. St Stuc ucco co im imag ages es of Vy Vyas asa a reliefsseeninthebase relie fsseeninthebaseoftheVimanaofthi oftheVimanaofthistemple,one stemple,oneis isinthepose intheposeof ofbot both h thehandsofthesageliftedupabove thehandsofthe sageliftedupaboveheadandthepalmsclos headandthepalmsclosedone edone uponthe other.Immediatelyadjacenttothis(ontheleftside)canbeseenanimageof Vyas Vy asa a wi with th th the e ha hand nds s in th the e na natu tura rall fo form rm af afte terr th the e sa sage ge’s ’s de delilive vera ranc nce e fr from om Nandikesvara’scurse,citedabove. While giv Whi ivin inga ga lilist stofp ofpllac aces es wh wher ere e sa sage gesha shavve ta take kenab nabod ode e fo for r performingpenance,theMarkandeyaPuranareferstothoseseersresidingat Kanci.
DakshinahkaurusayecaRskastapasasramah: Rsabhahsimhalascaivatathakanceenivasinah A ve verrse in th the e Tee eert rtha haya yatr trap apra raka karran ana a of th the e Bh Bhag agaava vata ta Pu Purran ana a lilink nkss th the e Kama Ka mako koti tipur purii – Ka Kanc nchi hi,, th the e So Sout uthe hern rn Mo Moksa ksapur puri, i, wi with th Ka Kave veri ri,, th the e so sout uthe hern rn sacr sa cred ed st stre ream am (o (of f th the e se seve ven n ho holy ly ri rive vers rs of In Indi dia) a) an and d Sr Srir iran anga gam, m, th the e mo most st sacredofVishnushrines.TheverserunsthusintheTeluguandothersouthern recensions:-
KamaktipurimKancimKaverimcasaridvaram: SrirangakhyuammahapunyamYatraSannihitoHarih
InAgamatextssuchastheSuksmaAgamaandtheKaranaAgamatheword ‘Kam ‘K amak akos osta ta’ ’ is us used ed to de deno note te th the e ab abod ode e of De Devvi in Siv iva a te tem mpl ples es. . In th the e Silpasastratext,calledManasara(Patala65–verse1)itisseenthatthewords, are ar e us used ed wi with th re rega gard rd th the e pl plan anof of co cons nstr truc ucti tion on of De Devi vi sh shri rine nes. s. Th The e na name me Kam Ka mak akos osta tam m’ si sig gni nifie fiess th the e cen entr traal are reaa of Ka Kanc ncii ci city ty wh wher ere e Ka Kama maks ksi, i, th the e presid pre siding ingdei deity ty of Kan Kanci ciis is ens enshri hrined nedand and so it can canbe be eas easily ilyund unders erstoo tood d tha that t ‘Kamakotipuri’isonlyKancipuri. SaktiTantrasspotoutKanciasoneofthemostimportantSaktithasof Bharat. Bhara t.Mahal Mahalaksmi aksmi– –tantr tantraspeaksofthree aspeaksofthreeastheforemost astheforemostofthe108pithas ofthe108pithas ofDevi.TheyaretheKamarajaPithaatKanci,thePithaatKamarupaandthe oneatJalandhara.TheBengaliVisvakosa,anencyclopaedia,marksKanciasan ancientandgreatlysacredplaceandastheplaceofagreatPitha:-
There are man There many y tem temple ples s in inKan Kanci cisac sacred redto to dev devote otees es of ofSiv Siva, a,Vis Vishnu hnu,, Gan Ganesa esa etc. et c.So Some me ar are e ve very ry la larg rge e an and d so some me ar are e sm smal all. l. So Some me of th the e te temp mple les s ar are e of exceptionalarchitecturalbeauty.OfthetemplesdedicatedtoSiva,thetemple ofSriEkamranathaisthe ofSriEkamran athaisthe most impor important. tant. ThetemplesofSriKailasa ThetemplesofSriKailasanatha natha,Sri ,Sri Kachap Kac hapasv asvara ara and andthe the sma smallll tem temple ple at Siv Sivast asthan hanam, am,nea near r Vis Vishnu hnu Kan Kanchi chi,, are nota no tabl ble e on ones es. . Th The e te tem mpl ples es of Sri Var arad adaara rajja, Sr Srii Vaik ikun unth tha a Pe Perrum umal al and UlakalandaPer Ulaka landaPerumalareimpo umalareimportantamo rtantamongVishnutempl ngVishnutemples. es.Theniche Theniche,in ,inwhi which ch the th e mu murt rtii of Ad Adii Vara raha ha is en ensh shri rine ned, d, on th the e ri righ ght t si sid de of th the e sa sanc nctu tum m of Kamakshi,isoneofthe108sacredVishnushrinesinIndia. The te The temp mple le of Sr Srii Ka Kama maksi ksi,, st stan andi ding ng al almo most st in th the e mi midd ddle le of th the e nu nume mero rous us templesinKanchiisoneofthemostancientonesofourcountry.AnoldTamil song so ng ci cite ted d by Ad Adiy iyar arkun kunal alla lar, r, of ol olde den n ti time mes, s, in hi his s fa famo mous us co comm mmen enta tary ry on Sila Si lapp ppad adik ikar aram am, , on one e of th the e fiv five e gr grea eatt Tam amilil cl clas assi sics cs, , re refe fers rs to th this is te temp mple le, , particularlytothedeityofSasta,theguardianangeloftheKamakottamofSri Kamaksi. Kamak si. In Inthisverse thisverse the Devi isdescribed aswearingbanglesonher hands hands.. TheversealsoreferstothevictoriesofKarikalaColaashavingbeenduetothe graceoftheSastaofKamakottamTheversereadsasfollows:-
Further,intheLalitastottara–Satanamavali,intheLalitatrisatiandintheLalita – sa saha hasr sran anam ama a we fin find d th the e ep epit ithe hets ts ‘K ‘Kam amak akot otii – ma maha hape peet etha ha - ma mady dyas asth tha, a, “Kamakoti–nilaya’and‘Kamakotika’respectively. Assuch,Kancicityis‘Kamakotipuri’.Onesignificantfeaturethatisapt tostriketheshrewdobservingpilgrimisthatthemaingopuras(towers)ofall theimportanttemplesinKanci,farandnear,arefacingthetempleofKamaksi. Moreover,the proce Moreover,the processions ssions ofyattro ofyattrotsava– tsava– murti murtisofalltemplesinthecityare sofalltemplesinthecityare routedonlyalongthefourprincipalstreets(Rajaveethis)aroundthetempleof SriKamaksi. Aboveall,itisratherpeculiartonotethatinnoneoftheSivatemples withinthelimitsofKancicity,thereiseitheraseparatesanctumsanctorumfor DeviorastoneiconasmulavigrahaofDevi,exceptinthetempleofKamaksi. But,whenonepassesjustbeyondthelimitsofthecity,mulavigrahasofDeviin separatelyallottedsanctumsareseeninallSiva-temples,nearorfarawayfrom Kanc Ka nci. i. Th The e re reas ason on fo for r th this is ph phen enom omen enon on is ex expl plai aine ned d in so some me ve vers rses es in th the e ‘Kamaksi–vilasa’. Therelevantversesare:-
The sub substa stance nce of ofthe the abo above ve ver versesis sesis tha that tKam Kamaksi aksi hav havingbeen ingbeenple please ased dwit with h thepenanceofKama(Cupid),andafterhavingblessedhim,drewintoherbila ofether,thepowersofDevisenshrinedinallSivatemplesoftheland,including Kaililas Ka asa. a. Th Ther erea eaft fter er (a (acc ccor ordi ding ng to toKa Kama maksi ksi – Vi Vila lasa sa) ) Br Brah ahma ma pr pray ayed ed to De Devi vi,, whereuponKamaksivouchsafedthatallSivatemples,savethosewithinKanci City Ci ty, , wo woul uld d ha have ve sh shri rine ness of De Devi vi. . He Henc ncef efor orth th, , Ka Kanc ncii ca came me to be kn know own n as ‘Sivajitksetra’. InSanskritclassicalliteratre,theearliestreferencestoKanciisfoundin Patanj Pat anjali ali’s ’sMah Mahabh abhasy asya. a. His Histor torian ians s areincli areinclinedto nedto ass assignthe ignthe sec second ond cen centur tury y B.C.,astheperiodwhenPatanj B.C.,asthe periodwhenPatanjaliprodu aliproducedthiswork cedthiswork..Sriharsh Sriharshaofmuchlater aofmuchlater
times mentions the presence of a ruling prince of Kanci at Damayanti’s svayaamvaraandofa‘YogesvaraMurti’inKanci,ishis‘Naisadhacarita,oneof thePanca–Mahakavyas(fivegreatclassics). AbundantreferencestoKanciarefoundinTamilclassicalliteratureof the Sangam age and of medieval age. The Sangam classic, ‘Per ‘P erum umpa pana narr rrupa upada dai’ i’,, no note tes s Ka Kanc ncii as a ce cele lebr brat ated ed an anci cien ent t ci city ty of bo boun undl dles ess s educationaladvancement(Videlines408-41). Manimekalai’,oneofthefivegreatTamilclassicalpoems,ofthepost– Sangamperiod,speaksofthedestroyalofPuhar,capitalofancientColarulers, causedbuyerosionoftheseaandtheconsequentmigrationofalargenumber ofsurvivorsfromtheruinedcitytoKanci.(Videcanto20). SaivaNayanmarsandVaisnavaAlwars,whohavesunginpraiseofthe deitiesinthetemplesofKanchi,refertothegreatnessofSriKamaksithus:-deitiesinthetemplesofKanchi,refertothegreatnessofSriKamaksithus:
EvenwhensingingthepraiseofTiruvadikaiVirattanam(nearPannurutti,inthe SouthArcotDt.OfTamilnadu),Appearrefersto‘Kamakoti’(i.e.Kamaksi,ofthe KamakottaminKanci). TirujnanaSambandar,acontemporaryofAppar,(7thcenturyA.D.), adorin ado ring g the Lor Lord d of Iru Irumbu mbulai lai (Al (Alang angudy udyin in the Tha Thanja njavur vur Dt. Dt.Of Of Tami amilna lnadu) du),, describestheIsvaraofthetempleatAlangudi,as‘residentatIrumbulaialong with wi th th the e Ka Kam mak akot otii sh shiini ning ng at Ka Kanc ncii. Th The e se seccon ond d lin ine e of th thiis ver erse se rea eads ds (Kaccippoli (Kacc ippoli Kamakk Kamakkodiyu odiyudanKudi) danKudi) –IITirumura –IITirumuraii –Irumbula –Irumbulai–4) i–4)Inanotherof Inanotherof hisTevar hisT evaram am verse versesSambanda sSambandarspeaksofKanciashighlyprosper rspeaksofKanciashighlyprosperousandrising ousandrising highuptotheskyinthefollowinglines:-
In the seventh Tirumurai, a Tevaram verse by Sundrarar in praise of Onakantanrali,refersto‘KamakottamintheancientcityofKanci’
Naccinarkiniyara,CekkisharandmanyothergreatTamilScholarshavepraised thecityofkancianditsimportance,intheirworks.Cekkizharsays:-
