This document provides a summary of the life and works of Adi Sankara based on various biographical accounts. It discusses Sankara's birthplace in Kaladi, key milestones in his life like upanayana at age 5 and completing Vedic studies by age 7. It outlines his works like bhashyas on 11 Upanishads and Brahma Sutras. It also mentions his debates with Mandana Misra and establishment of the Sankara Mathas. In the end, it discusses the relevance of Advaita philosophy propounded by Sankara in modern times for inner peace and overcoming challenges like fear and depression.

1. Author : ShankaraNarayanan S
Publisher: Adyar Library and Research Center ] The Theosophical
Society Press
First Edition third Reprint 2011
ISBN [10]: 81-85141-14-2
ISBN [13]: 978-81-85141-14-5

2. Radha Burnier
Swami Smarananda [ Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai

3. Rabindranath Tagore's Quote ... love for India, 1.
Satyam Gnanam Anantam Brahma
Santam Shivam Advaitam

4. Biographies = 33 accounts
 Brihaccankaravijaya 1&2 = Chitsukhacharya 1220 AD?
 Sankaravijaya of Ananda-Giri
 Sivarahasya tradition}
 Sankara was born in chidambaram
 Sankara-Vijaya of Madhava
 Minister for Harihara Bukka 1300s
 ?vidyaranya of sringeri math
 Vyasa-cala
 mahadevendra saraswati of Kanchi peetham 1498-1507
 Brahmaananda
 disciple of sarvajna-atman, author of sanksepa-saariraka

5. Hostile Accounts
 Dwaita Works
 Madhava Vijaya
 ManiManjari
 Buddhism History = Taranatha
 Sankara leapt into Ganga after losing to Dharma-kirti
 Criticism
 they are very late and full of exaggerative and hyperbolic
statements, 16.

6. State of history writing in India
 Poetic license
 Kumarila Bhatta in Mimamsa Vartika
 states that even valmiki and Vyasa used poetic license in
narratives

7. Bhartrhari on the advent of extraordinary man; Quote 22.

8. 2 fold Dharma of Bharat
 Pravriti [ Rituals and Scriptures ]
 Nivritti [ renunciation, enquiry, negation ]
 Decline and its restoration by the Divine, 23.

9. The supremacy of Buddhism, 26.

10. 6 schools of Dharma
 Sankhya: Oldest
 inert material cause, [ pradhaana]
○ denouncing supremeness, ++ no God Particle
○ Satkarya vada [ theory of causation, effects exist subtly in the cause]
 Nyaya
 nyaya vartika b udhyottakara 600AD? fight against buddhism
 Vaisesikha,
 Yoga,
 Purva-Mimamsa,
 Authors Jaimini, Upavarsa, Sabar-svamin ++ pravritti dharma ++
Karma
 Bhartru-prapanca = found it difficult to understand how Nivritti
was an independent path in itself
 The Bhakti school, 29.

11. Prasthanatraya = Brahmasutras ++ Upanishads ++
Bagavadgita
Advaita

12. Northern school of Vedanta,
 Gaudapãda
 ?Alleged Buddhistic features of Gauda pada's Karikas
 mandukya kaarika = commentary on Mandukya upanishad
 Buddhism picks off vedanta as Mahedra-varma I pallava 600 AD
noted
 Govinda Bhagavatpada. ,
 Mahabhasya of Patanjali, grammarian
 Real name chandra-svamin ,
 4 sons : bhartruhari being one of them
○ who propounded - sabda-advaita vaada [ wave theory ]
 Kashmir / Ujjain

13. Southern school of Vedanta
 Brahmanandin, = Chandogya Vaakya, [atri]
 Dramidacarya.= Bhasya on the above vaakya [atri]
 Sundara Pandya= varttika on sariraka mimansa vritti by
upavarsa

14. 3 degrees of reality
 illusory rope snake
 Absolute Brahman
 phenomenal reality

16. Quotes by Veda Vyasa and Max Müller on the limitations of
logic. 39

17. Scenic land of Kerala
 Parasu-Rãmaksetra, 41.
 Cidvilasa -= 15 verse description , purna, Curni, Aluwa,
Periyar,

18. Kaipillli house

19. Atri Gotra
 Atri [book 5, svarbhanu, Sun ]
 taittiriya YajurVeda,
 10K students
 a-tri free from rajas tamas, sat.
 Anusuya, ++ Dandaka Forest
 Sivaguru Father title : Vidhya-adhiraja
 Makha Pandita FIL / Meputtur
 Aryamba Mother
 Tri-sivaperur [ Trissur ] Blessing for son
 Vrsa-cala Bull hill ++ Dakshina Kailasa

20. Legend of Sankara as Siva
 Muruga = Kumarila bhatta
 Indra = King Sudhanva
 Brahma = Visvarupa mandana Misra
 Sarasvati as wife ubhaya bharati
 Vishnu = Padmapada
 Vayu = Hastamaalaka ….

