[Advaita-l] A question on a dialogue in the Madhaviya Shankara Vijaya

[V Subrahmanian]

A question on a dialogue in the Madhaviya Shankara Vijaya

In the Madhaviya Shankara Vijaya we have this verse, spoken by Shankara to
Mandana Misra:

स चाब्रवीत्सोम्य विवादभिक्षामि-
च्छन्भवत्संनिधिमागतोऽस्मि ।
साऽप्यन्योन्यशिष्यत्वपणा प्रदेया
नास्त्यादरः प्राकृतभक्तभक्ष्यैः ||  8.32 ||

To this Sankara replied: "I came here for Vaada bhiksha (an offering of
philosophic disputation) and not a Bhiksha of edibles. And the wager in the
disputation should be that the defeated one should become the disciple of
the victor.

The question is: What is meant by the sannyasin Shankara becoming the
disciple of the householder Mandana' in case of the former losing the
debate?  Is there an instance of a sannyasin being a disciple of a
householder?

The popular story in public would be: The bet is: The loser in the debate
should accept the Ashrama of the winner.

Such a version would open the case of the Sannyasin taking up the life of a
householder. This is not permitted in Dharma, as we know, even from
Shankara's own Sutra Bhashya.

warm regards
subbu