Sankara Charitham - Chapter 2

8/20/2019 Sankara Charitham - Chapter 2

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E-Book from Kanchi Periva Forum

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Jaya Jaya Sankara

Special Series on the life of Sri Adhi Sankara

(Based on the series in Tamil by Sri Ra. Ganapathy Anna)

Translated & Illustrated by

Sri Narayanan Bala

Volume 31

November 2014 – Anusham

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Chapter 2 of “Jaya Jaya Sankara” by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)

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Sri Kanchi Maha Periva Thiruvadigal Saranam

Introduction

Hari Om!

Namaskaram from the Kanchi Periva Forum community. We are pleased to bring you our Thirty First edition

ebook, which is a continuation of the special Anusham series – “Jaya Jaya Sankara”, a wonderful treasure

originally authored by Sri Ra Ganapathy Anna, and translated by our moderator Sri Narayanan Bala

(“anusham163” in our forum).

Most of our readers are aware of our efforts to bring out regular ebooks which are designed to protect and

nourish our age old traditions, culture, devotion and spirituality. Apart from these standard ebooks, we

have also published special series ebooks like those on Sri Maha Periva’s Life History.

Sri Narayanan Bala is a very well-known moderator to our Forum members (by the Forum name

anusham163) and he has already made his presence strongly felt through many drawings/sketches of

Periva and by his phenomenal translation works on Periva and on materials related to Periva.

An ardent devotee of Sri Maha Periva, Sri Narayanan is a born artist. While he did not get a formal coaching

from anyone, his “manaseeka gurus’ were Shri Maniyam, Shri Gopulu and Shri Silpi. We would like to

express our sincere thanks to him for coming forward to translate and bring out this beautiful series, which

will help to cement this wonderful treasure in the minds of the present and future generations.

On behalf of this Forum and our respected members, I would also like to specially thank our moderator SmtSumi, who has put in a lot of effort in putting this title together and for getting it published well in time.

If you are not already a member of our Forum and received this ebook from any of your friends, please also

register on the forum http://www.periva.proboards.com to stay updated on devotees’ experiences and to

receive our regular free publications.

This ebook contains brilliant descriptive write-up of the life of Sri Adhi Sankara, and Sri Narayanan Bala has

closely reproduced the beautiful, touching language deployed by Sri Ra Ganapathy Anna in the original. I

am very sure each of you would find this as engaging and moving as I felt in the first reading itself –

especially the superb description of the Bala Sankara and comparison of the infant with Lord Sankara!

We humbly submit this e-book edition at the lotus feet of Shri Maha Periva. Though this book is for

restricted circulation among like - minded members of the society, this is a free publication like all our

other publications, which can be downloaded from http://www.periva.proboards.com/ Any feedback or

queries may be sent to us at [email protected]

Administrator

Kanchi Periva Forum

Jaya Jaya Shankara, Hara Hara Shankara!

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Note from the Translator

Om Sri Gurubhyo Namah! Sri Maha Periva Thiruvadigal Charanam.

This narrative titled ‘Jaya Jaya Sankara’ on the life of Sri Adhi

Sankara Bhagavat Paadhal was written by Sri Ra .Ganapathy as a

serial in the ‘KALKI’ weekly in 1962, with wonderful and lively

drawings by Sri Maniyam.

I have undertaken the ambitious task of translating the same into English. I bow my head to and

submit my ‘Ananhthakoti Namaskarams’ at the Lotus feet of the AdhiGuru and Sri MahaPeriava, to

guide me through this task.

I am greatly indebted to my very good neighbour and a very good friend of over forty years Sri

N.V.Subramanuam, who has taken it on him the task of reading my manuscript word by word,

comparing with the original and suggesting a lot of improvements in the selection of words and

reconstruction of sentences. A million thanks and Namaskarams to him for this great help.

