[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 10

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

It looks like the latest installment didn't make it to most list 
subscribers so I'm reposting.  Apologies if you see it twice.

Also part 11 is proving to be complicated.  I'm going to work on for a 
little longer before posting it but hopefully still on Shankara Jayanti 
day as it is very apropos for that occasion I think.


57| haṁsabhāvamadhigamya sudhīndre taṁ samarcati ca saṁsṛtimuktyai |
sañcacāla kathayanniva meghaḥ cañcalācapalatāṁ viṣayeṣu ||118||

57. Having attained the state of a [parama]haṁsa the most intelligent [i.e. 
Śaṅkara] engrossed himself in liberation from saṁsāra. Flashes of lightening 
amongst the storm clouds seemed to mirror flashes of insight.(118)

58| chātramukhyamamumāha kiyadbhiḥ vāsarairgataghane gagane saḥ |
paśya saumya śaradā vimalaṁ khaṁ vidyayeva viśadaṁ paratattvam ||140||

58. After several days when the clouds cleared and the sky was bright, 
[Govindapāda said] “Look Dear One at the clear autumn sky. It is like the 
Paratattva [i.e. Brahman] which shines forth by knowledge .”(140)

(The simile in these two ślokas is that of the monsoon season. During the 
monsoon the sky is dark from masses of black storm clouds which obscure the 
Sun itself.  Thus even though Brahman is self-illuminating, it is obscured by 
māyā.  Occasionally the stormy sky is illuminated by a flash of lightening 
which is as bright as the Sun for a few seconds but then disappears.  In the 
same way there are some Yogis who can catch a glimpse of Brahman.  But without 
a firm foundation of jñāna, they fall back into darkness again.  The autumn 
winds drive the clouds away and the Sun which was always there becomes visible 
once again.  So too, when a man has steady jñāna, the obscurities of māyā are 
dispelled and Brahman is clearly and permanently realized.

During the monsoon, saṁnyāsis, even those who are parivrājakas or those who 
wander never staying in one place for more than three days, observe the 
chaturmāsa vrata where they settle down and bless the people with lectures 
etc.  Govindapāda is also saying that the chaturmāsa is over and Śaṅkarācharya 
is free to travel again.)

59| sa tvamuttamapumānasi kaścittattvavitpravara nānyasamānaḥ |
tadyatasva niravadyanibandhaiḥ sadya eva jagaduddharaṇāya ||161||

59. “You are the best amongst men, the foremost amongst the wise, there is 
none to compare with you.  Therefore, you must prepare faultless commentaries 
for the uplift of the world.”(161)

60| gacca vatsa nagaraṁ śaśimauleḥ svacchadevataṭinīkamanīyam |
tāvatā paramanugrahamādyā devatā tava kariṣyati tasmin ||162||

60. “Go my child to the city of Śaśimauli [i.e. Śiva] known for the pure 
Goddess who flows there [i.e.  Gangā].  There your activities will receive the 
utmost blessings of the First Amongst Gods [i.e. Śiva.]”(162)

(The city of Śiva is Kāśi.)

61 prāpa tāpasavaraḥ sa hi kāśīṁ nīpakānanaparītasamīpām |
āpagānikaṭahāṭakacañcadyūpapaṅktisamudañcitaśobhām ||165||

61. The best of tapasvis [i.e. Śaṅkara] reached Kāśi adjacent to the forest of 
Kadamba trees, whose river banks are decorated with lines of glittering 
sacrificial posts.(61)

(On the other side of the Gangā from Kāśi is the forest called Ānandavana 
which is a holy tirtha in its' own right.  During a Vedic yajña, the 
sacrificial animals are tied to a yupa or post.)

62| so'vagāhya salilaṁ surasindhoḥ uttatāra śitikaṇṭhajaṭābhyaḥ |
jāhnavīsalilavegahṛtastadyogapuṇyaparipūrṇa ivenduḥ ||170||

62. He bathed in the flowing water of the divine river that fell from the 
matted locks of Śitikaṇṭha [i.e. Śiva.].  He emerged looking like the Moon 
which was dislodged [from Śiva Bhagavāns hair] by the force of Jāhnavī’s [i.e. 
Gangā’s] fall and was blessed with fullness by that contact.(170)

(Śiva Bhagavān wears the crescent moon as a hair ornament.  When He caught 
Gangā in His hair, the force of her flow gave the Moon an involuntary bath.
Wanted or not, the Moon got the rewards of a dip in the Gangā and became the
full moon because of it.  In this way, the already considerable stature of 
Śaṅkarācharya was enhanced even further by his bath in the Gangā.)

63| viśveśaścaraṇayugaṁ praṇamya bhaktyā haryādyaistridaśavaraiḥ samarcitasya |
so'naiṣītprayatamanā jagatpavitre kṣetre'sāviha samayaṁ kiyantamāryaḥ ||172||

63. Bowing with faith at the feet of Lord Viśveśa who is worshipped by Hari 
[i.e. Viṣṇu Bhagavān], Indra and the other Devas, he dwelled in that 
world-purifying place for some time.(172)

(Several of Śaṅkarācharya's stotras deal with Gangā, Kāśi or sacred places 
within it.)

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