Tirumanga Tiruma ngaiiAla Alavar var,,inoneof inoneof hishymn hishymns sinprai inpraiseof seofKan Kanci,refe ci,refers rs tothe ‘st ‘stone one rampartsofthecity’.TheTamilwordsusedintheverseare:-(Kallalmadilswzh kacchinagar). Ved VedantaDe antaDesikaoft sikaofthe herecentpasts recentpastspeaks peaksofhisadj ofhisadject‘sur ect‘surrende renderunto runto SriVaradarajashiningatKanci,importantamongthesevenMoksapuris’ AppayaDiksita,hastohiscreditabeautifuldevotionallyric,‘Varadaraja –stavam’,extollingSriVardarajaatKanci. Fro From m theh thehist istori orical calpoin pointofv tofview iewtoo, too,Kan Kanci ciCityi Cityisani sanimpo mporta rtant ntone. one. Some Som e ofthe oftheEdi Edicts cts ofAsokarefe ofAsokarefersto rsto the kin kingdo gdom m ofSatya ofSatyaputr putra,among a,among the independent Kingdoms south of the Mauryan Empire. On a careful examin exa minati ation,it on,it canbe con conclu cluded ded tha that tthi this s Sat Satyap yaputr utra aKin Kingdo gdom m of oldis onl only y theTondaimandalamorneckregionoftheTamilcountry.Itmaybenotedthat thereis the reis a anam name e‘Sa ‘Satya tyavra vratak takset setra’forKanci ra’forKanci.. A Aver verseof seof the cel celebr ebrate ated dT Tami amill poet,Pukazendi,states that that‘the ‘the people of ofT Tondai ondaimanda mandalam lamwillnever willnever speak untrutheveniftheyweretogaintheworldasrecompenseforutteringalie’
HistorytellsoftheGuptaEmperor,Samudragupta,havingreachedKanciatthe end en d of hi his s so sout uthe hern rn ex expe pedi diti tion on. . Ka Kanc ncii ha has s be been en th the e ca capi pita tall of su succ cces essi sive ve
dynastiesofKingssuchasthePallavas,theColasandalsooftheGovernorsof VijayanagarKingdom. Kancii ha Kanc has s be been en a ce cent ntre re of lilite tera rary ryem emin inen ence ce wi with thit its s Gh Ghat atik ikas as or ce cent ntre res s of educationwhic educa tionwhichhaveflouris hhaveflourishedinthe hedinthe earl earlyy ce centuri nturiesoftheChristia esoftheChristianEra.The nEra.The TalgauntacopperplatesrefertotheKadambaKingMayuravarmanofthe4th cent ce ntur ury y A.D .D.) .), , as ha havi ving ng co come me ov over er to th the e Gh Ghaati tika ka at Ka Kanc ncii for ad advvan ancced studies,alongwithhisteacherVeerasanman.ThatthestudyoffourVedaswas in vo vogu gue e at Ka Kanc ncii is cl clea ear r fr from om on one e of th the e Ka Kasa saku kudi di pl plat ates es of Na Nand ndiv ivar arma man n Pallava,(826–849A.D.)whichstates,amongotherthings: ThatSkand ThatSkandaSisya aSisya,rulero ,rulerofKanci fKanci(earl (early4thcen y4thcenturyA. turyA.D.) D.)capturedth capturedthe e ghat gh atik ika a (e (edu duca cati tion onal al ce cent ntre re) ) fr from om a ki king ng ca calllled ed Sa Saty tyas asen ena. a. (S (Sou outh th In Indi dian an Inscriptions–VolII,Part-III–Page349). AninscriptiononapillarintheMahamandapaofSriKailasanatha TempleatKanci,ofVikramadityaSatyasraya(533-545A.D.),referstoaGhatika educationa educa tionalcentre)a lcentre)atKanci.(E tKanci.(Epigra pigraphicaIndi phicaIndica– ca–Vo VolIII,page lIII,page –360). Anoth Another er insc in scri ripti ption on at Vel elur urpa pala laya yam, m, ne near ar Ar Arak akon onam am (N (Nor orth th Ar Arco cott Dt. Dt.) ) po poin ints ts to th the e revivaloftheGhatikaandtheconstructionoftheKailasanathatempleatKanci by Nar Narasi asimha mha Va Varma rma Pal Pallav lava a (S. (S.Ind Ind.. Ins Inscri cripti ptions ons,, Vo VolI lIpar partt-V). V). The Gha Ghatik tika a at Kanciisnotedtohavebeenfamousalloverthecountry. Greatscholars,likeBharavi,flourishedatKanci.ThePallavaKing, Simhavisn snu, u, was instrumental in br briinging Bharavi to his cour urtt at Kanci. MahendravarmanPallava,ascholarKing,whoruledfromkanci,wastheauthor ofafineSanskritfracenamed‘Mattav ofa fineSanskritfracenamed‘Mattavilaa ilaa-Prah -Prahasana asana’. ’. Dandin,the rheto rhetorici rician an authorofthefamous‘Kavyadarsa’,adornedthecourtofRajaSimhaPallava, who rul ruledat edatKan Kanci ci fro from m 685 A.D A.D.,to .,to705A.D.May 705A.D.Mayura ura Kav Kavi,theautho i,theauthorof rofthe the cent ce ntur ury y of ve vers rses es on Su Sury rya, a, kn know own n as ‘M ‘May ayur uras asat atak aka’ a’ is sa said id to ha have ve spe spent nt manyyearsatKanci. Thus,Kanci,theSatyavrataKsetra’,thecityoftemplesandMathas,a great and renowned centre of education and literary pursuits, a city of histor his torica icall imp import ortanc ance, e, the cap capita itall of rul rulers ers of diff differe erent nt dyn dynast asties ies,, ass associ ociate ated d with wi thth the e na name mes s of gr grea eat t sa sain ints ts an and d sc scho hola lars rs bel belie ieve ved d to tobe be th the e na nave vell of th the e Earth, pr praaise sed d by Nayanmars, Alwars and great sc sch holars, st staands as the impo im port rtan ant t So Sout uthe hern rn Mo Moks ksap apur urii wi with th Ka Kama mako kost stam am at th the e ce cent ntre re, , wi with th th the e ParasaktiKamaksi’sgenerousgrace.
CHAPTER –3 Sri Shankaracharya at Kanchi
ThebiographiesgivingpurelythelifestoryofSankaracaryaarenotuniformin deta de tailils s as al alre read ady y ob obse serv rved ed. . As re rega gard rds s th the e pl plac aces es th that at th the e Ac Acar arya ya vi visi site ted d duringhis dur inghis dig digvij vijaya aya tou tours, rs,the the ord order erof ofthe the pla places cesgiv given enin inthe thebio biogra graphi phies esis is varian var iant tfro from m oneanot oneanother her.. But But,,not not onl only ythe the bio biogra graphi phicalskest calskestche ches sbuteven buteven some so me ot othe her r wo work rks s ha havi ving ng in inci cide dent ntal al re refe fere renc nces es to Sa Sanka nkara ra’s ’s sta stay y at Ka Kanc nchi hi,, thoughtherearediscrepanciesregardingtheeventsduringthestay.Astudyof the th e in info form rmat atio ion n co cont ntai aine ned d in ea each ch of th the e bi biog ogra raph phic ical al tr trea eati tise sess an and d ot othe her r worksregardingtheAcarya’sarrivalatKanci,hisstayinthecityandconnected eventswillbefoundusefulandinteresting. Sankara’sarrivalatKanchi Amongthebiographies,theoneascribedtoMadhavaalonegivesscanty detailsaboutSankara’sstayatthesacredcity.Inthefourthverseofthe15th cantoofthiswork,SankaraissaidtohavereachedKanciafterhisworshipping atSriRamanathaatRamesvaram:-
TheDindimacommentaryonthefourthlineoftheversesays-
From this it is to be un und derstood that Sanka karra reached the city of Kanci surrro su roun undi ding ng th the e ro rocck na name med d ‘H ‘Has asti tigi giri ri’ ’ (th the e ro rock ck on wh whic ich h th the e sh shri rine ne of Varadarajastands),likeagirdleroundtherock’swaist. Cidvilasa’sSankaravijaya saysthat,afterleavingthevalleyofthe Tungabhadra,reachedKanci,thecapitalofSriVaradaraja:
ThislinesuggeststhattheAcaryamighthavereachedVishnuKanciinitially. Anantanandagiri’sworkrelatesSankara’sarrivalatKanciasfollows:Anantanandagiri’s workrelatesSankara’sarrivalatKanciasfollows:-
The ab The abov ove e pa pass ssag age e pu purp rpor orts ts to sa say y th that at, , af afte ter r wo wors rshi hipp ppin ing g Sr Srii Nr Nrsi simh mha a at AhobilamandSriVenkatesaattheTirupatihill,andSankaraenteredthecityof Kanci. SankaracaryaCaritambyGovindanathahas– SankaracaryaCaritam byGovindanathahas–
(Having (Havin g wor worshi shipped pped Sri Ram Ramana anatha tha at Ram Ramesv esvara aram m wit with h abh abhise iseka ka of Gan Ganga ga waterandbowin waterand bowing gbefor before eRama Ramanatha natha,,theall theall knowi knowing nggreatascetic greatascetic (San (Sankara) kara) reachedKanci) SankarabhyudayaofRajacudamaniDiksitanotesSankara’sreaching Kanci fromArunac fromArunachalak halaksetra( setra(Tiruv Tiruvannam annamalaiinTami alaiinTamilnadu lnadu). ). The45thverse of the seventh canto of the K avya s tates that the Acarya reache d
Satyavrat Satyav rataks aksetr etra ai.e i.e., .,Kan Kanchi chipur puram am (Vi (Vishn shnu uKan Kanci) ci).. The fou four rver verses ses,,aft afterthe erthe 45th,describeSankara’svisittothetempleofPunyakotisvaraandhisworship ofSriVaradarajaandMahadeveiatHastigiri. ThelistofBharatiGurusoftheTungabhadraregion:publishedbyDr. Hultzc Hul tzch(“ h(“Sea Search rch fro San Sanskr skrit it Man Manusc uscrip ripts ts in Sou South th Ind India” ia”) ) say says s tha that t San Sankar kara a cameto ca meto Ka Kanc ncii ofhis ow own n de desi sireat reat th the e en end d of ofhi his s wa wand nder erin ings gsbe begu gun n af afte ter r a long lo ng st staay on th the e ba bank nk of th the e Tun unga gabh bhaadr draa. Th Thiis pi piec ece e of in info form rmat atiion is confi co nfirm rmed ed by a ve vers rse e in th the e ‘G ‘Gir irip ipar aram ampa para ra – Na Nama mama mala la’( ’(lilist st of su succ cces essi sive ve precep pre ceptor tors s of the San Sankar karite ite Ins Instit tituti ution) on),, at the con conflue fluence nce of the riv rivers ers,, the Tun unga ga an and d th the e Bh Bhad adra ra,, in inth the e Ka Karn rnat atak aka a re regi gion on.. Ac Acco cord rdin ing g to tr trad adit itio ion, n, th the e AcaryaenteredKanciandstayedforashorttimeattheMuktimandapaonthe banksoftheSarvaatirthamTank,inKanci. KanchiCityRemodelled Sankara Sankar a rea reache ched d Siv Siva-K a-Kanc anci, i, wor worshi shippe pped d Sri Eka Ekamra mranat natha ha and Dev Devii Kam Kamaks aksii and tho though ught t of rem remode odelll llling ingthe the cit city y and andthe the thr three ee imp import ortant ant tem temple ples s of Sri Ekamranatha,ofVaradarajaandDeviKamaksi. Chidvilasa’s narrivatedescribesindetail,theremodelingofthecityof Kanci Kan ci byKingRajas byKingRajasena ena ofKanci ofKanci,,at at the bid biddin ding gofSanka ofSankarac racary arya,and a,andals also othe the constructi const ructionof onofthetemples thetemples.. Thefollowi Thefollowingversesofthe ngversesofthe25thchapte 25thchapternarrate rnarrate howKingRajasenaquicklyactedinaccordancewithSankara’sdesire,andhow thecitypresenteda thecitypresent edanewandbeautiful newandbeautifulappearance appearance tothegreatsatisfac tothegreatsatisfactionof tionof theGreatAcarya.
