[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 11

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2020, Jaldhar H. Vyas via Advaita-l wrote:

>
> 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.
>

It is still technically Shankara Jayanti in the USA. :-)

ātmavidyāpratiṣṭhā nāma  ṣaṣṭa sargaḥ ||6||
Canto 6: The Establishment of Knowledge of the Ātman.

64| athāgamadbrāhmaṇasūnurādadhītavedo dalayansvabhāsā |
tejāṁsi kaścitsarasīruhākṣaḥ didṛkṣamāṇaḥ kila deśikendram ||1||

64. Then along came a Brāhmaṇa youth learned in Vedas, whose speech was soft 
and pleasing, whose body shone with energy, and whose eyes were like lotuses. 
He wished to speak with the Great Teacher [i.e. Śaṅkara.](1)

65| pṛṣṭo babhāṇa gurumuttaramutarajñaḥ vipro guro mama gṛhaṁ budha coladeśe |
yatrāpagā vahati tatra kaverakanyā yasyāḥ payo haripadāmbujabhaktimulam ||4||

65. The Brāhmaṇa responded [by way of introduction] “Oh guru, Knower of the 
Highest of the High, my home is in the Chola country. There flows Kaveras’ 
Daughter [i.e. the Kāveri river] whose water washes the feet of Hari [i.e. 
Viṣṇu Bhagavān] and is root of faith.”(4)

(The Chola Empire was based in the modern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.  The 
blessed river Kāveri flows there.)

66| aṭāṭyamāno mahato didṛkṣuḥ kramādimaṁ deśamupāgato'smi |
bibhemi majjanbhavavārirāśau tatpāragaṁ māṁ kṛpayā vidhehi ||5||

66. “As I wandered through different lands, seeking to speak with mahātmās, I 
came to know of your fame.  I am frightened by saṁsāra please be my 
protector.”(5)

67| ityuktavantaṁ kṛpayā mahātmā vyadīpayatsaṁnyasanaṁ yathāvat |
prāhurmahāntaḥ prathamaṁ vineyaṁ taṁ deśikendrasya sanandanākhyam ||14||

67. Having heard this speech the mahātmā [i.e. Śaṅkara] out of mercy 
enlightened him by giving him saṁnyāsa.  He is renowned as Sanandana, the 
first disciple of the great teacher.(14)

68| śāntāṁ diśaṁ devanṛṇāṁ vihāya nānyā digasmai samarocatāddhā |
tatratyatīrthāni niṣevamāṇaḥ gantuṁ mano'dhādbadarīṅkramātsaḥ ||56||

68. He [Śaṅkara] wished to travel in the peaceful direction beloved by Devas 
and Men and none other and to bathe in tīrthas so he proceeded directly to 
Badari pleasing to the mind.(56)

(The "peaceful direction" is North. Badarikāśrama in the modern Indian state 
of Uttarākhaṇḍa.)

69| sa dvādaśe vayasi tatra samādhiniṣṭhaiḥ brahmarṣibhiḥ śrutiśiro bahudhā vicārya |
ṣaḍbhiśca saptabhiratho navabhiśca khinnaiḥ bhavyaṁ gabhīramadhuraṁ phaṇati sma bhāṣyam ||60||

69. There, at the age of twelve, in a state of samādhi he pondered greatly on 
the meaning of the Vedas with the Brahmarṣis and produced the commentary [on 
the Brahmasūtras] which gives peace to those suffering from six, seven and 
nine causes.(60)

(At Badarikāśrama, the divine brahmarṣis such as Nara and Nārāyaṇa and the 
four Sanatkumāras eternally do tapa.  In samādhi, Śaṅkarāchārya was able to 
discuss with them the highest meanings -- literally the "head" of the Vedas.

The six causes of suffering are kṣudhā or hunger, pipāsa or thirst, jarā or 
birth, mṛtyu or death, śhoka or sadness, and moha or lust.

Alternatively they are the traditional six Nāstika darṣanas, namely Chārvaka 
or materialists, Digambara or Jains, Sautrāntika, Vaibhasika, Madhyamaka and 
Yogāchara which are varieties of Buddhists.  Actually, this is a very broad 
description.  For instance Digambaras are actually only one sect of Jains, the 
other being the Śvetāmbaras and the Buddhists' traditional number of schools 
is eighteen which itself is too low a number.  In any case all these 
philosophies deny the authority of the Vedas so can only bring about 
suffering.

The seven causes of suffering are the saptadhātus of the body: skin, blood, 
flesh, bone, fat, marrow, and semen.  Mistaking the body for the Ātman brings
about suffering.

