When Shankara was born in 788 AD, Hinduism was in disarray. Over the previous centuries, many deformities had crept into the religion and it had become inflexible and rigid.
Various sects were constantly quarrelling with each other. The common people were disenchanted and increasingly turning to new religions like Buddhism and Jainism.
Shankara was born in Kerala. Shankara’s father died when he was very young. Shankara was what we would today call a ‘child prodigy’. He mastered all four Vedas by the time he was eight. From a very young age, Shankara wanted to become a sanyasi (monk), but his mother did not agree to it.
One day, while Shankara was taking a bath in the Purna River near his house, a crocodile grabbed his leg. His mother was nearby, but had no way to rescue him. Seeing that his end was near, Shankara requested his mother to give him permission for sanyasa, so that he could at least die a sanyasi.
At her wit’s end, the mother consented. No sooner had Shankara recited the mantras to take sanyasa, than the crocodile released his leg and swam away. Shankara left home and started learning under Guru Govinda Bhagavatpada. The basic theme of Shankara’s religious philosophy was that the soul and god are not two but one.
This is called ‘Advaita Vedanta’. Shankara emphasised the importance of pramana (reasoning) and anubhava (personal experience), in understanding the knowledge contained in the sacred texts. Shankaracharya travelled throughout the country, covering its length and breadth three times with his disciples, challenging gurus of other sects to debate and being challenged by them. Shankara won every such debate and impressed people with his teachings.
Shankara wrote bhashyas (commentaries on the ten major Upanishads), the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras because he believed these to be the most important texts of Hinduism. Another famous book by the name of Vivek Chudamani is said to have been written by Adi Shankara.
This book has been translated into several languages and numerous commentaries have been written on it, but most scholars do not believe this to be Shankara’s work. In a similar way, almost 300 works are attributed to Shankara, but most are believed to have been written by admirers and anonymous writers.
Shankaracharya established four mathas (monasteries) at the four corners of the country—at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south, Dwarka in Gujarat in the west, Puri in Odisha in the east, and Joshimath in Uttarakhand in the north.
Shankaracharya died at the young age of 32, but reinvigorated the Hindu religion and wrote bhashyas that are read to this day by those seeking knowledge of Hinduism.