[Advaita-l] shlokah on Vyasa

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

> Dear Sarmaji,
> 
> I know that many say it as "madhyamam",but I have also read in many 
> books,especially the traditional one as "madhyagam".We know that Shankaracharya 
> occupied a supreme position in Advaita vedanta,and after him many came as 
> Advaita Gurus,especially in Sringeri mutt.I have also seen in this mutt this 
> version.To be specific,starting from Sadashiva and ending with 
> asmadacharya,Shankara is considered as the Guru who taught Advaita clearly.The 
> word madhya doesnot mean medium as you have said.But,madhyamam has this meaning 
> between uttama and the adhama.Therefore,madhyagam is the apt choice.Moreover,as 
> I have explained before,the word has serious "Madhyamaka"overtones and the 
> critics of Shankara may misuse it.
> N.Srikanta.

As no one has commented on this yet, let me dare to jut in. Please rest assured that
I am fully aware of the context and significance of this discussion thread. madhyamA
and madhyagA would both be meaningful, so either reading is fine. However, I see no
reason to find fault with the word madhyamA here.
 
In a Sloka that uses the words samArambhAM and paryantAM, the use of madhyamAM
can only convey the meaning of "in the middle". Contextually, there is absolutely no
reason to compare with the words uttama and adhama here. There is also absolutely
no reason to suspect a so-called "serious madhyamaka" overtone. If the mere usage
of the word madhyama is to lead to a suspicion of Buddhist madhyamaka connotation,
then what would you make of "namo madhyamAya ca" in the rudra namakam?!!
 
Vidyasankar