book summary and notes of the book Sri Sankara written by Shankar Narayanan

1. Sri Sankara - Book Summary
Author : ShankaraNarayanan
S
Adyar Library and Research
Center ] The Theosophical
Society Press
2011 && ISBN [10]: 81-85141-
14-2

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

3. CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
 Satyam Gnanam Anantam
Brahma
 Santam Shivam Advaitam

4. Biographies on Sankara
 33 accounts
 Brihaccankaravijaya 1&2 =
Chitsukhacharya 1220 AD?
 Sankaravijaya
 anandagiri{Sivarahasya
tradition}
 Sankara was born in
chidambaram

5. Hostile Accounts
 Dwaita Works
 Madhava Vijaya
 ManiManjari
 Buddhism History -
Taranatha
 Sankara leapt into Ganga
after losing to Dharma-kirti
 history Writing in India &&

6. CHAPTER II: THE BACKGROUND

7. 2-fold division of bharat Dharma
 Pravriti >> Rituals and
Scriptures
 Nivritti >> renunciation,
enquiry, negation ]

8. Dharma in Sankara's times
 The supremacy of
Buddhism, 26.
 Sunya Vada
 Vignana Vada
 Sanghas
 Chaitya
 sangha-aramas

9. 6 schools of Dharma
 Sankhya
 Oldest ... inert material
cause, [ pradhaana]
 denouncing supremeness
 satkarya vada [ theory of
causation, effects exist subtly
in the cause]
 Gopu44 ~ Saankhya ++ No
God particle
 Nyaya

10. 6 schools of Dharma
 Vaisesikha
 Yoga = Patanjali
 Purva-Mimamsa
 Key thinkers >> Jaimini,
Upavarsa, Sabar-svamin
 pravritti dharma && Karma
 Bhartru-prapanca >> found it
difficult tounderstand how
Nivritti was an independent

11. Vedanta before Sri Sankara 32
 Prasthanatraya >>
Brahmasutras &&
Upanishads &&
Bagavadgita
 Advaita: Northern school of
Vedanta, >> Gaudapãda / ?
Buddhistic features of
Gauda pada's Karikas
 mandukya kaarika ...
commentary on Mandukya

12. Vedanta before Sri Sankara 32
 Govinda Bhagavatpada. ,
 Mahabhasya of Patanjali,
grammarian
 Real name chandra-svamin
 4 sons { bhartruhari sabda-
advaita vaada [ wave theory ]
} Kashmir / Ujjain

13. Vedanta before Sri Sankara 32
 Southern school of Vedanta
, 35.
 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

15. Sri Sankara the Unifier

16. CHAPTER III: LIFE oF SRI
SANKARA: BIRTH
 Quotes by Veda Vyasa and
Max Müller on the
limitations of logic. 39

17. Scenic Kerala
 Also known as Parasu-
Rãmaksetra, 41.
 Cidvilasa ... 15 verse
description , purna, Curni,
Aluwa, Periyar,
 Alwaye Kaaladi
 Kaipillli house

18. Atri Gotra
 RigVeda book 5
 svarbhanu, Sun
 taittiriya YajurVeda,
 10K students
 atri free from rajas tamas,
sat
 Anusuya
 Dandaka Forest

19. Parents
 Sivaguru Father : Title
Vidhya-adhiraja
 Makha Pandita FIL >>
Meputtur
 Aryamba Mother

20. Tri-sivaperur [ Trissur ] Blessings
 Vrsa-cala Bull hill
 Dakshina Kailasa

21. Legend of Sankara as Siva
 Muruga = Kumarila bhatta
 Indra = King Sudhanva
 Brahma = Visvarupa
mandana Misra
 Sarasvati as wife ubhaya
bharati
 Vishnu = Padmapada
 Vayu = Hastamaalaka and

22. Birth of Sankara
 Was born on Pancami,
Vaisakha [ May / June ]
 guru poornima today
 ? punarvasu = Rama
 ? ardra 6th Siva }
 Meaning samkara
 Sam [5] + Ka [1] + Ra [2]
 5 th day, 1st fortnight, 2nd

23. Ref: Sanskrit numbering
 sequential consonants
 chronograph, 1 sun, 2 eyes
etc..

24. Key milestones
 3Y = caulakarma
 Saundarya Lahari
 Bhagavathi feeds the baby
 Baby narrates [
Devibhujanga,
Bhujangaprayaata ]
 5Y upanayana

25. Key milestones continued..
 ghatika
 chaturvaidyasala
 bhiksha carana
 7Y = completed all the
vaidika works
 Kanakadhara Stotra
 Poor woman, gooseberry
offering bhiksha

26. Key milestones Continued
 Rajasekhara's visit gold,
 3 poems , they are good
 Son is born
 Rishis visit
 8Y expanded to 16Y sad
news
 Crocodile incident leading to
sam-nyasa
 VivekaChudamani

27. CHAPTER IV LIFE ...
COMMENTATOR & DEBATOR
 Quotes Merutunga and
George Eliot on ancient
stories 70.

28. Meets Govinda Bhagavatpada
 Ans Sat-chit-ananda
 Recites the Dasa-sloki
 madhusudana Sarasvati
comments that this is better
than Brahma-sutras of
baadaraayana / Vyasa ]

29. contains narmada
 narmada-astaka
 Vindhya viruddham dhyayati
 Agastya = one who
conquered a mountain ,