I welcome your feedback on this compilation. I can be reached on [email protected]

Narayanan Bala

About the Author of the original series – Sri Ra Ganapathy Anna

Sri Ra.Ganapathy Anna belongs to a rare breed of writers, who could bring through his

pen and with his authentic personal experience, the quintessence of religion

expounded by great sages. A naishtika brhmachari, he has a distinct style in Tamil that

is enjoyable to read and teases you sometimes with complex structure of

sentences.Sanskritised in certain narrations, he still does no violence to the

purity of language but captures beautifully the native Indian spirit in his works.

Read more about him & download his ebooks here: http://divyavidyatrust.org/

http://www.periva.proboards.com/http://www.periva.proboards.com/http://www.periva.org/http://www.periva.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://divyavidyatrust.org/http://divyavidyatrust.org/http://divyavidyatrust.org/http://divyavidyatrust.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.periva.org/http://www.periva.proboards.com/


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CHAPTER 2

The Mountain Melted

The place is Mount Kailash in the Himalayas; there is a tall and well grown

Banyan tree. Underneath the tree…………….

Seated there is Lord Siva, as the idol of wisdom, idol of Silence, idol of

Beauty, and Dhakshina Murthy, all at the same time. As He is the Immortal

Being, who is beyond Time and Space, He is facing South, the abode of

‘Kaalan’ (Yama).

Pure white in colour , whiter than the ice frozen on the peak of Kailasam.Soft

and delicate body, softer than the heaps of clouds sleeping on the mountain.

Mass of braided hair like the dense forests of the Himalayas.

Bunches of hair are hanging from the head like the tender vines hanging

from the branches of the banyan tree.

As a mark of the sea of Bliss that His mind is full of, Holy Ganga is oozing

out, from His locks.

The moon born from the ocean of milk, is perched on the head, as a

crescent shining brighter and cooler.

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May be, He is wearing the crescent moon, to indicate His quality of blessing

those who surrender to Him with growth and prosperity.

The ‘Kondrai flowers ( கனறகள----cassia fistula), which bloom as

garlands for His sake, are taking lessons from the hair on ‘softness’.

The hair strands from His head are dancing on His wide forehead, over the

third eye, like the beetles on the lotus flower.

His forehead is smeared with the sacred ash, announcing that He will cleanse

the mind of the three ‘gunas’.

His eyebrows are like bows, by just raising which He conquered ‘Manmathan’

the God of Love, when he approached Him (with mischievous intentions).

His blue eyes are partially covered by the eyelids, as the petals of Lotus

flower, cover the blue lily.

His eyeballs are in a fixed gaze without any movement whatsoever. Eye brows

are like clouds which have drunk the Jyothi emanating from the cheeks. His

prominent nose in the centre of those cheeks, acts as though it is preventing

the two oceans of Jyothi from merging. A gentle smile is blooming at one

end of the lips, which look like the coral vines in the ocean of milk.

The remainder of the glowing beauty, after decorating the major part of the

face, has been spent on the chin. The ears are like two fans, fanning the

‘Soundarya Lakshmi’ dwelling on His face. The ear rings (ணடலஙகள),



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worn on them are reflected on His cheeks resembling the ‘AdhiSeshan’ in the

ocean of milk.

For Him who has no other seat than the Banyan tree, there is no other

nectar than ‘Haalaahalam’ ( the dangerous poison which came out while

churning the ocean of milk for nectar). [‘ஆஅலஇறகயலத ’

இவ ‘ஆஅலஅதமறல’ அலவ?].

His blue neck reminds us of His benevolent act of swallowing the dangerous

poison, while giving the nectar to the Devas; it also reminds us of Lord

Vishnu, with His blue tinted body, who resides in His heart. Garlands of

crystal, ‘Thumbai’ (LeucasAspera), jasmine and ‘Mantharai’ (Orchid) flowers are

dangling from His neck and also garlands of Rudraksham and Bilva leaves; all

these indicate He is the cause for the three qualities, ‘Sathvam’, ‘Rajo’ and

‘Thamo’.