In Ana nan nta tana nan nda dag giri’s Sa San nka kara ravvijaya ya, , the fo folllowi win ng pa pass ssaage in th the e 63 63rd rd Prakarana, Praka rana,under underthe the captio caption n ‘Kanc ‘Kancinaga inagaranir ranirmana manam’, m’,speaks speaksof ofKanci Kancihavi having ng been bee nrem remode odeledand ledandofthe ofthecon consec secrat rationof ionofthe the tem temple ples sofEkamr ofEkamrana anatha tha and Varadarajaandarrangementsforworshipatthetwotemples.
Thefirsttwolinesofverse35,CantoIIIoftheGuruvamsakavya (Sringeri)state Thefirsttwolinesofverse35,CantoIIIoftheGuruvamsakavya that th at Sa Sank nkar ara a got th the e tw twin in ci citi ties es Siv iva a Ka Kanc ncii an and d Vi Visn snu u Ka Kanc ncii co cons nstr truc ucte ted d (probablyremodeled).Thelinesreadthus:
Madhav Madh aviy iya a Sa Sank nkar arav avijijay aya a me ment ntio ions ns Sa Sanka nkara ra’s ’s ha havi ving ng be been en in inst stru rume ment ntal al fo for r buildi bui lding ng the tem temple ple of Kam Kamaks aksii acc accord ording ing to the therul rules es of Par Paravi avidya dya (Sr (Srivi ividya dya and an d re repl plac aced ed th the e ta tant ntic ic mo mode de of wo wors rshi hip p bythe Ved edic ic mo mode de. . Th Thou ough gh th the e name na me ‘K ‘Kam amak aksi si’’ is no not t ex expr press essed ed in th the e pe pert rtin inen ent t ve vers rse( e(qu quot oted ed bel below ow), ), th the e word‘Bhagavatyah’foundintheverseclearlindicatesKamaksiDevi.
ConsecrationofSricakraandDeviKamakshi The verse in th the e Madhaviya Sankaravijaya (quo uotted above) hints at the consec con secrat ration ionof of Sri Sricak cakra raby by San Sankar kara a in inthe the Sur Suradh adhama ama (te (templ mple) e)of of Bha Bhagav gavati ati (Kamaksi). (Kama ksi). ‘Para ‘Paravidya vidya’’and and‘cara ‘carananusa nanusari’ ri’(word (words s used usedin inthe the verse verse) )indi indicates cates thekonasoftheSricakra. IntheCidvilasaSankaravijaya,elevenverses(35to45)ofthe25th chapteroftheworkrelate chapte roftheworkrelatethedrawingoftheSrica thedrawingoftheSricakrabefore krabeforeKamaksiandthe Kamaksiandthe arrangeme arra ngementsmadefortheproperworshiu ntsmadefortheproperworshiupof poftheDevi‘SriEkamr theDevi‘SriEkamranath anathaand aand SriVaradaraja. SankarabhyudayanarratesSankara’shavingdarshanofEkamranatha unde un der r th the e ma mang ngo o tr tree ee, , de desc scri ribe bes s th the e Ka Kamp mpas asar aras as, , re rela late tes s hi his s en ente teri ring ng th the e templeofKamaks tem pleofKamaksi,andthe i,andthe pra prayer yers sto to Kam Kamaksh akshi,in i,in the 7thcant 7thcanto. o. The eig eight ht cant ca nto o of th the e wo work rk is al almo most st en enti tire rely ly de devo vote ted d to th the e de deta tailils s of Sr Sric icak akra ra,, th the e angles, the bi bin ndu etc., and the Sakti’s residing in them. Evidently, the referencesaretotheSricakaraconsecratedbySankarabeforeDeviKamaksiin thetempleatKanci. GuruvamsaKavyareferstoSankara’sconsecrationofKamaksivery brieflythus:
The Sa Sank nkar arav avijijay aya a of An Anan anta tana nand ndag agir irii st stat ates es th that at Bh Bhaaga gavvat atpa pada da San anka karra cons co nsec ecra rate ted d De Devvi Za Zama masi si, , wh who o is de desc scri ribe bed d by th the e au auth thor or as ‘C ‘Ciidr drup upin ini; i;’ ’ ‘Brahm ‘Br ahmavi avidya dya’’ and ‘Ru ‘Rudra drasak sakti’ ti’.. The wor work k ref refers ers to the eth etheri eric c asp aspect ect of the Devi De vi re resi sidi ding ng in a bi billa (ca cave ve un und der th the e gr grou ound nd)) and Ka Kama maks ksii be bein ing g ‘P ‘Par ara a Devata’(thesupremeGoddess).
TheestablishmentoftheSricakrabySankara,andthecomponentanglesetc., ofth of the e Ca Cakr kra a ar are e de desc scri ribed bed in inpa para raka kara rana na 65 65.. It is isal also so sa said id th ther erei ein n th that at th the e AcaryaconsecratedtheSricakrathere(beforetheDevi)withtheviewthatby themeredarshanofit,thefruitsofmoksa(deliverancefromearthlybondage) canbehadbyall.
TheconsecrationofKamaksiisalsospokenaboutintheGuruparampara(listof Preceptors)of Prece ptors)of the theBhara Bharati tiorder order of ofthe the Tungabh ungabhadraregion, adraregion,publis published hedby byDr. Dr. HultzchandtheKudaliguruparamparanamamala. Manimanjaribhedini(CantoIV–verse32)notesSankara’sconsecrationofthe SricakraatKanci:-
SankarabhyudayaofRajaCudamaniDikshita,writteninthemiddleofthe19th centuryhintsattheconsecrationofSriKamaksiatKancibySankara:-
“Yatima “Yat iman n pra pravar varodh odhig igaty atyaa Kan Kanci cipur purama amasmi smin n Sub Subham hamal alaya ayam m Mrd Mrdany anyah ah Virachayya…(vi-5) Bhagav Bhag avat atpa pada daby byud uday aya, a, wr writ itte ten n by Ma Maha hama maho hopa padh dhya yaya ya La Laks kshm hman anaa Su Suri ri, , publishedbyVaniVilasaPress,Srir publis hedbyVaniVilasaPress,Srirangam angam,referstothe ,referstotheAcar Acaryaconsecr yaconsecrationof ationof SircakrainfrontofDeviKamaksi.
