[Advaita-l] Shankara Digvijaya Sara - part 1

[V Subrahmanian]

Dear Jaldhar ji,

Thank you for this initiative of providing the translations of this 'sAra'
composition. Already some persons are asking for the English and Kannada
meanings so that the parayanam of the shlokas can be accompanied by
contemplation on the meaning as well.

I will be copying these translations to groups where these are welcome.

warm regards
subbu

On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 11:19 AM Jaldhar H. Vyas via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> As we have been discussing this work and Shri Subrahmanian has now kindly
> provided it, I thought I might translate it for my edification and
> hopefully for others.  I plan to post several shlokas a day over the next
> month or so.  For each shloka, I will provide the text in IAST
> transliteration and my translation (and notes if necessary.  The number in
> front of the shloka is the order within Shankaradigvijayasara, whereas the
> number after it in parentheses is the order with the Madhaviya
> Shankaradigvijaya.
>
> upodghāta nāma prathama sargaḥ ||1||
>
> First Canto: Introduction
>
>
> 1| praṇamya paramātmānaṁ śrīvidyātīrtharūpiṇam |
> prācīnaśaṅkarajaye sāraḥ saṁgṛhyate sphuṭam ||1||
>
> 1. Bowing to the ParamĀtmā embodied as Śrī Vidyātīrtha, I have compiled
> with clarity the essence of ancient hagiographies of  Śaṅkara. (1)
>
> (Madhavacharya is the middle of three brothers who were instrumental in
> the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire.  The older brother Sayanacharya
> is the celebrated and authoritative commentator on the Vedic texts.  The
> younger brother Bhoganatha wrote on alankarashastra but is not that
> well-known.  Madhava wrote on many branches of Shastra, including
> Ayurveda, Dharmashastra, Mimamsa and Vedanta and the most popular
> hagiography of Shankaracharya of which this work is an abridgement.
> Later, he took sannyasa under the name Swami Vidyaranya and became
> Jagadguru of Shringeri Pitha.  His guru and predecessor on the Pitha was
> Swami Bharati Tirtha, whose own predecessor was Swami Vidya or
> Vidyashankara Tirtha.  Thus in this shloka he is saluting the supreme Self
> of all in the form of his paramaguru.)
>
> 2| yadvadghaṭānāṁ paṭalo viśālo vilokyate'lpe kila darpaṇe'pi |
> tadvanmadīye laghusaṁgrahe'sminnudīkṣyatāṁ śāṅkaravākyasāraḥ||2||
>
> 2. Just as an entire stack of pots can be seen in even a small mirror, so
> this
> short compilation of mine, will give the essence of all the teachings of
> Śaṅkara. (2)
>
> (Although the words are Madhavacharyas' they can apply to the present
> author too as this is an abridgement of Madhaviya Shankara Digvijaya just
> as MSD is an abridgement of older, more voluminous Shankara Digvijayas.)
>
> ācāryajanmādikathanamnāma dvitīya sargaḥ ||2||
>
> Second Canto: The Story of the ācāryas’ birth etc.
>
> 3| tato maheśaḥ kila keraleṣu śrīmadvṛṣādrau karuṇāsamudraḥ |
> pūrṇānadīpuṇyataṭe svayaṁbhūliṅgātmanā'naṅghagāvirāsīt ||1||
>
> Maheśa, the Ocean of Compassion, the Destroyer of  Kāmadeva, dwells as a
> self-manifested liṅga in Kerala at the mountain Vṛṣādri on the auspicious
> banks of the river Pūrṇā. (1)
>
> (This refers to the Vadakkunathan temple in Trichur.  Those familiar with
> local geography may note that the Purna does not flow there.  Later we
> will read how Shankaracharya by a miracle made it flow through Kalati
> instead.)
>
> 4| tasyeśvarasya praṇatārtihartuḥ prasādataḥ prāptanirītabhāvaḥ |
> kascittadabyāśagato'grahāraḥ kālatyabhikhyo'sti mahānmanojñaḥ ||3||
>
> There is a large and beautiful Brāhmaṇa settlement [agrahāra] there called
> Kālati which has been blessed by the grace of Iśvara, who eases suffering,
> with freedom from want.(3)
>
> 5| kaścidvipaścidiha niścaladhīrvireje vidyādhirāja iti viśrutanāmadheyaḥ |
> rudro vṛṣādrinilayo'vatarītukāmaḥ yatputramātmapitaraṁ samarocayatsaḥ ||4||
>
> Here there lived a learned man, whose intellect was steady and free from
> passion, well known by the name Vidyādhirāja. Rudra whose abode is Vṛṣādri
> desired to descend to this world as the grandson of that most suitable man.
>
>
> 6| putro'bhavattasya purāttapuṇyaiḥ subrahmatejāḥ śivagurvabhikhyaḥ |
> jñāne śivo yo vacane gurustasyānvarthanāmā'kṛta labdhavarṇaḥ ||5||
>
> Due to his accumulated punya,  Vidyādhirāja got a son whose appearance
> shone
> like Brahman that he named Śivaguru.  He was like Śiva in knowledge and
> Guru
> [i.e. Bṛhaspati] in speech; this is the meaning of the name given to him
> by
> the educated one [i.e. Vidyādhirāja.]
>
>
> 7| sa brahmacārī gurugehavāsī tatkāryakārī vihitānnabhoji |
> sāyamprabhātaṁ ca hutāśasevī vratena vedaṁ nijamadhyagīṣṭa ||6||
>
> He [i.e. Śivaguru] lived as a brahmacārī in his gurus’ house, obeying his
> instructions, and living on alms.  Morning and evening, he attended to the
> fire; by this vrata, he quickly mastered the Vedas.
>
> ("attended to the fire" = made the twice-daily offerings of samidha into
> Agni which is one of the main duties of a Brahmachari.)
>
> --
> Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> https://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>