Adi Sankara at age 3 and 4

Young Sankaran

A brahmin by name Sivaguru with his wife Aryambigai was living in Kaladi.   They were not having children and   both were praying Lord Siva for begetting a child.   As was the practice and belief of those days, they went to Trichur and prayed in the Vadakkunathar temple for one Mandalam.     After some days of prayers in the mandalam, while sleeping, Lord Siva appeared in the dream of Sivaguru.    The lord said "He would grant the wish of the couple".   But asked "Do you require 100 children with long life but unintelligent or a child with short life with abundant knowledge that would be appreciated by everyone?"   Sivaguru  could not reply immediately and also he woke up from the dream.     He was wondering about the Lord appearing in his dream and woke up his wife and told her.   Aryambigai said The Lord knew everything and whatever the Lord decided would be accepted. 

  Once when the god himself has decided to give, who can stop?   He appeared again in the dream of Sivaguru and said that he was pleased and he himself would be born as a child to Sivaguru with a short life but the entire world would appreciate and wonder by his activities.   As he woke in the morning, he told his wife about the dream an the couple were very happy to know that the Lord himself would be born to them as a child and also because of the Lord's showering his blessings on them, as per their prayers.    The couple still continued their mandala prayers (prarthanai) and completed it and returned back to Kaladi.    After a few months, Aryambigai conceived and later a child with all the beauty that could be described, was born.   The couple only knew that the lord himself has born as a child to them and named the child as "Sankaran".   

Sivaguru, an ardent Siva bhaktha, used to pray the Lord daily and the food would be served only then for all. Sankaran also would sit with his father in the pooja room during these prayers.    Once when Sankaran was only 3 years old, Sivaguru went to another place but could not return in time for the pooja.   Sankara was hungry and as without the pooja, food cannot be taken, he thought why he should not perform the pooja on that day.     He went inside the pooja room and offered fruits and milk and did the pooja as used to be done by his father.   He then sat on Dhyana and a wonder happened at that time.   A light appeared from the Siva linga and took the shape of Umadevi and she saw vessel with the milk and child Sankaran also came out of the Dhyana at that time.  The vessel got emptied as Umadevi saw that and Sankaran seeing the vessel without the milk was upset.     It was true that the milk disappeared but Umadevi had filled up Gnana in the vessel and she fed the child with Gnana and Umadevi disappeared.    On drinking the milk of Gnana, Sankaran started exhibiting his Gnana and singing in Sanskrit at the tender age of 3.     The parents were very happy to learn from Sankaran about the incident of feeding of the Gnana by Umadevi.   They were  astonished by the knowledge he had possessed but were worried that it was  only for a short period but they would never reveal about the short life of sankaran to him.     

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The astrologers had told Sivaguru would meet his end when his child would be four years old.  That was, what happened.        At that time, Sankaran did not set fire to the body of his father, but put a piece of Dharbai on the funeral pyre by which there was fire with a fragrance.    Then Sankaran had his early education in Gurukula when he was five.    At the age of seven he composed Kanagadhara Stotram.    

KANAGADHARA STOTRAM

Kanagadhara Stotram

This stotram was one of the early age works of Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada.    What prompted Adi Sankara to sing in praise of Goddess Lakshmi?       Sankara as was the practice of Brahmacharis begged for alms as a young boy.  When he did that in the house of Ayasida Dikshitar with the normal request of "bhagavati bhikshantegi", only Dikshitar's wife was in the house.   Dikshitar had gone out to beg for alms himself.  The Dikshitar was so poor, there was nothing in the house to offer as Bikhsa to Sankara.    After all her search, she was so sad that she felt what was to be offered when there was nothing in the house.  Then she realised, that she had kept two gooseberries (Nellikkai or Amla) for her and her husband and keeping one for her husband, offered the other one to Sankara, pleading to him, to take the same, as there was no other thing to offer.   Realising the poverty of the house, Sankara in compassion, decided to bestow his all and sang there itself, on Goddess Lakshmi.   That was Kanagadhara stotram.  As he sang the stotram, Goddess Lakshmi appeared before him, asked what he wanted  from her.  He told the poverty of Dikshitar's house had to change for the better.  The Goddess told the lady did not do charities in her previous life and deserved no mercy.    Sankara while agreeing with the Goddess said that in the present life, though there was nothing in the house, the lady had given whatever she had, and that too with all the reverence requesting him to take it.   Hence she deserved the help to which Goddess Lakshmi said it would be done.   Immediately it was raining of gold gooseberries in Dikshitar's house.   The lady of the house, wondered what had happened and stood in reverance.   