Alternatively they are the astika darṣanas (except Vedānta of course.) 
Normally they are enumerated as six, the other five being Nyāya, Vaiṣeśika, 
Saṁkhya, Yoga and Pūrva Mimāṁsā but the number seven is made up by counting 
the Sāṁkhyas who are atheistic and those who have a place for Iśvara in their 
system, separately and also counting the Pūrva Mimāṁsakas who follow Kumārila 
Bhaṭṭa and those who follow Prabhākara Miśra separately.  Again this is a 
broad description.  For instance there is a third albeit minor sect of Pūrva 
Mimāṁsakas who followed Mūrāri Miśra.  And now there are several rival schools 
of Vedānta which didn't exist in those days.  In fact Mādhavācharya himself, 
in his Sarvadarṣanasaṁgraha lists fifteen darṣanas both Nāstikas and Astika 
and even that isn't an exhaustive list.

One might wonder why Astika darṣanas based on the Vedas are also singled out. 
The Advaitin does not doubt there is some good in their doctrines and is 
prepared to accept it.  For that matter even the Nāstikas may posess some 
nuggets of wisdom and those should not be rejected just because the rest of 
their philosophies are no good.  For instance Gauḍapādāchārya compliments the 
Buddha even while refuting him.  But back to the other Astikas, the problem is 
that their doctrines even when not wrong, are incomplete.  A person relying on 
them may be lulled into complacency thinking that they know what needs to be 
known when in fact they are missing the mark.  Thus they will continue to 
suffer.

The nine causes of suffering are:

1. the five jñānendriyas or sense organs -- skin, eyes, ears, nose, and
    tongue.
2. the five karmendriyas or limbs -- arms, legs, head, torso, and genitals.
3. the five prāṇas or biological forces -- inhalation, exhalation, digestion,
    excretion, and vitality.
4. the four parts of the mind -- intelligence, understanding, ego, and
    consciousness.
5. the five physical elements -- air, earth, fire, water and ākasa.
6. Avidyā or ignorance.
7. Kāma or desire.
8. Karma or action.
9. Vāsanā or the effects of previous lives.

Alternatively they are nine false doctrines:

1. There is bheda between Ātmā, the individual self and paramātma, the
    supreme self.
2. There is bheda between Iśvara and His universe 
3. There is bheda amongst the phases of the universe such as srṣṭi or creation
    and pralaya or the destruction of it.
4. There is bheda amongst the created beings.
5. There is bheda between the Ātmā and the universe.
6. Ignorance is real.
7. Desire is real
8. Karma is real.
9. The impressions of past lives have no effect on this one.

Believing any of these doctrines causes suffering.)

70| karatalakalitādvayātmatattvaṁ kṣapita duranta cirantanapramoham |
upacitamuditoditairguṇaughaiḥ upaniṣadāmayamujjahāra bhāṣyam ||61||

70. His commentaries on the Upaniṣads via their concise, to-the-point, and 
authoritative nature, explained the non-dual nature of the Ātman in a way in 
which it was made clear as a fruit in the palm of ones hand.(61)

("A fruit in the palm of ones hand" is an idiomatic expression in sanskrit 
meaning something which is obvious.)

71| tato mahābhāratasārabhūtāḥ sā vyākarodbhāgavatīśca gītāḥ |
sanatsujātīyamasatsudūraṁ tato nṛsiṁhasya ca tāpanīyam ||62||

71. He also commented on the essence of the Mahābhārata, Bhagavāns’ Song, on 
the Sanatasujātīyama and also the Nṛsiṁha Tāpanīya [Upaniṣad].(62)

(Bhagavadgītā literally means the Song of Bhagavān.

The words of the Ṛṣi Sanatsujāta are also recorded in the Mahābhārata and are 
filled with Advaitic wisdom.  This and the mention of commentary on a 
so-called "minor" upaniṣad shows that Śaṅkarāchārya's interests were not 
confined to the prasthāna trayi, the "big three" of Vedānta alone.)

72| atha vratīndurvidhivadvineyānadhyāpayāmāsa sa naijabhāṣyam |
tarkaiḥ pareṣāṁ taruṇairvivasvanmarīcibhiḥ sindhuvadapraśoṣyam ||65||

72. The Moon of Vrata-keepers, taught his disciples in a systematic way with 
these commentaries, who could not be overcome by the arguments of other 
[philosophies] as the ocean cannot be emptied by the rays of the sun.(65)

(The fierce sun can evaporate small lakes and rivers but not the entire ocean. 
In this way the rival darṣanas can only nip at the heels of Advaita Vedānta 
but they cannot overthrow it.)

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