[Advaita-l] [advaitin] 12 Cen CE Marathi Nath tradition ack Shankara

[sunil bhattacharjya]

Dear RC:

*In the 8th century AD (CE)*, Bhaskar Bhatta wrote Bhagavad Gita Bhshya,
where he claimed the Bhagavad Gita to be showing the superiority of Jnana-
Karma-Samucchaya over Jnana.

*The Shankara bhashya on the Bhagavad Gita bhashya was written by* *Shri
Abhinava Shankara, who was living in the 8th century AD(CE) and not by Adi
Shankaracharya*.  The Shankara-bhashya on the Bhagavad gita, was writtem to
clearly refute the claim of Bhaskara Bhatta.  In fact,  contrary to
Bhaskara Bhatta's claim,  the Shankara Bhashya on the Bhagavad Gita
actually shows the superiority of Jnana over  Jnana-Karma-Samucchaya.

In the beginning of the 20th century the Mathadhpati of the Shringeri Math
said that Adi Shankaracharya was born on the 14th year of reign of King
Vikramaditya, and accordingly that math claimed the guru paramapra from 44
BCE. It was only about 60 years ago, the Shringeri math abitrarily changed
to a guruparampra starting from 8th century AD(CE), which is not correct.

Madhaviya Shankara Digvijaya mentions about Shriharsha ikramaditya, who
wrote the Khandanakhanda khadya, to be the contemporary of Adi
Shankaracharjya, and that supports the claim that Adi Shankaracharya was
born in 509 BCE.

The Vani Vilasa press, had wrongly printed on the Shankarabhashya on the
Bhagavad Gita  that it  was written by Adi Shankaracharya.