His fort—like chest prevents His heart from totally running away towards His

devotees. The sacred thread is running along the chest like a water fall. His

body allows the poisonous snakes to dwell on. His abdomen, which contains

all the worlds within it, is itself flat and drawn in.

His body is covered with the skin of the elephant. Four long rounded arms

branch off from His shoulders. The axe He is holding on His right rear hand

will destroy all the evils from their roots.

His right lower hand showing the ‘Chinmudhra’ which explains the true nature

(philosophy) of ‘Dhakshina Murthy’, opens out the three fingers and gives



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protection. The forefinger points to the Supreme Being, and declares ‘you are

Him’ (தவமஸ); ‘Him’ here meaning Vishnu.

The thumb indicates the ‘Jeevan’, bloated by arrogance. Upanishads mention

that ‘Atman’ which dwells in the body is the size of the thumb only; By

joining the thumb and the forefinger, the right lower hand explains the

‘Adhvaitha’ principle that ‘Jeevathma’ and ‘Paramathma’ are one and the

same.

The bent forefinger in the right lower hand says that ‘If Jeevathmas’ come

even a little towards Him, the Almighty will bend forward and pull them

towards Him. The Rudhraksha garland hangs from in between the forefinger

and the thumb; He proves that by rolling the garland and chanting (Bagavan

Nama) one can become totally unaware of any feeling.

The deer He is holding in His left upper hand is humbled by looking at the

beauty of His eyes and has lowered its look. It shows how the ever

wandering mind becomes totally motionless in His presence. The Lord of

Supreme Knowledge is holding the வகள (scriptures of knowledge and

wisdom inscribed on palm leaves).

He is the very proof that one can reach the state of total Realization by

repeatedly studying those scriptures. He who is the destroyer of arrogance, is

wearing the tiger skin across His waist. The feet which have become tired

because of dancing non—stop in the ‘Kanaka Sabai’, are resting here in

comfort.



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He has folded His left leg and placed it on the right leg, which in turn had

been placed on the figure, which symbolizes all evils (அபமரஷன).

It is very apt that He has given a place of honour to the left leg which

indicates ‘Anugraham’ in His dance in Thillai (Chidambaram), and also because

the left leg belongs to ‘Ambikai’ in His manifestation as ‘ArdhaNareeswaran’.

His ten nails are shining like the silver boats on the banks of the ocean of

milk. Each particle in His feet, rendered red by the constant rubbing of the

crowns of Devas who prostrate at His feet, contains in it, infinite number of

galaxies and stars. He is sitting under the banyan tree only to show that a

small minute seed contains such a huge tree in it.

The banyan tree offers a cool shade to those who come under it after a

tired walk under the sun light; but He shows the light to those who, immersed

in the darkness of ignorance, surrender to Him. This Adhi Guru is the Wonder

Light which gives the devotees a coolness which is more soothing than the

shade of the banyan tree!

In front of the Supreme Being, are seated the four Rishis, Sanakar,

Sanandanar, Sanaathanar and Sanathkumarar in a state of absolute Bliss,

unaware of themselves. These aged persons, did not get any ‘shanthi’, even

after learning the four Vedhas and the six branches; therefore they wandered

in search of a proper Guru. When they saw Lord Dhakshinamurthy with the

வ in his hands seated in such Peace, they went to Him not minding that

He looked much much younger.



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But that Guru did not tell them anything either from the வ, or from

anything else ! He had maintained absolute silence, enjoying by Himself ! Even

then, those aged persons got the ‘Upadesam’ (initiation) they wanted, in front

of the youngster ! They also realized that His silence has given them the

explanation for the ‘Upadesam’ ! They also started living there !

As far as they are concerned, this Guru , who gives them ‘Upadesam’ in

silence, exists without being there. When others are seeing Him as

DhakshinaMurthy, they realize Him as formless.

A supreme Peace prevails in that environment of pure whiteness and

coolness.

There is a minute motion in the waveless ocean that He is. He opens His

eyes a little.

Brahma and other Devas, fell at His feet, lamenting, “Oh ! Mahadeva ! Please

save us !”

