[Advaita-l] Supremacy of Shiva over Vishnu

[Sujal Upadhyay]

Pranams Subramanian ji,

I checked commentary of Adi Sankara on Kena Upanishad bhashya. In Gita
PRess Hindi Translation it is messed. The commentaries of verses 3-5 are
mixed. pada and vAkya bhAshya-s of verses are not consistent with either
English translation at wisdomlab

http://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/kena-upanishad-shankara-bhashya/d/doc145042.html

or in Sitarama's English Translation.

https://archive.org/details/upanishadssrisan00sita

(Page 48-50).

In Both English Translation, verse under context is Kena Up. 1.4 and not
1.5.

Please can you confirm the exact verse no.

Maybe, they have referred to Anandagiri's tika on Kena Up. Bhashya where
verses 4-6 are combined.

https://archive.org/details/KenaUpanishadWithShankaraBhasyaAndAnandagiriTika

Pl. confirm



OM

Sujal


On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 6:52 PM, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 1:09 AM, Gerald Penn via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> >
> > Supremacy of Shiva over Vishnu / Vishnu over Shiva are irrelevant topics
> >> in advaita.
> >> And that is why, to sort of these petty issues, Acharya Sankara
> >> incarnated to unify us.
> >>
> >
> ​<content Clipped>​
>
> This takes us to another related point that Clark makes: I am grouping two
> of his remarks here:
>
> //- the BSB refers to the shalagrama three times in the context of a
> metaphysical analogy, but not the lingam.
>
> - the BSB refers to the superimposition of the spiritual vision of Lord
> Vishnu onto idols (pratimaa) four times, as instances of religious ideas
> being superimposed on objects.//
>
> Shankara has said in more than one place: यथा वा प्रतिमादिषु
> विष्ण्वादिबुद्धि...Just as invoking / superimposing the idea of Viṣṇu,
> *etc*
> . in idols, *etc*. The highlighted 'etc.' is crucial in understanding that
> expression.  If that is done, the conclusion that Clark and many others
> like him, arrived at could have been avoided. This is because the 'etc.'
> supplies so many other deities and worshiping aids apart from pratimā.
> Shankara himself has supplied these in the Kenopanishat bhashya 1.5: Viṣṇu,
> Iśvara (Śiva), Indra, Prāṇa, etc. as upāsya devatās. Thus, all these other
> deities explicitly mentioned by Shankara and other ones too are included in
> another 'etc.' Shankara himself uses in grouping these in just the earlier
> line: brahmādidevān (deities that are Brahmā, etc.).
> Thus, even if Linga, etc. are not mentioned by Shankara, he does include
> them as well in his 'etc.'. Such subtleties can be grasped ONLY by those
> who have studied the Shankara commentaries under traditional Acharyas who
> will not gloss over these sentences/expressions of Shankara while teaching.
> Evidently Clark does not have such an exposure. So, the traditional
> Advaitin will not take his views seriously. I gave the above explanation
> just because you brought his views with a question:
> //What do the learned members of this list think of these observations?//
>
> ​<content Clipped>​
>
>