time of patanjali

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Veeranarayana Pandurangi

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Oct 13, 2011, 5:42:37 AM10/13/11
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Recently Shrisha Rao quoted ग्रामे ग्रामे काठकं कालापकं च प्रोच्यते


I have a question as to what was the time of patanjali? 
it is difficult to believe that in first or second century BC there existed, as stated by Patanjali 

"(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {49/62}     saptadvīpā vasumatī traya lokāḥ catvāra vedāḥ sāṅgāḥ sarahasyāḥ bahudhā vibhinnāḥ ekaśatam adhvaryuśākhāḥ sahasravartmā sāmaveda ekavisatidhā bāhvr̥cyam navadhā ātharvaa veda vākovākyam itihāsa purāṇam vaidyakam iti etāvān śabdasya prayogaviaya". 

is it possible in second century BC? how much time is needed for the  loss of atleast nearly 19-20 of the rgvedic shakhas?

I think Patanjali never makes any reference to Buddhism.  does he? if not he must be pre-buddha. may be around 1500- 1000 BC. (not sure of exact dates) if this is accepted as his time what is the difficulty in  ग्रामे ग्रामे काठकं कालापकं च प्रोच्यते? it is quite acceptable that when there was no alternative religion in that part of india.

veeranarayaa





--
Veeranarayana N.K. Pandurangi
Head, Dept of Darshanas,
Yoganandacharya Bhavan,
Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Samskrita University, Madau, post Bhankrota, Jaipur, 302026.

अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)

Sivasenani Nori

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Oct 13, 2011, 8:21:09 AM10/13/11
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Sir

One thing which was always surprising to me was that the five main prayojanas and the thirteen aanushangika prayojanas are totally related to the Vedas - as if non-Vedic people do not count, or as if they did not exist!

Other comments also indicate the prevalent thought that only the sanaatanadharmis matter. For instance: "One has to study vyakarana without any expecting any thing - nishkaaraNam - just like one studies the Vedas" (in the Paspasahnikam); or "Ashtadhyayi is useful to identify SishTas (that is Brahmins who are kumbhidhanyas, alolupas etc.)." (Bhashya on the sutra 'prishodaraadini yathopadishTam').

If we take all this as an attempt to establish this as a Vedanga, one should note that Yaska's Nirukta is earlier than Mahabhashya (based on internal references) and by the time of Nirukta itself, angas have been established. Even the quoted passage refers to angas with a clear assumption that Vyakarana is one of them. So there was no need to establish the Vedangatvam of Panini's text or Mahabhashyakara's commentary.

Finally, if Panini was around 400 BC, does that give enough time for a large Sangraha by Vyadi and multiple vartikakaras, and then a Mahabhashya by 150-200 BC?

Yet, in Panini's sutras itself there is the mention of SramaNa. Another contra-pointer is to Ashoka's edicts; if grammar was so well articulated and retention of the genitive affix in a compound was taken to indicate censure, why will an emperor of all the people, use the word 'devaanaampiya' in his edicts?

Maybe the word SramaNa was appropriated by Buddhists later, and maybe Prakrit usages deliberately or otherwise retained improper forms - the way we see certain same-meaning words repeated in Telugu: చనిపోయెను (chanipoyenu; went-went, meaning dead) పేపర్ కాగితము (paper-kaagitamu, meaning simply paper - not used by Sishtas, but by certain uneducated rural people).

History does not give up its secrets easily, I guess. 

Regards
N. Siva Senani

2011/10/13 Veeranarayana Pandurangi <veer...@gmail.com>

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PRADEEP VARMA

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Oct 13, 2011, 12:56:23 PM10/13/11
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Hari om,
    The Bhasyam of "Varthamane Lat"(3/2/123) Patanjali Refers that" Nasti Varthamana kalah".Boudhas are "Kshanabhamgavadinah".So Patanjali 
refered Boudhas theory also.Plese note the Bhasyam and Pradeepa&Udyotha comme

2011/10/13 Veeranarayana Pandurangi <veer...@gmail.com>

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Surendra Mohan Mishra

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Oct 13, 2011, 1:26:02 PM10/13/11
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Gautama also in his "patati-patita-patitavya..."etc. sUtra anticipates such a position which may not be exactly Buddhist.But many such ideas were already there as are also evident in many upanishadic passages.The NyAyasUtra-s may be pre-Buddhist as is mostly believed.To accept Patanjali as pre-Buddhist is difficult.But then the K.sa.nabha.ngavaadin-s also do admit of a present time which is but momentary.Regards,smmishra


--
अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)



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Surendramohan Mishra
Dept of Sanskrit,Pali & Prakrit
Faculty of Indic Studies,Kurukshetra University
KURUKSHETRA-136 119,Haryana,INDIA
Tel : (Off.)01744 238410(extn.)2504
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subrahmanyam korada

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Oct 14, 2011, 2:46:25 AM10/14/11
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namo vidvadbhyah

vartamAne lat. - ks.an.abhan'gavAda.h?

Please  read the Udyota carefully -- anupalabdhipramAn.Acca tadabhAvanis'caya iti bhAva.h . ks.an.abhan'gavAdyevAtra vakteti tu na yuktam , tasya  ' medhAvisammata iti vis'es.an.Anupapatte.h ,  ' yadi samprati ' iti uktisambhavAbhAcca .

A  ks.an.abhan'gavAdI  cannot be  accepted  as a  MedhAvI   . ' yadi samprati patasi ' - is not acceptable to Ks.n.ikavAdI because it goes beyond one ks.an.a .

S'amkarAcArya (BrahamsUtrabhAs.yam - Adhyaya 2 ) calls Bauddhas by the name ' vainAs'kA.h ' ( ardhavainAs'ikA.h = KAn.AdA.h )
- vinAs'a.h prayojanam yes.Am te ( t.ha~n  by 'Prayojanam' Panini) . They follow ' asatkAryavAda' .

Bonus Info -- Nagesa  under this SUtra committed a mistake - '  kAkana ' - is a ParyAya of ' kAka ' . In fact usages are there with two na~n -- na krodho na ca mAtsaryam .. (BhagavadgItA ) .

dhanyo'smi

2011/10/13 Surendra Mohan Mishra <dr.surendramo...@gmail.com>



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Prof.Korada Subrahmanyam
Professor of Sanskrit,
CALTS,
University of Hyderabad 500046
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S P Narang

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Oct 16, 2011, 11:45:58 AM10/16/11
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Generally the time of Patanjali is related to the invasion of Mathura on the basis of the Mahabhasya and later works on sanskrit grammar. the variants of the reading has created another problem. the details are discussed in Keith, Puri,: India as known to Patanjali;  Agnihotri (PD)....Patanjalikalina bharata; works on Kushanas and Mathura Art. Most probably the invasion referred to is in the Ist cent. A.D. the invasions continued upto Harshavardhana who went to uproot Hunas. Perhaps, they tried to make a city at erana which was not successful. Kalidasa's ref. to prathitavidishalakshanam raajadhaaniim.....indirectly refers to this raajadhaanii of Hunas only which was interpreted differently. by commentators particularly Mallinatha who had less knowledge of history and did not visit Ujjaini. the concept of simile of Sun with ksiibaanganaa is not an Aryan. It is most probably Huna poetry in content and style. Regards, spnarang

--- On Thu, 10/13/11, Surendra Mohan Mishra  <dr.surendramo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Shrisha Rao

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Oct 17, 2011, 12:33:49 AM10/17/11
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El oct 13, 2011, a las 3:12 p.m., Veeranarayana Pandurangi escribió:

> Recently Shrisha Rao quoted ग्रामे ग्रामे काठकं कालापकं च प्रोच्यते

My point in this regard was this: how would there be a situation where learning was so prevalent that the काठक and कालापक were taught in village after village in a significantly widespread area, as Patanjali says? Many people would hold that this is impossible, and some modern educational theorists would argue that it would be unrealizable unless a lot of "wired connectivity," computers, and other modern technologies were widespread, which of course was not the case in ancient India. Thus, such widespread learning is even less plausible than the existence of a true university like Nalanda with diverse faculties of study. Yet, we must acknowledge that the sheer volume and scope of our classical literature (across various fields/doctrines) entails the past existence of a system of learning that is beyond the scope of today's imagination.

> I have a question as to what was the time of patanjali?
> it is difficult to believe that in first or second century BC there existed, as stated by Patanjali
>
> "(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {49/62} saptadvīpā vasumatī trayaḥ lokāḥ catvāraḥ vedāḥ sāṅgāḥ sarahasyāḥ bahudhā vibhinnāḥ ekaśatam adhvaryuśākhāḥ sahasravartmā sāmavedaḥ ekaviṃsatidhā bāhvr̥cyam navadhā ātharvaṇaḥ vedaḥ vākovākyam itihāsaḥ purāṇam vaidyakam iti etāvān śabdasya prayogaviṣayaḥ".
>
> is it possible in second century BC? how much time is needed for the loss of atleast nearly 19-20 of the rgvedic shakhas?

I don't know if an answer is possible to such a question. It may be too much to ask to calculate such precise historical details from mere linguistic analyses. (This is one of my difficulties with the recent fancy that academic Indology has had with philology.) It could however be said that the number of Vedic recensions was considerable even in relatively recent times (say the 16th or 17th centuries CE). The loss of the traditions has by no means been uniform, e.g., it appears that the SV traditions, at one time most numerous, were mostly lost first, and then the rest.

Besides, the very point that Patanjali is making in the context you cite, अप्रयुक्ते दीर्घसत्रवत्, is that one cannot dismiss words as unused (useless?), because there is a vast literature where they may have been used even if they do not appear to be in use currently. Thus Patanjali advises in the same context that we should make efforts to find out where such uncommon words have been used, and dismisses idle talk of words not being unused as साहसमात्र. From this it can certainly be inferred that Patanjali was in fact citing the *classical* counts of Vedic recensions, etc., rather than the sizes/counts of textual corpora that were in fact present before him at the time.

> I think Patanjali never makes any reference to Buddhism. does he? if not he must be pre-buddha. may be around 1500- 1000 BC. (not sure of exact dates) if this is accepted as his time what is the difficulty in ग्रामे ग्रामे काठकं कालापकं च प्रोच्यते? it is quite acceptable that when there was no alternative religion in that part of india.

Not having competing religions around is hardly a guarantee in this regard. Such learning is not widespread even today in Islamic and other countries where there are no other religions, for instance; such societies are indeed mostly illiterate.

Information in early Buddhist works also does not suggest that there was a single religion around at the time of the Buddha. There are lists of dozens of doctrines given that were said to be prevalent at that time.

Regards,

Shrisha Rao

> veeranarayaa

Shrisha Rao

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Oct 17, 2011, 1:30:43 AM10/17/11
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My apologies for the duplicate postings. A couple of minor clarifications:

> Besides, the very point that Patanjali is making in the context you cite, अप्रयुक्ते दीर्घसत्रवत्, is that one cannot dismiss words as unused (useless?), because there is a vast literature where they may have been used even if they do not appear to be in use currently. Thus Patanjali advises in the same context that we should make efforts to find out where such uncommon words have been used, and dismisses idle talk of words not being used as साहसमात्र. From this it can certainly be inferred that Patanjali was in fact citing the *classical* counts of Vedic recensions, etc., rather than the sizes/counts of textual corpora that were in fact present before him at the time.

This is actually under the next statement सर्वे देशान्तरे, which follows अप्रयुक्ते दीर्घसत्रवत्. However, the statements न च एते उपलभ्यन्ते, उपलब्धौ यत्नः क्रियताम्, and "सन्ति अप्रयुक्ताः" इति वचनं केवलं साहसमात्रम् invite our attention in this regard. It is not obvious that Patanjali would say न च एते उपलभ्यन्ते and उपलब्धौ यत्नः क्रियताम् if all the classical texts he mentioned had been available at the time.

Regards,

Shrisha Rao

Veeranarayana Pandurangi

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Oct 18, 2011, 12:20:45 PM10/18/11
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patanjali is clear in saying that though these words are not used in this country, they are used in desantara. Q- A series goes like this.
A. these words are used in other countries
Q. we dont find them?
A. try to find them. there is very large area where these words are used.




sarve deśāntare .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {45/62}     sarve khalu api ete
śabdāḥ deśāntare prayujyante .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {46/62}     na ca ete upalabhyante .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {47/62}     upalabdhau yatna
kriyatām .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {48/62}     mah
ān hi śabdasya prayogaviaya .
saptadvīpā vasumatī trayaḥ lokāḥ catvāraḥ vedāḥ sāṅgāḥ sarahasyāḥ bahudhā vibhinnāḥ ekaśatam adhvaryuśākhāḥ sahasravartmā sāmavedaḥ ekaviṃsatidhā bāhvr̥cyam navadhā ātharvaṇaḥ vedaḥ vākovākyam itihāsaḥ purāṇam vaidyakam iti etāvān śabdasya prayogaviṣayaḥ".


2011/10/17 Shrisha Rao <sh...@dvaita.org>

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अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)

Veeranarayana Pandurangi

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Oct 18, 2011, 12:32:38 PM10/18/11
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sorry for technical glitch that sent half message.



patanjali is clear in saying that though these words are not used in this country, they are used in desantara. Q- A series goes like this.
A. these words are used in other countries
Q. we dont find them (in this conutry)? 
A. try to find them. there is very large area where these words are used. seven dvipas, three lokas, four vedas along with rahasyas divided into various types, 100 yajurvedas............ etc.

sarve deśāntare .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {45/62}     sarve khalu api ete 
śabdāḥ deśāntare prayujyante .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {46/62}     na ca ete upalabhyante .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {47/62}     upalabdhau yatna
 kriyatām .
(Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {48/62}     mah
ān hi śabdasya prayogaviaya .
saptadvīpā vasumatī trayaḥ lokāḥ catvāraḥ vedāḥ sāṅgāḥ sarahasyāḥ bahudhā vibhinnāḥ ekaśatam adhvaryuśākhāḥ sahasravartmā sāmavedaḥ ekaviṃsatidhā bāhvr̥cyam navadhā ātharvaṇaḥ vedaḥ vākovākyam itihāsaḥ purāṇam vaidyakam iti etāvān śabdasya prayogaviṣayaḥ".

it these are not available in his time he wont tell the opponent to find these sabas in these shakhas etc. 

here from Q-A series it is clear that na ca ete upalabhyante purvapaksha rather than siddhanta. shall one go to svarga to find these words if it is held that these  shakhas were not available in that time.

subrahmanyam korada

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Oct 19, 2011, 5:40:30 AM10/19/11
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namo vidvadbhyah

'should one go to Svarga to find out these  words' - Prof  Veeranarayana

There are two kinds of  people in terms of  S'abdAnus'Asanam  (Laghus'abdendus'ekhara , Ma~njUs.A etc) - Lks.yaikacaks.us.ka  and  Laks.an.aikacaks.us.ka .

The former refers to Panini, Katyayana , Patanjali etc - for whom  all the Laks.yas ( examples ) are available due to Yogas'akti (already discussed  two years ago) --

AvirbhUtaprakAs'AnAm anupaplutacetasAm I
atItAnAgataj!~nAnam pratyaks.Anna  vis'is.yate II

atIndriyAn asamvedyAn pas'yantyArs.en.a caks.us.A I
ye bhAvAn , vacanam tes.Am nAnumAnena bAdhyate II Vakyapadiyam - Brahmakanda 37&38)

Also , under 'pr.s.odarAdIni yathopadis.t.am ' (6-3-109) this aspect is discussed .

