A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c19.s1.30.1

c19.s1.30.1

In the domain of Vedānta, all the three major schools had their origin in the South. The first and greatest name here is that of Śankara, the founder of Advaita Vedānta as we know it. Few authentic details of his life are known, though he is believed to have been born at Kāladi (North Travancore) in 788 and to have died in 820 at the age of 32. His principal works are the great *Bhāshyas* on the *Brahma-sūtras*, the principal Upanishads, and the *Bhagavadgītā*, besides certain independent treatises like the *Upadeśa-sāhasrī*. Many other works, particularly Stotras (devotional poems), pass as his but there is no reason to think that Śankara wrote them. The literary force and philosophic depth of Śankara's works entitle him to a very high place among the master minds of the world. His pupil Sureśvara, who may perhaps be identified with Viśvarūpa, wrote the commentary *Bālakrīḍā* on *Yājñavalkyasmriti*. He also succinctly restated his master's fundamental principles in his *Naishkarmyasiddhi*, and wrote monumental vārttikas (elucidations) on Śankara's Bhāshyas on the Taittirīya and the Brihadāranyaka Upanishads. Śankara had other pupils who became authors; but their provenance is unknown. Mention may be made, however, of Padmapāda's Pañcapādikā, a commentary on Śankara's Bhāshya on the Brahma-sūtras; the work is now only available for the first four Sūtras. Padmapāda was a Brahmin from Kerala.