Despite the existence of several legendary biographies of Sankara from medieval times, no critical historical biography of the Master has been available so far. The present work attempts to fill the lacuna. It is based on a critical study of all the available sources in the original and attempts a historical reconstruction of Snakara’s life and work.
The ideas of Sankara have been generally interpreted in the light of later Advaitic and monastic tradition. The present work, following the lead of recent critical scholarship, seeks to discover the original ideas of Sankara on the basis of his genuine works and discusses them in the light of his relationship to his predecessors, the social and cultural ethos of his times and his own mission, presuppositions and methodology.
The present work, thus, seeks to understand the ideas and achievements of Snakara in the context of perennial spiritual seeking and philosophical enquiry. It seeks to bring out the role of Sankara in the evolution of Indian culture and philosophy and to highlight the logical and spiritual, traditional and original components of his philosophical, religious and social ideas.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Govind Chandra Pande
Govind Chandra Pande (b. 1923) is a thinker, scholar and writer. He has taught as Professor in allahabad, Gorakhpur, Rajasthan (Jaipur) and B.H.U. He has lectured, travelled and published widely. He is a fellow of the sahitya Akademi. Prof. Pande has been awarded the degree of D.Lit. honoris causa of Several Universities and he has also been awarded the honorary degrees of Vidyavaridhi, Sahitya Vacaspati, Vakpati and Mahamahopa-dhyaya. He is the recipient of several national awards: Sankara Sammana, Vigyana Darsana,Saraswati Sammana, Murtidevi Sammana, Srivani Nyas-Alankarana, Mangala Prasad paritosika, Visva Bharati Sammana, Kabira Sammana etc. Among his philosophical writing most notable are Meaning and Process of Culture, Mulya-Mimamasa, Sankaracarya: Vicara aur Sandarbha, Life and thought of Sankaracarya, Baudha Dharma ke Vikasa ka Itihasa, Aspects of Mahayana, annotaged translations of Nyayabindu and Apohasiddhi. the three Vimarsas viz. Bhaktidarsana-Vimarsah, Saundaryadarsana-Vimarsah, Ekam Sadviprah Bahudha Vadanti are in Sanskrit. His contributions to culture and history include Studies in the Origins of Buddhism, Foundations of Indian culture, Bharatiya Paramapara ke Mulasvara, Vaidika Samskrit, Bharatiya Samaja. He is currently working in the well-known Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture for which he has edited several volumes. He was elected president of the Bharatiya Darshan Parishad, Baroda and Pune sessions, presided over the Indian Philosophy Congress at Madurai Session. He was a member of the ICPR and also its national lecturer of philosophy in 2000-2002. The ICPR organized a special National Seminar on his Thought and Works in 2003. He has been president of the Indian History and Cultural Society (1978), Indian Archaeological Society (1978), Indian Art History Society (1978), Indian Art History Society (2002). He was member, ICHR for two terms and its first national fellow (1985).
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