So if one wants to  find out as to whether a particular S'abda is right or wrong , used or not , then one should try the way of  Trimunis , i.e. YogasAdhana .

This is applicable to YogAnus'Asana and Ayurveda  also. Otherwise let someone do a matching work  .

This is what was meant by Sasmkaracarya under ' s'AstrayonitvAt ' ( BrahmasUtram 1-1-3) - pAn.inyAdInAmiva .. vyAkaran.Adi ... j~neyaikades'a ... .

Laks.n.aikacaks.us.kas are people like us - we infer the 'laks.ya' thru the 'laks.n.am' . We do not have the capacity Panini etc. had had .
What about 'aprayukta' -- it is better not to use this term for obvious reasons . 'aprayukte dIrghasatravat' - since today such a S'bda is not seen one should not remark that such a S'abda is / was  not there .

If it is said in the case of any word - na hi vaci.h antipara.h prayujyate (Bhasyam) , i.e. 'vacanti' , although it can be achieved thru Paninisutra , is not SAdhu  - Patanjali etc say / clarify then that can be taken as an authority .

Pl see S'bdakaustubha also (Paspasa) .

Ars.aprayoga - means used in Smr.tis , Kalpa and other works done by R.s.is  - chando vat kavaya.h kurvanti , na hi es.A is.t.i.h -- Bhasyam under 'yUstrAkhyau  nadI ' ( 1-4-3)

There is a lot to discuss . Any specific question/ doubt can be addressed .

dhanyo'smi





2011/10/18 Veeranarayana Pandurangi <veer...@gmail.com>



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S P Narang

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Oct 23, 2011, 12:09:31 PM10/23/11
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Pradipa and Udyota are quite late. in this duration, a number of concepts in Buddhism developed which overpowered Hindu thought. The commentators sources may be different from those of Patanjali. Patanjali can be appreciated in the light of the conemporary Buddhism which was not very complicated like that of Dharmakirti and Candrakirti and Dinnaga. even poets like kalidasa are afraid of dinnaga in the Megh0. I do not see a special clue in the commentators that can be near the spirit of Patanjali. It is a matter of serious investigation for the historical Buddhism. Regards, spnarang

--- On Thu, 10/13/11, PRADEEP VARMA <dr.prad...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: PRADEEP VARMA <dr.prad...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com

Shrisha Rao

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Oct 26, 2011, 6:45:32 AM10/26/11
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El oct 18, 2011, a las 10:02 p.m., Veeranarayana Pandurangi escribió:

> patanjali is clear in saying that though these words are not used in this country, they are used in desantara. Q- A series goes like this.
> A. these words are used in other countries
> Q. we dont find them (in this conutry)?
> A. try to find them. there is very large area where these words are used. seven dvipas, three lokas, four vedas along with rahasyas divided into various types, 100 yajurvedas............ etc.
>
> sarve deśāntare .
> (Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {45/62} sarve khalu api ete śabdāḥ deśāntare prayujyante .
> (Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {46/62} na ca ete upalabhyante .
> (Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {47/62} upalabdhau yatnaḥ kriyatām .
> (Pas_12) KA_I,8.23-10.3 Ro_I,35-39 {48/62} mahān hi śabdasya prayogaviṣayaḥ .
> saptadvīpā vasumatī trayaḥ lokāḥ catvāraḥ vedāḥ sāṅgāḥ sarahasyāḥ bahudhā vibhinnāḥ ekaśatam adhvaryuśākhāḥ sahasravartmā sāmavedaḥ ekaviṃsatidhā bāhvr̥cyam navadhā ātharvaṇaḥ vedaḥ vākovākyam itihāsaḥ purāṇam vaidyakam iti etāvān śabdasya prayogaviṣayaḥ".
>
> it these are not available in his time he wont tell the opponent to find these sabas in these shakhas etc.
>
> here from Q-A series it is clear that na ca ete upalabhyante purvapaksha rather than siddhanta.

Beg your pardon, but though you are correct in the details, I do not find the overall reasoning very persuasive. Patanjali here is saying that the *words* are all to be found in other countries, and that the scope of usage of the words extends to the massive amounts of traditional literature including the various recensions of the Vedas, etc. However, he is making no promise, and he does not have to, that the various *recensions*, etc., are themselves found in other countries; to conclude so is quite invalid, and showing the error of such a conclusion formally using first-order logic would be an easy student exercise using semantic tableaux or such. To consider an informal example, let's consider that I say to someone that I knew a number of working people a while ago but I do not hear of them now, so I think they have all retired. Then that someone could respond to me that no, the people I have lost touch with are all working but in other countries, and I would have to look at the entire Forbes list of corporations to find where they might be working. This can be quite accurate, but does not constitute a guarantee that all the companies on the Forbes list are themselves around; some may well have gone out of business also. It is in general not a good idea to conclude a time-variant property (such as that of being extant) of a superset (like a text corpus) based on the same property existing in a proper subset (like a set of words), unless there is an ironclad guarantee that the property of the subset and superset cannot change independently.

> shall one go to svarga to find these words if it is held that these shakhas were not available in that time.

There however is no proven need to find every शाखा in order to find the words that Patanjali may be concerned with. For one thing, certain words can be found even though some source in which they occur is lost, because they occur in others. For instance, it is known from secondary sources that शं नो देवीरभीष्टये occurs in the पिप्पलाद-शाखा and तत् शं योरावृणीमहे occurs in the बाष्कल-शाखा of the RV. However, even though these शाखाs are lost, one would hardly regard a word like वृणीमहे as unused, because it is also found in other sources. The fact that a word exists is no guarantee that *all* sources where it could be found also do (only that there is *at least one* extant source for it), and therefore, one cannot conclude the simultaneous existence of all sources simply because some subset of words of interest did/do continue to exist.

On the original topic of this thread, the date of Patanjali, the only relevant material I am personally aware of is the Collected Works of Sir R.G. Bhandarkar, vol. 1 (1933), particularly pp. 108 ff. This is available online also:

http://oudl.osmania.ac.in/bitstream/handle/OUDL/2428/218867_Collected_Works_Of_Sir_R_G_Bhandarkar_Vol_I.pdf?sequence=2

Bhandarkar thinks Patanjali lived in Pataliputra and "probably wrote the third chapter of his Bhasya between 144 BC and 142 BC." I leave to others to discuss whether, and to what extent, this is considered accurate as per the latest research.

Regards,

Shrisha Rao

> Veeranarayana N.K. Pandurangi

Veeranarayana Pandurangi

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Oct 27, 2011, 4:49:24 AM10/27/11
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dear shrisha rao,
happy deepavali greetings to you and all the members of this parishad.

"The Age of Patanjali" by N. Bhashyacharya, Published in 1915, Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai [Madras] India
The Theosophist Office, Adyar, Madras. India, available in following link

http://www.theosophical.ca/adyar_pamphlets/AdyarPamphlet_No57.pdf

with all of its clearcut statements(hitopadeshas for western professors)  is still relevant in this time also.

it is time that we come out of old ideas which were conceived at the height of british empire. even Ramavatar sharma is more glaring example of how these indian pandits were super awed by mighty british power in 1905.


2011/10/26 Shrisha Rao <sh...@dvaita.org>
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अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)

भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्

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Aug 14, 2016, 10:04:03 AM8/14/16
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Hello All,

I do have attached Patanjali life history and his works which collected from one the magzine. It is in Sanskrit. It may be useful.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bytwr8HZ8S-GYXhyV2lfb0ludE0

Thanks,
Jaya Prakash
e-mail: Jayaprak...@gmail.com
ph:8105879200

Ajit Gargeshwari

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Aug 14, 2016, 10:08:42 AM8/14/16
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Jaya Prakash Ji,

You have sent a quick reply for a question posted on October 13, 2011 Today is August 14, 2016

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Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 14, 2016, 11:09:23 AM8/14/16
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Dear Shri Jaya Prakash,

     Thanks for posting the pdf of this article on Patanjali by Probhatchandra Chakravarti.  It appears to be a chapter in a book.  By any chance, do you have any bibliographic information regarding the volume (Title, editor, publisher, date of publication), so that it would be easier to cite a full reference for this wonderful article.  Best,

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

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Ajit Gargeshwari

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Aug 14, 2016, 11:25:29 AM8/14/16
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Dear Prof Deshpande Ji,

 

This is from  Chakrvarti, Ram Prasad “Patanjali As He Reveals Himself in The Mahabhashya” Indian Historical Quarterly Vol 2 1926: Pages 67-86, 262-289, 464-494, 738-760

The complete volume is available at DLI

Please See Panini A Survey of His Research by George Cardona Page 35

 

Regards

Ajit Gargeshwari


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Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 14, 2016, 11:46:37 AM8/14/16
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Dear Ajit-ji,

     Thanks for the reference.  However, the last page of the pdf is signed off by Probhatchandra Chakravarti, and the article itself, footnotes, refers to "my work: Linguistic Speculations of the Hindus", which is authored by Probhatchandra Chakravarti.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA


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Ajit Gargeshwari

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Aug 14, 2016, 11:53:25 AM8/14/16
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Linguistic Speculations of The Hindus by  Prabhat Chandra Chakravarti is an independent book. This book is also available at DLI. The PDF enclosed Sri Jaya Prakasji are articles  of Prabhat Chandra Chakravarti which appeared in Indian Historical Quarterly Vol 2 1926: Pages 67-86, 262-289, 464-494, 738-760.

Regards

Ajit Gargeshwari

 

From: bvpar...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bvpar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Madhav Deshpande
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2016 9:17 PM
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: {
भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Re: time of patanjali

 

Dear Ajit-ji,

 

     Thanks for the reference.  However, the last page of the pdf is signed off by Probhatchandra Chakravarti, and the article itself, footnotes, refers to "my work: Linguistic Speculations of the Hindus", which is authored by Probhatchandra Chakravarti.

 

Madhav Deshpande

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

On Sun, Aug 14, 2016 at 8:25 AM, Ajit Gargeshwari <ajit.gar...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Prof Deshpande Ji,

 

This is from  Chakrvarti, Ram Prasad “Patanjali As He Reveals Himself in The Mahabhashya” Indian Historical Quarterly Vol 2 1926: Pages 67-86, 262-289, 464-494, 738-760

The complete volume is available at DLI

Please See Panini A Survey of His Research by George Cardona Page 35

 

Regards

Ajit Gargeshwari

 

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rniyengar

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Aug 14, 2016, 12:35:53 PM8/14/16
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Thanks to Jaya Prakash and Ajit for the valuable information. The link to the I.H.Q and the article is

RNI

Jaya Prakash

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Aug 15, 2016, 2:49:39 AM8/15/16
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Hello All,

Thanks very much for going through this PDF.

Hari OM.


On Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 3:12:37 PM UTC+5:30, Veeranarayana Pandurangi wrote:

R. N. iyengar

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Aug 15, 2016, 9:27:14 AM8/15/16
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The IHQ volume 2 is of interest for one more reason, again concerning Patanjali. A short note by the famous M. Hiriyanna appears as follows (pp.415-16):
Inline image 1
Inline image 3
I request scholars to comment on the above note. Has there been any further research on the 
date of Gaudapada as suggested above?  Also I like to know whether there is any other Sanskrit 
literary work that contains Greek personal names. The book "Travels" by Osmond Priaulx is available 
on archive.org. This book refers to Apollonius (1st Cent AD), Damis, Iarchus and also to Phraotes. 
I am curious to know whether Mahaabhaashya or any other Sanskrit work refers to Iarchus (Ayaarchya).
Thanks
RN Iyengar

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 15, 2016, 10:03:06 AM8/15/16
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Dear Professor Iyengar,

     This is a very interesting reference suggesting Gauḍapāda as the first commentator on the Mahābhāṣya.  I don't have access at the moment to the original work Gururatnamālā, but I suspect the second line of the verse quoted by Hiriyanna should read: अथ गौडपदान् फणीशभाष्यप्रथमाचार्यकपण्डितान् प्रपद्ये.  While we do not know of a commentary by Gauḍapāda on the Mahābhāṣya from any other source, let alone he being the first commentator on the Mahābhāṣya, Śaṅkara, said to be in the lineage of Gauḍapāda, is intimately familiar with the Mahābhāṣya, and particularly the works of Bhartṛhari.  Śaṅkara's commentary on the Brahmasūtra (Tarkāpratiṣṭhāna-Adhikaraṇa) appears to be modeled on the arguments found in the Brahmakāṇḍa of the Vākyapadīya, and his multiple explanations of the term brahma-jijñāsā seem to be following Patañjali's multiple explanations of the term dharma-niyama in the Mahābhāṣya.  So, it would not be surprising if Gauḍapāda authored a commentary on the Mahābhāṣya or at least was a leading teacher of the Mahābhāṣya.  However, we need more evidence for this from other sources.  In any case, thank you for pointing to a very important note by M. Hiriyanna.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)

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shankara

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Aug 15, 2016, 10:43:52 AM8/15/16
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Sir,

This is interesting information. Thanks for sharing it.

Vedanta Pancha Prakarani containing 'Gururatnamala' of Sadasivabrahmendra is available online at http://www.downloads.prajnaquest.fr/BookofDzyan/Sanskrit%20Hindu%20Texts/vedanta-panca-prakarani_by%20sadasiva_brahmendra_1891.pdf
 
regards
shankara



From: R. N. iyengar <narayana...@gmail.com>
To: "bvpar...@googlegroups.com" <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 15 August 2016 6:57 PM
Subject: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali

RNI

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Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 15, 2016, 12:38:01 PM8/15/16
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Thanks Shankara-ji for this pdf of the works of Sadāḍiva-Brahmendra.  The pp 20-21 provide a Sanskrit commentary on the verse cited and discussed by Hiriyanna.  The commentary tells the story of Gauḍapāda being a disciple of Patañjali in his prior birth, and eventually studying the Mahābhāṣya with Candraśarman, who has some connection with the Buddhist tradition, including some Greeks who had become Buddhists.  This Candraśarman is the Candrācārya referred to by Bhartṛhari as someone who recovered/reinstituted the tradition of studying the Mahābhāṣya in the region of Kashmir.  An interesting mixed account of history of the revival of Mahābhāṣya studies by Candrācārya and myth of the prior birth of Gauḍapāda as a direct student of Patañjali.  Ashok Aklujar may have something interesting to say about this.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)
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sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 15, 2016, 3:04:44 PM8/15/16
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Namaste,

Can the "Prior birth" be referring to his "purvashrama", i.e., prior to his becoming the sanyashi?

Regards,
skb

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 15, 2016, 3:11:14 PM8/15/16
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By "prior birth" I do not mean "purvashrama".  The story of Gauḍapāda, as given in this commentary, says that in his earlier birth, pūrvajanma, the commentary simply uses purā, he was a direct disciple of Patañjali.  I have attached the pages from the commentary on this verse.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)
Gauḍapāda-Story.tiff

sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 15, 2016, 6:32:33 PM8/15/16
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Yes, historically Patanjali lived quite a number of centuries before Guadapada. Abhimanyu, a king of Kasmir in the 12th century BCE (according to Kalhana's Rajatarangini), encouraged the study of Mahabhasya. On the other hand Gaudapada could have lived in the 6th or 7th century BCE, if we accept the dating of his grand-disciple, Shankaracharya, in the early 6th century BCE, as claimed by some Shankara mathas such as the Dwaraka math.

rniyengar

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Aug 16, 2016, 3:41:52 AM8/16/16
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Thanks to Prof.Deshpande for commenting on my post and for further elucidating the commentary on Gururatnamālā by Ātmabodha. Thanks to Sri Shankara for providing the original text of the Pañcaprakaraṇī. My interest is about the Greek names mentioned by both the author and the commentator. Sadāśivabrahmendra, I believe is same as the famous music composer (the immortal mānasa sañcara re; bhajare gopālam etc). He mentions in verse 10 (p20) the name of Apollonius only. However the commentator quite correctly knows the names of Prāvṛti the Śaka king and Dāmis (the Assyrian) who accompanied Apollonius to Takṣaśila. The commentator Ātmabodha on p.89 of the above book gives the date of his commentary as netrābdhirasacandreṣu yātsu śāliśakeṣu.

