[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 10

[Murali k]

Thanks Jaldharji.

On Tue 28 Apr, 2020, 1:01 PM Raghav Kumar Dwivedula via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Namaste
> Thank you for your meticulous translations, Jaldhar ji.
>
> On Tue, 28 Apr, 2020, 11:31 AM Jaldhar H. Vyas via Advaita-l, <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > 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
> >
>
>
> The use of the simile of monsoon flashes of lightning for the (vedantic)
> yogis striving for liberation and the autumnal sky with the sun shining
> without obstruction as a simile for apratibandhaka or paripakva GYAnam,
> reads so well.
>
> I observed that in the shloka 57 below,  there is a mention of
> samsAramuktyai samarcati, implying presumably, the stage where some Sadhana
> is still being resorted to for liberation.  This would correlate with the
> stage just immediately prior to the paripakva GYAnam -  which is synonymous
> with liberation per se. And hence the flashes of understanding but unsteady
> nevertheless.
>
> Also the next shloka 58 employing the memorable autumn Sun simile, talks of
> the paripakva GYAnam which is now sahaja and no more comparable to the the
> yogis who get flashes of understanding but are not yet liberated.
>
> Om
> Raghav
>
>
> >
> > 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>
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>