A veil of distress had spread over their faces including the ever satisfied saint

Naradhar. Bagavan did not open His mouth even then, but raised His eyes a

little, as if asking them “What is the matter ?”

Although He is the all—knowing Supreme Being (சவஞன), it is the duty

of the Devas, who have been appointed by Him as the protectors of the

Universe, to report the goings—on there, of their own will.



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Brahma replied, “My Lord ! Even as you have created the infinite universe

with a purpose, you decided to make the land known as Bharatham among

them, the unique abode of wisdom. You had spread your breath there, which

are the Vedas. You had mentioned in the ‘Chapter of Duties (கமகணட)’,

the duties to be performed by the humans from their birth until their death,

for their own welfare and for the sake of their ancestors, the society, the

Devas and for You !

In the end, in Upanishads you had also shown them the path of wisdom,

which will make them understand the meaning of them all, and attain

Moksha by realizing you in them.”

“MahaDeva ! Now, that Veda and the Virtue it preaches are in danger of peril

! In the land of Bharatha, duty, devotion and wisdom are deteriorating. Thosewho follow the path of Karma and who are supposed to be the living proof

of what the Vedas teach, undergo the cycle of birth and death, as they do

not perform the Karma with devotion and wisdom. Some other persons are

following the evil and horrible practice of human sacrifice in the name of

Bakthi.

Or, some create a cleavage between various forms of God, saying ‘this God is

superior to that God’. People could not adhere to the paths shown by

Budhdha and Jeenar also, as they, while identifying and preaching Love and

Benevolence through logic, did not say anything conclusive about you ! All are

your children; As they do not possess a firm belief that You are the one

who bestows fruits for every Karma, they do not realize the necessity of



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showing love towards others, or the bad consequences of wrong doings. They

are groping in confusion, as they do not know their ‘Atman’. Because of this

the path of wisdom is also in shambles.”

“Mahesa ! You have given an assurance that ‘whenever Dharma (Virtue) is in

danger , I shall take avatar and save it’; if you are inactive, indulging in the

bliss of your Atman, when the forces against Virtue have reared their ugly

heads and as many as seventy two religions have cropped up, what will

happen to the world ?”

Brahma’s voice choked in emotion. He lowered His face. But the silence of

Dhakshinamurthy was not broken yet.

Vanikanthan (husband of Vani ) lifted his head , searched for something in vain

and again became emotional with sorrow. Does not the Lord know whomBrahma was looking for ? He must have searched for the Mother, who always

speak on their behalf. He smiled to Himself !

Brahma is thinking that ‘I am away from Devi !’ Is it possible for Sivan and

Shakthi to be separated? When that Shakthi is not walking out alone in

‘Sathiroopa’, is She not shining within Him as Love, Benevolence and

Knowledge? That Intelligence spoke now; spoke to the Sivam where She is

resting.

‘Yes !Dharmam should be restored in Bharatham. But how ? Earlier, when a

separate group called demons tried to wipe out Dharma, it was possible to

eliminate them and re-establish Dharma. But now, there is no one as demon



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here. The demonism has taken shelter in the minds and heads of all people.

They are under the spell of the greatest demon called ‘Ignorance’.

Therefore there is no way destroying those who have deviated from Dharma;

Their ignorance and non—virtuous thoughts must be destroyed. Jyothi of

wisdom must be lighted and the inner darkness must be driven out. Only I

should do that job.

There is no use sitting here any more as ‘SAm—Bu’ [the fountain source of

everlasting happiness (bliss)]. There are no persons who will come here in

search of this fountain to drink this. Therefore, I should go to the people and

flow into them as the idol of Love. I should take Avatar as SAM---KARAN (one

who does everlasting good).

The idol of Silence opened His mouth and spoke. The voice soaked in honeycame out.

“Worry not, children ! I myself will be born as Sankaracharyan, to establish

Dharma.”

