Śaṅkara Charitam – a re-telling – Chapter -14 – Aja Bakṣiṭha Bāśyaṃ

Aja Bakṣiṭha Bāśyaṃ

For a moment, even the Brahmarākṣasa was taken aback by the boy’s fearless action of slitting his own thigh and dipping a stylus shaped out of a pipal twig into the oozing blood to make notes on the pipal leaves. Blood, however, is thicker than water and for that matter, thicker than ink and being a biological product, congeals and clots – most wounds, therefore, typically close in a short while. The boy was forced to make repeated incisions with his knife to draw fresh blood and use it as ink – soon his whole lower body had become a chequerboard of multiple slits with oozing blood and buzzing flies. He hung on through sheer dint of courage, determination, and unflinching faith in God and Guru.

For nine days and nine nights, the Brahmarākṣasa spoke without a break and explained the Mahābhāṣyaṃ. The boy hung on listening, digesting, reflecting, and writing without a wink of sleep or a morsel of food – such was his burning desire for Vidya (knowledge) – he was, without doubt, the Satyakāma^[1]of his times. Thus was the Vyākaraṇa Bhāṣyaṃ compiled and what we have today as the Mahābhāṣyaṃ is a product of this magnificent and heroic effort by the boy Chandragupta Śarmā who would later become the great Govinda Bhagavatpāda, the famous ascetic and the Guru of Śaṅkara.

As soon as the Mahābhāṣyaṃ had been dictated, the Brahmarākṣasa’s terrifying form started to dissolve like mist when the sun rises. As the fearsome form vanished, the Brahmarākṣasa once again gained a human form and stood as Govinda Bhagavatpāda’s guru, Gauḍapāda. He no longer wanted to lead the life of a Brahmarākṣasa, feeding on the flesh and souls of gullible travelers and seekers of Brahman. His mind was already flying far away, in search of Jñāna^[2]. He had the necessary Viveka^[3] and Vairāgya^[4], there was however, still a need for a Guru who would lead him along the path. He learnt that the great Śukrācārya was living in Badrikāśrama (Badrināth). Śukrācārya was an ātma-jñāni^[5]and a jīvanmukta^[6]. Gauḍapāda decided that he would approach the great Śukrācārya, fall at his feet, and implore him to accept him (Gauḍapāda) as his disciple. He blessed the boy and then immediately started his trek to Badrikāśrama. There he met with Śukrācārya, stayed with him for several years, learnt at his feet, and attained Brahma-jñāna. Even after attaining Brahma-jñāna, he stayed there at Badrikāśrama immersed and suffused in ātma-niśta^[7]Many years later, the young boy whom he had taught Mahābhāṣyaṃ and who had made notes using his own blood as ink, would come to Badrikāśrama and become the disciple of Gauḍapāda and be instrumental in starting the lineage of Śaṅkarācāryas that remains unbroken till date – such is the circle of life and history is often crafted in the bends of life that are usually unpredictable and run along paths all their own. Gauḍapādācārya also holds a very prominent and important position in the ācārya-parampara – it is with him that the lineage starts to acknowledge ācāryas in human form, ending the Purāṇic lineage of divine personages and Ṛṣis. Gauḍapādācārya is also credited with authoring one of the (if not the) earliest treatises on Vedanta – Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad Kārikā, also known as Gauḍapāda Kārikā. Māṇḍūkyopaniṣad focuses on the enquiry into the nature of the essence of the ātman – the ātma-tattva and concludes that “Turiya” sometimes also called “Chaturiya” meaning the fourth state of existence, beyond the states of consciousness, dream, and sleep (jagrat, svapna, and suṣupti) is the state of ultimate realization – the Kārikā (commentary) of Gauḍapādācārya stands out for its uncompromising stand on Advaita and the crucial need to go beyond Māya and if need be, shun it altogether.

Śaṅkara would later write a commentary on Gauḍapāda Kārikā where he praises Gauḍapādācārya as his “Parama-Guru” and “Mahāpūjyar” (supreme guru and worshipful guru). On the Konkan coast, not far from the village of Shirodha in Goa, is located the Śrī Sansthāna Gauḍapadācārya Maṭha, perhaps the only Maṭha for Gauḍapādācārya in our country. Gauḍa Sāraswats derive their lineage from here. Govinda Bhagavatpāda was a Kashmiri Sāraswat and the Guru of Śaṅkara. Śaṅkara himself came from Drāvida-Deśa. Śaṅkara would benefit from an eclectic mix of influences from all three streams. Gauḍapādācārya was also a great devotee of Ambāl who is known as Brahma Vidya Svarūpini and Maha Māya Svarūpini – this also perhaps explains Śaṅkara’s devotion to Ambāl and Lalitha Tripura Sundarī and his many works in praise of the supreme goddess. Gauḍapādācārya is also credited with authoring works on Śri Vidyā Tantra in a collection called Subhagodaya Stuti.

