History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c91.313

v7.c91.313

¹⁶⁴⁵ In the शङ्करदिग्विजय of माधवाचार्य it is stated (I 56 and 59) that king Sudhanvan was an avatāra of Indra and Kumārila of Skanda (who is also known as Kumāra). The order of Sudhanvan is couched in that work as follows. 'ब्यधादाज्ञां ततो राजा वधाय श्रुतिविद्विषाम्। आ सेतोरा तुषाराद्रेर्बाल्यानावृद्धबालकम्। न हन्ति यः स हन्तव्यो भृत्यानित्थन्वशात्सृप.॥ (शङ्करदिग्विजय I. 92-93). This seems to be a palpably absurd legend. No king in ancient India, much less one called Sudhanvā, ruled over the vast territory from the Himālayas to Rāmeśvara. Further, it may be noted that the order, supposing one was issued, was addressed only to the king's servants and not to one and all. The Śaṅkaradigvijaya (XV. 1) states that when Śaṅkarācārya started on a pilgrimage to Rāmeśvara king Sudhanvan accompanied him. Mādhavācārya, being blinded by his zeal to glorify his hero to the utmost, goes on heaping one legend on another and casts all history and chronology to the winds. For example, he narrates that Ācārya Abhinavagupta (a great Śaiva and Tāntrika teacher) was vanquished by Śaṅkara in disputations (XV. 158) and that Abhinavagupta practised black magic against the great Ācārya. From Abhinavagupta's own works it appears that his literary activity lay between 980 to 1020 A D. (vide the author's 'History of Sanskrit Poetics', 1951, pp 231-232), while no scholar would place Śaṅkarācārya later than 800 A D Mādhavācārya also says (XV. 157) that Śaṅkara vanquished by his arguments Śrīharṣa, author of Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍakhādya, who could not be vanquished by Guru, Bhaṭṭa and Udayana Śrīharṣa flourished about the end of the 12th century A D. Taranath in his 'History of Buddhism' says 'It was probably about this time that the terrible enemies of the Buddhists, Śaṅkarācārya and his disciple Bhaṭṭācārya appeared, the former in Bengal and the latter in Orissa. A short time after the Buddhists were persecuted in the South by Kumāralila and Kanādaruru; here mention is made of the Buddhist king Śālivāhana, though the Buddhists relate that in the end Dharmakīrti triumphed in the discussion with Kumāralīla, Śaṅkarācārya or Bhaṭṭācārya &c. (I. A vol IV. p. 365) It will be noticed how the account is altogether confused. Vide Dr. Mitra's 'Decline of Buddhism' p. 129.