21. Sankara Birth
 Pancami, Vaisakha [ May / June ]
 Guru poornima today
 Nakshatra
○ punarvasu 7 Rama
○ ardra 6th Siva
 Meaning of Samkara
 Sam [5] + Ka [1] + Ra [2] == 5 th day, 1st fortnight, 2nd month ..
7th nakshatra
 Sanskrit numbering = sequential consonants ++ chronograph, 1
sun, 2 eyes etc..

22. Key milestones
 3Y = caulakarma
 Saundarya Lahari : Bhagavathi feeds the baby and baby narrates [
Devibhujanga, Bhujangaprayaata ]
 5Y upanayana = ghatika , chaturvaidyasala , bhiksha carana
 7Y = completed all the vaidika works
 Kanakadhara stotra
 Poor woman, gooseberry offering bhiksha
 gold + svarna Attu mana
 8Y back at home
 Pulls river purna nearer to home for his mother 56.
 Rajasekhara's visit
 Offers gold, ++ 3 poems recital …. they are good!! ++ Son is born
 Rishis, 8Y Bless further life ++ expanded to 16Y sad news
 Samnyasa : Crocodile incident
 VivekaChudamani [79,81,82,143 ] Crocodile as craving and indulgence in
life

23. Quotes Merutunga and George Eliot on ancient stories 70.

24. Govinda Bhagavatpada Guru
 Ans Sat-chit-ananda
 Dasa-sloki
 madhusudana Sarasvati comments that this is better than
Brahma-sutras of baadaraayana / Vyasa ]
 Contains the narmada
 narmada-astaka [ Vindhya viruddham dhyayati, Agastya = one
who conquered a mountain

25. Gaudapada
 Patanjali’s student and is cursed R
 Released by Govinda / ChandaraSvamin
 Wrote mahabhasya on Patanjali’s work
 Govinda asks Sankara to start his work

26. Works of Sankara
 Kasi [ pentad and Octad written ]
 Meeting Vishnu-sarma
 Sanandana and later padma-pada
 Narrating Bhaja Govindam
 dwadasa pajarika stotra
 chaturdasa [ charpata] panjarika stotra ]
 12 + 14 = mohamudgara
 Candala as preceptor = Manisa pancakam

27. Badarika Asrama Gauda padas
15 works
 11 Upanishad Bhasya
 Mandukya, Isha, Kena [2] , Chandogya, katha,
 prashna, taittiriy,a Aittiriya, bhruhad-aranyaka , mundaka
 2 bhaasyas on kena are pada and vakya [ word and sentence]
 Other Doubtful Upanishads
 nrusimha taapini, kausitaki, svetashwatara upanishads
 3 itihasa bhasya
 Bagavadgita,
 sanat-sujaatiya
 vishnu sahasra nama stotra
 Sutra-prasthana on brahmsutra
 shariraka bhaasya
 Meeting Badaraayana Vyasa
 debate [ mural in the varadaraja temple in kanci
 gives him 16 more years

28. 4 stages of learning
 Learning a subject [
 understanding the subject
 living the learning accordingly [
 propagating the learning [ 16Y [ comparison with
Devanaampriya Asoka

29. Agnisarma & return to Kaladi
 Agnisarma brings family wealth
 Sankara builds a temple
 Returns to Kaaladi
 Aaryamba dies and cremation by self
 cursing nambudiri of kaaladi
 Narrating the poems of rajasekara back to him from
memory

30. Kumarila Bhatta and Mandana
Misra
 Disciples = Mandana, Umveka, Prabhakara Misra, Muraari Misra
 Kumarila bhatta Falls pushed by buddhists, losing right eye
 Sankara wants kumarila to write a varttika on Sariraka Bhasya
 Dying Kumarila, on the pyre reads introduction and guides him to
visvarupa / Mandana
 Mandana mishra
 mahishmati , Shraddha ceremony
 Ubhaya bharati as the judge
 Judgment by fresh garland
 Ubhaya bhaarati
 questions on sex kama sutra = amaru-sataka by sankara
 Mandana becomes sureshwara-carya [ 1st sankara of sringeri ]

