Shankaracharya Samadhi in Kedarnath
- November 6, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Shankaracharya Samadhi in Kedarnath
Subject – Art and Culture
Context – PM Modi inaugurates rebuilt Shankaracharya samadhi in Kedarnath
Concept –
- Lying slightly behind the Kedarnath Temple is the grave of Adi guru Shankaracharya, the saint who is said to have established the four sacred dhams in India that are an important pilgrimage for Hindus.
- The famous Hindu philosopher had attained nirvana (enlightenment) at a young age of 32. It is said that Shakaracharya merged with the land itself.
- Legend has it that Shankaracharya came to Kedarnath in the 8th century and built the Kedarnath shrine and established one of his four mathas.
- A hot water spring believed to have been created by Shankaracharya is visited by his disciples to get relief from the extreme climatic conditions in the area.
About AdiShankaracharya
- He was an Indian philosopher and theologian whose works had a strong impact on the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta.
- The doctrine says that there is no difference between the Atman and the Brahman. The individual soul is not different from Brahman. Hence, its name Advaita meaning non-duality.
- Born in Kaladi, Kerala in 788 CE
- He founded four mathas (“monasteries”), which are believed to have helped in the historical development, revival and propagation of Advaita Vedanta.
- His commentaries on the Prasthanatrayi Vedic canon (Brahma Sutras, Principal Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita) argue for the unity of Ātman and Nirguna Brahman “brahman without attributes,” defending the liberating knowledge of the Self and the Upanishads as an independent means of knowledge against the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā school of Hinduism.
- He was responsible for reviving Hinduism in India to a great extent when Buddhism was gaining popularity.
- Major Works –
- Brahmasutrabhasya (Bhashya or commentary on the Brahma Sutra).
- BhajagovindaStotra
- Nirvana Shatakam.
- He criticised the Mimamsa School of philosophy and explained a major point of deviance between Hinduism and Buddhism. While Buddhism asserts that there is ‘no Soul, no Self’; Hinduism, according to AdiShankara, says that ‘Atman (Soul, Self) exists’.
- He was a devotee of Shiva.
- AdiShankara is also believed to be the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order and unified the Shanmata tradition of worship.