(Kasi Vijaya Yatra of His Holiness Jagadguru Pujyasri Sankaracharya Swamiji of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, 1934)
“Similarly the local pandits also who met in the Sanga Veda Vidyalaya in connection with Vinayaka Caturti sessions obtained the old manuscript copy of Anandagiri Shankaravijaya from the Rama Taraka Mutt and a copy of Shivarahasya from the Vidyalaya Adhyaksha’s Library.
The Anandagiri manuscript clearly mentions Kerala as the birth place of Shankaracharya as against Chidambaram mentioned in some editions.
The distribution of the five Sphatika Lingas, the establishment of the Kamakoti Peetha, Śhanmatasthapana, the anointment of Sureshwaracharya on the above Peetha and the final siddhi of the Acharya at Kanchi are also clearly stated in the closing chapters.
As regards the narration of the avatar of Shankara Bhagavatpada in the Shivarahasya, a work unpublished in full till now, all manuscripts, whether in Northern India or in the South, have uniformly the same reading and end with the line.
” स काञ्च्यामथ सिद्धिमाप”
Thus the scholars of Benares felt jubilant over their welcoming a representative of Bhagavan Shri Adi Shankaracharya, to which they gave expression in their first Welcome Address, on the 6th of October 1934, in the following words :-
I have recorded in these pages the facts as I observed them, out of a real desire for the search after the truth. I will be highly obliged if my readers communicate to me their kind criticism or correct any errors or send me additional valuable information.
– K. KUPPUSWAMIAH, Retired Deputy Collector.
Upanishad Ashrama, Nungambakkam, Madras.
Samvat 1993 (1936 A.D)
Kasi Vijaya Yatra of His Holiness Jagadguru Pujyasri Sankaracharya Swamiji of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
” In the last quarter of year 1934, I happened to be at Benares. My stay there synchronised with the historic visit of His Holiness Jagadguru Shri Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha, to the holy city.
His Highness the Maharaja of Benares, who was at the head of the Reception Committee formed to welcome His Holiness, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, all the Mahamahopadhyayas, other eminent scholars and indeed the entire public of that spiritual capital of our country, filled with joy, took every possible step to make the visit of the Acharya, hailing from distant Kanchi on foot, spiritually beneficial and advantageous to the Benares publlic.
Prior to the arrival of the Swamiji at Benares, the Maharaja took the opportunity to consult his court pandits and his palace library where a manuscript of the voluminous Shivarahasya was found, the 16th adhyaya of the 9th amsha of which deals with the Avatara of Shri Shankaracharya, as an amsha of Lord Shiva.
This Arsha Grantha referred to in the well known Smriti, ‘Nirnaya Sindhu’ as pramana, mentions the village ‘Shashala’, as the birthplace of Shri Shankaracharya.
Further it describes the origin and distribution of the five Sphatika Lingas and their pooja; and the Adhyaya ends with the Shloka:-
तद्योगभोगवरमुक्तिसुमोक्षयोगलिङ्गार्चनात्प्राप्तजयः स्वकाश्रमे । तान्वै विजित्य तरसाऽक्षतशास्त्रवादैर्मिश्रान् स काञ्च्यामथ सिद्धिमाप II
denoting Kanchi as to the Acharya’s Ashram and place of siddhi. The Maharaja perused also the past records relating to the institutions of Adi-Shankaracharya.
As a result he prepared a document with his seal and signature, as to what he felt, and placed it with his own hands at the feet of the Acharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetha on 1991 Tama Vikrama Samvat Magha Shukla Trayodashi at the annual Convocation of the Sanga Veda Vidyalaya, when all the pandits and leading citizens of Benares had assembled.
A portion of the Abhinandana Patra of the Maharaja is extracted below :-
Sri Sankaracarya climbed up Seshachala and had darshan of Lord Venkatesa. It was here that the Acarya sang the Vishupadadikesanta verses in praise of Hari.