CHAPTER –4 Sarvajnapitharohana
A significant event in the life story of Sri Sankaracarya is the Sarvajnapitharohanai.e.Sankara’soccupyingtheThroneofOmniscience. Among Amon g th the e bi biog ogrrap aphi hiccal wo worrks giv ivin ing g, in fu full ll, , th the e hi hist stor ory y of th the e Ac Acar arya ya, , Cidvil Cid vilasa asa’s ’s San Sankar karavi avijay jayavi avilas lasa, a, the San Sankar karaca acarya rya Car Carita itam, m, and Raj Rajacu acudam damani ani Diksit Dik sita’s a’s San Sankar karabh abhyud yudaya aya,,sta statethat tethatthi this seve eventtookplaceat nttookplaceat Kan Kanci. ci. Imp Implie lied d referencesarefoundinsomeotherworksalsoaboutSankara’sascendingthe SarvajnaPithaatKanci. SarvajnaPitha atKanci. Sixtee Sixt een n ve vers rses es of th the e 25 25th th ch chap apte ter r of Ci Cidv dvililas asa’ a’s s bi biog ogra raphy phy (Q (Quo uote ted d be belo low) w) descri des cribethe betheGre Great at Aca Acarya rya’soccup ’soccupyin yingthe gthesea seat tofOmni ofOmnisci scienc ence eat at Kan Kanci. ci. The versesrelat ver sesrelate ehowan howan air noi noise se inf inform ormed edthe the Aca Acarya rya,,tha thatt it wil willlbe bepro properfor perfor himtoascendthePithaafterwinningindebateallscholarsassembledthere. Sankar San kara a tho though ught t for a whi while. le. Sch Schola olars rs fro from m the Tamr amrapa aparni rnival valley leygat gather hered ed ther th ere e an and d put so some me qu ques esti tion ons s to Sa Sank nkar ara a on hi his s ab abhe heda dava vada da,, th the e th theo eory ry of illusion,devabheda illus ion,devabheda,,murti murtibhedaetc. bhedaetc. In Inreply reply,,Sanka Sankara raexpla explainedto inedto them the eter et ern nal na natu ture re of Bra rah hma man n, th the e Bra rahm hmaan be bein ing g th the e one rea ealility ty, , th the e non on-existenceofasecondotherthanBrahmanandalsoimpartedthemthe existenceofasecondotherthanBrahmanandalsoimpartedthem themeans means ofattainingdeliverance.Fullyconvinced,thescholarsbowedbeforetheGreat Prec Pr ecep epto tor. r. Th Ther erea eaft fter er, , Sa Sank nkar ara a asc scen ende ded d th the e Sa Sarrva van nja Pi Pith tha a am amiids dstt th the e soundi sou nding ng of mus musica icall ins instru trumen ments ts and andtum tumult ultuou uous s sho shouts uts of joy mad made e by the spectat spec tators ors.. Showe Showersofflower rsofflowersraine srainedandfragr dandfragrant ant bre breeze eze ble blew. w. The ver verses ses aregivenbelow:-
The San Sankar karaca acarya rya Car Carita itam m of Gov Govind indana anatha tha rel relate ates s San Sankar kara’s a’s wis wish h to asc ascend end theSarvajnaPithaatKanciinverses3and16ofCantoIXas:
Sankara’soccupyingtheseatismentionedintheAcaryaAstakaattheendof thework,as:-
Rajacu Raja cuda dama mani ni Di Diks ksit ita’ a’s s Sa Sank nkar arab abhy hyud uday aya a na narr rrat ates es th this is im impo port rtan antt ev even ent t in sevenversesincantoseven(verses64to70),VerseNO.66runsthus:-
Since Sinc e Ver erses ses 45 45to to 63 of Ca Cant nto o 7 (V (Ver erse ses s 61 an and d 62 fo foun und d pa part rtly ly to torn rn in th the e originalmanuscript)indicatetheBhagavatpada’sarrivalatKanci,hispraiseof theMango-treeinthetempleofEkamranatha,extollingofDeviKamaksietc., and an d ve vers rses es 71 to 86 of th the e sa same me ca cant nto o ar are e pi piec eces es ad ador orin ing g Sr Srii Ka Kama maks ksi, i, it is perf pe rfec ectl tly y cl clea earr th that at th the e ab abov ove e qu quot oted ed ver erse se (N (NO. O.66 66) ) po poin ints ts to Sa Sank nkar ara’ a’s s ascendingtheBhadrasana,ortheSarvajnaPithaatKanci. Agreatascetic,bynameJnanottama,haswrittenacommentary, entitled‘Candrik entit led‘Candrika’,on a’,on Suresv Suresvaraca aracarya’s‘Naiska rya’s‘Naiskarmyas rmyasiddhi iddhi’. ’. Sures Suresvara’ vara’s swork, work, alongwith along withthe the comm commentar entary‘Candri y‘Candrika’,hasbeenedited ka’,hasbeeneditedby by Pro ProfessorHir fessorHiriyan iyanna na of th the e Ma Maha hara raja ja’s ’s Co Colllleg ege, e, My Myso sore re, , an and d pu publ blis ishe hed d as No No.3 .33 3 of th the e Bo Bomb mbay ay SanskritandPrakri Sanskr itandPrakritSeriesin1955 tSeriesin1955A.D. A.D.Inthe Inthe prefa prefacetothisediti cetothisedition(page on(page 33), Professor Hiriyanna observes:- “The second sloka (at the end of the commentary) alludes to the aut uth hor of the Candrika as the glory of the Sarvajanasrama,probably,thesuccessorofSuresvara),bywhichtermwehave, probably,tounderstandtheSarvajnaPithaorthePontificalSeatattheAdvaita Matha in inConj Conjeevar eevaram. am. ‘Th ‘These ese rema remarks rksof ofthe thelearn learned edprofe professor ssorcorr corrobora oborate te Sank Sa nkaara ra’s ’s occ ccup upyi ying ng th the e Sar arvvaj ajna na Pi Pith tha a at Ka Kanc ncii* , as described in the biographiesnotedabove. Thoug Tho ughAn hAnan anda dagi girri’ i’sS sSan anka kara ravi vija jaya yado does es no nott no note tethe the Aca carrya ya’s ’s occu oc cupy pyin ing g th the e se seat at of Om Omni nisc scie ienc nce e at Ka Kanc ncii cl clea earl rly, y, me ment ntio ion n is ma made de of a pontifical ponti fical seatofSankar seatofSankaraatKanci,asestabli aatKanci,asestablishedbyhim shedbyhim forhisresid forhisresidence,and ence,and his hi s or orda dain inin ing g Su Sure resv svar arac acar arya yato tobe be in inch char arge geof ofth that at in insti stitu tuti tion on.. Th This is se seat at is mentionedintheworkasKamakotiPitha(videprakarana65):-
The Sa The Sarv rvaj ajan ana a Pi Pith tha a or Sa Sarv rvaj ajna na As Asra rama ma or th the e Ka Kama mako koti ti Pi Pith tha a al alll si sign gnif ifyi ying ng decidedlythemathawher decid edlythemathawhereSankarashon eSankarashoneinthe eintheeveni eveningofhislife– ngofhislife–hasbeen hasbeen cite ci ted d as a Sa Sanka nkari rite te in inst stit itut utio ion n of im impo port rtan ance ce no not t on only ly in bi biog ogra raph phie ies s of th the e Acaryabutalsoinvariousworksofmodernthinkersandscholars. * (T (The he Sa San nka kara ravvijijay ayaa, at attr trib ibut ute ed to Ma Madh dhav ava, a, and the the Gu Gurruv uvam amsa sa Ka Kavvya (Sringeri) mention Kash shm mir as the place where Sankar kara ascended the SarvajnaPitha.)
CHAPTER –5 Kanci – Sankaracarya’s Last Resort
BhagavatpadaSankararepairedtoKanci,thesouthernMoksapuri,towardsthe endofhisearthlycareer.Anumberofwork’sspeakofthisfact. 1. Anandagiri’s biograph phy y of Sanka karra (all versions pr priinted manusc scrript ptss, includingtheMadrasUniversityEdition),has:-
(Prakarana74) (Therefore,theWorldPreceptor(Sankara),desiringtoleaveforhisownabode, sitt si ttin ing g on once ce in th the e Mo Moksa ksapu puri ri of Ka Kanc nci, i, ha havi ving ng ab abso sorb rbed ed th the e gr gros oss s ph physi ysica call frameintothesubtleone,turningintotheshapeofathumb,attainedeternal blissandremainsastheallpervading‘Cit’tothisday). 2.The Theconc concludin luding g verse
of Rajacudam ofRaja cudamani aniDiksi Diksita’s ta’sSanka Sankarabhyu rabhyudaya’ daya’,, refer refers s to Sankara’sworshippingKamesvari(Kamaksi)everydayattainingsupremebliss:- Sankara’sworshippingKamesvari(Kam aksi)everydayattainingsupremebliss:-
3.Theancientandvoluminouswork,‘Sivarahasya’,givesabriefsketchofthe Acar Ac arya ya’s ’s lilife fe in th the e 16 16th th ch chap apte ter r of th the e ni nint nth h se sect ctio ion. n. Th This is wo work rk ha has s be been en publishedasNO.32intheJayachamarajendraGranthamalaSeries,inCanarese script,withtranslationinKannadalanguage.Besides,manuscriptcopiesofthe work wo rk ar are e av avai aila labl ble e in ma many ny of th the e ma manus nuscr crip iptt lilibr brar arie ies s of In Indi dia, a, suc such h as th the e Oriental Orien tal Manusc ManuscriptsLibraryat riptsLibraryat Baro Baroda, da,the the Gover Government nment Orie OrientalManuscrip ntalManuscripts ts Libr Li brar ary, y, Ma Madr dras as,, th the e Ad Adya yar r Li Libr brar ary, y, Ma Madr dras as,, th the e Sa Sara rasv svat atii Ma Maha hall Li Libr brar ary y at
Thanjavur Thanja vur etc etc.. The per pertin tinentlines entlines fou found ndbel below owpur purpor port t to tosta state tetha that tSan Sankar kara a came ca me to th the e ea eart rth h in ha hast ste e af afte ter r ob obta tain inin ing g th the e fiv five e sp spha hati tika ka Li Ling ngas as- - Yog oga. a. Bhoga,Vara Bho ga,Vara,, Muk Mukti tiandMoksa andMoksa;;van vanqui quished shed Bud Buddhi dhist,Jain st,Jainandother andother sch schola olars rs andattainedSiddhi(eternalbliss)athisownasramaatKanci.
4. Mar Markan kandey deya a Sam Samhit hita, a, an ananc ancien ient t pur purani anic c tre treati aties es con consis sists ts of of100 100Kha Khanda ndas, s, each ea ch ha havi vingsubs ngsubsec ecti tion ons,cal s,calle led dpa pari rispa spand ndas as.. Su Sub b – –se sect ctio ions7 ns7 an and d 8 8ofthe ofthe 72ndKhandaofthisworknarratebrieflythehistoryofSankara.Thisisevident from fr om th the e co colo loph phon onat atth the e en end d of ofth the e 7t 7th h pa pari rispa spand nda a ofthe 72 72ndKhan ndKhanda da,, as noticedintheDescriptiveCatalogueofSanskritManuscripts,volumeVIofthe OrientalResearchInstitute,UniversityofMysore,1981–page191(Appendix–I -332, -33 2, Ser Serial ial No. No.181 18179, 79, Ms. Ms.No. No.P.33 P.3387/ 87/1 1 – tit title: le: ‘Sa ‘Sanka nkarac racari aritam tam’). ’). The col coloph ophon on reads:-
Averseintheseventhparispandaofthe 72ndkhand Averseintheseventhparispandaofthe 72ndkhandaofthisworkrelatesthat aofthisworkrelatesthat the th e Ma Maha hatm tma, a, Sa Sank nkar ara, a, at atta tain ined ed th the e ci cisv svar arupa upa,, i. i.e. e. at atta tain ined ed et eter erna nall bl blis iss, s, at Kanc Ka ncii aft fter er ha havi ving ng con onse secr crat ated ed Ka Kama maks ksii an and d or orda dain iniing Su Sure resv svaara fo forr th the e worshipofthe‘Srividyaraja–Pitha.’ TheverseindicatingSankara’sleavingoffhismortalcoilsatKancireads asfollows:-
5.‘Patanjali 5.‘Patanja liVijay Vijayam’, am’,by by Ramab Ramabhadra hadra Diksit Diksita a (Kavy (Kavyamal amala a serie series s No.5 No.51, 1, Nirna Nirnaya ya SagarPress,Bombay),hasthefollowingverse:-
TheseaboveverseindicatesthatSankara,afterhavingproducedtheBhasyas andconqueredthedirections(digvijaya),stayedpermanentlyatKanci. 6. AReportonSearc AReportonSearchforSanskrit hforSanskrit Manusc ManuscriptsinSouthInd riptsinSouthIndia,byDr.Hultzch,a ia,byDr.Hultzch,a
German sch German schola olar, r,(pu (publi blishe shed d by the Gov Govern ernmen ment t Pre Press, ss,Mad Madras ras,, in in190 1908 8 – No. 2146 214 6 – Par Part t III III), ), con contai tains ns a lis list t of pon pontifi tifical cal pre precep ceptor tors s of the BHa BHarat ratii asc asceti etic c orderoftheTungabhadraregion.SomeversesarefoundinthislistaboutAdi Sankar San karaca acarya rya.. The ver verse se quo quoted ted bel below ow rel relate ated d tha that, t, aft after er tra travel vellin ling g wid widely ely,, Sankar San kara a rea reache ched d Kan Kanci ciof of his hisownaccor ownaccord, d,con consec secrat rated edKam Kamaks aksii and att attain ained ed finalbeautitudeatKanciitself.Theversereadsthus:-
7.TheGuruparamparaNamamalaoftheSankariteInstitutionattheconfluence of th the e ri rive vers rs,, Tun unga ga an and d Bh Bhad adra ra (K (Kud udal ali) i),, al also so spe speak aks s of th the e Gr Grea eat t Ac Acar arya ya’s ’s reachingKanci reach ingKanciafterlongandwide afterlongandwide trave travels,ofhisown ls,ofhisowndesi desire,theconsecr re,theconsecration ation ofDeviKamaksiandhisSiddhithere,intheversefoundbelow:
Comingtomod Comingto moderntime erntimes,thereis s,thereis qui quite te a alar largenumber genumber ofworks,in ofworks,indiff differe erent nt languages,byeruditescholarsmentioningKanciasthelastresortofSankara. TheBengaliVisvakosa(HindiEdition),anencyclopaedia,givesthefollowing informationundertheword‘Kanci’:8.