32. Visits and meetings list
 Kapalika meets and dies
 hasta-aamalaka
 7Y son of prabhakara,
 dumb gets voice, becomes disciple
 hastamaalakiya bhasyam
○ guru writes bhasya on disciples verses
 Giri becomes totaka-acharya
 sruthi sara samudhaarana in totaka meter 179 verses
 verse for a leper Ekaasloki
 commentary by svayampakasa yogi a disciple of gopala yogiindra
 kaapalika krakaca killed by bhairava
 bhagandara anal disease and cure
 ??Kaamarupa after debating with abhinava gupta

33. shanmatha sthapana acarya
 6 deities unified for the first time with 6 disciples
 Surya / indra == ravi kumara
 Sakthi = tripura kumara
 Shaiva == paramata kaalanala
 Ganapatya = girijaa kumara
 Kumara = vatukanatha / kapaalika
 Vaishnava == laksmana

34. Sankara Matha
 Sringeri == Saradapitha = Bhoga == suresvara
 Dwarika == kaalika pitha
 Badari nath == jyotimati pitha = mukti
 Puri == vimala pitha
 Kanci == kaamkoti pitha == yoga

35. Disciples
 Mandana Suresvara == Bhasya on taittiriya and Bruhad
aranyaka ++ Nais karma siddhi
 Totaka = tika , pancapadika
 Padma Pada

36. Pentad for easy understanding of advaita sara

37. samadhi of sankara
 kanci,
 kedaranath,
 badariaasrama,
 dattaatreya asrama
 Trissur,

38. types of commentaries
 Sutra
 Bhaasya
 Varttika

39. Chapter VI Philosophy of
Sankara
 Brahma Jignasa, Atma Jignasa Brahma Vicara
 Brahma satya jagan mithya jiva barhmaiva naaparaha

40. Brahma sat
 Svarupalaksana
 negation, == nirguna saguna
 antaryaamin
 sambandha avastha
 imaginary relations
 maya- sakti leads to lower level entities with different sat rajas
tamas , sankhya inert
 Sambandha anaavastha
 relentless relationship regression
 relationship is false bheda self contradictions three there is no
difference Brahma isvara self

41. advaita focus
 Focus on nature of Brahman and not relations
 sraddha ++ manana ++ anumana
 frailty of suska tarka self based logic
 Sravana and sramana Buddha Sankara
 Brahma sat ! Nirguna saguna are the same
 vimuktas cha vimucyate
 3 states atma Brahman medium
 self deha dehi ( jiva)
 reflects universal nature svaprakasa self luminous

42. Atman aham
 Difference is anirvacaniya and through maya-sakti
 Aavarana Maya and. Viksepa
 veiling and manifesting extremes leading to lower forms
 self clouding
 17 layers organs
 sutra-atma
 atma as a string
 Indian string theory mahaprana virat vaishvaanara
 Gods are interactions of guna rajas sat tamas in
differing proportions
 Maya == differentiation bheda ! Interaction
sambandha ! Interpretation mithya

44. Jagan mithya
 phantasia , buddha comparison vivartavada
 satkaaravada
 parinamavada
 vivartavada
 change and no change
 cryptic Buddhist

45. Atma brahmaiva na para
 brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati
 atomic atma
 embodied Brahman encapsulation satyam jnanam anantam atma
 ! ruler is not analogy of Brahman
 Ruler knows the kingdom but not everywhere
 wrong association Brahman not associated
 medium size atma
 realization failure
 Hunter kidnap instant realization to Prince
 bhagatyagalaksana
 words association are dropped and only root essence is true
 … like number and arithmetic ways to get there impermanence
 kataka nut water purification 8todo
 Soham vs daso-ham
 objection our perception is limited reality
 association sambandha avastha problem like owner described as the house

46. Chapter VII : relevance on
Sankara in modern times
 dogma and belief based on Veda
 Veda itself and Sankara prod people to think
independent experience and thinking before validating
 Pitch based on understanding self and nature
 samnyasa is the basis of advaita
 !! progress does not need philosophy
 agreed lot of progress is there
 but mind fear depression are today's challenges
 inner engineering

47. Dharmakirthi Buddha references