This, if I am correct, corresponds to ~ 1720 AD. It follows both the author (c1600) and the commentator knew about the visit of Apollonius to India. Some reliable details of this should have been available to them. I wonder what could have been these indigenous historical literary sources for this tradition which was carried on for nearly 1700 years ? 

I looked into the Patañjalicaritam cited by M.Hiriyanna, which I guess should be later than the above works. I could not locate any reference to the Greeks. Scholars may like to comment.


RNI

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shankara

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Aug 16, 2016, 5:20:27 AM8/16/16
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Namaste,

A.B. Keith, in a footnote on page xxii of 'History of Sanskrit Literature, calls the reference in Gururatnamala as 'probably forged reference of Apollonius of Tyana in a Sanskrit text', but cites no reason for his conclusion.

 
regards
shankara



From: rniyengar <narayana...@gmail.com>
To: भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत् <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 16 August 2016 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali

N.R.Joshi

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Aug 16, 2016, 6:56:05 PM8/16/16
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Aug 16, 2016
 
From 200 BC to 200AD there existed Parthian empire from Navagandhara to eastern Iran. Apollonius of Tanya trevelled through the Parthian territory to Takshila for education. He later on took the name St Paul on return. (Now please check this point).The word Parthian has nothing to do with the title Partha of Arjuna from Geetaa. After destruction of the Persian empire by Alexander of Macedonia, Parthians kept legacy of Persians alive for next 400 years. Parthians stopped Roman entry into Asia. They even captured Roman general. Parthian shot (shooting arrow in the backward direction) was famous. N.R.Joshi
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sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 17, 2016, 12:45:28 AM8/17/16
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Apollonius of Tanya trevelled through the Parthian territory to Takshila for education. He later on took the name St Paul on return. (Now please check this point)

This an absurd proposition. Apollonius of Tanya could have been Jesus Christ himself, but St. Paul could never have  been Jesus Christ, simply because St. Paul was at one time against Jesus Christ's teachings. If you are interested in more discussion on it, that  can be started under a separate thread.

Sincerely,
skb

Aug 16, 2016
 

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Harshada Sawarkar

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Aug 17, 2016, 1:31:45 AM8/17/16
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A very interesting discussion indeed! I would sincerely like to ask the group of scholars over here...where can I get the information about the revival of mahabhashya? Is there any book to refer? Kindly guide me.

Harshada Sawarkar
Mumbai

From: sunil bhattacharjya
Sent: ‎17/‎08/‎2016 10:15
To: BHARATIYA VIDVAT

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 17, 2016, 10:02:43 AM8/17/16
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Hello Harshada,

     I am attaching an article by Professor Ashok Aklujkar that deals with some of these issues.

Madhav Deshpande
Aklujkar-Ashok-Interpreting Vakyapadiya 2486 Historically.pdf

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 17, 2016, 12:07:22 PM8/17/16
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Harshada,

     I have attached another article by Ashok Aklujkar that deals with related issues.  He is the leading scholar of Bhartṛhari's works, and fortunately he is also a member of this list, and can add more to this discussion.  Best,

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)
Aklujkar-Ashok-Concluding Verses Of Bhartrharis Vakya Kanda.pdf

Harshada Sawarkar

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Aug 17, 2016, 12:29:12 PM8/17/16
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Thanks a lot Deshpande Sir!!

Harshada Sawarkar
University of Mumbai.

From: Madhav Deshpande
Sent: ‎17/‎08/‎2016 19:32
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com

Harshada Sawarkar

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Aug 17, 2016, 12:32:36 PM8/17/16
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Thanks again!
Harshada Sawarkar

Harshada Sawarkar
University of Mumbai.

sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 17, 2016, 1:19:40 PM8/17/16
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Namaste Madhavji,

Thank you for attaching the paper "INTERPRETING VAKYAPADIA  2.486 HISTORICALLY (PART 2)", where Prof. Aklujkar has tried to give a good historical picture of the time of Chandracharya. The scholars here may consider it an impertinence on my part for trying to put up a historical view, alternative to what is given by the great scholar Prof. Aklujkar. If that is so, I request you all be kind  to excuse me and I imploringly lay for your kind attention, the following few lines, where I see a different time-period for Chandracharya, who visited Kashmir, during the rule of king Abhimanyu.  

The great French scholar M.A.Troyer, who was the Principal of the Calcutta Sanskrit College, had studied the Rajatarangini well and he showed that Abhimanyu ruled Kashmir till 1182 BCE and after him the next king was Gonanda-III, who ruled Kashmir  from 1182 BCE to 1147 BCE, when Vibhisana succeeded him. Vibhisana ruled upto 1093 BCE and he was succeeded by Indrajit, who ruled upto 1058 BCE, when Ravana succeeded him as the king of Kashmir.

Secondly, to my understanding the Sri Parvata to be in Himalyan region, probably now in Nepal and the Gupta of the Gupta dynasty are said to be from the Sri Parvata. If the list thinks that more discussion can continue, we may have to open a new thread on this topic.

Regards,
Sunil KB


On Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 7:02 AM, Madhav Deshpande <mmd...@umich.edu> wrote:

Vidyasankar Sundaresan

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Aug 17, 2016, 11:58:52 PM8/17/16
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Dear Profs Deshpande and Iyengar,

The said gururatnamAlA attributed to sadASiva brahmendra and its commentary (sushamA) by one Atmabodhendra need careful scrutiny in light of the well-documented history of the 17th-18th centuries and also with respect to the political relationships prevailing among the south Indian maTha-s of the advaita tradition in the 19th and 20th centuries. The purported date of composition of the commentary (1720) is untenable, raising serious questions about the date and authorship of its source text too. The historical sadASiva brahmendra must have himself been a young or middle-aged man in 1720, whereas the commentary claims to be a century or more later than its source text. Supposedly historical and geographical details given in these texts should be viewed with a critical eye. I will refrain from saying much more in public on this forum, because I don't want to be an indirect cause of getting sidetracked from discussing the time of patanjali to the date and history of Sankara, along with some highly politicized issues from recent times.

As for textual sources, at this juncture, I'd merely like to point out that Ramabhadra Dikshita's poem, the Patanjalicarita, does not give the name of the grammarian candrAcArya as candraSarmA but as candragupta. As you all know, -gupta is not a brAhmaNa moniker, unlike -SarmA. As far as I've been able to make out, the transformation of this candra- from the -gupta of the Patanjalicarita to the -SarmA of the gururatnamAlA commentary must have happened in the 19th/20th centuries, in Kumbhakonam or Kanchipuram, in response to the many criticisms raised within the advaita sannyAsi tradition over these texts and its publishers.

With warm regards,
Vidyasankar

ps. Please do see my paper in IJHS (2000) on the Sankaravijaya texts, which expands upon these issues in quite some detail. 

Vidyasankar Sundaresan

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Aug 18, 2016, 6:48:31 AM8/18/16
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Sorry for the multiple posts, but I just wanted to point out that even an identification of the candragupta of the patanjalicarita with the candrAcArya remembered within the vyAkaraNa tradition is not made by Ramabhadra Dikshita, the author of the poem. These kinds of equations can only be made by adopting a very literal and chronological historical attitude towards the poetic imagination of Ramabhadra and his largely ahistorical kAvya. And of course, there is no candraSarmA in his kAvya either.

sushamA and the gururatnamAlA are a different matter, because they claim to provide chronological details, but reveal themselves as being more or less fanciful accounts, which cannot be substantiated even for relatively recent historical times, let alone for one or two thousand years ago.

Overall, my conclusion is that when Keith doubted the antecedents of a Sanskrit verse referring to Apollonius and Iarches, he had really very good reasons for doing so! Even TMP Mahadevan, in his slim monograph on gauDapAda, finds it necessary to cast doubt upon the authorship and time of composition of the gururatnamAlA and sushamA.

Best regards,
Vidyasankar

Ajit Gargeshwari

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Aug 18, 2016, 6:58:05 AM8/18/16
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Do you have access to complete text of sushamA and the gururatnamAlA. I would much oblisged if you can please share them. Thanks
Regards
Ajit Gargeshwari

rniyengar

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Aug 18, 2016, 10:32:46 AM8/18/16
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Dear Dr.Sundaresan,
You have brought in an extra dimension into this discussion. The text under discussion viz. Gururatnamālā and the commentary sushamA need careful scrutiny as you have rightly pointed out. Without getting into the controversies between the two famous MaThas, my question to is: What could have been the motive for the poet (who ever he might have been) to bring in Iarchus and Apollonius the Greek? The commentator has enlarged on this point with more names. The printed book Pañcaprakaraṇī to which Shankara provided the link was published in 1891. The English text "The Indian travels of Apollonius of Tyana by Priaulx, Osmond de Beauvoir, 1805-1891. was Published in 1873 in London. Suppose we go to the extent of postulating that the poem was composed by some one after reading the above book, what could have been the possible motives for such an exercise? This may not provide an answer to Patanjali's date, but may give a clue to some other puzzle of history. Swaminaathas'rauti the compiler of the Pañcaprakaraṇī   in the last page of his book mentions that the Gururatnamālā has another commentary by name: Prabhaavimars'ínii.  It is important to consult this also before drawing further conclusions. If you have a copy of this commentary, please share the same. 
regards
Narayana

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 18, 2016, 7:58:54 PM8/18/16
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In continuation of Professor Iyengar's comments, I am curious as to what might have been the Indic sources for the continued awareness of the various Greek thinkers who played some role in Indian philosophical traditions, and why the Advaitins of a reasonably late period felt the need to mention them.  Clearly, by the time these late Advaitic works were composed, Buddhism had practically disappeared from India, leaving only faint memories of their philosophical views.  Yet the converted Buddhist Greek thinkers remained in the memories till such a late period.  There has to be a better explanation for this phenomenon.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)
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sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 18, 2016, 11:49:50 PM8/18/16
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Dear Madhavji,

If my memory serves me right, the Chandrasarma referred to in these discussions was none other than the Purvashrama name of Govinda Bhagavadpada, the guru of Adi Shankaracharya. 

Regards.
Sunil KB

Surendra Mohan Mishra

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Aug 19, 2016, 11:48:41 AM8/19/16
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As I remember one Candras'arma has been referred to by the Paramacharya of Kanchi in his biography of Adi Shankara.
*****
Surendramohan Mishra
Dept of Sanskrit,Pali & Prakrit
Faculty of Indic Studies,Kurukshetra University
KURUKSHETRA-136 119,Haryana,INDIA
Tel : (Off.)01744 238410(extn.)2504
(Mob.)098960 86579;(Res.)01744-238567
Blogs : http://surendrashastram.blogspot.com
            http://surendra-shaastram.blogspot.com


Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 19, 2016, 12:38:15 PM8/19/16
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Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

     Thank you very much for your useful suggestions.  The notion that Candraśarmā was the pūrvāśrama name of Govindabhagavatpāda is something new to me, and reference to him by the Paramacharya of Kanchi is also interesting.  I wonder if either of you can give me some bibliographic information for these references.  It is very likely that the references to Candraśarmā in the commentary on the Gururatnamālā has some traditional sources.  Whether this reference to Candraśarmā is a conflation with the Candrācārya referred to by Bhartṛhari as being responsible for the revival of the Mahābhāṣya is a different question.  In any case, the belief within the Advaitic tradition that Gauḍapāda and Candraśarmā alias Govindabhagavatpāda were somehow related to the revival of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya is an important indicator of the value placed on the Mahābhāṣya within the Advaitic tradition.  This may also be an indirect way of distancing from the Śabdādvaita of Bhartṛhari (rejected by Śaṅkara), but claiming the Mahābhāṣya itself to be within the Advaitic lineage.  These are just my speculations, but seem to suggest to me likely avenues of future research.  

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(Currently in Palo Alto, California)

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 19, 2016, 1:12:05 PM8/19/16
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Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

On the website [http://www.kamakoti.org/peeth/origin.html], I find the following statement in relation to Govinda Bhagavatpāda and Gauḍapāda.  

"The yogi, Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada, recipient of the Mahabhashya from the lips of Sri Gaudapada, asked from within the cave, who was standing near the cave."

Do the various Śaṅkaravijayas describe this connection of these two Ācāryas to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali?  Being away from my home library, I cannot check the texts of the Śaṅkaravijayas.  This connection or at least a belief in this connection of the Advaitic teachers before Śaṅkara to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali seems most interesting to me.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)
On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 9:38 AM, Madhav Deshpande <mmd...@umich.edu> wrote:
Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

     Thank you very much for your useful suggestions.  The notion that Candraśarmā was the pūrvāśrama name of Govindabhagavatpāda is something new to me, and reference to him by the Paramacharya of Kanchi is also interesting.  I wonder if either of you can give me some bibliographic information for these references.  It is very likely that the references to Candraśarmā in the commentary on the Gururatnamālā has some traditional sources.  Whether this reference to Candraśarmā is a conflation with the Candrācārya referred to by Bhartṛhari as being responsible for the revival of the Mahābhāṣya is a different question.  In any case, the belief within the Advaitic tradition that Gauḍapāda and Candraśarmā alias Govindabhagavatpāda were somehow related to the revival of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya is an important indicator of the value placed on the Mahābhāṣya within the Advaitic tradition.  This may also be an indirect way of distancing from the Śabdādvaita of Bhartṛhari (rejected by Śaṅkara), but claiming the Mahābhāṣya itself to be within the Advaitic lineage.  These are just my speculations, but seem to suggest to me likely avenues of future research.  

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(Currently in Palo Alto, California)

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 19, 2016, 1:19:52 PM8/19/16
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The website [http://www.kamakoti.org/kamakoti/articles/Preceptors%20of%20Advaita%20-%207.html] provides the following stories about Govinda Bhagavatpāda:

                             GOVINDA BHAGAVATPADA

by
V. A. DEVASENAPATI 
M.A., Ph.D.

Design

1

To be known to all posterity as the preceptor of a world teacher – Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya – is indeed a rare honour.  It evokes our sense of wonder.  When we remember that Isvara Himself was born as Sri Sankara for the spiritual rejuvenation of Hinduism, our wonder knows no bounds.  But it may be asked whether a world teacher – especially if He is none other than the Supreme Lord Himself – needs a teacher.  The answer is that the world will learn more readily by example rather than precept.  The need for a teacher, especially in spiritual matters, is generally recognised.  It is he who dispels the darkness of ignorance and frees us from all sorrow.  He quickens our understanding and makes us see either what we had not seen before or what we had seen all too dimly.  He makes the effulgence of wisdom which is latent in us shine forth in all its splendour.  To make us realise this need for guru, He who is the preceptor of all preceptors set an example by Himself sitting at the feet of a guru.  He wants us to realise that one who has not learned to obey is not fit to command and that one who has not himself sat at the feet of a worthy teacher, cannot become a teacher himself.