This tamil pamphlet published by an adherent of the Tunga Sringeri matha, contains a brief note on the Biography of Sri Sankara Bhagavadpada (as found in the 19th century Samkshepa Sankarajaya of Navakalidasa Madhava) and Tanjore Mahratta mural image of the Acarya with His Four Sishyas.
The Great Shankaracharya,
(Life-time From B. C. 42 to B. C. 10.)
ஸ்ரீஜகத்குரு ஆதிசங்கராசாரிய ஸ்வாமி ஜீவித காலம் கல்யப்தம் 3058 முதல் 3090 வரை அதாவது வயது 32. ஜனன பூமி மலையாளத்திலுள்ள காலட்டி அக்ரஹாரம், இம்மஹானது ஏழாவது ஆண்டிலேயே சகலகலாவல்ல ஜகத்பூஜியராய், 16-வது ஆண்டில் கோவிந்தபாதரைச் சற்குருவாய்ற்றேர்ந்து ஸந்நியாஸாச்ரமத்தைப் பெற்று ஸ்ரீசக்கிரம், நவக்ரஹ யந்திரம், சந்திரமௌளீஸ்வர லிங்கம், நரசிங்க சாளிக்கிராமமிவைகளை யளிக்கப் பெற்றார்கள். பின்னர் ஸ்ரீகாசிக்குச் சென்று….
It is well known that Rshyasringa was a sage of epic celebrity. As such, he ought to have lived long ages before Sankaracarya.
Rshyasringa in Ramayana
There can be no greater authoritative sources than the Ramayana and the Mahabharata regarding the location of the ashrama of the sage, Rshyasringa.
The following verses in Valmiki’s Ramayana will give the clue to the fact that Rshysringa belonged to the period of Dasaratha and that Rshyasringa’s abode was in Angadesa (modern Assam), whence Dasaratha took the sage to Ayodhya.
(a) Ramayana Balakanda – Canto IX:
“एतस्मिन्नेव कालेषु रोमपादः प्रतापवान्” – Verse 7
“ अङ्गेषु प्रथितो राजा भविष्यति महाबलः” – Verse 8
By this time, the mighty Romapada will be the renowned king of Angadesa.
“विभण्डकसुतं राजन्। सर्वोपायैरिहानय।
आनाय्य च महीपाल ऋश्यशृङ्गं सुसत्कृतम् ॥ ” – Verse 12
Having been permitted by Vasishtha, King Dasaratha, with the ladies of the harem, and with his ministers, started for the place where that Brahmin and great sage (Rshyasringa) lived. Having got near that Brahmin, who was near Romapada.
According to the further verses in the epic, Dasaratha requested the King of Angadesa to send sage Rshyasringa to Ayodhya for the Vedic sacrifice that Dasaratha had arranged for.
Rshyasringa in Mahabharata
The story of Rshyasringa is narrated in chapters 87, 88 and 89 of the Teerthayatra section of the Aranyakanda of the Mahabharata.
In verse 22 of chapter 87, Lomasa tells Yudhishthira that Visvamitra’s hermitage shines on the bank of the sacred river, Kausiki.
The next verse states that the abode of the great sage, Kasyapa, known as Punyashrama, is also there, and points to it as also the residence of the tapasvin Rshyasringa.
The relevant verses are:
लोमश:-
“येवा देवी महापुण्या कौशिकी भरतर्षभ ।
विश्वामित्राश्रमो रम्य एष चात्र प्रकाशते ॥
आश्रमश्चैव पुण्याख्यः काश्यपस्य महात्मनः ।
ऋश्यशृङ्गस्सुतो यस्य तपस्वी संयतेन्द्रियः ॥”
Verse 40 of the same chapter states that Romapada is the King of Angadesa. In the tenth verse of chapter 88, Rshyasringa enquires the leader of the damsels (sent by Romapada to entice sage Rshyasringa and bring him to the royal court), as to where the damsel leader’s residence is In the next verse (11), the leader of the damsels informs the sage that her abode is only three yojanas from the other side of the hill, seen near (near Rshyasringa’s hermitage).
