Vivek Chudamani

Author(s): Chandrashekhar Bharti Swami, P Sankaranarayan
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidyabhavan

Page 21

INTRODUCTION
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satyam". Such was the mahāpuruşa who is the author of this Commentary. This calls to mind an incident in the life of Sri Samkara himself mentioned in the Anandagiri samkaravijaya. "From Cidambaram, Sri Samkara travelled southwards to Ramesvaram. First, he visited Tiruvidaimarudūr known as Madhyārjuna in Samskrt and offered worship to Mahālinga in the great shrine there. A miracle happened then. Sri Samkara prayed that Mahālinga at the temple should Himself declare the truth of Advaita so that the doubt in regard thereto lingering in the minds of some people might be dispelled. In response to Śrī Śamkara's prayer, Lord Siva appeared out of the Mahālinga, raised the right hand and proclaimed the truth of Advaita three times thus: satyam advaitam, satyam advaitam, satyam advaitam.'3
It is interesting to note in this connection a parallel between His Holiness and the jivanmukta described in this work in sloka 560: kulyāyām atha nadyām vā śivakşetrepi catvare i parnam patati cet tena taroủ kim nu śubhāśubham 11+ which means: "It is immaterial to a tree whether its leaf falls in a stream or a river or in a place consecrated to śiva or where four roads meet. The ātman is not concerned with where the body falls.” Is it any wonder that the jivanmukta that Śri Candrasekhara Bhārati was decided to cast away his body when he had no further use for it, in the waters of the Tungā river?
Such is the noble ,soul who has conferred a great boon on us by bequeathing to us a Commentary in Sanskrit on the Vivekacūdamaņi authenticated by his direct and personal experience of the truths enshrined in it and which has all the simplicity, richness cogency and elegance that are the distinguishing features of Sri Bhagavatpadā's Commentaries on the Prasthānatraya. The glory of Advaita Vedānta expounded by Śri Bhagvatpāda is that, as he frequently refers to it, it is aupanişadam śāśtram, a philosophy that is based on the bedrock of the Upanişads which is the body of the
3 श्रीशंकराचार्य: चिदम्बरस्थलात् प्रदक्षिणेन मार्गण मध्यार्जुनं नाम शिवाविर्भावस्थलविशेष प्राप।
मध्याजुनेशानमदृष्टपूर्व विध्यादिभिः पूजितपादपद्मम् । कृत्वोपचारानभजत् परेशं निध्यायतं मोक्षफलैकमलम् ।। तत्र किल भगवान शंकराचार्य: सदाशिवमेवमब्रवीत-'स्वामिन मध्यार्जुनेश! सर्वोपनिषदर्थोऽसि सर्वज्ञोऽसि । (यदि) निगमादीनां तात्पर्यगोचरो द्वैतनिर्णयः अद्वैतनिर्णयो वा पारमाथिकः; पश्यता सर्वेषां जनान सशयनिवृत्ति कुरु' इति । एवं प्राथितो मध्याजनेशः लिङ्गाग्रात सावयवरूपेण निष्क्रय मेघगम्भीरया गिरा दक्षिणहस्तमुद्यम्य 'सत्यमद्वैतम्, 'सत्यमद्वैतम् , 'सत्यमद्वतम्' इति विरुक्त्वा तस्मिन्नेव लिङगेऽन्तर्दधे ।
(Madras University Edition, p. 17) 4 कुल्यायामय नद्यां वा शिवक्षेत्रेऽपि चत्वरे । पणं पतति चेत्तेन तरोः कि नु शुभाशुभम् ।।