The ab The abov ove e Hi Hind ndii pa passa ssage ge no note tes s Ka Kanc ncii as th the e pl plac ace e wh wher ere e Sa Sank nkar ara a at atta tain ined ed Siddhi. 9. Pa Pand ndit it Ma Maha hama maho hopa padh dhya yaya ya Go Gopi pina nath th Ka Kavi vira rajj (P (Pad adma ma Vi Vibh bhus usha han) n) in hi his s ‘Bha ‘B hara rati tiya ya Sa Sams mskr krit itii au aur r Sa Sadh dhan ana’ a’,, (i (in n Hi Hind ndi) i),, ha has s st stat ated ed th that at th the e te temp mple le of Kam Ka mak aksi si at Ka Kanc ncii is fam amo ous and in th thaat te temp mple le th ther ere e is th the e st sto one ico con n of Sank Sa nkar araa an and d th that at sp spot ot is th the e pl plac ace e wh wher ere e he at atta tain ined ed si sidd ddhi hi. . Th The e pa pass ssag age e reads:-
Dr.S.K Dr.S .K.. Be Belv lval alka kar r sa says ys “… “…Ac Acco cord rdin ing g to on one e set of tr trad adit itio ions ns Ka Kanc ncii in So Sout uth h IndiaisgivenastheplacewheretheAcarya(Sankaracarya)breathedhislast.
According to other sources, he died at Badarikasrama (Kedaranath) disappearinginacaveintheHimalayas.Theweightofprobablilitybelongsto the th e fir first st vi view ew.” .” (P (Pag age e 24 240, 0, Go Gopa pall Ba Basu su Ma Mallllik ik Le Lect ctur ures, es,by by Dr Dr.S .S.K .K.B .Bel elva valk lkar ar,, Poona,1929). PanditN.Bhashyacharya(ofMadras)inhis‘AgeofSankaracarya(AdyarLibrary, Madras–1980A.D.–page22),says”Lastlytowardstheendofhislifehecame tothesouthbuthadtoleavehisbodyandthisworldatConjeevaramatthe earlyageofthirtytwo.” It ne need eds s me ment ntio ion n th that at, , in th the e Sr Srim imuk ukha ha Bi Biru ruda dava valili (t (the he st stri ring ng of ho hono nori rific fic epithe epi thets)of ts)of San Sankar karaca acaryaMutt ryaMutt and Kan Kanci ciexi existi sting ngwit withou hout t cha change ngefro from m ver very y ancienttimes–thefollowingepithetisfound:-
It is to be not oted ed th that at, , in the com omme ment ntaary on ver erse se 10 103, 3, Can anto to XVI of th the e ‘Sankaadigvijaya’,ascribedtoMadhava,itisstated:
Thereafter,thewholeofChapter16ofthe9thamsaof‘Sivarahasya’isquoted infull.The46thversei.e.,thelaststanzaofthe16thchapter,endswiththe words
in the commentary.
Somefortyyearsago,animageofAdyaSankarawasinstalledat KedarnathbytheHeadoftheDvarakaMatha.Prominentamongthosewho wereinstrumentalintheerectionofthismemorialatKedarnathwaslateDr. Sampurnanand,thethenChiefMinisterofUttarPradesh.Hisviewsregarding theplacewhereSankaraattainedeternalblissweremadeclearinaletterby himtoDr.T.N.Ramachandran(lateJointDirec himtoDr.T.N.Ra machandran(lateJointDirectorofArchaeology,Government torofArchaeology,Government ofIndia).Theletterwasdated6thJuly1958.Amongthecontentsofthe letters,thefollowingisworthperusing:-
“Recently,I hadoc occcasionto discuss the matter with the Shanka Sha nkarac rachar haryaof yaof Dva Dvarak raka aPit Pitha ha als also. o. Inthe firs first tpla place,the ce,thewor word d‘sa ‘samad madhi’ hi’,, (atKedarnath),isamisnomerinthisconnection.Thereisnothingtoprovethat ShriShankaracharyadiedatthisspot.” AboutayearaftertheabovementionedletterofDr.Sampurnanand,a prominent Sadhu of Kerala, Sri Sahajananda of Guruvayur ur, , in his letter (publishedinthe‘Hindu’dated16thJune1959)hasstated“OnenquiryatJoshi Matha,theysayit Matha ,theysayit(thememor (thememorialatKedarna ialatKedarnath)isonlya th)isonlyasankal sankalpasamadhi pasamadhi and theactualSamadhiisnotatthatspot.”
CHAPTER –6 Sankaracarya Sculptures in Kanci
Inthe Sac Sacred red cit city yofKanci ofKanci num numero eroussculpt ussculpture ures sofSriSanka ofSriSankarac racary arya aare are tobe seentothisday.Thesesculpturesarefoundmostlyinthetemplesofthecity. Some ofthese ofthesestoneimagesare stoneimagesare larg largeandsomearesmall.Bes eandsomearesmall.Besides,theyareof ides,theyareof diffe di ffere rent nt po pose ses. s. Mo More reov over er,, th they ey ar are e fo found und in al almo most st al alll im impo port rtan ant t te temp mple les s irresp irr espect ective ive oftheirbeingdedi oftheirbeingdedicat catedto edto Siv Siva,Visnuor a,Visnuor Sak Sakti.Not ti.Not onl only yinKanci inKanci suchsculpturesarefoundbutalsointemplesexistingmilesaround. IntheKamaksitempleofKancithereisalife-sizeiconofSankaracarya,ona rais ra ised edsm smal alll ma mant ntap ap to toth the e no nort rth h ea east ster ern n si side deof of th the e sa sanc nctu tum m sa sanc ncto toru rum m of Devi De vi Ka Kama maksh kshi. i. Itis in da dailily y wo wors rshi hip. p. Inthis sa same me te temp mple le,, sto stoneimag neimagesof esof Sanka Sa nkara ra ca can n be se seen en in th the e sh shri rine nes s of th the e Ya Yatr trot otsa sava va Ka Kama maks ksii an and d Ba Bang ngar aru u Kamaksi.
Ver ery y ne near ar th the e Ka Kama maks ksii te temp mple le is th the e te temp mple le of Sk Skan anda da,, po popul pular arly ly kn know own n as Kumarakota Kumar akotam, m,wherei wherein na aSankar Sankara aSculpt Sculpture ure is isfound found.. About halfhalf-a afurlo furlong ngto to the th e so sout uth h – we west st of th the e Ka Kama maks ksii te temp mple le st stan ands ds th the e Ka Kach chap apes esva vara ra te temp mple le wherealsoasculpturedrepresentationofSankaraistobeseen.
OntheleftsideofthemainentrancetotheEkamresvaratempleinKanci,there isasmallshrineforGanesa.Inthisshrinealso,thereisasmallstoneimageof Sankaracarya.AnequisitesculptureoftheAcaryaisfoundonthefrontfaceof a pi pillllar ar bef befor ore e th the e sm smal alll su sub- b- sh shri rine ne of Si Siva va,, so sout uth h – ea east st of th the e hu huge ge Na Nand ndii insi in side de th the e Ek Ekam amra rana nath tha a te temp mple le.. Ar Arou ound nd th the e fig figur ure e of th the e Ac Acar arya ya ar are e fo foun und d ghat gh ata a (s (sma mallll wa wate ter r ve vesse ssel) l),, an um umbr brel ella la,, a ca came mera ra (w (whi hisk sk) ) a Si Siva valiling nga a an and d a book on a stand. Another Sankara sculpture in the po pose se of pe perrforming penance(standing)alongwithaLinga,abookandwhisksetc.,distributedon alll si al side des s of ofth the e sc scul ulptu pture re,, is isse seen enby byth the e si side de of th the e ti time me– – ho hono nour ured ed sa sacr cred ed mango man go tre tree(M e(Mava avadi) di) inthe Pra Prakar kara aof ofEka Ekamra mranat nathatemple hatemple.. A Asli slight ghtly lylar larger ger stone imag imageofSankara,inasimilarpen eofSankara,inasimilarpenancepose,canbeseenintheVaikunt ancepose,canbeseenintheVaikunta a PerumaltempleinSiva–Kanci.
StuccoimagesofSankaraandVyasaareseenintheKailasanathatempleat Kanci.InasculpturalpanelintheIravattanesvaratempleatKancionecansee bythesideofDaksinamurti(inthecentre),imagesoftheoldsageVyasaand Sankarachiseledasayoungboyinhisearlyteens.
(Sculpturesof (Sculpt uresof Sag Sage e Vya Vyasa(s sa(sitt itting ing) ) andSankar andSankaracha acharya( rya(sta standi nding) ng) on a pill pillar, ar,in in the mant mantap ap near ne ar th the e en entr tran ance ce to th the e sh shrin rine e of Pe Perun runde devi vi Th Thay ayar ar Shr Shrin ine e in Sri Va Varad radara araja ja Temp emple le at Vishnu-Kanchi)
IntheVaradarajatemple IntheVaradaraj atemplein inVis VisnuKanci,ina nuKanci,inapillaronthemanta pillaronthemantapam pam befor beforethe ethe shrineof shrin eofMahad Mahadevi evi the image imagesofVyasashowingone sofVyasashowingone finger finger,as ,asifdenoti ifdenotingthe ngthe advait adv aita a con concep cept t and San Sankar kara a sta standi nding ngnea near, r,hav have e bee been n chi chisel seled. ed. In Inthe the fou four r pillllar pi ared ed ma mant ntap ap,, to th the e so south uth of th the e An Anan anta tasa sara ras s ta tank nk in th the e sa same me te temp mple le,, ther th ere e is a sc scul ulpt ptur ure e of Sa Sank nkar araa in inst stan andi ding ngpo post stur ure. e. In Inth the e Pu Puny nyak akot otis isva vara ra temp te mple le in Vi Visn snu u Ka Kanc ncii th ther ere e is a st ston one e im imag age e of Sa Sank nkar ara. a. In Sr Sriv ivas asth than anam am temp te mple le,, ab abou out t a mi mile le off Vi Visn snu u Ka Kanc nci, i, th ther ere e is a sc scul ulpt ptur ural al pa pane nel, l, in th the e wa wallll insi in side de th the e sa sanc nctu tum m sa sanc ncto toru rum m , po port rtra rayi ying ng Sa Sank nkar araa as pe perf rfor orm m in ing g dandav dan davand andana ana (ob (obeis eisanc ance ewit with hthe the dan danda,the da,thehol holy ysta staff ffofansce ofanscetic tics) s) to toSiv Siva a andParvati.
