Final Part - Sri Sankara Vijayam

Thanks to my spiritual Friend Subramanian Garu for sharing this information.

Sri Sankara also composed the famous Govindashtakam in Sri Nagar.

In Sarada Temple, Sri Nagar, Sankara wanted to ascend the Sarvajna Peetam, the Seat of the all-knowing.The four disciples of Sankara held him by their hands and did their prostrations.Sankara then left his sandals and ascended.The sandals were taken by the disciples for puja.Sitting at the Seat of all-knowing,Sankara answered the questions of all pandits.He explained the inadequacies of all philosophies and schools like Nyaya, Vaisesika,Sankhya, Patanjala, Jaina, Bouddha and Poorva Mimamsa of Vedic religions namely the karma marga.He defeated them all.

Then Mother Sarada, who is the embodiment of all knowledge asked some questions to Sankara.Sankara answered all her questions satisfactorily.Sri Narasmiha Bharati of Sringeri Math had written a Stotram on this.Mother Sarada became happy and conferred her blessings with a title of Sarvajna.

Sankara came down from the Seat.He proceeded with his disciples.The disciples were speechless about the silvery mountain.

Sankara said:Go inwards!Look at the Atma within, the incomparable beauty of It.

Sankara came down to the Gangetic plains and visited Ayodhya.Sankara composed the famous Sri Rama Bhujangam here.

He then proceeded to Bengal and from there to Kamakya (the present Assam). This place was full of Saktas, the Sakti Upasakas. He crossed over to Brahmaputra river and reached the place of Saktas.

In Kamakya, the Saktas were awaiting Sankara for debate.One Abhinava Gupta was their leader.He was quite proficient inVamachara, the left handed methods involving black magics.

Sankara got afflicted by terrific piles problem, with bleeding of the anus without break.Sankara smiled at the disciples and told: "Do not worry.This is prarabdha.That which has come will go!The disease is for the body and not for the Atma."

Padmapada, as you all know, was a Narasimha Upasaka.Narasimha is a powerful god and Narasimha will get angry quickly.His anger can be abated only by Siva. Padmapada prayed to Narasimha and found that this is abhichara,black magic of Abhinava Gupta.He chanted Aswini Deva Mantra from Rig Veda. Aswini Deva is a twin and he represents divine physician.

Padmapada then asked Sankara:"Can I perform pradhi-abhicharam?Can I perform counter for black magic?"

Sri Sankara smiled at Padmapada and then said: "Why are you talking like this?Is it all that I had taught you?"Padmapada then replied:"Guru, if you suffer like this and leave the body,what shall the people say?They will all say in future, that the great Sankara had succumbed to a petty black magician.

Padmapada then proceeded with counter-abhichara.He meditated on Narasimha and then the illness of Sri Sankara left and Abhinava Gupta contracted the incurable illness.He came and prostrated before Sri Sankara and asked his forgiveness.Sri Sankara toldhim: "I have never kept cudgels against you.Don't you know
that evil begets evil in life?"

Sri Sankara, Padmapada and others then left for Himalayas.They had the darsan of Siva in Himalayas.Sri Sankara then prayed to Siva and said that it is time that Siva got him back,into the pure space of Brahman.He also met Gaudapada there.Gaudapada is the guru of Sankara's guru Govinda Bhagavadpada,thus became Sri Sankara's parama-guru.He prostrated before Gaudpada.Gaudpada told him to spend a few days in making a commentary for his Karika on Maandukya Upanishad.Sri Sankara agreed to this and proceeded with this composition.

Gaudpada's Maandukya Karika is the quintessence of Advaita Vedanta.This itself is a commentary on Maandukya Upanishad, which is the summum bonum of Advaita Vedanta.This contains only 12 slokas and each sloka is a ruby.The Karika contains about 200 verses, explaining the Advaita Vedanta as per theUpanishad.

Sri Sankara then bid good bye to his four disciples and asked them to go back to their respective places for running the Maths.The four Maths are Sringeri, Puri, Dwaraka and Kedarnath.

Sri Sankara then merged in pure space and became the one without a second.

The Sankara Vijayam biographies end with this.But Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Math has got some historical records that Sri Sankara came down to Kanchipuram and ascended the Sarvajna Peetam, the Seat of All-Knowledge.Here he composed the famous Dasa Sloki, the last will and testament of Sri Sankara and then merged in Pure Space.Sri Kanchi Math is called Moolamnya Math, the source Math, where Sankara after establishment of this Math stayed for a few days.The lineage was handed over to one of the realized souls there in Kanchipuram to commence the guru lineage.

Sources:

1) http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/forum/index.php?board=10.50
2) http://www.celextel.org/adisankara/govindashtakam.html
3) http://www.celextel.org/adisankara/ramabhujangam.html
4) http://www.celextel.org/adisankara/nirvanadasakam.html

Final Note:

Below information is given to me by my friend Subramanian R garu regarding sankara vijayam

In the absence of recorded history those days, there are no clear cut dates and places about various works of Sri Sankara.For example, there is only a clear message in Sankara Vijayam biography that Sankara composed Dasa Sloki when he was with
Govinda Bhagavad Pada in Narmada valley cave. But regarding Atma Bodha, Govindashtakam and other works there are no clear cut information.

Sankara Vijayam story available in this blog is based on Brahmasri Nochur Venkataraman's Sat sangh which lasted for about 7 days spread over 20 hours. He has said the same thing.He has referred about 5 biographies of Sankara and has conducted the Sat sangh.He is silent about Kanchi Math, since Sankara Vijayam does not say anything about Kanchi Math. Even his ascent to Sarvajana Peetam was in Sarada Temple, Sri Nagar.(Not today's Sri Nagar).Again, there is no mention about the writing of Viveka Choodmani at all! So, some scholars say that these works were NOT written by Sankara,which Nochur Venkataraman denies.