In the meantime, the boy, Chandragupta Śarmā exhausted by the lack of sleep, loss of blood, and the sheer effort that had gone into the humongous task of listening, reflecting, and writing, slowly clambered down from the tree and sat under it for a long time, nodding away at times and jerking awake intermittently. Soon, he was fast asleep under the very same tree, the bundle of palm leaves with his notes in blood lying unattended by his side. A goat that was grazing nearby saw this half-opened bundle of leaves and started eating the leaves. By the time Chandragupta Śarmā woke up and realized what was happening, a significant portion of the leaves had been consumed by the goat. What remained after the “goat-meal” is what is available today for the world to read – “Aja Bakṣiṭha Bāśyaṃ” – the leftover commentary after the goat had made a meal of it.

Chandragupta Śarmā gathered the leaves that were still intact, stuffed them back into the sack, and started his weary walk towards his next destination. How should one view this development – so much effort, so many years, and all of it lost in a matter of a few minutes – the only way to see it perhaps, is as “līlā” divine play of the universe and its master. When we stop to consider all things in the world, we realize that the world itself is Apūrṇa – incomplete in many respects – this is why Turiya or the fourth dimension is the “transcendental state” that lies beyond the three states of existence that are part of the normal experiences of the world. Aja Bakṣiṭha Bāśyaṃ is perhaps a way of the universe telling us that there are no guarantees and that what is to happen will happen.

The boy hefted the sack onto his back and started walking. He walked a long time and reached the city of Ujjain. There the first house he saw was that of a merchant – it was already late at night, and he was exhausted beyond the limits of his endurance. There was a stone bench in the courtyard, he staggered in and dropped unconscious on the stone bench. The next morning, the daughter of the merchant saw this boy lying on the bench unconscious and tried waking him up, but he wouldn’t wake up – the fatigue and the loss of blood had caused him to slip into a semi-conscious state. She realized he needed immediate nursing and medical care. She was a trained ayurvedic physician, so she started to treat and care for him – slowly, after several weeks he regained his consciousness and strength. During the time the girl had nursed and cared for him, she had developed feelings for the boy, and she confided in her father. Meanwhile, the boy who had gained strength now, decided to take leave of the family. He walked into the house to thank the father and the girl and then set out on his journey again. When he approached the girl’s father, the father told him: “My girl has fallen in love with you. She has been nursing and taking care of you all these weeks. You are alive because of her. I also see Brahma-Tejas in you and I would consider it a privilege to have you as my son-in-law.”

The boy was taken aback at this request. He had set out to become a Saṃnyāsi but here he was caught in a dilemma of epic proportions. He argued and pleaded but to no avail. The father dragged him to the King’s court seeking justice for his daughter. When the King saw the bright young man, he immediately wanted to give his own daughter in marriage to this Brahmin boy. He called his minister to check whether the Śāstras would allow such a marriage. The minister who was a Brahmin was also looking for a bridegroom for his daughter and he too wanted to have this boy, shining with Brahma-Tejas as his son-in-law! He told the King, that the Śāstras permitted the marriage of up to four girls belonging to all four varṇas if the groom was a Brahmin endowed with the power of Brahma-Tejas – the girls and the families of the girls would both benefit from such an alliance. Chandragupta Śarmā fitted this description perfectly!

He was offered all three girls in marriage. The merchant was a Vysya, the King a Kshatriya, and the Minister a Brahmin. Chandragupta Śarmā thought that all this was Īśvara-iccha (god’s desire) and Īśvara-Sankalpa (god’s determination). He quietly agreed. Thus, it came to pass that someone who did not want to get married at all, ended up marrying three girls! Later, Chandragupta Śarmā would marry a girl from the fourth varṇa as well. He would become the father of four children, one from each of the four women he married.