The preceptor who enjoys this honour of being the preceptor of Sri Sankara is Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada.  In his purvasrama, he was Chandra Sarma, a handsome Brahmin of Kashmir.  Yearning to hear Patanjali’s exposition of the vyakarana at Chidambaram, he was coming to the South.  On the bank of the River Narmada, he saw Gaudapada who under a curse from Patanjali for leaving the place of instruction without permission had become a Brahmaraksas.  Patanjali had decreed that the curse would be lifted when Gaudapada found a disciple fit enough to learn the vyakarana.  It so happened that till the arrival of Chandra Sarma, every scholar who came that way went wrong in giving the ending of a tricky word and was eaten up by the Brahmaraksas.  Chandra Sarma proved an exception.  He gave the correct ending.  The time for the lifting of the curse had come. Gaudapada asked Chandra Sarma where he was going.  On being told that he was going to Chidambaram to learn at the feet of PatanjaliGaudapadasaid that the exposition at Chidambaram was over and that he would himself teach the young man.  But the condition was that without getting down from the tree on which the Brahmaraksas sat, and without sleeping, the disciple should learn what he was taught as quickly as possible.  Having no access to writing materials, Chandra Sarma made a deep scratch in his thigh and with the blood that oozed out wrote on the leaves of the tree all that he was taught.  The instruction continued night and day without food and sleep for nine days.  On the completion of his instruction, he gathered up the leaves and tying them up into a bundle, took leave of his teacher.

According to the Patanjali-vijaya, a work by Ramabhadra Dikshita written about 200 years ago, Chandra Sarma is none other than Patanjali himself.  Feeling that Gaudapada was not likely to secure a suitable disciple and thus might have to languish under his curse, Patanjali took pity on him and was himself born as Chandra Sarma.  This was but one more of the many roles that Patanjali played.  Patanjali is none other than Adisesha.  Among the roles he played, those of Lakshmana and Balarama may be remembered.  
                        To continue the narrative, Chandra Sarma walked some distance with his precious bundle.  Overpowered by sleep and hunger, he slept for a while.  On waking, he found that a sheep had eaten away part of the leaves in his bundle.  He took the bundle with the remaining leaves and on reaching Ujjain, he lapsed into a state of unconsciousness on the pial of a Vaisya.  The daughter of the Vaisya who was struck by the radiant face of Chandra Sarma found him in this state of unconsciousness on account of complete starvation and exhaustion.  She fed him by applying on his body curd rice.  The nourishment entered his body through the pores of the skin and Chandra Sarma woke up.  He wanted to resume his journey.  But Vaisya wanted him to marry his daughter who had saved his life.  On finding him disinclined for marriage, the Vaisyatook Chandra Sarma to the king.  The king who was favourably impressed by the striking appearance of Chandra Sarma wanted him to marry his own daughter.  He sent for his minister to consult him in order to see whether there was sanction in the Dharma Sastra for such a marriage.  It so happened that the minister himself had a daughter; and so he was keen on giving her in marriage to this stranger.  Thus, Chandra Sarma had to marry all the three girls.  He stayed with them till each of them had a son by him.  Then he continued his journey to find his teacher – Gaudapada, from whom he had learnt the vyakarana.  Gaudapada had become a sannyasin and was in Badarikasrama.  Chandra Sarma also become a sannyasin, receiving diksha from his preceptor and henceforth came to be known as Govinda Bhagavatpada.
                        While Govinda Bhagavatpada was with his teacher at Badarikasrama, sage Vyasa, the author of the Brahma-sutra visited them.  He asked Govinda Bhagavatpada to go to the bank of the River Narmada and await the arrival of Sri Sankara who was the incarnation of LordSiva.  The purpose of this incarnation was to write a commentary on the Brahma-sutra.  Prior to that, Sri Sankara was to be accepted formally as a disciple by Govinda Bhagavatpada.  Govindha Bhagavatpada came to the bank of the River Narmada.  It is significant that Gaudapada was his teacher both before and after he became a sannyasin.  It is significant again that to play the role of the teacher he was at the foot of the same tree on which he had sat earlier to receive instruction from Gaudapada.

                        Sri Sankara came to the bank of the River Narmada and offered his salutations at the lotus-feet of Govinda Bhagavatpada Govinda accepted Sankara as his disciple and initiated him in all the mahavakyas Sankara lived with his guru for sometime and learnt the spiritual truth and disciplines under him.  After mastering all that had to be learnt from the guru, Sri Sankara took leave of his master to go to Benaras, where he wrote an authoritative commentary on the Brahma-sutra and preached the Advaita doctrine."

One of the sources for this narrative appears to be Patañjalicarita of Rāmabhadra Dīkṣita.  There may be other/older sources as well.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)
On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 9:38 AM, Madhav Deshpande <mmd...@umich.edu> wrote:
Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

     Thank you very much for your useful suggestions.  The notion that Candraśarmā was the pūrvāśrama name of Govindabhagavatpāda is something new to me, and reference to him by the Paramacharya of Kanchi is also interesting.  I wonder if either of you can give me some bibliographic information for these references.  It is very likely that the references to Candraśarmā in the commentary on the Gururatnamālā has some traditional sources.  Whether this reference to Candraśarmā is a conflation with the Candrācārya referred to by Bhartṛhari as being responsible for the revival of the Mahābhāṣya is a different question.  In any case, the belief within the Advaitic tradition that Gauḍapāda and Candraśarmā alias Govindabhagavatpāda were somehow related to the revival of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya is an important indicator of the value placed on the Mahābhāṣya within the Advaitic tradition.  This may also be an indirect way of distancing from the Śabdādvaita of Bhartṛhari (rejected by Śaṅkara), but claiming the Mahābhāṣya itself to be within the Advaitic lineage.  These are just my speculations, but seem to suggest to me likely avenues of future research.  

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(Currently in Palo Alto, California)

Ajit Gargeshwari

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Aug 19, 2016, 1:22:26 PM8/19/16
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From: bvpar...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bvpar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Madhav Deshpande
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2016 10:42 PM
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: {
भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali

 

Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

 

On the website [http://www.kamakoti.org/peeth/origin.html], I find the following statement in relation to Govinda Bhagavatpāda and Gauḍapāda.  

 

"The yogi, Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada, recipient of the Mahabhashya from the lips of Sri Gaudapada, asked from within the cave, who was standing near the cave."

 

Do the various Śaṅkaravijayas describe this connection of these two Ācāryas to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali?  Being away from my home library, I cannot check the texts of the Śaṅkaravijayas.  This connection or at least a belief in this connection of the Advaitic teachers before Śaṅkara to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali seems most interesting to me.

 

Madhav Deshpande

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

(currently in Palo Alto, California)

On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 9:38 AM, Madhav Deshpande <mmd...@umich.edu> wrote:

Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

 

     Thank you very much for your useful suggestions.  The notion that Candraśarmā was the pūrvāśrama name of Govindabhagavatpāda is something new to me, and reference to him by the Paramacharya of Kanchi is also interesting.  I wonder if either of you can give me some bibliographic information for these references.  It is very likely that the references to Candraśarmā in the commentary on the Gururatnamālā has some traditional sources.  Whether this reference to Candraśarmā is a conflation with the Candrācārya referred to by Bhartṛhari as being responsible for the revival of the Mahābhāṣya is a different question.  In any case, the belief within the Advaitic tradition that Gauḍapāda and Candraśarmā alias Govindabhagavatpāda were somehow related to the revival of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya is an important indicator of the value placed on the Mahābhāṣya within the Advaitic tradition.  This may also be an indirect way of distancing from the Śabdādvaita of Bhartṛhari (rejected by Śaṅkara), but claiming the Mahābhāṣya itself to be within the Advaitic lineage.  These are just my speculations, but seem to suggest to me likely avenues of future research.  

 

Madhav Deshpande

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

(Currently in Palo Alto, California)

*****


Surendramohan Mishra
Dept of Sanskrit,Pali & Prakrit
Faculty of Indic Studies,Kurukshetra University
KURUKSHETRA-136 119,Haryana,INDIA
Tel : (Off.)01744 238410(extn.)2504
(Mob.)098960 86579;(Res.)01744-238567
Blogs : http://surendrashastram.blogspot.com
            http://surendra-shaastram.blogspot.com

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Madhav Deshpande

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Thanks.

Madhav Deshpande
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Dept of Sanskrit,Pali & Prakrit
Faculty of Indic Studies,Kurukshetra University
KURUKSHETRA-136 119,Haryana,INDIA
Tel : (Off.)01744 238410(extn.)2504
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Vidyasankar Sundaresan

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Dear Prof. Deshpande,

The general tradition about govinda bhagavatpAda in all the known Sankaravijaya texts is that he was an avatAra of patanjali. Or that he was an avatAra of AdiSesha, and that patanjali was an earlier avatAra of AdiSesha too. In some of these texts, the emphasis in the description is on patanjali as the yogasUtrakAra. In others, it is the vyAkaraNa mahAbhAshyakAra. Of course, none of the texts refer only to yoga to the exclusion of vyAkaraNa or vice versa.

Giving a specific name candragupta as the birth name of govinda bhagavatpAda is unique to the patanjalicarita. I haven't seen such a reference in any of the other texts that set out to describe the life of Sankara. And this candragupta of the patanjalicarita gets transformed to candraSarman at a later time. Then again, the references to gauDapAda, govinda and Sankara are all found only in the final, eighth chapter of that kAvya. The first seven chapters have no place for these advaita vedAnta teachers. I, for one, find that transition rather odd and abrupt, and the possible equation of this candragupta/SarmA with candrAcArya of vyAkaraNa as well as with govinda bhagavat of advaita seems rather forced.

One can conjecture various reasons for how these identifications and transformations came to be, but I'd rather not get into the details of my own thoughts about it at this time, on this forum. I've already said much in the past, on other forums.

Best regards,
Vidyasankar

Madhav Deshpande

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Aug 19, 2016, 9:44:51 PM8/19/16
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Thanks, Vidyasankar, for your very useful comments.  I would appreciate very much if you send me your work directly to my email address.  Thanks, once again.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
(currently in Palo Alto, California)

BVKSastry(Gmail)

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Aug 20, 2016, 2:14:46 AM8/20/16
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Namaste

 

May be I am raising  a side tracking issue on this debate < Time of Patanjali> which has  touched the  relation of  <   Vyakarana- Schoalrship >  and < Advaita –Philsophy > :: Language Grammar  and Mystic -Philosophy – transcending the nameability and describability of an entity ::  Avaachyataa – Anirvacahneeya – Naama Roopa ateeta >. 

 

These two ‘side-questions’  are triggered by the note by Professor Deshpande < but seem to suggest to me likely avenues of future research  >  where a clarity needs to emerge on direction to engage eastern and western linguistic study in the domains of   Rules of Language usage and Application, distinguished from the ‘ Advanced discourse on Philosophy of Language, leading  to language bind and boundary Transcendence ( = A – nirvachaneeyataa) ’ ; more so in the context of  ‘Samskrutham’.

 

 

Side questions -1 :  ( On    Prof: Madhav DeshPande: , the belief within the Advaitic tradition that Gauḍapāda and Candraśarmā alias Govindabhagavatpāda were somehow related to the revival of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya is an important indicator of the value placed on the Mahābhāṣya within the Advaitic tradition. )  

 

             Vyakarana-Shaastra, as Vedanga, is  a  unified grammar approach  to understand the  sacred spiritual linguistics ( Language Focus - Primary) of  languages present  in two major classes of  works, namely  Veda-Shaastra and Kaavya-Shaastra. Vedanga Vyakarana is  presenting   a Unified Document and Approach for  Learning Language -Tradition of  Chandas and Bhashaa  ,  for Spiritual and Sacrificial  usage (  Adhyatma = Brahma Chintana  and   Adhi-Yajna = Karma –Yajna Chintana ) .   

 

            The plan in Vyakarana,   seems to be, to  work around  and present a means to understand words already in – use  in the texts of tradition; and further generate as needed  proper word-designators  for a contextual application. ( Vibhaktim kurvanti) .   It is generating a ‘Naama  as Shabda /Pada  for use in a Vaakya’  for  ‘ Yaajnika Tradition usage’.  It is  to connect pada with artha:  ‘Roopa ( Aakruti-Kriyaa- Jaati-Samjnaa / Phala )’ – Truly and Totally through a ‘Yoga’ ( = unifying)  process for a purpose.  

 

           The entire mechanics is one of ‘Shabda –Nirmiti’ – Art of Word-Architecture, Word-Sculpting (Shabda-Shilpa) for a purpose (Viniyoga). 

 

           The audit of ‘Saadhutva –Shishta Sampradaaya’ is a standard of  Samskruth Grammarians.  The philosophy of Grammar marks  the boundary on  working with ‘What falls within the realm of Vaak’  and What falls beyond the realm of ‘Vaak’;  the clarity of distinction between  Vachaneeyataa   < Expression – Articulation - Naming – Designation >    and   Anirvachaneeyataa -Transcendence.

 

             (Advaita) Darshana Shaastra –as Vedanta, is  a specific flavor of  understanding the essence of three works presenting three paths in two language modes  for a unified goal ( = Pra-Sthana- Traya : uses  Language modes of  (Chandas and Bhashaa) . This is  transcending  the ‘Vedanga’ boundary  to explore ‘ What falls beyond the realm of Vaak’.  Such unified construction of a philosophy from a meta-physical document using meta-language needs appropriate skills of grammar-tradition as ‘Vedanga’ .

 

              ‘Vedanga’   understands world-languages/ Human Social languages   in a specific context and paradigm :   Daivee and Maanushee .  ( Daiveem vaacham ajanayanta devaah ; taam Vishva-roopaah pashavao vadanti). Here ‘Deva is Not ‘God’ and certainly not ‘God in Abrahamic theology and scriptures ; pashu is not animal.  The  four fold-layered structure of such language is presented and fourth phase of it is called ‘Human usage language’ (Tureeyam Vaachah). Spirituality (Adhyaatma) is an integral part of this language – discussion. The primary units of language (Varna-Akshara / Naada) are deeply connected with ‘Brahma’ – the ultimate unique postulate of Vednata. (  Gita 3-15: karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmakshara-samudbhavam tasmat sarva-gatam brahma nityam yajne pratisthitam.) The premise in ‘Vednaga –Bhashaa Chintana’ is   built around the anchor of  upanishad : Yato Vaacho nivartante, apraapya manasaa saha , tadeva Brahma tvam viddhi , nedam yat –idam – upAsate’ .  This is the ‘ Mantra –Practice Instruction. If some thing is not nameable, but still can be sensed and engaged  ( Asti – BhAti , Jaanaami tam eva/ evam anu-bhAntam) as real personal experience which is NOT an illusion or hallucination , experienced as ‘Sat- Cht- Aanadna’ in a ‘  Time –Transcendent and Time-Permeating ( Kalaateeta – Sarva-Kaalika) , how does one write a ‘Shaastra’ of such a  ‘Darshana’ ? How does one teach it ? How does one debate it ? Using what means ?  A challenge of explaining and expressing  ‘meta-language’ in social language idiom ?