Best
Sunil K. Bhattacharjya





On Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 12:52 PM Ram Chandran <ramvchandran at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear SKB:
>
> Please be careful when you make your observations and your statement, " Adi
> Shankara did not write  the Bhagavad Gita bhashya, as his paramguru Shri
> Gaudapadacharya, dissuaded from writing the bhashya on the Bhagavad Gita
> bhashya and asked him to write a bhashya on the Lalita Trishati instead of
> the Bhagavad Gita" needs supporting evidence.  Please check the following
> and clarify your assessment.  thanks in advance,
> Bhagavad Gita Bhashyam of Adi Sankara - Sanskrit Text Only (2 PDFs) : Free
> Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
> <https://archive.org/details/BhagavadGitaBhashyaAdiSankara2/Bhagavad%20Gita%20Bhashya%20Adi%20Sankara%201/page/n9/mode/2up>
> regards,
> Ram Chandran
>
> On Monday, March 20, 2023 at 3:38:59 PM UTC-4 skbhattacharjya wrote:
>
>> The Maharashtrian scholars are referring to Abhinava Shankara, the writer
>> of the Shankara bhashya on the Bhagavad Gita,  and not to Adi Shankara. Adi
>> Shankara did not write  the Bhagavad Gita bhashya, as his paramguru Shri
>> Gaudapadacharya, dissuaded from writing the bhashya on the Bhagavad Gita
>> bhashya and asked him to write a bhashya on the Lalita Trishati instead of
>> the Bhagavad Gita.
>>
>> My 2 cents
>> skb
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 18, 2023 at 11:22 PM V Subrahmanian <v.subra... at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Sri Natraj Maneshinde posted:
>>>
>>> ===============================
>>> Maharashtrian Acharyas of Natha tradition readily embrace the siddhanta
>>> of Bhagavatpada
>>> ===============================
>>>
>>> The teachings of Bhagavatpada Adi Shankaracharya have had a deep impact
>>> on the Hindu masses. A glaring example of this can be seen in the bhakti
>>> tradition of Maharashtra.
>>>
>>> As known to all, Maharashtra is a stronghold of Natha sampradaya. Many
>>> of the Warkari saints including Shri Jnaneshvar Maharaj were initiated into
>>> Natha Sampradaya. I m not aware of the tenets of Natha tradition and how
>>> similar or different is it with Shaankara Vedanta. But, I am intrigued to
>>> note how readily Bhagavatpada’s siddhanta was accepted and revered by the
>>> Maharashtraian Acharyas of Natha tradition. Per my limited interactions
>>> with a few Maharashtrain friends, I have realized that this synthesis has
>>> only grown stronger over the years.
>>>
>>> When we try to trace the beginning of this synthesis , we verily arrive
>>> at the early days of Marathi literature. Shri Mukundaraj Kavi is regarded
>>> as the ‘Adya-kavi’ of Marathi literature. He belonged to the 12th Century
>>> and has composed a Vedantik work in Marathi named ‘Viveka Sindhu’(VS). The
>>> work is dated to 1188 AD based on an internal reference furnished by the
>>> author himself. Though he hailed from the Natha sampradaya (as revealed by
>>> himself in the final chapter of VS), the siddhanta described in the work is
>>> completely in agreement with Shaankara Vedanta. The work upholds the
>>> Pramanya of Veda and condemns the schools which reject it. The concepts of
>>> Tatpadartha/tvampadartha-shodhan, Advidya/Maya and Vivartavada are also
>>> discussed in detail. The entire second half of the work is dedicated to
>>> Mahavakyartha Vichara on ‘Tattvamasi’ where the Mahavakya is explained in
>>> the light of ‘Jahad-ajahallakshana’. Moreover, the author explicitly
>>> mentions that he is merely stating Bhagavatpada’s teachings in Marathi.
>>>
>>> प्रणवपंचीकृत्यें ॥ येथेंविस्तारिलींसविश्रुतें ॥ महावाक्यउपदेशग्रंथें ॥
>>> उत्तरार्धीं॥४६॥
>>> शंकरोक्तिवरी ॥ मीबोलिलोंमराठीवैखरी ॥ ह्मणूनिनिर्धारावीचतुरीं ॥
>>> शास्त्रबुद्धी ॥४७॥
>>>
>>> ~ श्री मुकुंदराज कवि, विवेकसिन्धु, पूर्वार्ध ७.४६-४७
>>>
>>> [I have deliberated on Pranava and Panchikarana in the Purvardha. In the
>>> uttaradha, I will be dealing with Mahavakya vichara]
>>> [ Based on Shankaracharya’s preachings(commentaries), I am writing this
>>> work in Marathi. Hence, the wise must ascertain it with Shastra-buddhi]
>>>
>>> Thus, it is a matter of great joy to all Advaitians that an early
>>> Marathi Brahmana belonging to the Natha tradition is preaching Shaankara
>>> Vedanta with such great zeal. Also, it is heartening to see that
>>> Bhagavatpada and his siddhanta continued to be revered by the succeeding
>>> Marathi authors too. Here are a couple instances regarding the same.
>>>
>>> 1. Jnaneshwari of Shri Jnaneshwar Maharaj
>>>
>>> तैसा व्यासाचा मागोवा घेतु । भाष्यकाराते वाट पुसतु ।
>>> अयोग्यही मी न पवतु । के जाईन ।
>>> ~ ज्ञानेश्वरी १८. १७२२
>>>
>>> [As I am following in the footsteps of sage Vyasa and consulting the
>>> Bhashyakara (Shri Shankara) which way to go, where can I, though unworthy,
>>> reach if not the right place?]
>>>
>>> Given the striking similarity between Jnaneshwari and Shaankara Geeta
>>> bhashya, it is beyond dispute that the Bhashyakara referenced here is
>>> Bhagavatpada himself.
>>>
>>> 2. Ekanathi Bhagavat of Shri Ekanath Maharaj
>>>
>>> वंदूं आचार्य शंकरु ।
>>>  जो का ग्रंथार्थविवेक चतुरु ।
>>> सारुनि कर्मठतेचा विचारु ।
>>> प्रबोध दिनकरु प्रकाशिला ॥
>>> ~ श्री एकनाथ महाराज, एकनाथी भागवत
>>>
>>> [ I bow down to Acharya Shankara, who is an adept in bringing out the
>>> true purport of the Shastric texts, who has made the Sun of Jnana-marga
>>> shine after having set aside the Karma-pradhana interpretations (of the
>>> upanishads)]
>>>
>>> It fills our heart with great delight to witness this love and reverence
>>> that the Maharashtra’s sant-parampara, which is predominantly rooted in
>>> Natha tradition, has had towards Bhagavatpada and his siddhanta.
>>>
>>> Many thanks to Yashas Churchillious for sharing info on Shri Mukundaraj
>>> Kavi 🙏
>>>
>>> ॥ भव शङ्कर देशिक मे शरणम् ॥
>>>
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>>>
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