   

The Kanagadhara stotram was sung in Sanskrit.   Kanaga meaning gold and dhara is rain.

MAHASHIVARATRI 2012

Maha Sivarathri 2012

This year's Maha Sivarathri falls on 20th February 2012, the day before the Amavasya.    The four Jamams of that night will comprise the rathri for observation of the Vratha to be awake and pray Lord Siva.     It is considered very appropriate to do Abhisekams to Lingam in house with milk, curd, butter and honey in that order for the four Jamams.     Apart from being awake on that night, performing abhishekams, Prayers by singing hymns of Siva and with Mantras Shiva Panchakshari - Om Namachivaya, Siva Shakthi   Panchakshari - Om Hrim Namachivaya and Mruthunjaya Mantra are considered the best way to get the blessings of Lord Siva.      Mruthunjaya Mantra:
Om trayambakama Yajamahe
Suganthim Pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanat
Mrutyor Mukshiya Mamrutat


The Shiva Gayatri Mantra, and Astothram and Sahasranamam are also mantras chanted during the Vratha.    The Gayathri Mantra is given below:
Om tatpurushaya Vidhmahe
Mahadevaya Vidmahi
Tanno Rudra Prachodayat

 


Fasting from the evening till the next morning is observed normally on this day.   The legend has it that on this day, when offered prayers unintentionally to Lord Siva fetches the blessings of Shiva as he gets pleased on the prayers offered on this day.   Thus the story of King Chitrbanu is narrated in connection with this.   King Chitrabanu of Ikshvahu Dynasty ruled Jambudweepa was observing fast on a Siva rathri day when Sage Ashtavakra came to meet the king.    The sage asked the King on the purpose of the fast.   The king said he had the gift of knowing about his previous birth and that he was a hunter born in Varanasi with the name Suswara, in the previous birth.  While hunting in the forest one day, it was late for him to return home and hence took shelter in a tree.   He climbed the tree with the deer he had killed.   The tree was a Bael  (Vilvam) and even as he was sitting on the tree, he felt sorry for his wife and children who were awaiting for the food.   As he was overcoming with the emotions, he was also plucking the vilva leaves and dropping them to pass the night.  In the morning, he went with the deer and sold it and bought food for his family.   When he was about to break his fast, a stranger came asked for food and he first offered food for the stranger and then took food.    At the time of death, two messengers of Lord Shiva appeared and took his soul to the abode of Lord Shiva and he learnt from them that the prayers offered unconciously on the day when he was in the forest was the reason for this.    A shiva linga was beneath the Bael tree and as he shed tears thinking the family, this fell on the siva linga and washed it.    The Bilva leaves he plucked and dropped fell on the linga thus Vilva leaves had been offered as prayers that night.    He had also been not taking any food sitting over the tree and thus observed a fast on that night.   Thus he had worshipped Lord Shiva that night unconsciously that had merited him to be taken to the abode of Lord Shiva.    Thus the hunter Suswa had enjoyed bliss for long ages to be reborn as Chitrabanu.  Thus narrated Chitrabanu to Sage Ashtavakra.   Bhisma, while resting on the bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma referred to this stroy.
Vilvastogam:

Vallalar's Tamil song:   Mandiram Avadhu Neeru:



மந்திரம் ஆவது நீறு; வானவர் மேலது நீறு;
சுந்தரம் ஆவது நீறு; துதிக்கப் படுவது நீறு;
தந்திரம் ஆவது நீறு; சமயத்தில் உள்ளது நீறு;
செந்துவர் வாய் உமை பங்கன், திரு ஆலவாயான் திருநீறே.

வேதத்தில் உள்ளது நீறு; வெந்துயர் தீர்ப்பது நீறு;
போதம் தருவது நீறு; புன்மை தவிர்ப்பது நீறு;
ஓதத் தகுவது நீறு; உண்மையில் உள்ளது நீறு;
சீதப் புனல் வயல் சூழ்ந்த திரு ஆலவாயான் திருநீறே.