 

               This ‘paradigm of language of Shaastra ’ is totally outside the  boxed thinking of  ‘Academic Linguistics/ Applied Linguistics ’ used in ‘ Indology. The scope of definition used in these  modern disciplines would be called ‘ Saamaajika Vyaavaharika –Prakrutha / Mlecchita Bhashaa, Jaati-Bhashaa / Desha -bhashaa’ in the parlance of Samskruth traditional studies.

 

               In this context, a thorough knowledge of ‘Shada-Shaastra’ (Patanajli Vyakarana ) and ‘Shaastra –Bhashaa’ and ‘Yoga-Bhashaa’  may have been considered a ‘ Pre-qualification’    for a student before admission to the further advanced instructions of ‘Shabda –Brahma –Darshana Shaastra where Vak-Yoga pedagogy and methodology  ’ is needed.   This is Yoga way of studying Samskrutham beyond ‘ using Bhashaa aspect of Samskrutham for localized contextualized conversation ( = Sambhaashnam). It is clarity  in the use of language for a social purpose for conversation and a Spiritual exploration of ‘ Communion/ Union/ Yoga as Mantra-Brahmana).    This line of argument and debate-discourse is a part of the discussion and objections made on ‘Advaita’ in many  ‘Vaadas’  addressing the word ‘Brahma-Anirvachaneeya’  part of commentary and attacking ‘Maayaa –Tatva’ as ‘ illusion’. In reality it is ‘ Shabda-vichara –charchaa’ and not ‘Shabda-Brahma- Jijnyasa’.  

 

             Then, in this context,  would it be right  for me to infer the statement in Shankara vijaya as a recollection of the traditional standard :  Knowledge of Vedanga-Vyakarana  is a pre-qualification before entering the portals of Vedanta ; Patanjali connection to Advaita Guru-Shishya  Sampradaya ?    The question by Guru of Shankara  seems to seek an assurance that the seeker had a clear understanding of the ‘Shabda –Shaastra’ prerequisites before learning ‘Shabda-Brahma Tattva –Darshana’ practice ?    

 

                 As far as I am aware, within Shankara sampradaya, the insistence on  ‘Sarva- Shaastra –Abhyasa’ before ‘ Sannyasa –Deekshaa’ is insisted upon. This is to ensure sufficient physical, mental, social and practice-based maturity before treading  the path for a  ‘ position of Spiritual leadership = Sannyasa Deekshaa ’.    To understand ‘Acharya Shankaras message in Bhaja Govindam’,  to know the last stop of ‘ Dukrunj  - Karane’ , one needs to have a full engagement with Vyakarana which teaches what all needs to transform ‘Du-Krunj Karane’ to ‘ karomi’ in Samkalpa and  ‘Arjunas commitment of ‘Karishye Vachanam Tava ’ to Sri Krishna  . The wisdom of Bhagavatpada in Bhaja –Govindam is not to reject Vyakarana without  full engagement with it.

 

 

 

Side questions -2 : On < web site statement related  :  Śaṅkaravijayas describe this connection of these two Ācāryas to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali?   >   

 

The works like Shankara Vijaya have an unspecified mix of history and faith; and aim to endorse a ‘ faith tradition continuity’  beyond  a desire of functioning like  ‘Shaastra –Itihasasa – PramaNa- grantha’.

 

    How right are we in contemplating   ‘ Advaita Tradition-Shankara history- bridges’ using such  works ? The tracing of < belief continuity part> needs to have additional support from < Shaastra- Paramparaa and Scrutiny of the person chosen for continuity of succession to the tradition>. 

 

     I do understand that this is a slippery and  socially sensitive issue for open debate, arising out of the link between <  Advaita and  Samkrutha- Vyakarana –Patanjali Standards > .

     I will raise the question and leave it at that ( for private communications) . The question, for all  ‘Vedanta Sampradaya instituitions would be this :  

 

Do we see foot-prints of ‘Shakara Vijaya Sampradaya’ reflected in Practice footprints  as the guidelines and Standards  adapted in  ‘grooming and selecting the succession candidate ‘ Shihsya ’  by  ‘ current holding - guru-peetha-adhipati’ to carry on the torch-light of tradition ? In the current period, which ‘Guru-Kul’ is providing the relevant training for grooming a ‘ Peetha-adhi-pati and a Sannyasi’? A Saffron – Robed Person for spreading the message  anchored to  ‘ Vyasa- Granthaavali’ in Samskrutham ? Will the ‘Sarvajna-Peetham’  occupation  be decided  by selection or election or invitation ?     How True and Truant are the practices in various Vyasa - Sampradaya institutions in grooming their  successors for ‘ Yati-Dharma / Shaastra sampradaaya rakshaa’  and ‘ Moksha -Sannyasa Yoga’ responsibilities in line with  last chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita   ? Do we have a 21st century community – in India or abroad who love to have such ‘ Personnel’ in our times ? What needs to be done – Kim Karaneeyam ?

 

Regards

BVK Sastry

 

From: bvpar...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bvpar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Madhav Deshpande


Sent: Friday, 19 August, 2016 1:12 PM
To: bvpar...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali

 

Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

 

On the website [http://www.kamakoti.org/peeth/origin.html], I find the following statement in relation to Govinda Bhagavatpāda and Gauḍapāda.  

 

"The yogi, Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada, recipient of the Mahabhashya from the lips of Sri Gaudapada, asked from within the cave, who was standing near the cave."

 

Do the various Śaṅkaravijayas describe this connection of these two Ācāryas to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali?  Being away from my home library, I cannot check the texts of the Śaṅkaravijayas.  This connection or at least a belief in this connection of the Advaitic teachers before Śaṅkara to the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali seems most interesting to me.

 

Madhav Deshpande

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

(currently in Palo Alto, California)

On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 9:38 AM, Madhav Deshpande <mmd...@umich.edu> wrote:

Dear Sunilji and Surendraji,

 

     Thank you very much for your useful suggestions.  The notion that Candraśarmā was the pūrvāśrama name of Govindabhagavatpāda is something new to me, and reference to him by the Paramacharya of Kanchi is also interesting.  I wonder if either of you can give me some bibliographic information for these references.  It is very likely that the references to Candraśarmā in the commentary on the Gururatnamālā has some traditional sources.  Whether this reference to Candraśarmā is a conflation with the Candrācārya referred to by Bhartṛhari as being responsible for the revival of the Mahābhāṣya is a different question.  In any case, the belief within the Advaitic tradition that Gauḍapāda and Candraśarmā alias Govindabhagavatpāda were somehow related to the revival of Patañjali's Mahābhāṣya is an important indicator of the value placed on the Mahābhāṣya within the Advaitic tradition.  This may also be an indirect way of distancing from the Śabdādvaita of Bhartṛhari (rejected by Śaṅkara), but claiming the Mahābhāṣya itself to be within the Advaitic lineage.  These are just my speculations, but seem to suggest to me likely avenues of future research.  

 

Madhav Deshpande

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

(Currently in Palo Alto, California)

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sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 20, 2016, 2:39:54 PM8/20/16
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Dear Vidyasankarji,

If you are referring to the Kavyamala edition of the book can you kindly mention the Sarga and the Verse-number on which Govidapada has been mentioned as Chandragupa ?

As Govindapada was a brahmin I wonder how can there be any attachment of " -Gupta"  to his name. Is it possible that some transcriber  could have tried to change "Sarma"  to "Gupta" ?

Regards,
Sunil KB

On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 6:37 PM, Vidyasankar Sundaresan <svidya...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sivasenani Nori

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Aug 21, 2016, 8:40:09 AM8/21/16
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In this context, the book Parmarthasara (https://archive.org/details/AdisesaParamarthasara_201306), an early manual of Advaita in Aryas, by Adisesha might be of some interest. Based on evidence within the text, some hold that this is later than Mandukyakarika. Nagesa quotes liberally from this work in Manjusha.

This fits in with a disciple of Gaudapada, an avatara of AdiSesha, teaching Advaita - though I never heard such a conjecture earlier (nor am I making one here - as I said, it might be of interest, that's all).

Regards
N. Siva Senani

Surendra Mohan Mishra

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Aug 21, 2016, 12:36:00 PM8/21/16
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Abhinavagupta's Advaita S'aiva manual Paramarthasara is an adaptation of Adishesha Muni's Paramarthasara which is a Vaishnava work. But not much is historically known of this Adishesha. Regards.

sunil bhattacharjya

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Aug 21, 2016, 12:36:16 PM8/21/16
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Dear friends,

As regards the dating of Gaudapada, any suppositions on the date of the text of Adishesha's Paramarthasara will be a weak proposition. At best one may consider that Abhinavagupta's time is known and it is also known that his (Abhinavagupta's) Paramarththere is a Shaivite adaptation of Adishesha's Paramarthasara.

Sankhyakarika of Gaudapada seems to gives us a better lead to the date of Gaudapada. To my knowledge, during the regime of the Chines emperor Wu-Ti  (156 - 87 BCE) of the Han dynasty, a chinese team came to the Guota king and the Indian king sent the Buddhist Paramartha (from Ujjain).with them. Paramartha translated Gaudapada's Sankhyakarika to Chinese. From this one can arrive at the date Gaudpada prior to the1st or 2nd century BCE. 

Regards,
Sunil KB

rniyengar

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Sep 5, 2016, 8:14:42 AM9/5/16
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Dear Vidyashankar,

After reading your well researched and carefully argued article on Śankaravijaya texts, I can only exclaim, confusion confounded! You are not partial to either party, but you have presented data with eye on details. I was aware of the controversies, but not of the broad picture and its possible influence on Indian traditions. Rāmānujācārya (1017-1137 CE, luckily no controversy about this figure) is also considered to be the incarnation of Ādiśeṣa and in fact his given name was Lakṣmaṇa. You may know that there is a temple at Thondnur near Melkote where a relief shows the Ācārya as Ādiśeṣa sitting behind a screen answering his numerous opponents (Jains?) simultaneously. When I read the Patañjali-carita, which belongs to a later date, I could not miss this parallelism. I had not known till I read your paper that there is a Sanskrit work that holds all the three ācāryas to have been contemporaries! Ignoring all such fanciful stories, still I wonder why the Kāñci maṭha (even if called Kumbhakoṇam) parampara is longer than that of Sṛṅgeri? My interest is more in the ancient (BCE-CE) transition period, rather than in the recent past, even though chronology sequencing may be rather hazy.   Without going into the various conflicting claims;  Śankarācārya having established a monastery at Kāñci and attaining Mukti there sounds realistic. In the 7-8th Cent Kāñci was at its peak in many fronts. It was the border town between the Sanskritic and the Tamil cultural traditions. Buddhists and Jains had strong roots at Kāñci from c 400 BCE contemporaneous with Vedic/Vedāntic schools, if not earlier. Now coming back to the historical claims of K-Maṭha going back to 482BCE and that of Śṛ-Maṭha reaching only 820 AD as shown on their respective web sites, one needs to ponder whether both can be reconciled, instead of brushing aside one in preference to the other. Since Śankarācārya’s date is 8-9th Cent, Kāñci monastic order must have had some strong reason to trace its origin to BCE period. Is it probable an already existing monastery (Vedic/Bauddha) was brought into the Advaitic fold in the above period? This is of course a speculation, but from available evidences can such a possibility be denied?

I have read in some history books that Patanjali in his Mahābhāṣya refers to Kāñcipuraka to mean a person from that city.  Also he seems to have remarked that southerners are fond of Taddhita words even when not necessary (I am no scholar of Pāṇini and Patanjali. I apologise for any mistaken information and request BVP scholars for corrections). If legends are a way to keep traditions alive (matter of fact history is quickly forgotten!) it seems quite reasonable for the grammar tradition to have reflected back from south to north. Since there does not seem to be any academic necessity for the Kāñci Vedānta school to trace its relation to Patanjali, some real cultural links might be hidden in fossilised fashion.

Two minor points: a) Gupta may not be a definitive marker of caste. Chāṇakya/Kauṭalya was known as Viṣṇugupta although he was a Brahmin. b) The royal emblem of Mysore Wodeyars was/is the double headed eagle and not the boar.

Best regards

RN Iyengar

Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 5, 2016, 9:12:32 AM9/5/16
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Dear Professor Iyengar,

     Both you and Vidyasankar have provided lots of points to ponder over.  Yes, Patañjali refers to Kāñcīpura and Kāñcīpuraka in his Bhāṣya on P.4.2.104, and indeed his awareness of southern India is not surprising, if we assign him to the reign of Puṣyamitra Śuṅga in the immediate post-Mauryan period.  His reference to Kātyāyana's use of laukika and vaidika, in stead of loke and vede, as a dākṣiṇātya preference for Taddhitas, would place Kātyāyana to the south in relation to Patañjali, though the Śukla Yajurveda traditions associated with Kātyāyana (cf. Thieme's identification of the Vārttikakāra with the author of the Śukla-Yajurveda-Prātiśākhya) are historically more prominent in north India, than in the south.
     Patañjali's reference to Kāñcī certainly establishes Kāñcī as a well known urban center in centuries BC.  Connecting that to the claims of the Kāñcī Śaṅkara Mutt tradition would require a lot of historical evidence.  What needs to be investigated is how and how early the (presumably northern) Patañjali came to be integrally associated with the Nataraja of Chidambaram.  My guess is that Patañjali comes to be associated with the Advaita tradition in Tamilnadu through his prior inclusion in the Chidambaram tradition.
     I have discussed how the Pratyāhārasūtras of Pāṇini came to be associated with Śiva most likely through the southern tradition.
     Indeed, this is an exciting area to explore, and I hope someone with intimate knowledge of the Sanskrit and Tamil sources connected with the history of Chidambaram will produce some new research.
     With best wishes,

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Madhav Deshpande

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Nagaraj Paturi

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Sep 5, 2016, 9:15:04 AM9/5/16
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>  Now coming back to the historical claims of K-Maṭha going back to 482BCE and that of Śṛ-Maṭha reaching only 820 AD as shown on their respective web sites, one needs to ponder whether both can be reconciled, instead of brushing aside one in preference to the other. Since Śankarācārya’s date is 8-9th Cent, Kāñci monastic order must have had some strong reason to trace its origin to BCE period. Is it probable an already existing monastery (Vedic/Bauddha) was brought into the Advaitic fold in the above period? This is of course a speculation, but from available evidences can such a possibility be denied? (Highlighting mine)

------- Many who like both to be reconciled instead of brushing aside one in preference to the other (e.g. my father ) speculated on these lines of 'an earlier existing Sri Vidya/Tantra related maTha being revived / modified (say vegetarianized or something like that) and as a result maintained by an Advaitic order of Sannyasis'.



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sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 5, 2016, 2:55:05 PM9/5/16
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Namaste,

The issue is more complicated than this. There is another math called the Kudali Shringei math, located on the bank of the river at the confluence of Tunga and Bhadra, whereafter the river is known as Tungabhadra. There is reference to the Sharada temple at this palce, referred in the Sharada Bhujanga Prayata Stotram as follows:
Kadakshe dayardhraam, kare gnana mudhraam,
Kalabhir vinidhram, kalapai subhadhraam,
Purasthreem vinidhraam, pura sthunga bhadram,
Bhaje Saradambhaam ajasram madhambham., 2
This Kudali-Shringeri math is situated at a distance of about 12 KM from  the Shimoga town, the head-quarters of the Shimoga district, in Karnataka   This math claims itself  to be the original Shringeri math and the Kanchi math too recognizes this math's guruparampara, going back to the 5th century BCE. It is interesting to note that the Sringeri math and the Kudali Shringeri math both have the Vidyashankara temple at their premises and both the maths claim Vidyashanka Tirtha to be a mathadhipati in their maths at contemporary times. This also seems to indicate the age-old relationship between these two maths. One may consider this as an added point while looking at the date Adi Shankara.

