vedas and adi sankara

Vedas and Adi Sankara - Part 8 By Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji.
Ravishankar Gopal Sun, Oct 19, 2008 at 2:52 AM
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Radhe Krishna to All,

Sankara was born to the couple Aryamba-Siva Guru. Sri.Sri.Chandrashekara Saraswathi Swamigal (Periyava) has said that these people belonged to dakshina kshetra who had migrated to Kaladi because Siva Guru is the name of a deity in Kumbakonam. So Siva Guru must have gone from here. And Arya is the name of Goddess Kamakshi. Mooka has first sung 'Arya Shatakam'. It is from Dravida desam they must have moved to Kerala, which is Parasurama kshetra. Many have thus migrated to Kerala for, we find that many names found in Tamizh Nadu are also found in Kerala,as also a lot of Tamizh culture and traditions are found in Kerala. Monsoon is very strong and continuous in Kerala so much so that some of them found it difficult to live in such a changed atmosphere. So they returned to Tamizh nadu. But these people still wear tuft on their forehead as per Kerala tradition.

The couple Siva Guru-Aryamba was childless for a long time. So, they performed ghee abhisheka to Vadakkunatha swami in Trissur as there was a belief that one was blessed with a child with ghee abhishek to this God. They spent that night in the temple precincts and they each had a dream. Lord Siva appeared to both of them in their dream and declared that He Himself would be born to them as their son. They were both filled with joy. In the morning when each eagerly wished to tell the other about the dream, to their surprise they found that both of them had had the same dream. Achãrya (Sankara) has shown his bhakti for his mother in his slokas by including a line with her name 'Arya mahãsevita' - One worshipped by Arya.

A son was born to the couple. The child was very lustrous ('Maha tejasvi'). The Child was named Sankara. Sankara was the name given to Him and it stayed so. After a time the father Siva Guru passed away. 'Upanayana' was conducted for the child at the appropriate time and he was given Veda adhyayana. The child was taught Shastra abhyãs. The death of the father brought the realization to the child that life was temporal in nature. He felt that he should attain the purpose of his birth. There was a Krishna temple on the banks of the Purna river. This was their family deity. This is near the old Sringeri Mutt. Everyday Sankara worshipped this Krishna. While he first composed a sloka on Krishna He sang -'Mama kulapati'.

Sankara used to bathe daily in this river Purna. His glory ('Prabhãva') comes out when he turned the course of the river and made it flow near his home as his sick mother was unable to walk up to the river! Such was his tapas. The mother was wonder struck. After the completion of the studies of the Vedas while still in Brahmachari ashram he carried on the practice that pertains to this ashrama. So, he begged for food at doorsteps. A brahmachari should beg for his food. It is not so for a householder who can take 'unchavridhi' if he desires to. By the very call, Bahuti Bhikshãm dehi!or Bhikshãm bahuti dehi! the householder knows who is at the door - a brachmachri (the former call) or a sanyasi (the latter call). This is because a brahmachari can be offered either cooked food or rice and grains whereas a Sanyasi who is forbidden to light fire can be offered only cooked food.

One day Sankara stood at the door of a very poor woman and called out, Bahuti Bhikshãm dehi! The hostess saw the 'Maha Tejasvi' child. She yearned to offer something to the divinely charming child. But,alas! There was not a grain in the house! The divine child knowing the woman's plight and with a desire to bless her called out, “Mother! I have obtained rice but I need some dish to go with it. Please offer anything that is available at home”. This brahmachari needs no side dish but it is only to bless the woman such a request was made. She searched the 'empty' pots and found a ‘goosebury’ kept aside for ‘dwãdasi’ (12th day after the full/new moon when one consumes food after a day of fast on 'Ekãdasi' - 11th day after the full/new moon). With deep embarrassment and tears in her eyes the woman dropped this into the child's begging ('bhiksha') bowl. The pleased child immediately sang, "Angam Harerpulakabhushanam ãsrayanti; Bringãnganeva
mukulãbharanam tamãlam" (Kanakdãra stotra) on Goddess Lakshmi and it rained golden gooseburies in the courtyard of the woman's house! Even today people of this lineage live in Kaladi. Such was the glory of Sankara even in His childhood.

!!! Will Continue !!!

Regards

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
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