On the wall insi sid de th the e sanctum of the Kamakoti Sanka karracarya math at Kanchi Kan chipur puram, am, the there re is isa ascu sculpt lpture ured d ima image ge of ofSan Sankar kara aflan flanked ked by bysixdisci sixdisciple ples. s. Ontheoutersideoftheshrinetherearetwofragmentaryinscriptions,ofthe
end of th end the e 14 14th th ce cent ntur ury, y, wh whic ich h re refe fer r to gi gift fts s of la land ndss to th the e ma math th by Ki King ng Kamp Ka mpan anna na.. In a vi villllag age e ca calllled ed Se Sevi vililime medu du,, so some me fiv five e ki kilo lome mete ters rs aw away ay fr from om Kanci and even in distant places such as Pappancavadi, Poonamallee, Tiru Ti ruvo vott ttiy iyur ur (n (nea earr Ma Madr dras as)) th ther ere e ar are e Sa Sank nkar araa sc scul ulpt ptur ures es in th the e im impo port rtan ant t templesofthoseplaces.
AnoteontheSankaracarya–murtiinworshipattheKamaksitempleandthe oneintheSankaracaryaMathaatKanci:
InSankaracarya’sLaghunamavaliandintheAstottarasatanamavalithereisone name nam e San Sanmat matast asthap hapana anaaca acarya rya.. All bio biogra graphe phers rs of San Sankar karaca acarya rya spe speak ak of his havi ha ving ng es esta tabl blis ishe hed d si six x de devo voti tion onal al pa path ths( s(Sa Sagu guno nopa pasa sana na) ) na name mely ly, , Sa Saiv iva, a, Vaisnava, Vais nava,Sakta,Saura,Ganap Sakta,Saura,Ganapatya atya andKapali andKapalikaona kaonasoundVed soundVedicfooting icfooting.. The Guruvamsakavya(inverse34ofCantoIII)indicatesthatSankaraleftthebanks of the Tungabhadra with his disciples. The next verse speaks of the cons co nsec ecra rati tion on of Ka Kama maksi ksi.. Ver erse se No No.3 .36 6 sta state tes s th that at si six x di disc scip iple les, s, af afte ter r ta taki king ng leaveoftheAcarya,departedfordifferentpartsofthecountryforpropagating thesixpathsofdev thesixpathsof devoti otionsuchas, onsuchas,Sai Saiva,Sakt va,Sakta,etc. a,etc. Inthecomme Inthecomments nts onthis versewrittenbytheauthoroftheKavyahimself,thenamesofthesixdisciples
are gi are givven as Pa Para rama mata taka kallan anaala la, , La Laks ksma mana na, , Tru ruip ipur urak akum umar ara, a, Ra Ravvik ikum umar ara, a, GirijakumaraandVatukanatha.TheDindimacommentaryonverse174ofcanto XVofMadhava’sSankara–digvijayatoogivesthesameinformationandthe samenamesofthesixdisciples.ThedepartureofthesixdisciplesfromKanci for fo r pr prop opog ogat atin ing g th the e si six x fa fait iths hs af afte terr re rece ceiv ivin ing g th the e bl bles essi sing ngs s of Sa Sank nkar ara, a, is narratedinchapter67to72 narra tedinchapter67to72 ofAnanta ofAnantananda nandagiri giri’sSankara– ’sSankara– Vijay Vijaya. a.Thenames Thenames ofthesixdisciples,asstartedinthiswork,areidenticalwiththenamesgivenin theGuruvamsakavy theGuruvams akavya. a. Te Ten nverse versesin sinchapte chapter31 r31ofthe oftheSanka Sankaravij ravijaya– aya–vila vilasaof saof Cidvilasa desc scrribe how the si six x disciples bowed to Sankara and with his blessingsdepartedforpropagatingthesixpathsofdevotion. Itwillnotbeapocryphaltoinferthatthispieceofuniforminformation about abo ut San Sankar kara, a, giv given en in fou four r wor works, ks, aut author hored ed by sch schola olars rs of diff differe erent nt tim times, es, gets get s cor corrob robora oratedby tedby the exi existe stence nce in indai daily lywor worshi ship p of ofSan Sankar karaca acarya rya wit with h Six discip dis ciples les inthe intheKam Kamaks aksiitem temple ple at Kan Kanci ci andin andintheSank theSankara aracar caryaMathof yaMathof the sameplace. InnootherpartofthecountrycansuchalargenumberofSankaracarya scul sc ulpt ptur ures es be fo foun und. d. It is ev evid iden entt th that at th the e na name me of Sa Sank nkar arac acar arya ya an and d hi his s connectionwithKancihavetakensuchdeeprootsinthemindsofthepeople oftheregion,asthathismemoryhasbeenperpetuatedinstone.
APPENDIX -I Some References to Sankaracarya In Relation to Kanci
(1) Ma (1) Maha hama maho hopa padh dhya yaya ya La Laks kshm hman anas asur urii in hi his s Bh Bhag agav avat atpa pada dabh bhyu yuda daya yam m (Sanskrit)says:
Guru (Sankara) consecrated Sricakra in front of Sri Kamaksi and also establishedamanthathere(atKanci). (2) Late Dr. Ganganatha Jha, Mahamahopadhyaya and former Vice – ChallencoroftheAllahabadUniversity),inanarticleinthe‘Bhaktakusumanjali’, pres pr esen ente ted d to th the e la late te Sr Srii Ch Chan andr dras asek ekha hara ra Bh Bhar arat atii Sw Swam ami, i, Ac Acar arya ya of Sr Srin inge geri ri Math(1912–1954)haswritten: “The es “The esta tabl blis ishm hmen ent t of se seat ats s of wo wors rshi hip p at pl plac aces es lilike ke Ka Kanc nchi hi,, Sr Srin inge geri ri et etc. c.,, where whe re hissucce hissuccesso ssors rscar carry ryon onthe the wor worshi ship p of ofthe the dei deitie ties s eve even ntod today ayin inall all its fullnessisafurtherproofoftheviewheldbytheAcaryathatdueperformance of ri rite tes s is an in inte tegr gral al fe feat atur ure e of hi his s te teac achi hing ng.” .” (P (Pag age e 1, Bh Bhak akta takus kusum uman anja jali li – Englishsection–printedbyVaniVilasPress,Srirangam–1938). (3)LatemahamahopadhyayaN.s.AnantakrishnaSastri,(aformerProfessorof Vedantaofthe Ved antaoftheCalcu CalcuttaUniver ttaUniversity) sity),in ,inanarticle anarticle isSanskrit isSanskrit,contribute ,contributedto dtothe the same‘BhaktakusumanjalinotedabovehasstatedthatSankarafoundedseveral pithasduringthe pitha sduringthe cours courseof eofhisdigv hisdigvijay ijaya(at a(at differ different ent place places)andamongthem s)andamongthem fivestandpredominantandthatoneofthesefiveisthepithaatKanci. (4) La (4) Late te K. K.A. A.Ni Nila laka kant nta a Sa Sastr strii (P (Pro rofe fess ssor or of In Indo dolo logy gy,, My Myso sore re) ) ha has s ma made de th the e followingobser follo wingobservatio vationsinhis nsinhis‘Histo ‘HistoryofSouthIndia’(Page ryofSouthIndia’(Page 428,Fourt 428,FourthEdition hEdition 1975, 197 5,198 1987, 7,III III Edi Editio tion n-19 -1966,page 66,page410 410):):- “He (Sa (Sanka nkara) ra) fou founde nded da anum numberof berof math ma thas as in di diffe ffere rent nt pa part rts s of In Indi dia, a, th the e be best st kn know own n be bein ing g th thos ose e of Sr Srin inge geri ri, , Dvaraka,Badrinath,PuriandKanci.”