Further, it is interesting to note that a scholar, named Udaivira Shastri wrote a book on the date of Shankara in Hindi and someone translated that to English, and in that book  late Udaivira Shastri seems to suggest a link between the Shringeri math and the Kanchi math around the 9th century CE, based on the guruparamparas of both the maths.

There has also been claim about possible loss of records when the Shringeri temples were damaged during Hyder Ali's campaigns (which later on  Tipu Sultan agreed to make amends for that) as well as during the Maratha campaign in 1791 CE, when Shringeri was looted. It was first suspected that the Pindaris were responsible for that as they used to follow the north-Indian campaigns of the Maratha armies, around those times. Upon Peshwa's instruction Raghunath Rao, a commander, carried out an investigation of the possible looting by the Pindaris and he found that the Pindaris did not loot Shringeri. The looting of Shringeri appeared to be by another robber group, over which the Marathas had no control. Greatly disturbed by the loot, the Mathadhipati of Shringeri, Shri Sacchidananda Bharati III left for Poona (Satara?) to seek redressal of what happened in the loot. Peshwa Bajirao II, a Brahmin, gave great respect to the Swamiji and eventually became his disciple. Tipu Sultan also wrote to Swamiji condemning the looting of Shringeri. It is quite possible that during the robbery in Shringeri, many of the valuable records of the past could have been lost. Fortunately the Swamiji could save some records at the time of his departure from Sringeri to Poona (Satara?). In early 20th century CE the mathadhipati of Shringeri disclosed a record, according to which Adi Shankara was born in the 14th year of the rule of king Vikramaditya.  Generally people think that  the earliest Vikramaditya was he, who started the Vikrama samvat in 57 BCE. However there was another Vikramaditya also before that, as Rajatarangini informs us.

If all the mathas come together and earnestly try to look for the real date of Adi Shankara  afresh, that too using the historical information combined with calendrical and astronomical studies, and not depending on the hagiographical details alone, it is quite possible that we myy arrive at the true date pf Adi Shankara. I feel that it is also worth considering the astronomical studies of Prof. Narahari Achar from the Memphis University on the date of Adi Shankara.

Regards,
Suni kB

BVKSastry(Gmail)

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Sep 6, 2016, 12:10:05 AM9/6/16
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Namaste

 

An interesting thread with  issues coming together to trace the history –time line of Advaita personalities and footprints of Advaita tradition used by different ‘ Peethams/ Paramparaa’, which seem apparently irreconcilable.  There is a need to revisit and rewrite ‘  A consistent and reconciled history of all the peethams and traditions which would project a seamless understanding of ‘Advaita’ Tradition from a reference point of ‘Gita’ and ‘Brahma Sutras’ going back to some 3000 BCE ! Way before Patanjali , Claimed date of 1500 BCE for Shankara and Buddha by some schools. A period way before ‘ Greek intervention’ ( unless  Mahabharata  history itself leads to Greeks in India –Kurukshetra ).  

 

There are some larger issues with which these need to be linked and addressed. I articulate these without taking sides and look forward for scholarly inputs.

 

1.  Looking at the ‘Advaita Darshana – Acharya –Peethams  History’ in the expanded frame :  Additional input regarding Acharya Shankara’s date related : The Veerasaiva Panchacharya Tradition propounds Acharya Shankara was initiated by Siddha-Yogi Renuka Maharshi, who  ‘ emerged in a manner of self-manifestation’ from a ‘ Lingam’; and initiated Acharya Shankara to the secrets of Vedic Worship.  This is a live tradition, held strongly by the ‘ Panditaaraadhya  / Jagadguru Renukacharya paramparaa - Veerasaiva community’ and anchored to Sri Sailam Jyotirlinga Peetham, at Andhra-Pradesh  and certain other parts of Karnataka.

http://www.rambhapuripeetha.info/history-of-panchapeethas.htm ;   

Article in the link -   http://jssonline.org/jss/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Sharanapatha-July-Dec2012.pdf

 

If this connection is to be traced per claims, the landscape of this debate would  stretch beyond ‘ resources used by Shankara peethams for historicity’ and the connection of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Siddhar tradition, Ujjain and Kashmir become relevant.

 

2. Understanding ‘Abhinavagupta’   as a Person and Acharya,  properly:   The connection of Kashmir Saivism / Abhinava Gupta is another contentious  issue. The portrayal of Abhinavagupta as a tantric,  in resources used by Shankara –Peetham is not resonating with the known history of Abhinavgupta as a lochana-kaara and author of several works on Saivism flavor of Advaita, even though the flavor of explanation may  look different ! It would be interesting to note that Vaishnvadvaita uses almost a mirror imaged model of this explanation to explain vedic tradition. Both are locked to Aagama while Vedanta schools are locked directly to Prasthana –Traya.

 

All these schools   are built on the foundational criticality of Samskrutham Language Scholarship   by  ‘Panini-Patanajli  - anchor’  along with its ‘Mantra-Yoga’ Flavors as ‘Yoga-Samskrutham’ linked to ‘Vedanga –Shadanga Samskrutham  Education ( = Vak-Yoga Sampradaya)’.( So is the case with Buddhists and Jains also.)

 

3. Understanding the anchor of Kashmir based ‘Shaaradaa Devi’  to worship at Sringeri’ in the sloka: Namaste Shaaradaa Devi, Kashmeera –Pura –Vaasinee  :  What is the importance of  this link beyond a faith of ‘Goddess walking down to South from North’ ?   How the worship of ‘Sri Maha-Rajnee’ at Kashmir and Sri Shaaradaa are connected through the first line of Lalitaa worship and Sri –Vidyaa Tradiitons? The first line of Lalitaa ashtottara reads : Srimaataa – Sri maharajnee ,srimat simhasaneswari’ .   The Same Sharadaa is worshipped as ‘Sri Mahaa Rajnee’ in Kashmir. At Sringeri, she is goddess of learning. At Kashmir, she is the benevolent queen.

 

 

Surely, There is a need to revisit and rewrite ‘  A consistent and reconciled history of all the peethams and traditions’ ; and this may  be one of the major reasons to fight a Battle: Sanskrit ! and Swadesi History of Masters of Religions and Religious Institutions   ?! That would also help to resolve whether the Samskruth word  <Gupta> would  mean <Secret, embedded> OR <  a tag name to a Royal dynasty> OR <  tag name after a Samskara for religion-practice Identity>.

 

Regards

BVK Sastry

From: bvpar...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bvpar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of sunil bhattacharjya


Sent: Monday, 05 September, 2016 2:55 PM
To: BHARATIYA VIDVAT

Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali

Sathya Narayanan N

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Sep 7, 2016, 2:48:37 AM9/7/16
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Respected Scholars,

I found a textual translation of Mathamnaya. In page 19, it is mentioned around 482-490 BC the 4 principle peethams were established. The peetahipathi at the time seems to be misleading. Anyway the time is of interesting

rniyengar

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Sep 8, 2016, 6:53:03 AM9/8/16
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Dear Professor Deshpande,
Thanks for your M. Bhāṣya references. Please provide a link to your work on..." ...southern tradition" that you mention.   About Kātyāyana perhaps there was more than one person by that name. Atharva veda Paris'is.t.a in the very first chapter (1.3.1) Nakshatrakalpa identifies or correlates: ... कात्यायनौ आश्वयुजौ....  Patañjali perhaps holds a lot about history of his time as you have pointed out about Puṣyamitra. In a paper on YugapuraaNa D.C.Sircar has pointed out Patañjali mentioning the attack of Yavanas (Greeks) on Sāketa.  He further interprets the  word Dharmamita in YP to be the Sanskritized name of "Demetrius" a Greek  who might have been the person leading the attacking. Is there any serious study or monograph on India at the time of Patanjali (similar to the work of VS Agrawala on Panini). If so please provide some information. 
RNI

K S Kannan

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Sep 8, 2016, 6:59:03 AM9/8/16
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BNPuri 1958 Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
India in the time of Patanjali
300+pp

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K S Kannan

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Sep 8, 2016, 7:04:02 AM9/8/16
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- arunad yavanas saketam
- iha pushyamitram yajamahe

- quoting from memory.

K S Kannan

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Sep 8, 2016, 7:05:37 AM9/8/16
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- aruṇad yavanas sāketam
- iha puṣyamitram yajāmahe
 (with diacritics)

Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 8, 2016, 7:07:13 AM9/8/16
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Dear Professor Iyengar,

     I have attached my article "Who inspired Pāṇini: Reconstructing Hindu and Buddhist Counter-claims".  Prof. Kannan has given a reference to B.N. Puri's book "India in the Time of Patanjali".  

Madhav Deshpande
Deshpande-WhoInspiredPanini.pdf

rniyengar

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Sep 8, 2016, 10:03:53 AM9/8/16
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Thanks to Prof Deshpande for the paper and thanks to Prof. Kannan for the reference.

RNI

shankara

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Sep 8, 2016, 10:06:36 AM9/8/16
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Namaste,

Giving below details of 2 studies on India at the time of Patanjali. Both are in Hindi. All three books are available at DLI.
Maharshi Patanjali Aur Tatkalina Bharat - Chandramani Vidyalankar 1914
Patanjali Kalin Bharat - Prabhudayal Aganihotri 1962
 
regards
shankara



From: K S Kannan <ks.kann...@gmail.com>
To: bvparishat <bvpar...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, 8 September 2016 4:28 PM
Subject: Re: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} time of patanjali

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Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 8, 2016, 10:55:31 AM9/8/16
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Hello Shankaraji,

     Do you have barcodes for these two books?  Also for some reason the DLI website for direct download of pdfs [http://www.new1.dli.ernet.in/partner_collection.php] is not opening and I am getting the following message [www.new1.dli.ernet.in’s server DNS address could not be found.]  Has this website shifted to a new address, or closed down?

Madhav Deshpande

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rniyengar

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Sep 8, 2016, 11:25:02 AM9/8/16
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Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 8, 2016, 11:42:33 AM9/8/16
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Thank you very much.

Madhav Deshpande

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shankara

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Sep 8, 2016, 11:56:24 AM9/8/16
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Sir,

Giving below DLI links.

Maharshi Patanjali Aur Tatkalina Bharat - http://www.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/473156



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Bijoy Misra

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Sep 8, 2016, 12:02:33 PM9/8/16
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Madhavji,

I just rapidly read through the article, but got tired with the phrase "inspiration".
Why should an analytic work be labelled with an "inspiration"?  Inspirations
produce poetry, metaphors and imaginations.  Panini has nothing of the sort.
To me, it is a pure scientific work.  You may explore who his teacher was
and who his students were who helped retain the manuscript.

On Shivasutra, we need to examine its completeness as a map of human 
speech system.  I have not seen a paper yet.  Shivasutra rejects various
modifications of vowels as perceived by the ear and gets into the production 
of speech.  It has a beauty of quantizing the speech system.  In such a 
process, it could be in conflict with the analog nature of speech which is
popularly rendered.  Such quantization might have been an evolution 
process, possibly tallied with the evolution of mathematics.  What we need
to examine is if the metric melody forced quantization that eventually helped
create the alphabet.

In any case, I am uncomfortable to dump "inspiration" on analytic work as
is the practice by the Indology scholars.  Authors to offer their "product" to
their esteemed deities with gratitude, but that does not reduce the power of 
human contribution in the work.

An opinion.

Bijoy Misra
  

K S Kannan

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Sep 8, 2016, 12:23:36 PM9/8/16
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Dear Bijoy Misra,

On Shiva Sutra-s, you may look into the following.
  • [1] Paper by Paul Kiparsky on 'Economy and the Construction of the Śiva sūtras'.
  • [2] Paper by Andras Kornai relating the Śiva sūtras to contemporary Feature Geometry.
  • [3] Paper by Wiebke Petersen on 'A Mathematical Analysis of Pāṇini’s Śiva sūtras.'
  • [4] Frits Staal's Euclid and Panini.

Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 8, 2016, 1:14:35 PM9/8/16
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Dear Bijoy Misra,
     I appreciate that you don't like the word "inspiration".  Perhaps, you can translate the phrase "adhigamya maheśvarāt" in verse "yenākṣarasamāmnāyam adhigamya maheśvarāt / kṛtsnaṃ vyākaraṇam proktam, tasmai pāṇinaye namaḥ" with some other word of your choice, rather than inspiration.  The point of the paper is that the assertion that Pāṇini "received" [adhigamya] his grammar from Śiva was historically relatively late, first appearing only in the Padamañjarī of Haradatta, and that this assertion was not the only such assertion, as the Buddhists asserted a different claim at an earlier time.  This article was aimed at tracing the history of such assertions regarding Pāṇini, and not to discuss the grammatical function of the Śivasūtras.  I have done that elsewhere.
     If you are looking for the function of the Śivasūtras, Prof. Kannan has already pointed to several studies of the Śivasūtras.  The most extensive of such studies is the Ph.D. dissertation of Wiebke Petersen, but it is in German [Zur Minimalit¨at von Pāṇinis Śivasūtras , Eine Untersuchung mit Methoden der Formalen Begriffsanalyse], and if you are interested, I can send you a pdf of this dissertation.

Madhav Deshpande
     
     

sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 8, 2016, 1:41:36 PM9/8/16
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Namaste,

There are some gross mistakes in the book "India in the times of Patanjali". Let us refer to page 6 of the book.  I-Ching never said that Bhartrihari was in 651 CE. I.Ching referred to one Dharmapala  and conveyed that Bhartrihari was a contemporary of Dharmapala. That Dharmapala was not the King Dharmapala of Bengal, but the Dharmapala,a teacher in Nalanda, who was somewhat a contemporary of Dignaga. Most of the  historians of the colonial times, dabbled in the Indian history and  tried their best to interpret the chronology of the events, as was conducive to the AIT, chronology. The later scholars who accepted those AIT-aligned chronologies unquestioningly, committed errors due to their being unaware of this aspect.

Regards,
Sunil KB

Regards,
Sunil KB

Bijoy Misra

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Sep 8, 2016, 5:18:05 PM9/8/16
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Madhavji,
Maheswara could be his teacher.  There is tendency in general to lump
good work to unseen forces.  I thought Wiebke Peterson's paper was on the
style of presentation than on the phonology of the model.  We have to look
how the alphabet model can be created.  Representation is not so interesting.
I am particularly interested in the neurological time of rendering a vowel
and then quantization if studied.
I will study the other papers next week.
Thank you.
Bijoy 

Bijoy Misra

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Sep 8, 2016, 5:36:01 PM9/8/16
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Dear Prof Kannan,
Which of these papers talks about modeling the phonological alphabet?
I will spend some time next week.
Thank you for your help.
BM

Vidyasankar Sundaresan

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Sep 8, 2016, 10:20:37 PM9/8/16
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Dear Prof. Iyengar,

I'm happy that you find my paper to be well researched and written impartially. Usually, I am accused of being quite partisan. On the other hand, I'm a bit concerned that it has confounded confusion! My goal was to clarify a lot of issues of tradition, legend and history, to the best of my ability.

I will be making a trip to India in December. Rather than rewrite here much of what I've written elsewhere, I would welcome an opportunity to talk in person. I estimate that would also be the better course of action, because this topic of historicity of reported paramparAs of various institutions becomes a very sensitive one, perhaps a bit too sensitive today!

