All about Adi Sankara - 5

Traditional Theory II

           Researchers who uphold the traditional dating theory are divided among themselves in fixing the date of Adi Sankara. Following are the cases held.

i)                    Dr. Heras. S. J, (as Kuppusami mentions) the author ‘Hindu America’ published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, opines that King Asoka, by the evidence of large number of edicts, is a Hindu King and not a Buddhist. Prof R.C Majumbar follows that “with the exception of Mahindra, the apostle of Ceylon, none of the sons or grandsons of Asoka are known to have embraced Buddhism’. The reaction against Buddhism reached its climax with Pusyamitra over throwing the Maurya-s. The deline of the Mahayana Buddhism after Asoka may with all extent be attributed to Sankara, and that he must have lived few years after Asoka.

ii)                   Professor Mahendala assigns Patanjalai the author of Mahabhasya to 2^nd BC. When all works of Sankara in their colophons mention Govindabhagavatpada as the preceptor of Sankara and Govindbhagavatpada known to be the disciple of Gaudapada who inturn was a disciple of Patanjali himself; leaving a comfort period of fixing Sankara not later than 1^st BC or ‘0’BC.

iii)                 Prof. Bhattacarya holds the view that the six orthodox systems with its sutra-s of Indian Philosophy have been spread from 5^th BC, as Prof Dasgupta fixes the date of Vedanta Sutra-s of Vyasa in about 200BC. Hence it is highly improbable that Sankara flourished in about 8^th CE  considering the lineage of Vyasa.

[Dasgupta’s assumption on the date of Brahmasutra may easily be contested; for according to Max Mueller who places Mahabharata around 1000 BC. Taking into consideration the mention of Brahma Sutra from the Bhagavat Gita and if it were true that this Brahma Sutra is the same as that of Vyasa’s alias Badarayana then we may clearly discard Dasgupta’s argument]

                        

iv)                 In Kashmir there is hill called Sankaracarya hill. On the top of the hill there is a temple of Sankaracarya. Gen. Cunningham and Mr Coole are of the opinion that this temple was built by Jalaukas, son of Emperor Asoka in about 220 BC. Prof Mahadevan remarks that ‘among the successors of King Asoka one Jalauka who was an ardent Hindu’ and Prof Radha Kumudh Mukherki says that Rajatarangini (Nepal ??) indicates that Jalauka, as Asoka’s son and successor in Kashmir, built this temple. if this was true then Sankara must have lived atleast a century or two earlier leaving the date clearly back to 400 or 500 BC.

v)                  Nepala Rajavamsavali, MSS. Available in Nepal Oriental Mss. Depository also indicates the arrival of Sankara in Nepal during the early reigns of Thakuri reigns leaving the date of Sankara around 500 BC.