(5)Lat (5)L ate e S. S.S. S. Su Sury ryan anar aray ayan ana a Sa Sast stry ry,, a fo form rmer er Pr Prof ofes esso sorr of Ph Phililos osop ophy hy of th the e Univer erssity of Ma Mad dras, in his wor orkk ‘Sank nkaaracharya ya, , Ph Phiiloso soph pher er and Mystic’(1938),states“SriSankaraestablishedseveralmuttsthemostnotable ofwhichareperhapsthoseofSaradaPeetaandKamakotiPeeta. (6)Mahamahopad (6)Mahama hopadhyaya hyaya,, Padm Padmavibh avibhushan ushanGopina Gopinath th Kavir Kaviraj aj observ observes es (in (inpage page 113–ofhiswork,‘BharatiyaSamskritiaurSadhana’:-
(ForhisownresidenceAcaryaSankarafoundedaseatintheKanciKamakoti Pitha). (7)IntheKarnatakaVisesasancika(PublishedbytheSankaravijayaKaryalaya, M y s or or e 1 9 3 5 ) , S a l i g r a m S r i k a n t a S a s tr tr i , h a s s pe pe ci ci fi e d a b ou ou t A d y a Sankaracarya’sownasramaatKanci. (8)LateDr.Sir. (8)Late Dr.Sir. C.P C.P..Ram Ramasw aswami ami Iye Iyer ra avet vetera eran nJur Jurist ist,,a afor former mer Dew Dewanof anofthe the TravancoreStateandaprominentcitizenofourcountry,inhisbrochure‘World Religious – a study in Synthesis’, (Pulished by the Government Press, Trivandrum – 1942)Refers to Kanci as one of Sankara’s capi pittals and his establishmentofamathatKanci. (9) In th (9) the e Ch Chro rono nolo logy gy of Ne Nepa pall Hi Hist stor ory y (R (Rec econ onst stru ruct cted ed) ) 19 1953 53, , by Sr Srii Ko Kota ta Venka Ve nkatac tachal halam, am, the fol follow lowing ing inf inform ormati ation on abo about ut the San Sankar karite ite Ins Instit tituti ution on at Kanciisfound:“The Kam “The Kamako akoti ti Pit Pitha haat at Kan Kanci ci was wasfou founde nded d in inVa Vaisa isakha kha Suk Sukla laPur Purnim nima a of the Year Yea rSidd SiddhartiwithAdi hartiwithAdiSanka Sankara ra himse himselfas lfas thefirst thefirstAcary Acarya a– –(202 (2020 0ofKali ofKaliera era -482B.C.)” (10) Bh (10) Bhar arat atiy iya a Vi Vidy dya a Bh Bhav avan an (B (Bom omba bay) y) ha has s pub publilish shed ed a sh shor ortt wo work rk by na name me ‘Ind ‘I ndia ian n Ch Chro rono nolo logy gy’, ’, wr writ itte ten n by Dr Dr.S .S.S .S.. Tri rive veda da,, Ph Ph.D. .D.,, (1 (195 959) 9).. Th The e wo work rk is isa a mere mer e com compil pilati ation on of dat dates es of his histor torica icall eve events nts and per person sonage ages s fro from m anc ancien ient t times.Inpage91ofthework,datesaregivenforestablishmentofinstitutions by Sa Sank nkar arac acar arya ya. . Th Ther ere e it is st stat ated ed th that at th the e Ka Kama mako koti ti Pi Pith tha a at Ka Kanc ncii wa was s
founde foun ded d on Va Vais isak akha ha,, Su Sukl kla a Fu Fullll Mo Moon on in Ka Kalili Sa Saka ka 26 2620 20 = 48 4822 B. B.C. C. wi with th Sr Srii SankaraBhagavatpadahimselfasthefirstAcarya.” (11) Dr. (11) Dr.T.M T.M.P. .P.Mah Mahade adevan vanPro Profes fessor sor of Phi Philos losoph ophy, y, Uni Univer versit sity y of Mad Madras ras,, has observ obs erved ed(inhis (inhis bro broadc adcast ast tal talk, k,publ publish ished edund under erthe the cap captio tion n ‘Co ‘Contr ntribu ibutio tion n of theSouthtotheCulturalHeritageofIndia’bythePublicationDivisionofthe MinistryofInformationandBroadcasting.GovernmentofIndia-1961),that“he (Sankara)setupatcardinalpointsofthecountry,monasticinstitutionswhich wouldprotectthespiritualinterestsoftherace.Oftheseinstitutions,fiveare themostimportant. themostimpo rtant. Exceptthe Excepttheoneat oneatBadar BadariintheHimalaya iintheHimalayas,theother s,theother four areinthepeninsularpartofIndiaatPuri,Dwaraka,SringeriandKanci.” (12)Prof.BaladevUpadhyaya,formerHeadofthePuranaandItihasaSectionof the Benares Hindu University, has written a biography of Sankara Sri Sankaracar Sanka racarya,’–in ya,’–inHindi Hindi(PublishedbytheHindusta (PublishedbytheHindustaniAcadem niAcademyof yofAllah Allahabad– abad– 1963 19 63)). In th the e 16 16th th Pa Pari ricc cche heda da (C (Ch hap apte ter) r) of th the e wo work rk ha havvin ing g th the e he heaadi ding ng ‘MathomKavivaran’(Detailsaboutmaths)thefollowinginformationisfound:“By him (Sanka karracarya) in southern Bharat, at Kanci, one of the se sevven Moksapuries,amathahasbeenestablished”–page191. (13).The Cheng ChengleputDistr leputDistrictGazet ictGazetteer,publi teer,publishedbyCharlesStua shedbyCharlesStuartCrole rtCrole I.E.S I.E.S.. in 1879 A.D. has the following details:- “The first of these wandering controversialists was Shanka karrachari(who flour uriished in the 9th or 10th centur cen tury?) y?) and wan wander dered edall all ove overr Ind India, ia, est establ ablish ishingthe ingthe dyi dying ngrel religi igion,Saivi on,Saivite te faithandfanningthepersecutionbeforewhichthelastdiscipleofSakiyafled. Hepaidparticula He paidparticular rattent attention ionto toConje Conjeevara evaram mwhere where he heworkedmany workedmany mirac miracles les and found nde ed a Ma Math thaam or Monaste terry.” (Ching ngllepu put t District Gazett tte eer Ethnological,ReligiousandSocialpage86and87). (14). Jus usttice P. Sathyanarayana Rao and Justice P.Rajagopa pallan, in their JudgementinC.M.P.No.2591of1951,oftheMadrasHighCourt(Reportedin‘I MLJ557A.I.R.1952,Madras–613),haveobserved.“Traditionhasitthatafter conq co nque ueri ring ng th the e ri riva vall fa fait iths hs he (S (San anka kara ra) ) es esta tabl blis ishe hed d th the e Ad Adva vait ita a sy syst stem em of philosophyandfoundedfourMuttsorseatsoflearninginthefourcornersof this thi s vas vast t sub-conti sub-continen nent t – Sri Sringe ngeri ri Sar Saradain adain the Nor North,Jagan th,Jagannat nath h or ormod modern ern PuriintheEast,andDwarakaintheBombayPresidencyinthewest.Ineachof these the seMut Mutts;as ts;as the their irhea heads,he ds,he ins instal talled led his pri princi ncipal pal dis discip ciples les and he him himsel self f
assumedtheheadshipofSarvajnaPeethaorthecentralseatofKnowledgeat Kanci,themodernKancipuram.” (15).IntheReportoftheHinduReligiousEndowmentsCommission(1960–62) publilish pub shed ed by th the e mi mini nist stry ry of ofLa Law, w,Go Gove vern rnme ment nt of ofIn Indi dia a (1 (196 962) 2)it it is st stat ated ed as follow fol lows:s:- “It was Adi San Sankar karach achary arya(8 a(8thcentu thcenturyA.D.) ryA.D.) whofirst beg beganto antothe the theoryy ofabsol theor ofabsoluteMonism uteMonism i.e.the Adva Advaita,non-d ita,non-dualis ualisticschoo ticschoolofPhilosophy lofPhilosophy,, comb co mbat ated ed th the e do doct ctri rine nes s of Bu Budd ddhi hism sm an and d Ja Jain inis ism m an and d re re-e -est stab ablilish shed ed th the e religion of the Vedas and the Upanishads. According to tradition, he inau in augu gura rate ted d Se Seve vera rall mu mutt tts s or se seat ats s of le lear arni ning ng in th the e fo four ur co corn rner ers s of In Indi dia, a, namely nam elySri Sringe ngeri( ri(Sha Sharad rada a Pee Peeth) th) in inMyso Mysore, re,the the Kam Kamako akoti ti Pee Peetha tha in inKan Kanchi chi in the th e So Sout uth, h, Ba Badr driina nath th in th the e Hi Hima mala laya yan n re regi gion on in th the e No Nort rth, h, Ja Jag gan anna nath th or modernPuri moder nPuri intheEastandDwa intheEastandDwarakainW rakainWesternGuj esternGujarat. arat.”(Vide ”(Vide page 10ofthe Report)(ThereportissignedbyDr.C.P.RamaswamiIyer,theChairman,andthe othersixmembersofthecommission. (16)IntheEnglishtranslation,madebySriLakshmiDattaDikshit(Fellowofthe Punjab Pun jabUni Univer versit sity) y) of “Th “The e Age of Sha Shanka nkar’ r’ wri writte tten n in Hin Hindi di by Vid Vidyab yabhas haskar kar Uday Ud ayav avir ir Sh Shas astr try y an and d pu publ blis ishe hed d by th the e Vi Vira raja jana nand nd Ved edic ic Re Rese sear arch ch In Inst stit itut ute, e, Gazi Ga ziab abad ad (1 (19 981 81), ), re refe ferren ence ces s are mad ade e to th the e in inst stit itut utiion ons s es esta tabl bliish shed ed by Sankaracarya.Inpage35oftheworkthefollowingremarksarefound. “AnumberofMat “AnumberofMathasinth hasinthename enameofthefounde ofthefounderAchar rAcharyawere yawereestablish established ed inlater inlate ryea years. rs. But the theKan KanchiKam chiKamako akoti ti Pee Peetha tha is alm almost ost asoldas the oth other er mainMathas.”InPages48,49,itisstated“Astudyoftheliteratureonthelife of th the e Ac Acha hary rya a ma make kes s it cl clea ear r th that at af afte ter r es esta tabl blis ishi hing ng th the e fo four ur Ma Math thas as, , th the e AcharyadidstayatKanchiKamakotiforsomeyears.Thiswastowardstheend ofhislife.” (17)Mr.WilliamCenkner,ProfessoroftheHistoryofReligions,intheSchoolof Religi Rel igionsof onsof theCatho theCatholic lic Uni Univer versit sity y of ofAme Americ rica, a,Wa Washi shingt ngton onD.C D.C., .,aut author hor of ofa a number of research works on Education, of works on great Indian person per sonali alitie ties, s, and andcon contri tribut butor or of man many y art articl icles es on rel religi igion on and phi philos losoph ophy y to EuropeanandAmericanjournals,inhiswork.‘ATraditionofTeachers:Sankara and an d th the e Ja Jaga gadg dgur urus us of Tod oday ay’( ’(Pu Publ blis ishe hed d by Mo Moti tila lall Ba Bana nars rsid idas as,, Del Delhi hi -1 -198 983, 3, repr re prin inte ted d 19 1984 84) ) – wr writ ites es; ; “S “San anka kara ra re reor orga gani nize zed d Hi Hind ndu u as asce ceti tica call lilife fe al alon ong g
monasticlinesbyestablishingmathastopropagateSanatanaDharmaandthe Advaita Advai ta tradi tradition… tion….T .Tradit radition ion establ establishes ishes the majo major r matha mathas s at Srin Sringeri, geri, Kanci Kanci,, Dwaraka,PuriandBadrinath.”(PartIIChapterV–Page109). (18) “T (18) “The he Ka Kaly lyan an’, ’, a pr prem emie ierr Hi Hind ndii pe peri riod odic ical al’ ’ pu publ blis ishe hed d by th the e Gi Gita ta Pr Pres ess, s, Gorakh Gor akhpur pur(U. (U.P.) P.)iss issueda ueda spec special ial num number ber cal called‘Ti led‘Tirth rthank ank’, ’,in inJan Januar uary y195 1957. 7. In this th is is issu sue, e, th the e na name me of th the e mo mona nast stic ic in inst stit itut utio ions ns es esta tabl blis ishe hed d by Sa Sanka nkara ra ar are e mentionedunder menti onedunder twocatego twocategories. ries. Under Underthecategorynamed thecategorynamed asSankara asSankaracary carya a dvarasthapitapradhanapithas.’TheKanciKamakotiPithaiscitedasoneofthe importantinstitutionsfoundedbySankara. (19)TheGuhyasahasranama(94)speaksofSankaracarya’spresidingoverthe KamakotiPitha. (20) In Inthe theAnnua Annuall Repor Report tof ofthe theArche Archealogi alogical cal Depart Department ment of ofMysor Mysore eforthe forthe year1928,(page16)underthetitle‘TheSringeriMathanditsGurus’,areview oftheSringeri‘Guruvamsakavya–theSankaracaryaMathatKanciisnotedas oneofthefiveinstitutionsestablishedbySankaracarya.