Namaskaras,
Vidyasankar

sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 9, 2016, 1:22:11 AM9/9/16
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Dear Vidyasankarji,

It is nice that you are going to meet the people, who matter, personally as the case is a very sensitive one. I feel that all the important people associated with the different Shankara-maths are really very sincere and open-minded people. I had been to Shringeri in the late 1980s and unfortunately for me the His Holiness.Swamiji was away from Shringeri at that time. I also went to Kudali-Shringeri math and I was fortunate that the His Holiness  there was kind to give me an audience. I visited the Dwarka math also and found the people there very helpful. The Kanchi Kamakoti math too has been very helpful through my contact in Mumbai, who is close to the math. So far I have not had any access to the Puri math. I feel it will be great if all the well-meaning people of these maths can come together on this issue.  I am with you on this and kindly feel free to tell me if can be of any help in this good effort of yours.

Regards,
Sunil KB

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Vidyasankar Sundaresan

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Sep 9, 2016, 10:49:22 AM9/9/16
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Dear Sunilji, 

Actually, things that seem like big deals to others outside, do not seem like big issues to those in the various Mathas. And vice versa. 

For example, even with respect to the date of Adi Sankara, they don't mind saying "vayaM mathabhedinaH" and moving on to address practical matters. This happened in writing, back in 1993, a few months after a mosque was torn down in Ayodhya. This attitude seems incomprehensible to those who get agitated about whether Sankara's life was before Christ or after. On the other hand, most Hindus today can't seem to understand why the Dwaraka Sankaracharya is so vocally against building temples around a garbhagRha hosting a marble vigraha of Shirdi Sai Baba at its center.

As for a consolidated/reconciled history of the major Sankara Peethas, I am convinced that such a project is impossible, so long as people are not prepared to put on very critical hats when evaluating various legends, traditions, claims and counter-claims. And there needs to be sound research methodology too, drawing not only on textual sources, but also things like field studies in the sociological and anthropological disciplines, keeping an eye on history and historiography. Merely meeting various contemporary Mathadhipatis in person is not going to help such a project move further along. Now, if one's objective is to offer personal namaskaras and bhikshA to different sannyasis, that is a completely different goal, praiseworthy in its own right, but it won't necessarily add value to the research effort that is needed.

In any case, for purposes of academic questions about Patanjali, I think there needs to be a decoupling of the vyAkaraNa-vaiyAkaraNa sources from the confusing landscape of traditions about SankarAcArya and the various contemporary guru paramparA lineages. To me, it seems like an unnecessary complication that cannot be sorted out to anybody's satisfaction, unless those who are interested in Patanjali spend a lot of time and effort researching the histories and traditions of the advaita maThas instead! 

Best regards,
Vidyasankar
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Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 9, 2016, 11:30:21 AM9/9/16
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Dear Vidyasankar,

     I mostly agree with you that talking to Mathadhipatis will not help those who are interested in history.  However, for me, induction of Patañjali as Śeṣāvatāra into the Chidambaram complex needs deeper investigation.  Kaiyaṭa, from Kashmir, calls Patañjali by the term Nāganātha, and hence is aware of Patañjali's identification with Śeṣa, and yet he does not seem to be aware of the Prātyāhārasūtras as Śivasūtras.  This suggests to me that these connections are developing separately in different regions, and then coming together in the traditions related to Chidambaram, the dance of Naṭarāja being attended by Patañjali, and also Pāṇini receiving the Śivasūtras from the Drum sounds of Śiva, as narrated by Nandikeśvara in his Kārikās.  While none of this has any real relation to Grammar as a discipline, the development of these associations is fascinating in itself, and as such deserves a deeper study, which probably requires a deeper study of earlier Tamil texts and inscriptions associated with Chidambaram.

Madhav Deshpande

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sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 9, 2016, 3:51:28 PM9/9/16
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Dear Vidyasankarji,

May be I misunderstood your mail and thought that in December you are going to contact the concerned persons in some maths with some of the historical questions relevant to the the date of Adi Shankara..

As regards the stand of the Dwarka swami on the issue concerning the puja of Sai Baba, I think I can understand his view. Sai Baba is not the same as the hindu deities and he should not be worshipped the way the other deities are worshipped, according to the age-old vidhis. Dwarka Swami does not have objection to people paying respects to Sai Baba, like we pay respects to the holy persons such as Adi Shankara, Madhvacharya or Ramakrisjna Paramhansa

One Pathak wrote a paper proposing that the year of birth  of a Shankaracharya to be 788 CE, based on some documents from a particular math. Pathak had also given the name of the parents of that Shankaracharya. The date of Adi Shankara cannot be found from that information as Adi Shankara was neither born in Chidambaram nor his parents were the same as that of the Shanlaracharya as mentioned by Pathak. Moreover the year 788 is not a Nandana year, where Adi Shankara was known to have been born nor any Vikramaditya reigned from 788 -13 = 775 CE. This is just to give an example. There are many such leads, which can be studied objectively without blaming any of the other maths.

If you are keen (and only if you are keen) on looking at the date of Adi Shankara afresh, as related to the Shringeri math and hopefully there will be many other people like me, so that we can try to have a fresh look  at that issue, but I feel that this has to be with the blessings of H.H.Swamiji of Shringeri.

Adi Shankara's date is a historical landmark and that, to my mind, that should help us in ascertaining the date of Bhartrihari (even if not absolutely correctly) and this will also be helpful towards dating Patanjali and other such ancient personalities.

Regards,
Sunil KB




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rniyengar

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Sep 9, 2016, 10:20:14 PM9/9/16
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Dear Sri Vidyashankar, Namaste!
The confusion reference was to myself, not about your work. You work is विद्याशङ्कर-महारण्यम्    Making way through a wide field can be confusing, but that is not the fault of the topography., which you have ably mapped.  I would be too happy to talk to you in person when you visit Bangalore in December. My interest in the contrasting lineages is purely academic. I get curious if some one claims existence of recorded or remembered history older than Aryabhata and Varahamihira. KKP is clearly a case for further study. Lo behold! their portal not only provides the names and the reigning period of the Acharyas but also the names of the years in the 60-year cycle. I have looked into these and find quite a few internal inconsistencies. A strong criticism could be: "these figures are not hard history but some kind of back fit memory and hence not reliable".  But this does not answer why a religious establishment has to trace its origin to 482 BCE.  Something of great importance is likely to have happened around this year. [This might have been even a natural event such as a comet, or some celestial figure, or an earthquake]. Also this figure is too close to the main stream date of Buddha's NirvaaNa. This coincidence can not be easily missed. I am fairly well conversant about how orthodox Brahminical institutions work in South India. Notwithstanding their deep rooted history independent or timeless view of Vedic culture, benchmarks and signatures in real time can be found occasionally, even if interpretation may throw up new questions. Prof.Paturi's point about prior existence of Tantric traditions also needs careful consideration.

शुभमस्तु 
RNI

sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 10, 2016, 12:37:38 PM9/10/16
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Namaste,

Kindly permit me to write a few lines on Lord Buddha's Nirvna. Both Rajatarangini and Puranic chronology say that Kanisha was living in the beginning of 13th century BCE and that is ably supported by the astronomical study of Prof. Narahari Achar. Puranic chronolgy and Prof. Achar's astronomical studies also support the date of Nirvana of Lord Buddha towards the end of 19th century. So there in no conflict of that with the date of Adi Shankara.

Regards,
Sunil KB

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rniyengar

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Sep 11, 2016, 2:59:16 AM9/11/16
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Dear Prof.Deshpande,

I read your paper with interest. Pāṇini hearing the Māheśvarasutras coming out of Shiva’s Damaru is a fascinating story, (heard since my childhood) 100% mystical with likely links to Mantraśāstra. You have made many interesting points that are of general historical interest for persons like me outside the circle of specialist Vaiyākaraṇas. I like to offer the following discussion:

 1) The emphasis you make about the Śivasūtras is that they seem to have close cultural and historical connection with Chidambaram, Naṭarāja and the South Indian Śaiva tradition. This needs more evidences is my view; not because I am a Vaiṣṇava! Chidambaram even though popularly known as a śaiva kṣetra now, it was not so 1200-1300 years ago. There is a temple for Viṣṇu lying on the ādiśeṣa (Patañjali if you like) watching the Dance of Shiva in the same raṅga the large Nataraja-complex and this is one among the 108 canonical temples for Śrīvaiṣṇavas. I realize that this by itself has nothing to do with your proposition. But the history of Chidambaram does not seem to go as far back as that of Kāñcīpuram. It is said that the first structural temple in the south is the Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchi of the Pallavas (7th Cent). This temple has several stone reliefs that could be the preliminary simulations of the Nataraja concept. Nirupama Raghavan has an interesting publication “Is Siva iconography inspired by the Stars” (IJHS 2006, pp.271-295). She also refers to the important point that although the famous bronze Natarajas belong to the Chola period (when I guess Chidambaram attained its peak) the initial conception (and an image at the Albert Victoria museum) belongs to the Pallava period. More details on this point are in the paper available at (http://www.sharadasrinivasan.com/data/shivacosmicdancer.pdf). My feeling is that the legend of the fundamental-sutras emerging out of the Damaru of Śiva might have had its origin at Pallava-Kanchipuram, before 6-7th Century. If the physical feature of Chidambaram is any evidence to depend on, then the śaiva-vaiṣṇava sectarian bifurcation should have happened a century or so after the founding of the temple-city in happier times with both icons in the same enclosure.


2)The Atharvaveda pariśiṣṭa (43.4.16) knows Pāṇini by name. I don’t know whether this is same as the grammarian, but most likely to be so. The text knows Dīnāra the NW Indian currency and hence my guess is AVP in its present form should have got fixed c 300 BC. My question is about (AV Pariśiṣṭa.47. Varṇapaṭalam)   It starts with: oṃ varṇān pūrvaṃ vyākhyāsyāmaḥ prākṛtā ye ca vaikṛtāḥ| śrutinirvacanāt sarve vivadante vivṛttiṣu||  and ends with: (47,3.6) varṇāḥ pancaṣaṣṭiḥ svarā dvāviṃśatiḥ samānākṣarāṇi caturdaśa aṣṭau saṃdhyakṣarāṇy ekonaviṃśatir nāminas tricatvāriṃśad vyanjanānisparśāḥ pancaviṃśatiś catvāras tv antaḥsthāḥ catvāro yamāś cāṣṭāv ūṣmāṇo 'yogavāhā daśāyogavāhā daśa ||  This chapter is followed by 48 kautsavyaniruktanighaṇṭuḥ. 

My question is; has there been any investigation of this text vis-a-vis Sanskrit Grammar?


3) The author Śivarāmendrasaraswati, whom you cite, seems linked to the Kanchi Kamakoti-peetham through his name.

Best regards

RN Iyengar

Madhav Deshpande

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Sep 11, 2016, 6:47:21 AM9/11/16
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Dear Prof. Iyengar,

     Thanks for your very useful suggestions, especially about the possibility of the Śiva Naṭarāja history going back to the earlier Pallava period at Kanchipuram.  I am not much familiar with this history, and not knowing Tamil, I have some serious limitations.  But will look into secondary publications on Nataraja and Kanchipuram.
     The Varṇapaṭala Pariśiṣṭa of the AV is indeed post-Pāṇinian.  I have discussed this text in relation to Pāṇini and the Śaunakīyā Caturādhyāyikā (an AV Prātiśākhya) in my (824 pages long) edition of the Śaunakīyā Caturādhyāyikā with three commentaries, and translation (Harvard Oriental Series 1997).  I had not noticed the reference to dīnāra in the Varṇapaṭala, but you are probably referring to the collection of the AV Pariśiṣṭas as a whole.
     In any case, I am fascinated by the transmission of texts in the wide Indian geography, and the development of religious associations with those texts.

Madhav Deshpande
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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rniyengar

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Sep 11, 2016, 8:57:01 AM9/11/16
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Dear Prof.Deshpande,
Many thanks for your response and information about your work. If I gave the impression that  dīnāra appears in the Varṇapaṭala, I am sorry. It appears in Ch. 36. Ucchuṣmakalpaḥ. I cited the word only to put a time frame for the AVP. The text in its different chapters contains historically very ancient information. For example the citation to शकधूम between कृत्तिका & रोहिणी in the first chapter is most likely a sky picture going as far back as the Rgveda (1.164). Without at least a relative chronology many textual statements and practices remain obscure  and at times even misunderstood. I am impressed with your historical approach to map the intellectual tradition in time to understand our ancient texts.
Regards
RN Iyengar

Jaya Prakash

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Sep 12, 2016, 2:21:29 AM9/12/16
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Hello Sir,

If you have soft copy of this book can you please share.
The Śaunakīyā Caturādhyāyikā (an AV Prātiśākhya) in my (824 pages long) edition of the Śaunakīyā Caturādhyāyikā with three commentaries, and translation (Harvard Oriental Series 1997)

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Hello
 
 
Thank you & warm regards
U.N. Jaya Prakash Narayan Maiya,
IT Infrastructure Admin, IBM India Prv. Ltd,
Bangalore 560079.

Vidyasankar Sundaresan

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Sep 18, 2016, 12:43:35 AM9/18/16
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Dear Prof. Iyengar,

na brUyAt satyam apriyam iti nyAyAt tUshNIm bhaveti bahavo mAm upadizanti | tathApi "hitaM ca nAnRtaM brUyAd" iti cApyuktaM, na vA? 

For those who may be offended by my speaking apriya satya-s, I hope the following will rather be taken in the spirit of that which is hita and na-anRta. I would like not to write more on this topic on this forum, after this particular post. I look forward to talking in person later this year, when I visit Bangalore.

1. The ancient well-attested history of Kancipura as a learning center, as a religious center, as a political capital city and as a trading center is one thing. The highly contested history (within the advaita tradition) of the contemporary institution aligned with advaita vedAnta that is located in that city is altogether quite another thing.

2. Why there was a need to trace a date to the 5th century BCE is a question that will need some detailed analysis of how 19th century Indians under British colonial rule started assigning dates to our own historical events in the alien Christian calendar.

3. When a source is demonstrably unreliable even with dates as recent as the 1700s, e.g. the life of sadASiva brahmendra, the celebrated avAdhUta, one has to examine its statements about even earlier times with critical scrutiny. As you have noticed, we are asked to believe that we have details of tithi, mAsa, vAra, nakshatra, etc of every Sannyasi in one lineage, reaching back to more than two millennia. Even the wealthiest gRhastha-s, with a vested interest in maintaining property and social prestige, don't maintain these kinds of details for their past family members, even for their vasu-rudra-Aditya-rUpa ancestors.

4. When the daSanAmI sannyAsI tradition, which is spread all over India, has old documents that list more than 50 maThas, ASramas and akhADA centers in the early 19th century, none of which list Kancipuram, one has to give that source of evidence its due weight.

5. When Tamil sources like Singaravelu Mudaliar's early Tamil encyclopedia (Abhidhana Cintamani, cf. footnotes in my IJHS paper), also say nothing about a maTha in Kancipuram, but list Kumbhakonam as one of the centers established post-Vidyaranya, those details have to be taken into account as well. The silence in old traditional sources, about the presence in Kancipuram of an advaita vedAnta institution, is resoundingly loud.

