Adi Shankara (788 CE-820 CE), also calledAdi Shankaracharya (Sanskrit:आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य,romanized:Ādi Śaṅkara, Ādi Śaṅkarācārya,lit.'FirstShankaracharya',[note 2]sa),[note 3] was an Indian Vedic scholar,philosopher and teacher (acharya) ofAdvaita Vedanta.[1] While he is often revered as the most importantIndian philosopher in the history of Hinduism, reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant,[2] and the historical influence of his works on Hindu intellectual thought has been questioned by scholars.[3][4][5] The historical Shankara was probably relatively unknown[4][6][7] until his school expanded some centuries later and he was alsoVaishnava-oriented. His true impact lies in his "iconic representation ofHindu religion and culture[8] He wrote many books such asSaundarya laharifor laudingLakshmi. He also wrote many hymns including theBhavani Ashtaka andMahishasuramardini stotra in praise of goddessDurga. Shankara gave explanations for Brahma Sutra,Bhagavat Geeta, etc. His first guru was Gaudapada, who lived as a seer on the banks ofriver Narmada. He established for Maths in four extreme corner to spread the message of Advaita other all over the country. They are namely Jyotirmatha at Badrinath, Shardapitha at Dwarka, Govardhanmatha at Puri and Sringeri matha at Sringeri.
Until the 10th century Shankara was overshadowed by his older contemporary Maṇḍana Miśra,[4][6] and there is no mention of him in concurrent Hindu,Buddhist orJain sources until the11th century except for philosophers from his own school and his immediate disciples like Padmapada and Sureshvara who revere him in their respective commentaries.[7], this may however wasn't done out of respect as other scholars point out[9] The legendary Shankara was popularized for the first tme in the14th century when Vidyaranya wrote one of the earliest biographies after him, centuries after his death, based over earlier sources by other biographers[10][11] when Sringerimatha started to receive patronage from the emperors of theVijayanagara Empire[6][12][13][14] and shifted their allegiance fromAdvaiticAgamic Shaivism to Brahmanical Advaita orthodoxy.[15] Hagiographies compiled and recorded by the tradition, dating from the 12th-17th centuries deified him as a ruler-renunciate, travelling on a digvijaya (conquest of the four quarters)[16][17] across theIndian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy, defeating his opponents in theological debates.[18][19] These hagiographies portray him as founding fourmathas (monasteries), and Adi Shankara also came to be regarded as the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order, and the unifier of the Shanmata tradition of worship. The title ofShankaracharya, used by heads of certain monasteries in India, is derived from his name. Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism,Shaivism, andShaktism) with the introduction of thepanchayatana puja form ofworship, the simultaneous worship of five deities– Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the oneBrahman, the invisible Supreme Being.[20]
Shankara Vijayams (IASTŚaṃkaravijayaṃ) are traditional hagiographies of theAdvaita Vedanta exegeteAdi Shankara, describing his 'conquest of the four quarters'. In these hagiographies, Shankara is deified as a ruler-renunciate, bringing harmony to the four quarters.[16][17] The genre may have been modelled on thedigvijayas ofMadhvacharya, since one of the earliest Shankara-hagiography post-dates Madhva (1238-1317).[21] The Shankara-digvijayams mimick the royaldigvijayams, as his 'conquest of the four quarters' and the establishment of his kingdom is followed by his coronation with this ascent of the Throne of Omniscience (sarvajña-pīṭha), akin to therajasuya rites.[22][23]
The main Shankaravijayams are:
Brihat Shankaravijayam, no complete extant text.[24], though Narayan Shastri claims to posses its manuscripts in the library of madras.[24], It is the earliest of all Shankara's biographies which is traditionally attributed to Chitsukha[25](12th century to early part of the 13th century[26]) though could possibly include a later forging,[27] and controversial within the contemporary Advaita-tradition.[9] According to Sundaresan, "all claims about Citsukha and hisBrhat Sankaravijaya ultimately derive from a highly questionable, solitary source."[28]
Pracina-sankara-vijaya,[25] also calledAnandagirīya Shankaravijayam,[9] no complete extant text and is only available in excerpts,[29][9] attributed to Anandagiri (13th century to early part of 14th century). According to Isayeva "the most authoritative, reliable and the most widely-cited hagiography of Sankara."[25] It is frequently cited by followers of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, but rejected by followers of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham[29] According to Sundaresan, "quotations attributed to it must be viewed critically."[28]
Cidvilāsīya Shankaravijayam, attributed to Chidvilasa, c. between 15th century and 17th century
Keralīya Shankaravijayam, extant inKerala, c. 17th century
Madhavīya Shankara (Dig)vijayam (of Madhava). Traditionally attributed to Madhava-Vidyaranya (14th century). The attribution and dating is disputed; the author was a Madhavi, and the proposed date is 17th or even 18th century.[10][30][note 4] this criticism and dating however is regarded as baseless by others who maintain the normal 14th century dating.[9] The work contains almost no new material at all and mostly follows the earlier sources.[10]
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↑Adi means "first", to distinguish him from other Shankaras.
↑He is also known as Shankara Bhagavatpada (Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda), Shankara Bhagavatpadacharya (Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya) orShankaracharya, sometimes spelled Sankaracharya.
↑Isayeva refers to W.R. Antarkar (1972),Sanksepa Sankara Jaya of Madhavacarya or Sankara Digvijaya of Sri Vidyaranyamuni. Goodding refers to Jonathan Bader (2000),Conquest of the four quarters: traditional accounts of the life of Śaṅkara, p.55-56, n.75