30. Gaudapada
 patanjali student cursed
 mahabhasya
 released by Govinda /
ChandaraSvamin

31. Sankara begins his works
 Kasi [ pentad and Octad
written
 Meeting Vishnu-sarma who
becomes sanandana and
later padma-pada
 Bhaja Govindam
 dwadasa pajarika stotra
 chaturdasa [ charpata]
panjarika stotra ] == 12 + 14

32. Candala as preceptor
 Manisa pancakam

33. Badarika Asrama under Gauda pada

34. Main works of Sankara in Kashi
 15 Bhashyas
 11 Upanishad Bhasya >>
Mandukya, Isha, Kena [2] ,
Chandogya, katha, prashna,
taittiriy,Aittiriya, bhruhad-
aranyaka , mundaka
 2 bhaasyas on kena are pada
and vakya [ word and
sentence]
 3 itihasa bhasya
 Bagavadgita,

35. Debate Badaraayana Vyasa
 mural in the varadaraja
temple in kanci
 gives himm 16 more years

36. 4 stages of learning
 Learning a subject [
 understanding the subject
 living the learning
accordingly [
 propagating the learning

37. @ 16Y comparison with
Devanaampriya Asoka

38. Agnisarma & Return to Kaladi
 Agni Sarma brings family
wealth
 Sankara builds a temple
 Returns to Kaaladi
 Aaryamba dies and
cremation
 Self .. cursing nambudiri of
kaaladi

39. Winning Mandana misra
 Meeting Kumarila Bhatta on
funeral pyre
 Falling pushed by buddhists,
losing right eye
 kumarila asks Sankara to
write a varttika on Sariraka
Bhasya
 Mandana Misra, Umveka,
Prabhakara Misra, Muraari
Misra

40. amaru-sataka by sankara

41. sureshwara-carya
 1st sankara of sringeri ]

42. Chapter V : Triumph, Pigrimage and
Mukti
 Visits and meetings list
 Kapalika attacks but dies

43. hasta-aamalaka
 7Y son of prabhakara,
 dumb gets voice
 hastamaalakiya bhasyam
 guru writes bhasya on
disciples verses

44. Giri = totaka-acharya
 sruthi sara samudhaarana
 totaka meter 179 verses
 verse for a leper
 Ekaasloki
 commentary by
svayamprakasa yogi
 disciple of gopala yogiindra

45. Final Days
 kaapalika krakaca >> killed
by bhairava
 bhagandara anal disease
 ? Kaamarupa
 ? debate abhinava gupta

46. Chapter V – Key works and
contributions

47. shanmatha sthapana acarya
 6 deities unified with 6
disciples
 Surya / indra == ravi
kumara
 Sakthi = tripura kumara
 Shaiva == paramata
kaalanala
 Ganapatya = girijaa kumara

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

49. Disciples
 Mandana Suresvara ==
Bhasya on taittiriya and
Bruhad aranyaka ++ Nais
karma siddhi
 Totaka = tika , pancapadika
 Padma Pada
 Upadesa pancaka . pantad
for easy understanding of
advaita sara

50. ?samadhi of sankara
 kanci
 kedaranath
 badariaasrama
 dattaatreya asrama
 Trissur,

51. Types of commentaries
 Sutra
 Bhaasya
 Varttika

52. Chapter VI Philosophy of Sankara

53. Key concepts
 Brahma Jignasa, Atma
Jignasa Brahma Vicara
 Brahma satya jagan mithya
jiva barhmaiva naaparaha

54. 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

55. advaita= nature of Brahman
 not relations

56. sraddha manana anumana

57. Vis-a-vis others
 frailty of suska tarka self
based logic
 Sravana and sramana
 Buddha Sankara
 Nirguna saguna are the
same
 vimuktas cha vimucyate

58. 3 states atma Brahman medium
 self deha dehi ( jiva)
 reflects universal nature
 svaprakasa self luminous
 Atman aham difference
 anirvacaniya and through
maya-sakti

59. Maya Sakti
 Aavarana Maya ]
Manifestation
 Viksepa veiling and
manifesting extremes
leading to lower forms
 self clouding

60. Other concepts
 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

61. Maya
 Differentiation bheda !
 Interaction sambandha !
 Interpretation mithya

62. Brahman
 Anantham ! [ Unbounded –
desha, kala, Vastu
 Satyam ! [ Reality
 Jnanam ! [ consciousness

63. Jagan mithya
 phantasia
 buddha comparison
vivartavada
 satkaaravada
parinamavada vivartavada
change and no change
 cryptic Buddhist

64. Atma brahmaiva na para
 brahmavid brahmaiva
bhavati
 atomic atma
 embodied Brahman
 encapsulation satyam
jnanam anantam atma

65. Brahman is not ruler
 Just being
 Ruler knows the kingdom
but not everywhere
 wrong association Brahman
not associated
 medium size atma

66. realization failure
 Hunter kidnap instant
realization to Prince
 bhagatyagalaksana
 words association are
dropped
 Only root essence is true
 number and arithmetic
ways to get there
impermanence

67. kataka nut
 water purification

68. Soham vs daso-ham
 Our perception is limited
reality
 association sambandha
avastha problem like owner
described as the house

69. Chapter VII : relevance on Sankara
in modern times
 dogma and belief based on
Veda
 Veda & Sankara prod
people to think independent
 experience and thinking
before validating
 Pitch based on
understanding self and
nature

70. basis of advaita
 progress does not need
philosophy
 there is lot of progress
 mind fear depression
 inner engineering

71. Appendix I : Dating Sankara
 Dharmakirthi
 Buddha references

72. Appendix II : Twin Controversies

73. Appendix III : Works of Sankara