Śaṅkara Charitam – a re-telling – Chapter-10 – Śaṃbhu-Śaṅkara

Seeking the Guru

Śaṅkara walked steadily on towards his goal. He intuitively knew where to go and the path to take. It seemed like there was a compass within that directed his footsteps and a light that lit up his path. He had to simply listen to the little voice that spoke from within. Śaṅkara did not for a day miss any of his Nitya-Anuṣṭhānas^[1] – he bathed in the cold waters of a lake, pond, spring or river, performed his Sandhya and nitya pūjā and then continued on his journey – he started as soon as he saw the sky on the eastern horizon turn orange-red and continued on till the Sun reached the apex of the sky, then he would rest a while and start again as soon as the sun started its descent into the western horizon and walk till the birds filled the sky, chirping and flying back to their roosting sites to retire for the night.

He obtained food where possible through Bhikṣā and when not possible, he lived on the available and edible roots, vegetables, and fruits along the way. As a saṃnyāsi, he lived as a karpātri i.e, ate what came and fit into the joined palms of both hands. He slept with the sky as his roof, the earth as his bed, and the green foliage as his blanket. Somedays, he would find a corner of a temple to rest himself and those were the days of great luxury. It was a long and arduous walk but the boy was determined, all he had to do was to put one foot in front of another – it was an age and a time when walking was a natural and accepted way of commuting from one place to another.

Far away near Ōṃkārēśvara on the banks of the river Narmada and deep within a cave, an ancient being stirred ever so slightly – that in itself was an event because for several years this being had remained within the cave, oblivious of the world outside for several years. No one knew how old he was or for how many years he had been here. Some old people spoke of a time when he used to be seen outside near the banks of the river, sitting in deep meditation or walking deep in thought but no one had seen him for several years now. There were fantastic stories floating around about who he was and where he came from but there was none to sift truth from fiction, so completely withdrawn and distant was this strange person. They only knew that he lived deep inside the bowels of the cave – sthiram and mounam were the two qualities that defined him – firm and unshakeable silence such that people could not discern even the breath that passed in and out of him. Those who dared to walk by the mouth of the cave spoke of hearing the deep resonance of the Praṇava^[2] mantra echoing from the depths of the cave and bouncing off the walls within. He was Govinda Bhagavatpāda, a disciple of Gauḍapāda and said to be an incarnation of the ancient serpent of interminable coils, Śrī Ādiśēṣa, symbolic of eternal time and on whom rested Maha Viṣṇu.

Ōṃkārēśvara is located in present-day Mandhata in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. This place is sometimes referred to as Śivapuri and in ancient times went by the name of Māhiṣmatī the capital city of Avanti Mahājanapada. It was here that the boy was headed. In present-day terms, this translates to about 1,800 kilometers by road and takes about 30 hours of driving time. This boy, however, was walking! – one foot followed by the other, steadily and unflinchingly towards his goal – his Guru and his destiny.

Śaṃbhu-Śaṅkara

While there is general unanimity among most saints and scholars alike in accepting that Śaṅkara was an avatāra-puruṣa, a few questions remain in the minds of sceptics – what better time than now to address this question and clear the cobwebs of confusion than at a time when our young boy-hero is on his long, long walk to reach his goal and meet his destiny? Over the course of a few chapters even as we trace Śaṅkara’s life, we will go over some of the clues and pieces of evidence that are strewn across the landscape of Sanātana Dharma in the Purāṇas, Vedas, and so on that allude to and confirm the coming of this avatāra – not to just prove the sceptics wrong, but to also confirm for ourselves the true nature of the phenomenon that Śaṅkara was and the impact he left behind in his short but tumultuous life journey.

The following verse appears in the Mādhaviya-Śaṅkara-Digvijayam. When one reads this verse^[3] below it appears as if this verse was written by someone who had the good fortune of seeing Śaṅkara with his own eyes and then went on to express in words the great joy he experienced.