“Hara !Hara !Mahadeva !”----These full—throated happy words emanated from

the Devas and reverberated on the peaks of the Himalayas !

The Supreme Bliss spoke further, laced with the love of Mother and a sarcasm

of a child.



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“ Some people might have been perturbed by not finding Devi here. She who

gives the ability to see cannot be missing. She is within me now. That is also

for your good only. If your Mother had been here as a separate form, She

also will have to come to the earth with me.

But I have decided to take Avatar as an Ascetic, in order to spread knowledge

and wisdom. Therefore a wife is of no use to me. It was good anyway that

you had prayed to me as a single entity. I shall be born as a single form

with Devi’s Love and Benevolence as its prominent part. “

He paused for a while and looked at Brahman and spoke again with a smile,

“Brahman is the person who spoke now sympathizing with the mankind. But

in my Avatar, he will be the person against whom I am going to fight and

win; fight merely means ‘quarrel of words”; he will be born with the name

‘MandanaPandithan’, as a preacher of ‘Meemamsa system of phiolosophy’,when he will preach the ‘Path of Karma’ ”.

Brahma’s mind was a little stirred . He was shocked if this is a punishment for

him for speaking as if he is more concerned about the mankind than the

Lord is !

At that time, Lord Siva looked at His beloved son Muruga (Karthik) and smiled

at Him. Karthik was also Guru for Lord Siva.

He is also the reigning deity for Agni (Fire), to whom oblations are offered

by those following the path of Karma.



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Lord spoke to him, “Dear child ! You must also go to the earth before

Brahman. You will be a much bigger ‘Meemamsan’ called by the name

‘KumarilaBattan” and will be spreading the path of Karma. I will win over you

too ! “

Brahman got a big relief on hearing this ! He realized that If it is true that

He will not curse His son, then His ordaining him to take human birth will not

amount to a curse.

“All you Devas also will take human birth and help me in this mission !” –He

told the other Devas.

Everyone was pleased. God doesn’t stop by only giving what is asked of Him,

but He also goes one step further and offers Himself for help. Thinking aboutthat sacrifice, the Devas departed from there even forgetting to prostrate

before Him.

The Lord said, “All of you are thinking that I am a munificent who is going to

be born on earth to save the humans and you ! In reality, I am going to take

birth, in order to save myself !” and smiled mischievously.

“Yes ! Lord Narayanan, who is dearest to me, took Avatar as Sri Rama and Sri

Krishnan and destroyed aDharma and restored Dharma, is it not ? Time is

nearing when the humans fail to remember Their births and celebrate those

days. I am going to conduct this ‘SankaraJayanthi’ in order to save those



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other Jayanthi’s. I am also going to save Navarathri, which is so dear to Devi,

and Sivarathri !”

Devas returned with a pleasant feeling and peace of mind. Only Brahma was

hesitating to leave.

Lord Siva called him, ‘Chathurmuka!” (one with four heads). Brahman looked

back with pain.

“Do not worry. When you go to the earth, your dear wife Vani will also

follow you. This exception is exclusively for you !”. Brahman prostrated before

Him and left happily !

Once again only the Supreme Being and the four Rishis were left alone there.

The four Rishis who were in deep meditation were totally unaware ofwhatever was happening there so far ! The Siva Yogi again went into deep

thinking. Where to be born and to whom ? These were the thoughts !

Mount Kailash is a great mountain. It is an amazing mount, which keeps

melting every day. It is a big mountain, which gets covered with ice more and

more even as it keeps melting ! It becomes cooler and cooler as one climbs

higher and higher. The greatness of a human being lies in a cool heart.

Mount Kailash is a standing example of the truth that one’s wealth will never

get reduced as one keeps giving away. Kailasa Nathan who is the mountain of

Wisdom has prepared Himself to melt and create the perennial river of Love !

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3………………………………..



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Sri Maha Periva Divya Darshan

All paintings are done by Sri Narayanan Bala

Sankara Charitham - Chapter 2

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Transcript of Sankara Charitham - Chapter 2