|| shrI sha.nkarAchArya aShTottara-shata-nAma-stotram.h ||

Jaldhar H. Vyas jaldhar at BRAINCELLS.COM
Tue May 12 14:19:34 CDT 1998


> ?doubt?  what does the name brahmarAkShasapoShakaH mean?
>          Is it correct? Or it should be something else?
>          Thanks for your help.

The nourisher of the Brahmarakshasa?  Perhaps this refers to a story in
the Digvijayas that Gaudapadacharya had learned Vyakarana from Patanjali
but was cursed by him to beome a Brahmarakshasa.  The Brahmarakshasa would
trap a Brahman every day and ask him a question on grammar.  If the
hapless scholar failed to answer he was eaten.  This continued until one
day a certain Chandra Sharma answered the question freeing Gaudapadacharya
from the curse.  This Chandra Sharma went on to be Govindacharya and the
guru of Shankaracharya.

The only problem I see with this explanation is it would make
Govindacharya the Poshaka not Shankaracharya but I don't have a better
one.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>



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