The word Yojana’, according to standard lexicons, is a measure of distance equal to 48,000 feet, or roughly 9.09 miles.
Hence, according to the line quoted above, Rshyasringa’s hermitage should have been situated only about 27.21 miles away from the capital of Romapada, the King of Anga, according to the Mahabharata.
Thus, both the Great Epics clearly indicate that Rshyasringa’s ashrama had existed in north-eastern India, somewhere on the border of Angadesa (modern Assam). Kshetras, Asramas or temples with Rshyasringa’s name are also found in Bihar, Chhattisgarh (Shihawa), Himachal pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Puducherry (Kottucherry)
Hyderabad Deccan, Nagpur, Jubbalpur, Jhansi, Sagar, Gwalior, Khanapur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Allahabad, Benarese, Gaya, Burdwan, Cuttack, Jagan nath, Berhampore, Vizayanagaram, Vizagapatam, Raja Mahandri, Bezwada, Guntur, Nellore, Kalahasti, Tirupati, Madras, Kanchi, Trichinopoly, Sreerungam, Madura, Tanjore, Kumbhakonam, Chidambaram, Sheally (Sirkali), Ramaswaram, Pondicherry, Chettinad, Arunachalam, Salem, Cochin, Kaladi, Tiruchur, Malabar, Nilgiris, Bombay, Poona, and many other important places. At Bombay, His Holiness was taken on an elephant in procession, a privilege which has not been extended even to royalty.
At Chidambaram, No Swamy was allowed to enter in procession to the temple during the last 70 or 80 years on account of some disputes between the priests and the Sringeri Swamy. The Sivaganga Swamy visited the temple and had darshan of Sri Nataraja murti and Sri Sivakami Ambal. At Kumbhakonam the Kanchi Swamy had not allowed other Gurus, to exercise any rights or privileges in his jurisdiction, but the Sivaganga Swamy was cordially treated.
At Hyderabad the Swamy commanded great influence and initiated its Prime Minister as his disciple. Gwalior and other states showed him high respect and great patronage.
In fact by his able lectures, religious devotion, liberality, sympathy and genial disposition, the Swamy has been treated by all classes and creeds, as if he was one of their own Gurus and this broad mindedness and conciliation, are rarely met with the heads of the religious Institutions in India.
(Extracted from the book – A Short History of Sivaganga Mutt – APPENDIX II By B.Suryanarain Row, Bangalore, 1914)
Sankaracharya : Biographical Sketches of Dekkan Poets – Being Memoirs of the Lives of Several Eminent Bards Both Ancient And Modern, Who Have Flourished In Different Provinces of the Indian Peninsula Compiled From Authentic Documents, By Cavelley Venkata Ramaswamie Late Head Translator And Pandit In the Literary And Antiquarian Department, Calcutta (1829)
Alluri Kuppanna ( Andhra Kaldasa) : 18th century Telugu poet, son of Venkatesa and Narasamambika, an inhabitant of the region bordering on the Krishna river.
From his infancy he studied Telugu and Sanskrit and in due time became a poet of considerable merit. He travelled through various countries.
Later he became a pupil of Kasturi Rangayya, a great poet and head of the French peons in Trichinopoly and composer of many odes on his French masters.
Alluri Kuppanna migrated to the Tanjore Mahratta kingdom. He also became an asthana vivian in Rajesri Tulajaji Maharaja’s (1763-1787) palace darbar.
Alluri Kuppanna, translated the Sankara Vijaya of Anandagiri into Telugu (Acharya Vijayamu). In appreciation of his great work, King Tulajaji, conferred the worthy title of ‘Andhra Kalidasa’ .
Alluri Kuppana wrote many works of which may be mentioned Panchanada Sthalapurana, Yakshaganas of the Ramayana and Bhagavata stories, Parama Bhagavata Charitra, Indumati Parinaya and Karmapaka.
