Sankara Digvijaya: The Traditional Life of Sri Sankaracharya

by Mādhava Vidyāranya Kannada, Tapasyananda (Translator)

Due to the scarcity of data from long ago, biographies of Shankara must of necessity have a mythological bias in them. This is the first complete translation in prose of one of the traditional biographies of Shankaracharya. In his valuable introduction, Swami Tapasyananda discusses the dearth of data on Shankara's life which makes a biography along modern lines impossible and necessitates dependence on the traditional lives. This biography written by Vidyaranya conveys the power of Shankara's personality and the brilliance of his achievements, particularly in the fully reported philosophical debates with his opponents. Thus, enough can be said that one can find inspiration in this life of the major exponent of Vedanta. This new hardback edition has been has been entirely reset presenting the text in a larger, cleaner type on higher quality paper than the original paperback edition, making the book much easier to read. A number of black and white photographs have been added along with a comprehensive index.

195 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Mādhava; Nandalal Dhole; Bhāratītirtha.; Society for the resuscitation of Indian literature, Calcutta.
AKA

Mādhava; Mādhava Āchārya; Mādhava Charya; Mādhavāćārya; Mādhavāmātya; Mādhavārya; Mādhava-Mantri; Vidyāraṇyasarswati; Vidyāraṇya; Mādhava Vidyāraṇya; Sāyaṇa Mādhavāchārya; Mādhava, son of Māyaṇa, called Vidyāraṇya; Āchārya, Mādhava; Vidyāraṇya, Mādhava; Mādhavāchārya, Sāyaṇa; Vidyāraṇyasvāmī; Vidyāraṇya Bhāratī; Bhāratī, Vidyāraṇya; Saint Vidyāraṇya; Vityāraṇya Cuvāmikaḷ; Cuvāmukaḷ, Vityāraṇya

Vidyāraṇya (Kannada: ವಿದ್ಯಾರಣ್ಯ also known as Mādhava Vidyāranya Kannada: ಮಾಧವ ವಿದ್ಯಾರಣ್ಯ) is variously known as being a kingmaker, patron saint and high priest to Harihara Raya I and Bukka Raya I, the founders of the Vijayanagar Empire. He was the 12th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from 1380 to 1386 A.D. He was born to Māyaṇācārya and Śrīmatīdevī in Pampakṣetra (modern day Hampi) in 1268 CE. Another account has it that he was born in Ekasila nagari (modern Warangal). He helped the brothers establish the empire sometime in 1336 AD. He later served as a mentor and guide to three generations of kings who ruled over the Vijayanagar empire. Vijayanagara or Hampi, the capital of the empire, has a temple dedicated to Mādhavācārya. He is the author of the Sarvadarśanasaṅ̇graha (सर्वदर्शनसङ्रह), a compendium of different philosophical schools of Hindu thought and Pañcadaśī, an important text in the Advaita Vedanta tradition.

Reviews

[Prasad BSV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the over 100 Sankara Vijayas, traditional life histories of Adi Sankaracharya, this one occupies the pre-eminent position, not only because of its famous author, but also because of its comprehensiveness and erudition. Though it is a fairly typical medieval hagiography, my admiration of both the author & the subject increased several fold after painfully plodding through the book.

[Pradeep Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the English edition of this book from the Ramakrishna Math. It's reasonably priced at ,₹250 for a hard back and 400 paged book.

Swami Tapasyananda has put tedious efforts into the level of research and references provided in it, on various dates and putting to rest the controversies around them.

Swamiji has also done a great service to English readers by doing such an honest, unabridged and detailed translation of the original work by Jagadguru Vidyaranya Swami. Note that it is this version from the former Jagadguru that is recommended reading by even the Sringeri Sharada peetham and many others as the most elaborate account of Adi Shankaracharya's life

Of course when the current generation reads it, skeptical in mind, we may find some references of Gods meeting in heaven and discussing, or Gods coming down to Earth and discussing with humans, and the plethora of praises tiring at some point. For such readers there are thinner editions always available of Shankaracharya's brief life but ever lasting legacy.

One must instead appreciate that this work was written by the former Jagadguru with an intent to appeal to the masses and some 900 years ago. It's a work from those times and so it will be of a different writing style.

One must instead relish the details of the debates held between Shankaracharya and his key adversaries which are detailed for relevant points.

Read them to your children. A few pages a day will leave in them a deep impression.

[Niel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most underlined book I have ever read. A lot of references found.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had fun with this one. It's a lively apologetic long after Shankara lived. It combines stories with argument. It is a thoughtful development of his thought to meet the current concerns.