[Advaita-l] Shanmatha Sthapanam by Adhisankaracharya

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Namaste Sangeerth ji

1. You may note that nowhere in PTbhAShya, there is any reference to the
chaturbAhu shankha-chakra-dhArI form as the meaning of the word Vishnu.
Otherwise if we insist on literal interpretation, then we should take the
"Bhagavad Gita as it is", and switch to the Madhva tradition where Bhagavan
Krishna is greater than Vishnu who is a mere emanation of Sri Krishna.
Would Sri Vaishnavas accept the Madhva position on Vishnu being inferior to
dvi-bAhU Krishna Bhagavan, based on a literal reading of the Gita as you
suggest.
Therefore a literal reading of the Gita is not possible, as it goes against
SriVaishnavism.

2. As for looking for a declaration within PTB that "I am the great
shanmata sthApaka Acharya", it is irrelevant. It's enough to show that
Shankara did not privilege a shankha chakra form of Ishwara over other
forms like the umAsahAya form (the yaxa who was pUjaniyaH Shiva for whom
Umah HaimavatI is the consort).

Therefore atleast the umApati and Vishnu forms of Ishvara are both given
the same status in PTbhAShya based on kena (and shvetashvatara) upanishad
bhAShyas and gItA bhAShyas.

I request Subbu ji to share if he has encountered verses showing
descriptions of any other upAsya forms in PTB as being saguNa Brahman equal
to Shiva-Vishnu. My understanding is that as per brahmasUtra bhAShya,
although not all upAsya forms are equally exalted as saguNa Brahma, even
some select kArya-brahma upAsanas including Omkara upAsana is equivalent to
the highest upAsya. (granting the Shiva or Vishnu upAsya forms are the
highest based on gIta/kena/shvetashvatara.  (And discounting the vinAyakas,
saptabhaginIs etc.)  In other words, there is a certain prima facie
reference in PTB of saguNa Brahma forms in Kena/shvetashvatara for
Shiva-form and Gita etc for Vishnu-form.

3. Sri Shankara shows that both meanings for the word "Vishnu" are valid in
different contexts viz.,
A. As an exalted divine form (upAsya devatA)
B. Formless Consciousness which underlies all forms.



Om
Raghav











On Mon, 20 Jan, 2025, 2:54 pm Sangeerth P via Advaita-l, <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Thank you for your kind reply sir. I have posted my question only as a
> seeker.* I am sorry if it has hurt you personally. *As I told you,* I am
> very new to Shankaracharya *and I am eager to know about his philosophy. I
> am from the Ramanuja tradition. My question is when we say that the same
> Brahman has manifested in different forms and it has created six matas. We
> don't see this in Vaishnava sect. For example, Vishnu taking avatara of
> Varaha or Narasimha or Matsya has not created a separate sect or Varaha or
> a separate sect of Narasimha. All joins down to a single sect called
> Vaishnava. Then how can we use this logic at all, to tell that the same
> Brahman manifested as 6 gods.
> Regards
> Sangeerth P
> 8608658009
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM Kaushik Chevendra <
> chevendrakaushik at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > 4. As per one *Panini* sutra we can tell that Nara+Ayana=Naraayana, can
> >> indicate only one person then how can one understand that Adishankara is
> >> Shanmata stapanaacharya where he gives equal status for all the 6 gods
> as
> >> Saguna Brahman.
> >
> > Does the singular noun Narayana apply to Rama, krishna , narasimha ,
> > vishnu? Why can't it apply to 6 gods? Just as Vishnu is rama, krishna,etc
> > he is also the other 5 gods as well. This is the logic.
> >
> >>
> >> Regards
> >> Sangeerth P
> >> 8608658009
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