APPENDIX – II Extracts from Madras University Historical Series No. 15
GeneralEditor-ProfessorK.A.NILAKANTASASTRI AdministrationandsocialLifeunderVijayanagar–1040 ByT.V.MAHALINGAM,B.A.(Hons.) “Another matha was originally located at Kanci and was known as the KamakotiPitha,in Kamak otiPitha,inhonou honourof rofthe theGodde Goddess ssatKanci. atKanci. Thisalsoappearsto Thisalsoappearstohave have beenruledbyaregularsuccessionofpontificialheads. Inscripti Inscri ptiona onallrec record ords s sho show wtha that tthi this smat matha hawas was at atKan Kanci ci at atlea least stinthirt inthirteen eenth th centur cen tury, y,for for a arec record ord of ofVij Vijaya ayagan gandag dagopa opala,the la,the Tele elegu guCod Coda aKin King, g,reg regist istersa ersa gran gr ant t to th the e ma math tha a at atth the e pl plac ace e in in12 1293 93 A. A.D. D. Fr From om th the e ve very ry be begi ginn nnin ing g of it its s foundation the matha appe peaars to have be bee en pr pre esided over by a regular succce su cess ssio ion n of po pont ntiff iffs. s. Am Amon ong g th them em me ment ntiion ma mayb ybe e mad ade e of Vya yasa saca calla, Candracuda Candr acuda,, Sada Sadasiven sivendra, dra,Param Paramasiv asivendra endrathe the guru of Sada Sadasiva siva Brah Brahman man of Nerur, Ner ur, and Atm Atmabo abodhe dhendr ndra a at who whose se ins instan tance ce Sad Sadasi asiva va Bra Brahma hman n com compos posed ed
theGururatnamalaandNamaBo theGururatnama laandNamaBodhendr dhendra. a.Accor Accordingtoa dingtoa listofthe acha acharyaof ryaof thismathapublishedbyT.S.NarayanaSastri,the55thAcaryaintheapostolic linewasoneCandracudendrawhopresidedoveritbetween1506and1512.And thenext wasone Sad Sadasi asiven vendra dra who pre presid sided ed ove over r it bet betwee ween n 151 15122 and1538. Accordingtotwocopperplatesof1507(?)ViraNarasimhamadetwograntsof villllag vi ages es to on one e Ma Maha hade deva va Sa Sara rasv svat ati, i, th the e th then en pr pres esid idin ing g po pont ntiff iff of th the e Ka Kanc ncii Kamako Kam akoti ti Pit Pitha. ha. IN1522 A.D A.D.Krsna .Krsnadev devaRayamade aRayamade agrantoftwovill agrantoftwovillage agesto sto Candracuda Candr acuda Saras Sarasvati, vati,the the disci disciple ple of Mahad Mahadeva eva Saras Sarasvati. vati. (E.I (E.I.xiii .xiii,pp,12 ,pp,122-132) 2-132).. HeiscalledSivacetas(havinghisminddevotedtoSiva).Yatiraja(princeamong asce as ceti tics cs))an and d Dh Dhiima matt (Ph Phiilo loso soph pher er). ). He is al also so sa said id to ha have ve be been en a gr grea eat t expounderof expoun derofthedoctrin thedoctrine e ofMaya. In Inthelightof thelightofthedateof thedateofthisinscri thisinscription ption and an d of th the e tw two o ot othe hers rs of Vi Vira ra Na Nara rasi simh mha a an and d th the e na name mes s of ofth the e po pont ntiff iffs, s, we havetodoubtthevalueofthechronologyofNarayanasastri’slist. (Ac (Accor cordin dingtoGu gtoGurup rupara arampa mparas rastav tava,Pu a,Puran ranana anada da,,t the he gur guru’sg u’sguruo uruof f Canderasekh Cande rasekhara,wentonapilgrima ara,wentonapilgrimagetoNepal. getoNepal. Buhler Buhlermentions mentions anepigrap anepigraph h whichreferstothe whichref erstothe fact factthata thatasvami svami ofSouthIndi ofSouthIndianamedSoma anamedSomasekhar sekharanand ananda a wenttoNepalin1503A.D.AninscriptionalevidencefromNepalcorroborates thetraditioncontainedintheGuruparamparaoftheSankaracaryamath;there can be no denying the fact that a svami of the math went to Nepal S.V.Venkatesvaraobservesthat“thesvamireferredtomustbeeitherthedone ofourgrant(Candrasekhara)orhisguru’sguru,PuranandaaliasCandracuda. “But “B ut si sinc nce e Bu Buhl hler er gi give ves s th the e da date te of th the e Sv Svam ami’ i’s s vi visi sit t to Ne Nepa pall an and d si sinc nce e th the e donee ofthe oftheabove above grant(Candras grant(Candrasekhara ekhara)couldhave )couldhavebeenlivingathat beenlivingathattime time astheprospectivesuccessortothepontificialthrone,wecansaythatitwashe that went to Nepal for the names Somesekhara and Candrasekhara are syno sy nony nym ms. In th the e fa face ce of su succh cle lear ar ev evid ide enc nce e we ne need ed no not t su supp ppos ose e th that at PurnandamighthavegonetoNepal.SeeE.I.xiipp.125ff.) Can Candra dracud cudaSar aSarasv asvati atiorCan orCandra drasek sekhar haraSar aSarasv asvatiw atiwassuc assuccee ceeded ded,in ,in apos ap osto tolilicc liline ne,, by bySa Sada dasi sivaSara vaSarasv svat ati. i. He issaid tohave be beenthe enthe di disc scip iple le of Candrasekha Candr asekhara raSaras Sarasvati,apparentl vati,apparently yanoth another ername name of ofCandr Candracuda acuda who whowas wasa a ParamahamsaandParivrajakacarya.Thissuccessioniscorroboratedbythelist ofNarayanaSastrialso.Sadasivawastherecipientofagrantofthevillageof UdayambakkamintheChinglepetdistrictbyKrsnadevaRayain1528A.D. Thus Thusheappear heappearstohav stohavesucce esucceededCa ededCandra ndrasekhar sekharaSara aSarasvati svatibetween between 15222 and 152 152 1528A.D;butwe 8A.D;butwe are notabl notableto etokno knowthe wtheexa exactdate ctdate.. He Hecom compil piled ed
the Pun the Punya yasl slok okam aman anja jari ri co cont ntai aini ning ng th the e su succ ccess essio ion n lilist st of th the e po pont ntiff iffs s of th the e KamakotiPitha. Butsome Butso me ti time me lat ater erth thiism smaant ntha ha se seem emst sto oha have ve be been ensh shiift fted edto to Gajara Gaj aranya nyakset ksetram ram or Jam Jambuk bukesv esvara aram m nea near r Tric richin hinopo opoly. ly. In 170 1708 8 A.D A.D.. Vij Vijaya aya Rang Ra ngaa Co Cokka kkana nath tha a Na Naya yaka ka of Ma Madu dura ra ma made de a gr gran antt of la land nd fo for r ma main inta tain inin ing g wors wo rshi hip p an and d fo for r fe feed edin ing g Br Brah ahma mans ns in inth the e Sa Sank nkar arac acar arya ya ma math tha a at th the e pl plac ace. e. The cop copper perpla plate te ins inscri cripti ption onsta states testha that t thi this s mat matha hawas wasloc locate ated d in inthe thestr street eet calledPonvasikondanStreet,atthevillageandhadbeeninthePossessionof thepontifffrom veryearlytime veryearlytimes. s. Butthe Butthebuild buildingwhichispointedoutasthe ingwhichispointedoutasthe orig or igin inal al on one e wh wher ere e th the e ma math tha a wa was s lo loca cate ted d do does es no nott ap appe pear ar to be co corr rrec ect t accordingtotheGovernmentepigraphist.Thisapartwedonotknowwhyand when the matha was transferred to Tanjore on accoun untt of the fact the Conj Co njee eeva vara ram m wa was s at atta tack cked ed fr freq eque uent ntly ly by th the e mu muha hamm mmad adan ans. s. He Henc nce e it wa was s shiftedtoKumbakonam.
APPENDIX -III Some References to Sankaracarya Inscriptions
(1) A ham hamlet let by bynam name e Sur Suritt ittil,on il,on the bor borderof derof Kud Kudiya iyanta ntanda ndalam lam (kn (knownat ownat presentasKundiyantandalam)situatedabout9milesoffkanci,isreferredtoas ‘SankaracaryapuramaliasSuruttil’inaninscriptiononthewestwalloftherock, in th the e Va Vara rada dara raja jasv svam amii te temp mple le at Ka Kanc nchi hipu pura ram. m. (Vid (V ide e An Annu nual al Re Repo port rt on Epigraphy–1919-20No.443of1919). N.B.Acopper–plateinscriptionofViraNarasimhaDeva,KingofVijayanagar, ofSak of Saka a yea year r 142 1428 8 (15 (1507 07A.D A.D.) .)men mentio tions nsthe the gra grant ntof of Kud Kudiya iyanta ntanda ndalam lam of the Kacc Ka cchi hina nadu du,, to Ma Maha hade deva va Sa Sara rasv svat atii (o (of f Ka Kanc ncii Sa Sank nkja jara raca cary rya a Ma Math tha) a).. In th the e copp co ppet et – pl plat ate e it is st stat ated ed th that at Ku Kudi diya yant ntan anda dala lam m is on th the e we west st of Su Suri ritt ttilil village. (2)WilliamTaylorgivesashortsummaryofacopperplateinscriptionofVisnu– Kanci,in Kan ci,inwhi whichthe chthenam name eofSanka ofSankarac racary arya aapp appear ears samo amongother ngothers sas as one who hadsomethingtodowiththetempleofSriVaradaraja(VideVolume–IIIpages 340, 34 0,34 341, 1, of th the e Ca Cata talo logu gue e of Or Orie ient ntal al Ma Manu nusc scri ript pts s re rela lati ting ng to Ma Mack cken enzi zie’ e’s s collections).
(3) Th (3) Ther ere e is isa a co coppe pperr – pl plat ate e in insc scri ript ptio ion n of 11 1111 11A. A.D. D.re reco cord rdin ing g a gr gran ant t of th the e villag vil lage e of Amb Ambika ikapur puram am to toan anAca Acarya rya of ofthe the Kan Kanci ci San Sankar karaca acarya rya Mat Math h by bythe the AndhraColarulerVijayagandaGopala.Itistobenotedthatthoughthegrantis toanAcaryawholivedlongafterSriSankaracarya,thedoneisreferredtoonly asSankaracaryaGuru’andnotbytheactualnameoftheSwami. Thepertinentlinesofthecopperplatearegivenbelow:
