[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 23

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

ugrabhairavaparājaya nāma ekādaśaḥ sargaḥ ||11||
Canto 11: The Victory over Ugrabhairava

(The author of the sāra has not included any ślokas from this sarga.  It tells 
the story of one Ugrabhairava. He is a member of a now extinct extreme 
tantrika sect called Kapālikas because of their practice of carrying a staff 
with a skull on it.  This Kapālika Ugrabhairava decides he needs Śaṅkarācāryas 
head for his sādhanā. Incredibly, Śaṅkarācārya agrees to give it to him 
indicating his complete lack of identification with the physical body. 
Padmapadācārya catches wind of this and invokes Bhagavān Narasiṁha who slays
Ugrabhairava.)


hastāmalakādīnāṁ śiṣyatvena grahaṇa nāma dvādaśaḥ sargah ||12||
Canto 12: The taking of discipleship by hastāmalaka and others

142| athaikadā'sau yatisarvabhaumaḥ tīrthāni sarvāṇi caransatīrthyaiḥ |
ghorātkalergopitadharmamāgātgokarṇamabhyarṇacalārṇavaugham ||1||

142. Then one day, the Emperor of all Monks [i.e. Śaṅkara] who had decided to 
visit all tīrthas, reached the tīrtha unstained by the darkness of the Kali 
Yuga called Gokarṇa on the shore of the ocean.(1)

(Gokarṇa is in Karnataka. Śiva Bhagavān is there as Mahābalaśvara.)

143| viriñcināmbhoruhanābhavandyaṁ prapañcanāṭyādbhutasūtradhāram |
tuṣṭava vāmārdhavadhuṭimastaduṣṭāvalepaṁ praṇamanmaheśam ||2||

143. He worshipped Maheśa [i.e. Śiva] who is worthy of being worshipped by 
Viriñci [i.e. Brahma] and Ambhoruhanābha [i.e. Padmanābha or Viṣṇu], the 
wonderous director of the drama of the world, whose wife forms His left half 
and who supresses the pride of the wicked.(2)

(In Nāṭyaśāstra the sūtradhāra is the director or stage-manager of a play.)

144| guṇatrayātītavibhāvyamitthaṁ gokarṇanāthaṁ vacasā'rcayitvā |
tisraḥ sa rātrīstrijagatpavitre kṣetre mudaiṣa kṣipati sma kālam ||6||

144. He worshipped with speech the Lord of Gokarṇa who is to be understood as 
beyond the three guṇas.  He gladly spent three nights in that world-purifying 
land.(6)

145| vaikuṇṭhakailāsavivartabhūtaṁ harannatāghaṁ hariśaṅkarākhyam |
divyasthalaṁ deśikasārvabhaumaḥ tīrthapravāsī na cirādayāsīt ||7||

145. After some time during his tour of the tīrthas, the Emperor of Teachers [i.e. 
Śaṅkara] reached that divine place called Hariśaṅkara which seems to be as if 
Vaikuṇṭha and Kailāsa combined.(7)

(This is Hariharapuram in Karnataka.  As the name suggests both Viṣṇu Bhagavān 
and Śiva Bhagavān are worshipped there.)

146| bhramāpanodāya bhidāvadānāmadvaitamudrāmih darśayantau |
ārādhya devau hariśaṅkarau sa dvyarthābhirityarcayati sma vāgbhiḥ ||8||

146. In order to correct the misconceptions of the dualists and manifest the 
stamp of non-dualism, he worshipped the Gods Hari and Śaṅkara with verses 
which could be interpreted in two different ways.(8)

(A mudra in this context is a stamp or seal.  Before envelopes, letters and 
documents would be tied up in a bundle and a mudra made of wax or clay would 
be attached indicating the owner or writer. Advaita Vedānta accepts the 
theories of the dualists as far as they are useful but adds the "stamp" of 
non-dualism.

In the MSD at this point there are ten ślokas said to written by Śaṅkarācārya 
which can be interpreted as referring to either the avatārs of Viṣṇu Bhagavān 
or to Śiva Bhagavān.)

147| samāvahankesaritāṁ varāṁ yaḥ suradviṣatkuñjaramājaghāna |
prahlādamullāsitamādadhānaṁ pañcānanaṁ taṁ praṇumaḥ purāṇam ||12||


I worship that Supreme Lord who wears the Gangā in His hair and delighted the 
Gods and good men by killing Gajāsura their enemy.

Or

I Worship that Immortal Lord who took the form of a Man-Lion [i.e. Narasiṁha] 
and saved the bhakta Prahlāda, thereby bringing him joy, by killing 
Hiraṇyakaśipu.(12)

(This is an example of one of those ślokas.)

148| vṛṣākapāyīvarayoḥsaparyāṁ vācā'timocārasayeti tanvan |
munipravīro muditātmakāmo mūktāmbikāyāḥ sadanaṁ pratasthe ||20||

The Prince of Sages praised Śiva and Viṣṇu with words sweeter than bananas 
then proceeded onward to the abode of Mūktāmbikā.(20)

(This tīrtha is also located in Karnataka.)

149| uccāvacānandajabāṣpamuccaiḥ udgīrṇaromāñcamudārabhaktiḥ |
ambāmihāpārakṛpāvalambāṁ sambhāvayannastuta nistulaṁ saḥ ||26||

He spoke with tears of joy, a great outpouring of thrilling bhakti, 
incomparable praise of the Mother who extends Her mercy to all.(26)

150| ārādhanaṁ te bahireva kecitantarabahiścaikatame'ntareva |
anye pare tvamba kadāpi kuryuḥ naiva tvadaikyānubhavaikaniṣṭhāḥ ||30||

[Śaṅkara said] “Some worship You externally, others both internally and 
externally and yet others only internally.  The highest do not worship You 
Mother because they abide in the experience of oneness with You.”(30)

(The external, public worship is through pūjā, japa on occasions such as 
navarātri etc.  A sādhaka can progress higher by dīkśā in śrīvidyā where 
internal meditation on i.e. chakras is taught.  A still higher class of 
sādhaka can fully internalize the worship.  But in all these methods, although 
the oneness of the bhakta and Devī is taught, an element of difference is felt 
between the two.  But not for the very highest type of sādhaka.  He does not 
need to "worship" not because he thinks it is beneath him, but because he has 
become totally identified with the object of that worship.

It is a huge error to assume as some do that jñāna is opposed to bhakti or is 
an alternative to it or replacement for it. Simply put, in Advaita Vedānta, 
jñāna _is_ the highest bhakti.)


151| iti tāṁ vacanaiḥ prapūjya bhaikṣaudanamātreṇa sa tuṣṭimānkṛtārthaḥ |
bahusādhakasaṁstutaḥ kiyantaṁ samayaṁ tatra nināya śāntacetāḥ ||38||

Having worshipped Her by these words, he [i.e. Śaṅkara] stayed there awhile 
happy to subsist on bhikṣā, accompanied by many sādhakas and satisfied with 
his progress so far.(38)


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