Vedanta is the most prominent of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, and no single figure shaped its most influential sub-tradition more than Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century philosopher whose doctrine of Advaita Vedanta left a lasting imprint on Indian religious and intellectual life. This article examines the meaning and sub-traditions of Vedanta, the philosophy of Adi Shankaracharya, his wider contributions as a unifying religious and cultural figure, and the historiographical debates surrounding his legacy — an important topic for UPSC History Optional aspirants.
Vedanta: An Overview
- Vedanta, literally meaning “end of the Vedas,” reflects ideas that emerged from the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads (which form the last part of the Vedas), specifically concerning knowledge and liberation.
- Vedanta contains many sub-traditions, ranging from dualism to non-dualism, all developed on the basis of a common textual foundation known as the Prasthanatrayi — the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras, and the Bhagavad Gita.
- All schools of Vedanta, in their deliberations, concern themselves with common questions but differ in their views on ontology, soteriology, and epistemology.
Sub-traditions of Vedanta
Some of the better-known sub-traditions of Vedanta include:
- Advaita Darshan — established by Shankaracharya (788–820 CE)
- Vishishtadvaita Darshan — established by Ramanujacharya (1017–1137 CE)
- Dvaita Darshan — established by Madhvacharya (1238–1317 CE)
- Bhedabheda (or Dvaitadvaita) Darshan — established by Nimbarkacharya
- Shuddhadvaita Darshan — established by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531 CE)
- Achintya-Bhedabheda Darshan — established by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534 CE)
Adi Shankaracharya and Advaita Vedanta
- Adi Shankaracharya was an early 8th-century Indian philosopher and social reformer, born in Kerala to a devout Brahman family.
- He propounded the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta (Advaita = “not two,” i.e., a monistic system).
- His teaching is based on the unity of soul and Brahma, where Brahma is without qualities or attributes (nirguna) — i.e., Brahma is the only entity, the only reality.
- The soul is Brahma, while creation (also known as Prakriti, or matter) is not real — it is maya, an illusion.
- As he put it: “The difference between the individual self and the supreme Self is due to the presence of limiting adjuncts, such as the body, which are set up by names and forms and are created by avidya; there is actually no difference.”
- He identified two levels of reality (though, in truth, only one level actually exists):
- conventional reality (the soul); and
- absolute reality (Brahma).
- Ignorance (avidya) is the reason for mistaking conventional reality for absolute reality.
- Realising this relation — that “soul is Brahma, and everything else is maya” — constitutes Moksha; accordingly, Shankara focused on the path of knowledge.
- The goal of Advaita Vedanta is liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
- For Shankara, liberation meant the realisation of the oneness of atman and Brahman, a realisation that can occur only once ignorance vanishes.
Was Adi Shankara a Political Sage?
“Adi Shankara was not an ivory-tower philosopher; he was a political sage, engaging with and responding to the historical context of his time.” Elucidate.
- Adi Shankara, a South Indian philosopher, propounded the doctrine of Advaita (allowing no second, i.e., monism) and preached the Upanishadic doctrine of salvation through knowledge.
- He is credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought across different religious cults of his time.
Doctrine of Jagat Mithya, Brahma Satyam
- This doctrine is considered the essence of Adi Shankaracharya’s non-dualist maxim — that the world we experience is essentially illusory, or rather, a set of mind-dependent epistemological truths.
- The only mind-independent ontological truth is Brahma, variously translated as God, soul, consciousness, language, or the infinitely expanded, eternal, unconditioned mind.
- This doctrine of reducing the world to mere illusion — popularly known as maya vada — enabled Shankara to unite different religious cults and worldviews, from the Buddhists, the Mimamsakas (old Vedic householders), and the Vedantins (the later Vedic hermits), to the Shaivas, the Vaishnavas, and Shaktism, a synthesis also evident in his writings.
- Shankara’s philosophy is avowedly Vedic: unlike the Buddhists and Jains, he traced his knowledge to the Vedas and submitted to their impersonal authority, which made him a believer (astika).
A “Disguised Buddhist”
- In his commentaries (bhashya) and monographs (prakarana), Shankara repeatedly sought a formless divine (nirguna Brahman) as the only reality — evident in his commentary on Vedanta, the Brahma-sutra-bhashya, his Sanskrit poems Vivekachudamani and Nirvana-shatakam, and his treatise Atma-bodha.
- Many consider this an acceptance of the Buddhist conception of the world, given a Vedic twist — which is why Shankara has been called a “disguised Buddhist” (prachanna bauddha).
- Yet Shankara’s devotional poetry (stotra) also celebrates several tangible forms of the divine (saguna Brahman) as they appear in the Puranas.
- He composed grand benedictions to Puranic gods: Shiva (Dakshinamurti-stotra), Vishnu (Govinda-ashtaka), and Shakti (Saundarya-lahari) — making him the first Vedic scholar after Vyasa to overtly link Vedic Hinduism with Puranic Hinduism. Shankara even wrote on tantra.
Unifying India Geographically
- Shankara connected the holy spots of India — such as the twelve jyotirlingas, the eighteen shakti-peethas, and the four Vishnu dhaams — to create pilgrim routes that defined India as a single land.
- According to legend, he travelled from Kerala to Kashmir, from Puri to Dwarka in Gujarat, from Shringeri in present-day Karnataka to Badari in Uttarakhand, from Kanchi in present-day Tamil Nadu to Kashi in Uttar Pradesh, along the slopes of the Himalayas, the banks of the Narmada and Ganga rivers, and along both the eastern and western coasts.
Communicated in One Language
- Adi Shankara, who travelled the length and breadth of the land, communicated through the one language that connected the intellectual elite of the country: Sanskrit.
Responding to Political Fragmentation
- After the collapse of the Gupta Empire, India had become politically fragmented, with several kingdoms in constant conflict with one another.
- In his commentary on the Brahma-sutra, Shankara observed: “One can say that there never was a universal ruler, as there is none now” — an acknowledgement of the fragmented nature of society in his own time.
- In this fragmented political order, Shankara sought to bind the Indian subcontinent together through philosophy, poetry, and pilgrimage.
Limitations of Shankaracharya
- Used Sanskrit for teaching — not the language of the masses.
- Complex philosophy: Vivekananda remarked that Shankaracharya’s real essence showed that Buddhism and Vedanta are not very different, but that his disciples failed to understand their master, degrading themselves by denying the existence of the soul and God, and becoming atheists.
- Doubts over Shankara’s early influence: Some scholars question how influential Shankara actually was in his own time.
- The Buddhist scholar Richard E. King states: “Although it is common to find Western scholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracarya was the most influential and important figure in the history of Hindu intellectual thought, this does not seem to be justified by the historical evidence.”
- Several scholars suggest that Shankara’s historical fame and cultural influence actually grew centuries later, particularly during the era of Muslim invasions and the consequent devastation of India — many of Shankara’s biographies were created and published in and after the 14th century, such as the widely cited Sankara-vijaya of Vidyaranya.
- Later, many rather far-fetched stories were propagated about him — for example, that Shankara himself was considered an incarnation of Shiva.
- Shankara’s life was notably short: he is said to have died at the age of 32.
Conclusion
Adi Shankaracharya’s legacy rests not merely on the philosophical rigour of Advaita Vedanta, but on his remarkable success in weaving together India’s diverse religious cults, its sacred geography, and its scholarly elite into a shared intellectual and spiritual fabric — even as debates continue over how much of his historical fame was contemporary and how much accrued centuries after his death. For UPSC History Optional aspirants, understanding both Shankara’s core philosophy and this broader historiographical debate is essential to appreciating his enduring place in the history of Indian thought.
