Extracts from the Caritas: Sankara’s Engagement with the Text and his Fondness for Religious Study

Sankara, Daityari says, exhibited a keenness for analyzing (bicara) the primary texts. He did not do anything apart from engaging with the sastras. His mind, right from childhood (sisuhante), was always in religion. It is this childhood keenness that we find reflected in Bhusana, when the adult Sankara desires to analyze (bicara) the Bhagavata in Ramarai’s sattra grha.

ati apraẏāse guru tāhāṅka paḍhānta ..

paḍhilanta nirantare śāstra samastaẏa .

apramādī paṇḍita bhailanta mahāśaẏa .. 16 ..

abirate samasta śāstraka bicāranta .

śāstrālāpa bine āna karmma nācaranta ..

śāstrara tattbaka jāni manata hariṣe .

paraloka hita mātra cinte aharniśe .. 17 ..

dharmmata sadāẏa rati kṛpāmaẏa mana .

śiśuhante dharmma mātra karanta manana ..

His teacher [did not need to expend much effort with Sankara and] taught him quite effortlessly.
[In this manner,] He studied uninterruptedly all the sastras, without a break;
he became a “apramādī paṇḍita,” an unerring scholar, the noble one. 16
Unceasingly, he does the bicara of all the sastras;
he does no work apart from engaging with the sastras.
Knowing the truth (tattva) of the sastras, with extreme joy in mind,
he thinks only about the welfare of others, day and night. 17
Fondly attached to religion always, with mind full of compassion,
right from childhood, he does only the contemplation (manana[H1] ) of religion.

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 [H1]deep reflective thought