Cauvelly Venkata Ramaswamie, in his 1828 publication, The Biographical Sketches of Deccan Poets says,”The Telugu Translation of Anandagiri’s Sankaravijayam, Andhra Kalidasa Kavi’s Acharya Vijayamu is still in existence and extensively circulated in the Telugu country.”
(ARADHANA, Monthly Magazine of the Hindu Religious And Charitable Endowments Dept. Andhra, Vol.3, 1957)
SOURCES FOR SANKARACHARYA’S LIFE… 1
The sources for the life of Sankara Bhagavadpadacharya are very scanty and meagre, as is the case with almost the life of every early great Indian.
Sankaracharya himself was a great writer, and has left us a remarkable collection of writings, which reflect the power of his thought, and the greatness of his conception.
The most noteworthy of His works, are his classic commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Gita, and the Upanishads. The Upadesha Sahasri’ and “Vivekachudamani’ are composite works by Sankaracharya, which reflect His general tenets. But unfortunately for us, these works of the master, do not contain much of useful biographical material. We have, therefore, mainly to depend upon the works of His disciples.
A number of biographies of Sankaracharya, called ‘Sankara Vijayas’ have been written by his disciples, the most important of them being Madhava’s “Sankara Digvijaya” and Anandagiri’s “Sankara vijaya”.
….
Anandagiri’s biography is generally held to be the most authoritative. Anandagiri is held to be the same as “Thotakacharya’ who was one of the four important disciples of Sankaracharya.
‘Advaita Samrajya Lakshimi,’ a commentator upon the Madhaveeya Sankara Vijaya, holds that Anandagiri was a direct and dear disciple of Sri Sankaracharya. He says:
Anandagiri’s Sankara Vijaya also gives the same list of the disciples in the following words: G”पद्भपाद, हस्तामलक, समित्पाणि, चिद्विलास, विज्ञानकन्द विष्णुगुप्त, युद्धकीर्ति, भानु मरीचि, कृष्णदर्शन, बुद्धिवृद्धि, विरिविपाद, शुद्धानन्द, गिरिप्रमुखैः”
So, we may assume that Anandagiri was a contemporaneous and direct disciple of Sri Sankaracharya and that his biography would contain the most accurate information about the life of the great Acharya.
COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTIONS BELONGING TO THE SRI SANKARACHARYA OF THE KAMAKOTI-PITHA. Edited By T. A. GOPINATHA RAO, M.A. Madras, (1917) – Book Review By L.D. BARNETT
In this volume Mr. Gopinatha Rao gives the text and translation of ten grants engraved on copper-plates, which belong to the monastery at Kumbakonam, known as the Kama-kōti-pitha, one of the establishments claiming descent from the great Sankaracharya.
The documents comprise grants of Vijaya-ganda-gopala (circa A.D. 1260),
Vira Narasimhha-deva (Saka 1429), Krishna-deva-rāya (Saka 1444 and 1450),
Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman of Pudukōṭṭai (Saka 1613), Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayanayyavaru (Saka 1630), and one of the Emperors of Delhi (Hijra 1088), together with a fragment of a grant issued by one of the Vijayanagara kings of the last dynasty and a document of Saka 1608, which is interesting from its mention of Akkanna and Madanna, the notorious favourites of the Kutb Shahi Sultan Abu’l-Hasan of Golkonda.
They are in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and even (in the case of the Delhi firman) Persian transliterated into the Telugu character.
In our opinion the editor would have done well to transcribe each document in the script in which it is actually written, or else into Roman; instead of doing so, however, he has given alike the Sanskrit, the Telugu, and the Persian in Nagari character. In defence of this course he may plead the example of certain distinguished writers in the Epigraphia Indica; but two blacks do not make a white, and the transliteration of a complicated Southern alphabet like Telugu into such a disparate script as Nagari leads to most unhappy results.
Apart from this minor point, the work is carefully and correctly done-perhaps a little too correctly, for the learned editor has given in his notes the correct forms for all vulgar and archaic spellings, which is hardly necessary in every case and is illustrated by good plates. The only real desideratum is an index.