The last line of the verse is the operative line, in the sense that it clarifies who is the object of adoration and who is being spoken of –
“That Śaṃbhu-Mūrti is walking on this earth in the form of Śaṅkarācārya.”
Śaṃbhu is one of the important names of Śiva – The “Śaṃbho” in Śaṃbho-Mahādeva or Śaṃbho in Śaṃbho-Śaṅkara are derived from Śaṃbhu. Śāṃbha-Parameśvara is also a derivative of Śaṃbhu. Aṃbāl when she is the consort of Śaṃbhu comes to be known as Śāmbhavī. The word Śaṃbhu consists of two parts, “Śaṃ” and “Bhu”. “Śaṃ” refers to eternal bliss and unparalleled joy. “Bhu” is a reference to “Bhūlōka” the earth that is firm, unshakeable, and “Sthira”, steady. Therefore, he in whom unparalleled bliss is firmly established, and furthermore, he who is to be approached in order to attain that state of unparalleled bliss is known as Śaṃbhu. That Śaṃbhu is now walking the earth in the form of Śaṅkarācārya is the full purport of this line. This line establishes clearly and with no ambiguity whatsoever, the connection between Śaṅkara and Śiva.

The third line of the verse is crucial and further establishes the connection: “vata vitapinō mūlatho…” “Vata Vitapi” is a reference to the banyan tree. “Mūlam” means “root”. It is Dakṣiṇāmūrti who is known as “mūlasthithar” – he who sits below the vata-vṛkṣa, i.e., Banyan tree and communicates the supreme knowledge of “Mukti” or “Mokṣa” through the aspect of Mounam or silence. He is silent because he is so imbued and soaked in Brahma-Jñāna that there is neither need nor scope for any speech. When there is nothing to be said, what can one say? When the mind that constantly wanders and goes from one thought to another, becomes absolutely silent, calm, and clear like the water in a closed pond, then what is there to be spoken?

Therefore, those who seek to get Jñāna have to approach him and sit at his feet to learn – it is no easy task, sages like Sanaka have managed it but they are the rarest of the rare. Therefore, he has taken the form of Śaṅkara in order to “Ajñānānthar gahana pathithān ātmavidyopadeśaīh” (line-1 of the verse) “For those who are caught in the dense forest of ignorance (ajñāna), here is someone who has come to show the way to atmajñāna (the supreme knowledge of the self), and to release them from the bondage of the forest fire of saṃsāra – “Shikā thapa pāpayaschyamānān.”

When the entire verse is seen together, we realize why the two words Śaṃbhuḥ and Śaṅkara usually occur together as Śaṃbho-Śaṅkara – if Śaṃbhu is the Dakṣiṇāmūrti svarūpa – the silent and contemplative aspect of Maheśvara then Śaṅkara is the active and vocal aspect of Śiva – they are two sides of the same coin!

That is why it is said: “Śaṃ Bhavayati, Utpādhayati iti Śaṃbhuḥ” – Śaṃbhuḥ is he who is the storehouse of and the source of the supreme happiness, that state of eternal bliss called Śaṃ. Śaṅkara on the other hand is referred to as “Śaṃ karōti iti Śaṅkarāḥ” – he who takes this supreme knowledge of Śaṃ, i.e., “eternal happiness” and distributes it to all by showing them the path to attaining this bliss – note the present continuous tense that is used here. Śaṅkara is not a one-time phenomenon – the archetype of Śaṅkara is accessible even now only if one makes the effort to reach out to him – he is here, in the here and now to guide us exactly as he did a few thousand years ago.

To be continued…

Postscript

In chapter-1, the prevailing state of adharma at the time of Śaṅkara-avatāra was discussed and the rationale and need for an avatāra-puruṣa were clarified. In chapter 2 the prelude to Śaṅkara-avatāra and Śaṅkara’s parents were covered and in chapter-3 the promise of the descent was detailed. Chapter-4 was about the victory of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa. Chapter-5 is about Maṇḍana Miśhra and Bhārati’s love for each other and the descent of Śaṅkara. Chapter-6 is about the death of Śaṅkara’s father and the marriage of Maṇḍana Miśhra and Bhārati. Chapter-7 is about the genius of Śaṅkara and how as a five-year-old he composed the Kanakadhārā stōtram. In chapter-8, events preceding and foreshadowing Śaṅkara’s Saṃnyāsa are covered. In chapter-9 continues the process of Śaṅkara’s Saṃnyāsa and also summarizes the different types of Saṃnyāsa and how it is taken up depending on the context.

Go to the links below to read the chapters:

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[1] Anuṣṭhānas – rituals, procedures, and practices that are laid down in the Śāstras

[2] Praṇava (प्रणव) refers to the syllable “Om” or “AUM”. In the Siva Purana, Praṇava also signifies an excellent boat that can help one cross the ocean of Saṃsāra (worldly existence). It is also a symbol of that which leads to “new knowledge”

[3] The Voice of God, Volume-5; Pg: 330-331.