Shankara was born to Nambudiri Brahmin parents in the southern Bharat state of Kerala, in a village named Kaladi (also known by the names Kalati or Karati). They named their child Shankara, meaning “giver of prosperity”. His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara’s upanayanam, the initiation into student-life, had to be delayed due to the death of his father, and was then performed by his mother.
The records of the Sringeri Matha state that Shankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of “Vikramaditya”, but it is unclear to which king this name refers. Though some researchers identify the name with Chandragupta II (4th century CE), modern scholars accept the Vikramaditya as being from the Chalukya dynasty of Badami, most likely Vikramaditya II (733–746 CE).
The exact dates of birth of Adi Shankaracharya believed by four monasteries are Dvārakā at 491 BCE, Jyotirmath at 485 BCE, Jagannatha Puri at 484 BCE and Sringeri at 483 BCE. while according to the Kanchi Peetham Adi Shankara was born in Kali 2593 (509 BCE).
However, according to the astronomical details given in the books Shankara Satpatha, Shankara Vijaya, Brihat Shakara Vijaya, Prachina Shankara Vijaya, Adi Shankaracharya was born in 509 BCE. This birth date of Adi Shankara also matches with that of Kota Venkatachalam a great Sanskrit and Andhra scholar who published the original evidence-based research work `Ancient History and Chronology of Bharat’. Whereas 19th and 20th century scholars proposed 788 CE and 820 CE as Shankara ‘s birth year and death year respectively.
Under his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada’s guidance, Shankara studied ‘Gaudapadiya Karika’, ‘Brahmasutra’, Vedas, and Upanishads.
Teachings and works
Though he is best known for popularizing ‘Advaita Vedanta’, one of Shankaracharya’s most important works is his efforts to synthesize the six sub-sects, known as ‘Shanmata.’ ‘Shanmata’, which literally translates to ‘six religions,’ is the worship of six supreme deities i.e., Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda. Shankaracharya explained the existence of the Supreme Being (Brahman) and that the six supreme deities are part of that Supreme Being. He also founded ‘Dashanami Sampradaya,’ which talks about leading a monastic life. The ten subdivisions of the monk order known as Dashanami indicate the harmony with the infinite vastness of nature, expressed in these ten names- Giri (mountain), Puri (tract), Bharati (land), Vana (garden), Aranya (forest), Sagara (sea), Asrama (monastic community), Sarasvati (wisdom of nature), Tirtha (place of pilgrimage) and Parvata (mountain).
Sankara reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism) with the introduction of the Pañcāyatana form of worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities are but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being, implying that Advaita Vedanta stood above all other traditions.
The central theme of Shankara’s writings is the liberating knowledge of the identity of the Self (Ātman) and Brahman. Moksha is attained in this life by recognizing the identity of Atman and Brahman, as mediated by the Mahavakyas, especially Tat Tvam Asi, “That you are.” According to Shankara Correct knowledge of jivatman and Atman-Brahman is the attainment of Brahman, immortality, and leads to moksha (liberation) from suffering and samsara, the cycle of rebirth.
To Shankara, that knowledge of Brahman springs only from inquiry into the teachings of the Upanishads. According to Shankara, the individual Ātman and Brahman seem different at the empirical level of reality, but this difference is only an illusion, and at the highest level of reality they are really identical. The real self is Sat, “the Existent,” that is, Ātman-Brahman.
Establishing monasteries
In the Advaita Vedānta tradition, four of those statements, the Mahāvākyas, have a special importance in revealing this identity.
तत्त्वमसि, tat tvam asi, Chandogya VI.8.7. Traditionally rendered as “That Thou Art” (that you are
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि, aham brahmāsmi, Brhadāranyaka I.4.10, “I am Brahman,” or “I am Divine.
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म, prajñānam brahma, Aitareya V.3, “Prajñānam is Brahman.”
अयमात्मा ब्रह्म, ayamātmā brahma, Mandukya II, “This Atman is Brahman.”
Shankara established the following four Peethas each of which advocates the above four Mahavakyas.
- Sringeri Sharada Peetham – This was the first monastery founded by Adi Shankaracharya. It is located at Southern Bharat, Karnataka, along the banks of Tunga. Sureshvara was made the head of this matha. Sringeri Sharada Peetham advocates ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ (I am Brahman) and was formed on the basis of Yajur Veda.
- Dvaraka Peetham – Dvaraka Peetham is located in Western Bharat, Gujarat. Hasta Malaka, who came to be known as Hastamalakacharya, was made the head of this matha. Dvaraka Peetham advocates ‘Tattvamasi’ (That thou art) and was formed on the basis of Sama Veda.
- Jyotirmatha Peetham – This monastery is located in the northern part of Bharat, Uttarkhand. Totakacharya was made the head of this matha which advocates ‘Ayamatma Brahma’ (This Atman is Brahman). Jyotirmatha Peetham was formed on the basis of Atharva Veda.