6. Complaints to the British District Collector of Chengalpet, filed by the then authorities of the Kamakshi temple in the year 1842, are available, describing the Kumbhakonam Mathadhipati as a stranger to the Kancipuram region and as "a proponent of a different creed." It was effectively the British colonial administration, which handed over the reins of the Kanci Kamakshi temple to the head of the Kumbhakonam Matha at the time, due to which that Matha then came to be known as the Kanchi Matha. In my grandmother's generation, the words Kumbhakonam Acharyal/Swamiyar and Kumbhakonam matham were the only ones commonly used.

7. In the 20th century, the then authorities of the Bangaru Kamakshi temple in Tanjavur (descendants of the family of the Carnatic music composer, Shyama Sastri) also contested the claims of this Matha about control over that temple. This case was disposed of in the Madras High Court, only in the year 1966 or so. Cf. the article by Vijayalakshmi and Mattison Mines, referenced in my IJHS paper.

8. Another notable advaita vedanta institution in Kancipuram is the one established by upanishad brahmendra, an advaita author of commentaries on all the 108 upanishat texts listed in the muktikopanishat. The 19th century literature from this institution describes itself as the first maTha of the advaita tradition in this ancient city. If there had already been an advaita sampradAya institution there, started by no less than Adi Sankara himself, why would the disciples and grand-disciples of upanishad brahmendra claim theirs to be the first advaita maTha in the city of Kancipuram?

9. An 1896 Tamil publication of the Kumbhakonam Matha itself describes this Matha as having had 4 or 5 Mathadhipatis in its lineage at the time (inta maTAtInaM tuTanki nAngu-aindu paTTankaLAka ...). All the historically attested heads of the Kumbhakona Matha were drawn from among the descendants of Govinda Dikshita, the Kannada speaking minister of three of the Tanjavur Nayakas and father of Venkatamakhin, author of the musicological treatise caturdaNDi prakASikA and father of the melakartA scheme of contemporary Carnatic music. This is certainly a well-respected family, with multiple scholarly contributions to the credit of its members, but Sannyasis in the advaita tradition are actually expected to give up all family ties. This pattern of control by a prominent family over a Sannyasi institution, spanning several generations, is not unique (some mAdhva maThas also have similar histories), but was broken only in the year 1954, when Sri Jayendra Sarasvati was appointed successor-designate. The move of the center of operations, from Kumbhakonam to Kancipuram, was still ongoing during the lifetime of Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati, who lived till the 1990s. There are problems galore with the claim that it was an originally Kanci based institution that moved to Kumbhakonam and then moved back to Kancipuram, some of which have been listed above.

10. Finally, why all the elaborate text-torturing by Dr. N. Veezhinathan, under the pretext of producing a critical edition of a Sankaravijaya text, as recently as the year 1970? Clearly, there was a great need to bolster an extremely weak case, which was met by utilizing a network of modern university based activity. All their unique claims - about an indra-sarasvatI nAma, about a fifth mahAvAkya (om tat sat?, neha nAnAsti kiMcana?, om?), about a Sivalinga that is supposedly mentioned by SrIharsha in the naishadhIya and about the authorship and authenticity of the anantAnandagirIya Sankaravijaya - simply fall apart in the textual sources, even within this so-called critical edition, notwithstanding all the efforts of Dr. T M P Mahadevan and Dr. N Veezhinathan. I believe I have demonstrated this in great detail in my article. 

We can only speculate about why the contemporary Kanchi Matha wants to date itself back to 2500 years or so ago. I suspect that a large part of it is driven by an implicit drive to place any great Indian of the past to a very remote time, preferably before Christ. This is a sort of instinctive response to the conclusions of western style, academic scholarship, which tend to assign the latest dates possible. This kind of response is often misguided, in my opinion, and it ends up weakening those genuine instances when we should indeed seriously consider and actively argue for earlier dates than accepted by the "scholarly consensus" that evolves within modern academia.

The prime motivations of various key people who lived a century and half ago will forever be hidden to us, but the weight of evidence *against* the Kanchi Matha's self-reporting of its origins and history is simply enormous. Contrary to their story that the sarvajnapITha in Kanchipuram itself, all accounts of Ramanuja's life also mention that he traveled to the Kashmir seat to obtain the bodhAyana vRtti on the brahmasUtras. Certainly, Yadavaprakasa, Ramanuja and Vedanta Desika didn't have titular Sankaracharya-s to contend with in their own native Kancipuram. I'm not bringing this up to appeal to the sampradAya of your last name. Rather, I want to highlight that to mine dry and "bare facts" historical information from the colorful, non-historical material of legends and myths about historical personalities, one needs an approach that is a lot more comprehensive in its sources and that searches for internal consistency as much as possible. 

Inasmuch as the textual and temple-based traditions about patanjali are concerned, all this to-do about Kancipuram and Cidambaram may well be a digression into a cul-de-sac, but it does need to be taken, if rAmabhadra dIkshita's kAvya on patanjali is to be studied, along with the legendary associations with the Cidambaram Nataraja temple. Interestingly enough, the older Calcutta editions of the anantAnandagirIya Sankaravijaya make Sankara also a native of Cidambaram, although Veezhinathan's 1970 "critical edition" tries to correct course and go back to the pan-Indian tradition of a Kerala birth for Sankara. What we can say for certain is that there was indeed a kind of new tradition growing in the Tanjavur region a couple of centuries ago, that attempted to weave together accounts of patanjali, gauDapAda and Sankara. As to why this was happening at the time and whether it resulted in anything more than a set of fanciful stories, all of that remains to be seen. It might simply have been a consequence of a high influx of people with multiple variant traditions, between the end of Vijayanagara, the rule of Telugu speaking Nayakas with their Kannada speaking ministers, followed by the Maratha rulers of Tanjavur. The problem, of course, is that this imagined reconstruction has had to contend with other, pre-existing legends about Sankara, handed down in the living Sankaran tradition, which is widespread in India, not localized to the Tamil speaking region. And when such fancy is mistaken to be a faithful historical narrative, by well-meaning but ill-informed people, an entirely different set of issues surfaces. All of this wanders rather far afield, so I'll now say, ity alam. 

With namaskaras,
Vidyasankar

sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 18, 2016, 1:33:28 AM9/18/16
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Dear Vidyasankarji,

If I have given the impression that I am advocating for the Kanchi matha, I would like t say that I have no such intention and I have not compared the Shringeri math with the Kanchi Kamakoti math. My only pain is that the other Shankara mathas like Dwarka math and the Puri math also claim that Adi Shankaracharya was born in 509 BCE and that is not the same as what the Shringeri math claims. . So in any discussion on the date of Adi Shankara, one should not bring in the Kanchi Kamakoti math to drown the main issue.

As regards the great Swamijis of the Shringeri math is concerned i have the highest regards for them and to my knowledge the Swamiji had left the issue of  the date of Adi Shankara to the historians to decide as one of the earlier mathadhipati had already clarified long ago that Adi Shankara was born on  the 14th year of reign of Vikramaditya. The Madhaviya Shankara Vijaya says that Adi Shankara was a contemporary of King Sudhanva.  There are several other clues on which one would be able to discuss the issue of the date Adi Shankara, if there is a sincere will to do so. As I said earlier, one has only to get a green signal from the Swamiji to go ahead with the discussions om  the issue afresh.

Regards,
Sunil KB

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BVKSastry(Gmail)

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Sep 18, 2016, 8:49:08 AM9/18/16
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Namaste

 

A side note, yet which may be of some critical importance for scholarly pursuit in this thread, emerging from various pointers.  

 

First step is in refined articulation of  the references of exploration by  Time frame, Common Points  of reference and Zone for investigation with  pointers to   ‘data’.

 

For me, this is a key issue in tracing a continuity and consistency of a language standard and tradition which goes by the name of ‘Samskrutha Vyakarana –Darshanam (also known as  Vedanga Vyakarana / Shabda Brahma Darshanam / Vak-Yoga / Sphota Vada / Shabda –Shakti Niroopanam)  ’ for which  the hypothesized  pedagogic approach is called  ‘Yoga way of studying Samskrutham’.  The technical name ‘Vak-Yoga, is a Vedic word cited by  Patanjali.  

 

a) Framing a Time –window and focus:  The preferred broad window would be  <3100 BCE to 1700 AD>  ; with sharper and short focus in  < 650 AD to 1400 AD>  to explore the local histories of prime centers of three Vedanta schools .

 

RNI has already identified a window marked for exploring up to 1000 BCE. My earlier mails were talking about 700 BCE to 6000 BCE covering a back period From Buddha –Mahaveer back up to Valmiki. Dr. Kalyanaraman has pushed this window beyond 6000 BCE.

 

b) Zone of investigation :  Expanding from current south India narrow centricity  to entire India, covering mainly  Kedarnath, Badrinath, Nepal and Kashmir.  The legends connect all three Acharya in one way or another to these punya-kshetras. The Dashanami Sadhu sampradaya /Akahadas , with different lens of Tantra and Yoga Sadhana are relatively more strong in these areas compared to knowledge oriented scholars and urban model ( = NagarI model)   centers of Vedanta in south.  I am aware I have not included  some of the famous seven moksha-kshetras  like - ‘Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Avantika ’ in which list Kanchi figures prominently.

 

c)  Some ‘Data’ that seems hanging  loose and yet to be integrated :  Claims of ‘ Somanth –First of Jyotirlingas  also known as Prabhas Temple at Gujrat, claiming a  60,000 year ancestry by Puranas (?!) ; History of Bodh Gaya ( a place which still gets covered in all three Acharya’s travels somehow or other)   ; History of Kashmir –and Abhinava Gupta ; Historic records of Nepal –Pashupatinath, another Jyotirlinga  place linked to visit and worship by Shankaracharya . There are differing claims from the ‘Shakti-Peethas’ on history, which again get deeply linked to Shanakras date, beyond ‘ Kanchi and Sringeri’.

 

I would prefer to call  the expansion of the subject theme : From  -‘Time of Patanjali’  To ‘ Footprints of Vedanta Brahma Jijnayasa :Vyasa tradition in India’ .  This would  adequately cover the  time stretch of 3100 BCE (at the lower end as widely accepted date of Mahabharata  and therefore  for  Vyasa, who had a clear inheritance of Vedas, Upanishads and probably many understandings of essence of Veda as Kapila-Samkhya Darshana; and documented Srimad Bhagavad-Gita )   and Patanjali (  circa 200 BCE) and diversified continuity of Vedanta documented in Samskrutham, consistently taking recourse to ‘ Paninian Guideline’ for language and Vedas for purpose authentication.   

 

These would certainly rip open the colonial constructions of  history and linguistics of ‘ Brahmi languages’  and address the core common question in the post below : < some detailed analysis of how 19th century Indians under British colonial rule started assigning dates to our own historical events in the alien Christian calendar.>  at the base of which is buried   the ‘disturbed  soul of Yoga and Samskrutham’ - The distortion in understanding Yoga technicalities of  Samskruth language studies need a greater attention. The words in Amarakosha for ‘Samskrutham’  are :  brAmI –BhAratI – BhaAzA- GIh – Vak- vANI – SarasvatI. Would all these be synonyms ? freely substitutable vocabulary OR different perspectives and pedagogies related to one language ?  May we need a focused contemplation why the word ‘Samskrutham does not figure in classical lexicon Amarakosha for what we call and debate  today as ‘Sanskrit’. And what would the word ‘DevabhazhA’ –sura-BhAratI’ mean in the context of Amarakosha. Patanjali tradition sets and guards  the Yoga Standards of Samskrutham as language. (Shabda –Brahma –Bhashaa). Vedanta Tradition by Acharyas provides guidance and sets standards of practice and philosophy to understand the ‘ Brahma from the Shabda, Vak’. In this sense, both seem to me as  intertwined unified traditions flowing in two streams, which can not be artificially separated using ‘ history’.

 

Regards

BVK Sastry

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rniyengar

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Sep 18, 2016, 10:58:47 AM9/18/16
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Dear Dr. Sundaresan,

Great. Your analytical skills (IIT+Caltech ?) show up. I wish our Universities encourage research methodology which questions every statement of history, both western and traditional, so that the cobwebs are cleared and layers of grease coatings are removed.The original mural will shine forth on its own in all its glory.

 I look forward to talking in person later this year, when you visit Bangalore.

warm regards

RNI

sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 18, 2016, 2:12:26 PM9/18/16
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Namaste,

Thank you Prof. Iyengar for pointing out the credentials of Vidyasankarji (IIT + Caltech) and I am aware of that. I also know about your high credentials as an ex-professor of I.I.Sc. ( Indian Institute of Science). In fact during my Masters in 1960, I had the occasion to see our outgoing head of the department Dr. B. Sanjiva Rao, who was earlier the ex-Director of I.I.Sc. Now coming to Shri Vidyasankaraji, he  also has a pleasant persoanlity as I had the occasion to meet him once at his house in Mumbai, and I have seen him always using a polished language in his mails as well as in his talks.  However,  when it comes to issues where one may or may not agree with each other, the personal convictions based on one's own deep study plays a more crucial role and one may stand upto anybody, be the adversary the acclaimed highest authority or a Nobel prize recipient.

Now coming to the historical issues, at times one may run short of experimental methods to determine things to the scientific precision and it really so happened in modern science itself and the Avogadro's hypothesis had to be proposed. This hypothesis still holds good as there has nothing been found which violates this hypothesis.  I wish that, if the opponents of the 6th century BCE birth year of Adi Shankara are unable to find the correct year of Adi Shankara to their satisfaction, they should come out with a hypothetical date of Adi Shankara that works like the Avogadro hypothesis works and not just remain in a limbo in finding the history of the Shringeri math. I reassure my friends, that I have the highest regards for the Shringeri math and remember its contributions. Let us also not forget that Adi Shankara's date is one of the key milestone in the  ancient Indian history.

Regards,
Sunil KB.






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Ajit Gargeshwari

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Sep 18, 2016, 2:37:22 PM9/18/16
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Dear Sunilji,

 

Are we talking about personal convictions or historical facts. It will be always good to speak what facts warrant. Beyond facts it’s all narration and different individuals have different abilities. Its left to ones decision if one wants to go beyond sentiments and narratives may it be historical dates or philosophical debate.

As Vidayasankarji has already said that he will be making a trip to India in December. Rather than rewrite here much of what I've written elsewhere, I would welcome an opportunity to talk in person. I estimate that would also be the better course of action, because this topic of historicity of reported paramparAs of various institutions becomes a very sensitive one, perhaps a bit too sensitive today!”

Regards

Ajit Gargargeshwari

 

 

sunil bhattacharjya

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Sep 18, 2016, 3:02:56 PM9/18/16
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Dear Ajitji,

I am talkng about personal convictions based deep study on historical facts. Most of the people today, dabbling in the ancient Indian history, have not even read the Rajatarangini properly, just to give you an instance. The astronomical dating has also been discarded by many, as the findings oppose their long-held views. One thing in favour of  the astronomical studies is that the stars don't lie. The astronomical data on the events of the ancient past, given in the books, can also  be verified, whether these are facts or fiction.

Regards,
Sunil KB

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Ajit Gargeshwari

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Sep 18, 2016, 3:18:40 PM9/18/16
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All the dates offered by astronomical methods including Rajatrangini chronicle is not beyond dispute. At best for ancient chronology one can offer tentative dates. Relative chronology makes a lot more sense. We are talking about Patanjali dates on this thread and probably we can stick to that. Stars don't lie but their interpretations does. Astronomical dating is not a substitute for archaeological epigraphical evidence where there are no such evidence one can look into other methods as tentative keeping ones own guesses and theories behind .

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