[Advaita-l] Shankara authenticates Shiva as the son of Brahma

[D Gayatri]

> In fact Advaitins have no ambiguity whatsoever in comprehending that line of
> Shankara.  Only non-advaitins who are vaishnavas have a mental block in
> accepting that Shankara refers to Shiva by that expression.
>
> In fact Swami Gambhirananda does make the mention of the word 'Śiva' for the
> Shankara's commentary to the Kena Pada bhashya 1.5 prelude:
>
> तत्तस्मादन्य उपास्यो विष्णुरीश्वर इन्द्रः प्राणो वा ब्रह्म भवितुमर्हति, न
> त्वात्मा ; लोकप्रत्ययविरोधात् ।
>
> //Therefore some adorable being other than that (Self), e.g Viṣṇu, Īśvara
> (Śiva), Indra, or Prāṇa .....//


Depending on context, the word Ishwara can refer to God, or to Shiva
or to Vishnu or even to Indra. Even Indra is called as parameshvara
sometimes and Shankara does this, in the Kena upanishad bhashya itself
for mantra 3.11 and Swami Gambhirananda translates the word Ishwara
here as Lord. Therefore, Swami Gambhirananda has translated Ishwara as
Shiva only in that particular context that you show above and not in
the later contexts, which refer to Indra and God respectively. In the
Kena upanishad bhAshya itself, thus, the word Ishwara refers to Shiva,
Indra and God depending on the context, and exactly as Swami
Gambhirananda has translated it.