It is perhaps good to pause here and consider a question that is very relevant in the present times: How was it possible for a Brahmin boy to be sought after by people from other varṇas and how was the marriage allowed? Were the rules different in ancient times? Furthermore, this incident is no small incident. It is an incident in the life of one of the greatest ācāryas of our ācārya-parampara. It also calls into question the relentless narrative that has been in vogue for years of caste superiority and caste discrimination – for example, the fundamental premise of endogamy being at the heart of “caste-superiority” falls flat on its face. The second premise of the Brahmin being the dominant class also falls because here it is the Brahmin boy who is being forced into marriage! While narrative tropes have mainstreamed and institutionalized caste to an extent where it has come to dominate our lives across our political, social, and cultural domains, a deeper analysis of the varṇa-jāti-kula triumvirate seems to suggest that jāti in particular was more a means to ascertain “in-groups” and “out-groups” across gender (Strī jāti & Pūruṣa jāti), language (Tamil, Telugu), occupation (potter, goldsmith, carpenters), practices/rituals (marriage, eating habits, food) and so on^[8]. While a deeper analysis of caste is beyond the scope of this chapter or the larger narrative of this story, it is important for all Indians to reconsider all that they have been told about their history and culture and make the effort to understand these narratives from an Indic perspective that uses the Bharatiya lens rather than a western magnifying glass.

The Paramācārya of Kānchi also provides an explanation^[9]for this which is based more on Dharma and the Śāstra. In those days, he who was known as a Brahmana glowed with the fire of āchāra-anuṣṭhāna-agni, unlike the present times when both āchāra and anuṣṭhāna are rarely followed. The other varṇas too maintained their practices as prescribed and when they wanted children also with Brahma-Tejas then they would give their daughters in marriage to such a Brahmin who shone with Brahma-Tejas. Such a Brahmin could accept daughter from other varṇas and their children would become part of the Brahman-varṇa. This practice seems to have died out over time as in-group norms became more watertight.

Chandragupta Śarmā spent many years in gṛhasthāśrama dharma and watched his boys grow up into strapping young adults. All four were intelligent and they learnt the Mahābhāṣyaṃ from their father. They would in turn spread the knowledge to others. Satisfied that he had achieved all his family goals, Chandragupta Śarmā decided that it was time for Saṃnyāsa. He decided he would go in search of his Guru, Gauḍapādācārya whose fame as a Brahmajñāni (he who had realized the Brahman within) had now spread far and wide. He was said to roam the Himalayas and live the life of he who was one with the entire world. Chandragupta Śarmā decided that he would go to him and learn and realize for himself, that which Gauḍapādācārya had realized.

He bid goodbye to his family and set out in search of Gauḍapādācārya. After several months of search, he found Gauḍapādācārya and fell at his feet, seeking his blessing and imploring him to accept him (Chandragupta Śarmā) as his disciple. Gauḍapādācārya gladly accepted Chandragupta Śarmā as his disciple and initiated him into Saṃnyāsāśrama Dharma. After several years of learning at the feet of his Guru, he too attained Brahma Vidya and ātma-niśta and became Govinda Bhagavatpāda. He learnt from his Guru that at some point in time, he would become the Guru of an avatāra of Śiva himself and that he would know through his jñāna Dṛṣṭi (divine insight) when the time was right.

Thus, it came to pass that Govinda Bhagavatpāda reached the banks of the Narmada for the epochal meeting with the boy Śaṅkara. He arrived early, in fact, several hundred years before the advent of Śaṅkara – he had to prepare the ground, as well as himself and that is what he had been doing all these years. When the young boy arrived at the mouth of the cave and announced himself in glorious fashion, he knew immediately who the boy was and had pulled him into his cave – literally and figuratively.

Śaṅkara takes leave of his Guru

Śaṅkara had spent close to a year in that cave, venturing out occasionally and even then, usually during the early hours of the day or late evening. When he emerged out of the cave, the sun was at its apex and the brilliant light caused his eyes to involuntarily shut themselves, unaccustomed as they had been to light, for a long time. He had to decide what to do and where to go. He sat down on the banks of the Narmada, closed his eyes, and slipped into a deep meditative state. The answer he knew would come on its own and therefore he waited.

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. In Chapter-10, Śaṅkara starts his life as a saṃnyāsi and takes his first steps toward his Guru, his destiny. Chapter-11 is a prequel and traces the events that lead up to Śaṅkara’s meeting with his Guru and the brief events that trace the lives of Gauḍapāda and Govinda Bhagavatpāda. Chapter-12 discusses the epochal meeting between Śaṅkara and his Guru and continues the flashback into the story of Gauḍapāda and Govinda Bhagavatpāda. Chapter-13 is about Śaṅkara and Govinda Bhagavatpāda and what the latter teaches the former.