[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 17

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

(On seeing Śaṅkarāchārya enter his home, Maṇḍana Miśra became very angry.  A 
yati is not an appropriate guest at a śrāddha.  Sharp words were exchanged and 
finally Vyāsa muni was able to placate Maṇḍana enough to allow Śaṅkarāchārya 
to stay.)

105| athopasaṁspṛśya jalaṁ sa śāntaḥ sasambhramaṁ maṇḍanapaṇḍito'pi ||
vyāsajñayā śāstravidarcayitvā nyamantrayadbhaikṣakṛte maharṣim ||35||

105. Paṇḍita Maṇḍana calmed down and sprinkled water on receiving the 
direction of Vyāsa and invited the knower of Śāstras [i.e. Śaṅkara], “come 
and take bhikṣā Maharṣi.”(35)

(To purify oneself, a Brāhmaṇa should sprinkle water on himself with the 
aghamarṣaṇa sūkta. This is done for physical purity in pūja etc. but it can
also be for pollution from mental causes such as anger.

I detect a hint of sarcasm in Maṇḍana Miśra calling Śaṅkarāchārya "Maharṣi" in 
the presence of Vyāsa and Jaimini.)


106| sa cābravītsaumya vivādabhikṣāmicchanbhavatsaṁnidhimāgato|smi |
sā'nyonyaśiṣyatvapaṇā pradeyā nāstyādaraḥ prākṛyabhaktabhaikṣye ||36||

106. He replied, “Dear one I have come into your presence to take debate 
bhikṣā.  The terms of the debate should be that the loser of the debate 
becomes the disciple of the victor.  I am not interested in the food that 
is conventionally taken by people as bhikṣā.(36)

(saumya or dear one is a term of address to a child like "beta" in Gujarati or
Hindi.  Even though Śaṅkarāchārya is only 17-18 years old at this point and
Maṇḍana Miśra is considerably older, it is the former as a saṁnnyāsi who is
superior.)

107| mama na kiñcidapi dhruvamīpstitaṁ śrutiśiraḥpathavistṛtimantarā |
avahitena makheṣvavadhīritaḥ sa bhavatā bhavatāpahimadyutiḥ ||37||

107. “I have no desire but to establish the path of the highest meaning of 
Śruti in full.  In your zeal [to practice the sacrifices], you 
disrespected the Lord of Sacrifice who is resplendent with the Moon [i.e. 
Śiva.]"(37)

(Pūrva Mimāṁsā does not see the need for Iśvara in its' system. There is a 
similarity to the story of Dakṣa Prajāpati who was also so proud of conducting 
yajñas that he disrespected the Lord of yajñas.  As I mentioned re: śloka 69, 
the śira or "head" of the Vedas is its' highest meaning i.e. Vedānta.  Dakṣa
also lost his head and was only enlightened when Śiva Bhagavān replaced it
withe the true head of the Vedas.)

108| jagati samprati taṁ prathayāmyahaṁ samabhibhūya samastavivādinam |
tvamapi saṁśraya me matamuttamaṁ vivada vā vada vā'smi jitastviti ||38||

108. “I shall overthrow anyone in the world who opposes it.  You too 
should accept this highest philosophy. Debate me or if you decline, 
consider yourself defeated.”(38)

109| iti yatipravarasya niśamya tadvacanamarthavadāgatavismayaḥ |
paribhavena navena mahāyaśāḥ sa nijagau nijagauravamasthitaḥ ||39||

109. So said the best among ascetics [i.e. Śaṅkara].  Hearing these words 
filled with deep meaning, he [i.e. Maṇḍana] was astonished at this new 
insult to his honor but answered without giving up his pride.(39)

110| vādaṁ kariṣyāmi na sandihe'tra jayājayau nau vaditā na kaścita |
na kaṇṭhaśoṣaikaphalo vivādo mitho jigīṣū kurutastu vādam ||46||

110. [Śaṅkara says] “I shall debate. But there is no one amongst us who 
can pronounce the winner and loser.  This debate should not be for the 
purpose of tiring the throat.  We are both taking part in order to 
win.”(46)

(The debate should not just be talk for the sake of talk.  There has to be a 
definitive answer and that requires a neutral referee who can impartially 
judge who has the better argument.)


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