All about Adi Sankara - 4

Adi Sankara’s known from Guruparampara Grantha-s

The following works are the strotra grantha-s that speak abouts the Heritage of Advaita. They eventually bear a brief account of Sankaracarya’s life.

1.      Guruvamsha kavya – Kasi Laksmana Sastri [18^th CE] under the direction of Sri Sacchidananda Bharati II, Vani Vilas Press, 15 Cantos.

2.      Bharati Guru Parampara Sannyasins – Sringeri Matha – Also MSS. found in GOML treates by one Dr Hiltzsch.

3.      Dvaraka Guruparampara Stotra – with the comm. Vimarsa by the Mathacarya contains the details of the acarya-s in the Dvaraka Matha.

4.      Kudali Guruparampara Namamala – a brief account on the history of the Kudali Matha tracing its origin back to Adi Sankara (highly apocryphal)

5.      Gururatnamala – a short account on the acaryas of Sri Kanci Matha – authored by revered Saint Sadasive Brahmendra. Early verses give a note on Adi Sankara’s life

6.      Susama – a gloss on Gururatnamala by Sri Atmabodhendra Yati – the work gives a precise note on Sankara’s life and cites Brhat and Pracina Dig Vijaya-s.

Theories on the Dates of Adi Sankara

There are literally multiple theories speculating on the date of Adi Sankara. These are generally reduced to two large domains vide.,

Theory I - Historians are inclined to fix the period of Sankara between 788 – 820 AD

Theory II - The traditional dating theory insists that Acarya lived as early as 509B.C to 477 B.C

Historian’s claim:

            Case 1: After prolonged critical research Justice K.T.Telang arrived at the conclusion that the date assigned to Sankara by Max Muller and Dr Fergusson are entirely untenable. Telang published a full scale article on the subject in the Indian Antiquary – 1884 on the subject in which he places Sankara in the later half of 6^th CE.

            Sir Raymond comments on Telang ‘The arguments by which Telang assigns the great Vedantist Sankaracarya to the later half of 6^th CE is a remarkable feat of perspicuity’  

Case 2: After critical examinations historians have come out with a different set of conclusions based on two different planks

a.      Sivasoma inscription in Combodia – Sivasoma – the teacher of Indravarman who ruled Combodia from 878 CE to 887 CE. This Sivasome ins described as the disciple of Sankara in the inscription and the historians thus this Sankara to be Adi Sankara pushing back his dates few centries and fixing it to 788 CE.

b.      Second evidence upon which historians unduly rely upon is a chronogram, a relevant portion of which reads as ‘nidhinagabhavahnayabde vibhave Sankarodaya’ – Deconding which we get year 3889 ok Kali Era ie., 787-88 CE.