When was Adi Shankaracharya born?

[Guest guest]

I am curious to hear the viewpoint of the members. It seems that the

consensus is that he was born in AD 788.

 

However, the Kanchi Madam shows a continuous lineage of Madam-heads

from way before that.

 

The excerpt below is from Wikipedia. If there are more knowledgeable

group members, please do share your viewpoints. Since Wiki is a open-

source knowledgebase, we should edit it if we have better information.

 

Rgds

 

----------------

[edit] Dates

At least two different dates have been proposed for Shankara:

 

788–820 CE: This is the mainstream scholarly opinion, placing

Shankara in mid to late 8th century CE. These dates are based on

records at the Ú & #7771; & #7749;geri Úâradâ Pî & #7789;ham, which is the only matha

to have

maintained a relatively unbroken record of its Acharyas; starting

with the third Acharya, one can with reasonable confidence date the

others from the 8th century down.[24] The Sringeri records state that

Sankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of " VikramAditya " , but

it is unclear as to which king this name may refer. Though some

researchers identify the name with Chandragupta II (4th. c. CE),

modern scholarship accepts the VikramAditya as being from the

Chalukya dynasty of Badami, most likely Vikramaditya II (733–746 CE),

[25] which would place him in the middle of the 8th c.[24] The date

788–820 is also among those considered acceptable by Swami

Tapasyananda, though he raises a number of questions.[26] It is also

acceptable to Keay.[27]

509–477 BCE: This dating, more than a millennium ahead of all others,

is based on records of the heads of the Shankara Ma & #7789;has at Dwaraka

matha and Puri matha and the fifth Peetham at Kanchi.[28] However,

such an early date is not consistent with the fact that Sankara

quotes the Buddhist logician Dharmakirti, who finds mention in Huen

Tsang (7th c.).[24] Also, his near-contemporary Kumarila Bhatta is

usually dated ca. 8th c. CE. Most scholars feel that due to invasions

and other discontinuities, the records of the Dwarka and Puri mathas

are not as reliable as those for Sringeri.[24] Thus, while

considerable debate exists, the pre-Christian Era dates are usually

discounted, and the most likely period for Shankara is during the 8th

c. CE.

 

[edit] Mathas

 

& #2357; & #2367; & #2342; & #2381; & #2351; & #2366; & #2358; & #2306; & #2325; & #2352;

& #2350; & #2306; & #2342; & #2367; & #2352; (Vidyashankara temple) at Sringeri Sharada

Peetham,

SringeriAdi Shankara founded four Ma & #7789;has (Sanskrit: & #2350; & #2336;) to

guide the

Hindu religion. These are at Sringeri in Karnataka in the south,

Dwaraka in Gujarat in the west, Puri in Orissa in the east, and

Jyotirmath (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand in the north. Hindu tradition

states that he put in charge of these mathas his four main disciples:

Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya, Padmapadacharya, and

Totakacharya respectively. The heads of the mathas trace their

authority back to these figures. Each of the heads of these four

mathas takes the title of Shankaracharya ( " the learned Shankara " )

after the first Shankaracharya. The table below gives an overview of

the four Amnaya Mathas founded by Adi Shankara and their details.[29]