[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 4

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

20|  atha śivo manujo nijamāyayā dvijagṛhe dvijamodamupāvahan |
prathamahāyana eva samagrahītsakalavarṇamasau nijabhāṣikām ||1||

20.  Śiva having taken human birth, dwelt in the Brāhmaṇas’ [i.e. Śivagurus’]
house and delighted the Brāhmaṇas.  At the age of one, he had mastered the
letters of all languages.

21| dvisama eva śiśurlikhitākṣaraṁ gaditumakṣamatākṣaravitsudhīḥ |
atha sa kāvyapurāṇamupāśṛṇotsvayamavaitkimapi śravaṇaṁ vinā ||2|

21. At the age of two, the boy with his fine intelligence, was able to read
and write.  Then he began the study of poems and Purāṇas.  Some subjects he
grasped even without being taught.

(There is a double-entendre here.  Akṣaravit means a literate person literally
"one who knows letters" but it could also mean "one who knows the Imperishable
[i.e. Brahman.]")

22| ajani duḥkhakaro na gurorasau śravaṇataḥ sakṛdeva parigrahī |
sahanipāṭhajanasya guruḥ svayaṁ sa ca papāṭha tato guruṇā vinā ||3||

22. He gave no trouble at all to his guru because of his ability to grasp any
topic after hearing it once.  He was soon teaching his fellow students and
learning on his own without any guru.(3)

23| śivaguruḥ sa jaraṁstrisame śiśau amṛta karmavaśaḥ sutamoditaḥ |
upaninīṣatasūnurapi svayaṁ na hi yamo'sya kṛtākṛtamīkṣate ||11||

23. Śivaguru, rejoicing in the birth of his son now three years old, ardently
wished to make him fit for karma and immortality by bestowing the upanayana
saṁskāra on him by his own hand. But Yama pays no heed to the intentions of
mortals whether worthy or unworthy .(11)

(Although most people depend on a purohit to handle it, the ideal is for
a father to give gāyatrī dikṣā his son himself.  In Īṣopaniṣad it is said that
one who wishes to live here [in this world] for one hundred years [a full
life] should do so by karma according to the dictates of Dharma. By
progeny one attains to a kind of immortality.  But it goes on to show that
ultimately that too is finite and true immortality comes from jñāna, the
realization of Brahman.  Unfortunately, Śivaguru died before his plans could
come to pass.)

24| upanayaṁ kila pañcavatsare pravarayogayute sumuhūrtake |
dvijavadhūrniyatā jananī śiśoḥ vyadhita tuṣṭamanāḥ saha bandhubhiḥ ||15||

24. The boys’ upanayana was performed at an auspicious yoga and muhūrta in his
fifth year, with the help of family, by the Brāhmaṇas’ wife [i.e. Āryambā] to
the satisfaction of them all.(15)

(The proper age for the performance of upanayana is from 8-16 for a Brāhmaṇa
but in Gṛhya Sūtras it says pañcame brahmavarcasakāma "[one can perform
upanayana] at age five if he desires [his son to have] eminence in Vedic
knowledge." Given the precocious talents of Śaṅkarācārya it was imperative they
not waste time and get him started on the study of Vedas as soon as possible.)

25| adhijage nigamāṁścaturo'pi sa kramata eva guroḥ saṣaḍaṅgakān |
ajani vismitamatra mahāmatau dvijasute'lpatanau janatā manaḥ ||16||

25. Now he began the systematic study of the four Vedas along with their six
aṅgas with his guru. The public were amazed by the intelligence and retentive
power of such a little Brāhmaṇa boy.

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