[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 27

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

ācāryakṛtadigvijaya varṇana nāma pañcadaśaḥ sargaḥ ||15||
Canto 15: Description of the ācāryas tours of victory

177| athaśiṣyavarairyutaḥ sahasraiḥ anuyātaḥ sa sudhanvanā ca rājñā |
kakubho vijigīṣureṣa sarvāḥ prathamaṁ setumudāradhīḥ pratasthe ||1||

Followed by thousands of disciples and accompanied King Sudhanva the 
distinguished one [i.e. Śaṅkara] desiring victory over all first proceeded to 
Setu.(1)

(Sudhanva was a  king of Kerala.  He has been mentioned several times before in
the MDS but this is his first appearance in the present work.)

178| abhipūjya sa tatra rāmanāthaṁ saha pāṇḍyaiḥ svavaśe vidhāya colān |
draviḍāṁśca tato jagāma kāñcīṁ nagarīṁ hastigirernitambakāñcīm ||4||

Having worshipped Rāmanātha there, he conquered the Pāṇḍyas, Cholas, and 
Draviḍas and then went to the city of Kāñcī on the slopes of Mount 
Hastigiri.(4)

(Setu is the Rāmasetu between India and Shri Lanka and Rāmeśvaram is the famous
tīrtha there.)

179| suradhāma sa tatra kārayittvā paravidyācaraṇānusāri citram |
apavārya ca tāntrikānatānīdbhagavatyāḥ śrutisammatāṁ saparyām ||5||

He caused a mandir to be built there according to the rules of the Vedas. And 
he conquered the Tantrikas and caused Devi to be worshipped according to Vedic 
principles.(5)

(Actually the Kāmākṣī mandir was already very old before Śaṅkarācārya reached
there but he had it renovated and the order of worship which had previously
been according to nāstika tantrika methods changed to a proper Vedic form.)

180| nijapādasarojasevanāyai vinayena svayamāgatānathā''ndhrān |
anugṛhya sa veṅkaṭācaleśaṁ pranīpatyā''pa vidarbharājadhānīm ||6||

He was respectfully worshipped by the Āndhras when he came to them and he 
blessed them.  He worshipped the Lord of Veṅkaṭācala and went to the kingdom 
of Vidarbha.(6)

(Vidarbha is the eastern part of Maharashtra.)

181| yatirāḍatha teṣu teṣu deśoṣviti pāṣaṇḍaparāndvijānvimathnan |
aparāntamahārṇavopakaṇṭhaṁ pratipede prativādidarpahantā ||29||

In all the lands he rebuked the Brāhmaṇas who had fallen into heretical ways. 
Defeating all rivals in debate, he reached the Western Ocean.(29)

(There were some sects e.g. the Pāśupatas who restricted their membership or 
atleast the higher levels of it to Brāhmaṇas yet engaged in acts not suitable 
for Brāhmaṇas.)

182| bahulabhramavānayaṁ jaḍātmā sumanobhirmathitaśca pūrvameva |
iti sindhumupekṣya sa kṣamāvāniva gokarṇamudāradhīḥ pratasthe ||31||

With the roar of mighty waves, the sea was under delusion [that it was 
powerful and important] but he serenely ignored it and being tolerant proceed 
on directly to Gokarṇa.(31)

(Having heard of the fame of Śaṅkarācārya, the ocean became jealous and tried 
to challenge him.  But he just ignored him and being tolerant and forgiving,
didn't retaliate but continued on his own way.)

183| avagāhya saritpatiṁ sa tatra priyamāsādya tuṣāraśailaputryāḥ |
stavasattamamadbhutārthacitraṁ racayāmāsa bhujaṅgavṛttaramyam ||32||

Having bathed in the ocean, in the loving presence of the consort of 
Śailaputrī [i.e. Śiva the consort of Pārvatī], he wrote wonderful verses of 
praise adorned with poetic tropes in the bhujaṅga meter.(32)

(This is the popular Śivabhujaṅga stotra.)

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