[Advaita-l] Shankara authenticates Shiva

[V Subrahmanian]

On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 2:35 PM, D Gayatri <dgayatrinov10 at gmail.com> wrote:

>  Shankara's quote shows that this
> incident is not an interpolation in the Mbh. This means, Shankara has
> authenticaled the portion of the Mbh which treats Shiva as the son of
> Brahma.
>

For an academician let that part not be an interpolation.  For a Vedantin
 Shanakara only the Advaitic message is relevant. That alone is
authenticated by him in the MB and not the other peripheral things. So,
there is no merit in saying that Shankara authenticates Shiva as son
of.....

>
>
> > In that case, Vishnu is also one among the devatās to be propitiated.
> > Shankara for that reason alone has included Vishnu also in the mantra
> 1.4.11
> > as one among the created deities since there is the 'well known' instance
> > for Shankara in the krishna yajur veda of Vishnu, listed among so many
> other
> > devatas as the pati of parvatas.
>
>
> Again, we are going in circles, repeating the same points. In mantra
> 1.4.11, Vishnu is completely absent in the host of devatas.


The mantra itself says 'iti' which Shankara comments as īti evamādīni'
=.'and other such cases ' showing that the list is not exhaustive. That is
why Shankara says 'it is well known.' Where is it well known? in the Yajur
Veda samhita.


> Moreover, in his BSB, bhagavatpAda says at multiple places that Narayana is
> supreme. So the above argument of yours cannot be considered as valid.
>
> For Shankara only the Nirguna Brahman is supreme.  That Narayana is the
one Turiya beyond avyakta. Nowhere in the Bhashya Shankara has identified
that N as the resident of vaikuntha, etc. For Shankara 'Parameshwara' can
take any illusory form out of will to bless an aspirant.' Narayana is a
deity, is one such form. And if it is a form then it is anātmā and abrahma
for Shankara .  So, for Shankara the Supreme Brahman is Nirguna only which
alone can be identified as one's self.