Adi Shankara Birth Place Kalady Kerala

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• published: 12 Jan 2013
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Sringeri Math is a large, partly open structure situated right on the northern bank of the river Periyar or Poorna. Of the two major shrines within, one is dedicated to Sri Sankaracharya and the other to Goddess Saradamba, the main deity of Sringeri. The samadhi of Sri Sankara's mother Aryamba is also located here. A small shrine to Vinayaka, or Ganapati, is the scene of evening prayers, chanted to the rhythmic ringing of cymbals. The worship in these temples is done by Tamil or Kannada Smartha Brahmins and not by Nampoothiris. It celebrates a ten day festival during Navarathri and procession lead by a decorated temple chariot is conducted. Eminent artists present classical music concerts during the festival days. On Sankara Jayanthi, the birthday of Sankara a Vedic discourse and debate is conducted in which Vedic scholars from all over the world participates. Shankara was born in the Nambudiri Brahmin community to Sri Sivaguru and Aryamba in or near Kaladi in central Kerala. According to lore, it was after his parents, who had been childless for many years, prayed at the Vadakkunnathan temple, Thrissur that Sankara was born. His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara's upanayana, the initiation into student life, was performed at the age of five. As a child, Shankara showed remarkable scholarship, mastering the four Vedas by the age of eight. From a young age, Shankara was inclined towards sannyasa, but it was only after much persuasion that his mother finally gave her consent. Shankara then left Kerala and traveled towards North India in search of a guru. On the banks of the Narmada River, he met Govinda Bhagavatpada, the disciple of Gaudapada. The guru instructed Shankara to write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras and propagate the Advaita philosophy. Shankara travelled to Kashi, where a young man named Sanandana, hailing from Chola territory in South India, became his first disciple. According to legend, while on his way to the Vishwanath Temple, Sankara came upon an untouchable accompanied by four dogs. When asked to move aside by Shankara's disciples, the untouchable replied: "Do you wish that I move my ever lasting Atman ("the Self"), or this body made of flesh?" Realizing that the untouchable was none other than god Shiva himself, and his dogs the four Vedas, Shankara prostrated himself before him, composing five shlokas known as Manisha Panchakam. At Badari he wrote his famous Bhashyas ("commentaries") and Prakarana granthas ("philosophical treatises") The key source texts for all schools of Vedanta are the Prasthanatrayi -- the canonical texts consisting of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara was the first in the tradition to consolidate the siddhanta ("doctrine") of Advaita Vedanta. He wrote commentaries on the Prasthana Trayi. A famous quote from Vivekachudamani, one of his prakarana granthas that succinctly summarizes his philosophy is - Brahma satya? jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah Brahman is the only truth, the spatio-temporal world is an illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between Brahman and individual self. Adi Shankara's Bhashyas (commentaries) on the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras are his principal works. Towards the end of his life, Adi Shankara travelled to the Himalayan area of Kedarnath Badrinath and attained videha mukti ("freedom from embodiment"). There is a samadhi mandir dedicated to Adi Shankara behind the Kedarnath temple. Adi Shankara founded four Mathas to guide the Hindu religion. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south, Dwaraka in Gujarat in the west, Puri in Orissa in the east, and Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand in the north.