- Govardhana matha – Govardhana matha is located at the eastern part of Bharat, Odisha. The matha is a part of the famous Jagannath temple. Padmapada was made the head of this monastery which advocates ‘Prajnanam Brahma’ (Consciousness is Brahman). It was formed on the basis of Rig Veda.
By the time Shankara was born, Hindu Dharma was in retreat and was weakened by its rigid practice of orthodoxy, ritualism, and formality. Added to this, Jainism and Buddhism were practiced by majority of the people posing a threat to Hindu Dharma.
Adi Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta, which combined various ideas and Hindu practices into a philosophy based on the Vedic maxim “One Truth, Many Expositions,” was the theoretically robust response to that period of chaos. While the details and chronology vary, most hagiographies present Shankara as traveling widely within Bharat, Gujarat to Bengal, and participating in public philosophical debates with different orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, as well as heterodox traditions such as Buddhists, Jains, and Charvakas.
According to Sankara, Karma and Bhakti are means to Jnana which is Moksha. Shankara’s philosophy of Advaita had similarities with Mahayana Buddhism. As a result, his opponents usually called him “Crypto Buddhist.” However, it should be noted that Shankara asserted the Hindu concept of “Atman” that “Soul exists.” On the other hand, Buddhism asserts that there is “No Soul, No Self.”
Shankara had a number of disciple scholars during his travels, including Padmapadacharya (also called Sanandana, associated with the text Atma-bodha), Sureśvaracharya, Totakacharya, Hastamalakacharya, Chitsukha, Prthividhara, Chidvilasayati, Bodhendra, Brahmendra, Sadananda and others, who authored their own literature on Shankara and Advaita Vedanta.
Adi Shankara’s review of ‘Brahma Sutra’ known as ‘Brahmasutrabhasya’, is the oldest surviving commentary on ‘Brahma Sutra’.
The teachings of Sankara can be summed up as: “-Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah-Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman.” This is the quintessence of his philosophy.
Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent).
Sat-Chit-Ananda constitute the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes.
The Nirguna Brahman of Sankara is impersonal. It becomes a personal God or Saguna Brahman only through Its association with Maya.
The world is not an illusion according to Sankara. The world is relatively real (Vyavaharika Satta), while Brahman is absolutely real (Paramarthika Satta). The world is the product of Maya or Avidya. The unchanging Brahman appears as the changing world through Maya.
Smarta Tradition
Shankara established the nondualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstone of a revived smarta tradition. Smarta sampradaya”, a liberal or non-sectarian tradition or denomination of the Vedic Hindu religion, which accepts all the major Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman, in contrast to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, the other three major Hindu sects, which revere Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti, respectively, as the Supreme Being. Smartas are, the followers and propagators of Smriti or religious texts derived from Vedic scriptures, who believe in the authority of the Vedas as well as the basic premise of Puranas.
According to hagiographies, supported by four maths, Adi Shankara left his mortal body at Kedarnath in the northern Bharat state of Uttarakhand, a Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas.
Films on Shankaracharya
- Shankaracharya (1927), Bharat silent film about Shankara by Kali Prasad Ghosh.
- Jagadguru Shrimad Shankaracharya (1928), Bharatn silent film by Parshwanath Yeshwant Altekar.
- Jagadguru Shankaracharya (1955), Bharat Hindi film by Sheikh Fattelal.
- In 1977 Jagadguru Aadisankaran, a Malayalam film directed by P. Bhaskaran.
- In 1983 a film directed by G.V. Iyer named Adi Shankaracharya was premiered, the first film ever made entirely in Sanskrit language in which all of Adi Shankaracharya’s works were compiled. The movie received the Bharatn National Film Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Audiography.
- On 15 August 2013, Jagadguru Adi Shankara was released in a Bharat Telugu-language biographical film written and directed by J. K. Bharavi and was later dubbed in Kannada with the same title.
A 108-foot statue of Adi Shankara was unveiled near Omkareshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh to commemorate his life and work on 21 September 2023. Another 12-foot statue at Kedarnath was unveiled on 5 November 2021, is made of chlorite schist and weighs 35 tonnes.
Swami Vivekananda considered Adi Shankaracharya (Adi Shankara) as the greatest teacher of Vedanta philosophy. Vivekananda was an admirer of Adi Shankara and translated Adi Shankara’s poem Atma Shatakam (also known as Nirvana Shatakam).
Shankara will go down in the history as Vedic philosopher who could reconcile several divergent views, removed lot of inconsistencies in the interpretation of our scriptures and highlighted the essence of Vedas through the Maha Vakyas. He will also be remembered as the sage behind the revival of Sanatana Dharma when it was going through a difficult phase in the history.
