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**gennnniiikk** · 12-22-2008, 10:44 PM

Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

We know that Adi Shankara united all diiferent deities from the different parts of India to promote Advaitha: Shiva from up North, Kali from Bengal, Ganapathy from Maharashtra/Gujarat, Krishna from I think Orissa, Vishnu from Andhra and Murugan from Tamil Nadu.

May be due to this effort the Gods got transmuted. Is my thinking not correct in terms of the timings involved?

Regards,
KRS

First the shanmadha concept is not accepted by historians. Sankaracharya uniting all sects is part of Tamil Nadu folklore. There are many things about Adi Sankaracharya which we accept today as facts. But they are not universally accepted.

1. Storas/works attributed to him-- In the Aparadhakshmapana Stotra the poet talks about his being very old ( more than 85). Adi Sankara did not live that long. The authorship of the Tantrik text Soundarya Lahiri is also in doubt. Saying that Acharya turned to Mimansa towards the end of his life and he became a Sri Vidya Upasaka negates the entire history of Adi Sankara which was Advaita Vedanta (Nirguna Brahman). There were many Sankarachryas in many of the maths. It is more likely that the works/deeds attributed to Adi Sankara are by them.

Then I do not expect agreement when people attribute his date of birth to B.C when all the scholars are in agreement about 800 A.D.

2. One of the popular goddesses worshipped in early sangam period was Korravai. Kodunagalloor temple in Kerala is believed to be Kannaki temple erected by the Cheras. So worship of Shakthi in Tamil Nadu predates that of Bengal.

3. The Sakthism as it existed/exists in Bengal is of a very much later period than 800 A.D.

4. Sakthism in Tamil Nadu is considered part of Saivism. It is so in Bengal also. Pure Sakthism is not common and exists only in books. The so called Sakthas of Bengal are all Shiva worshippers also.

5. John Woodruffe wrote about Tantras and Sakthism. He was based in Bengal and knew only about Bengal. That is why the existence of extensive Shakti worship in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Bihar, Maharshtra,and Rajasthan were not taken into account. Do you know that the only Saktha community in India are the Maithili Brahmins from Bihar. He never knew about the tantrik works of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states or the Vaishnavite tantras like Lakshmi Tantra. Sri Ramakrishna's Tantrik Guru Maa Bhairavi Brahmani was not only a woman but also a staunch Krishna Bhaktai.

7. No one has bothered to study Sakthi worship in any other state than Bengal. The tales about Sakthism in Maharashtra and Gujarat are even being forgotten though the Goddesses and Shakthi temples remain as a mute witness to the prevalence of Sakthi worship. Of course all the temples like Ambaaji and Tulja Bhavani continue to draw devotees even today. MAA draws Bhakthas.

12-22-2008, 10:44 PM	#21
gennnniiikk Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 570 Senior Member	Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji, We know that Adi Shankara united all diiferent deities from the different parts of India to promote Advaitha: Shiva from up North, Kali from Bengal, Ganapathy from Maharashtra/Gujarat, Krishna from I think Orissa, Vishnu from Andhra and Murugan from Tamil Nadu. May be due to this effort the Gods got transmuted. Is my thinking not correct in terms of the timings involved? Regards, KRS First the shanmadha concept is not accepted by historians. Sankaracharya uniting all sects is part of Tamil Nadu folklore. There are many things about Adi Sankaracharya which we accept today as facts. But they are not universally accepted. 1. Storas/works attributed to him-- In the Aparadhakshmapana Stotra the poet talks about his being very old ( more than 85). Adi Sankara did not live that long. The authorship of the Tantrik text Soundarya Lahiri is also in doubt. Saying that Acharya turned to Mimansa towards the end of his life and he became a Sri Vidya Upasaka negates the entire history of Adi Sankara which was Advaita Vedanta (Nirguna Brahman). There were many Sankarachryas in many of the maths. It is more likely that the works/deeds attributed to Adi Sankara are by them. Then I do not expect agreement when people attribute his date of birth to B.C when all the scholars are in agreement about 800 A.D. 2. One of the popular goddesses worshipped in early sangam period was Korravai. Kodunagalloor temple in Kerala is believed to be Kannaki temple erected by the Cheras. So worship of Shakthi in Tamil Nadu predates that of Bengal. 3. The Sakthism as it existed/exists in Bengal is of a very much later period than 800 A.D. 4. Sakthism in Tamil Nadu is considered part of Saivism. It is so in Bengal also. Pure Sakthism is not common and exists only in books. The so called Sakthas of Bengal are all Shiva worshippers also. 5. John Woodruffe wrote about Tantras and Sakthism. He was based in Bengal and knew only about Bengal. That is why the existence of extensive Shakti worship in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Bihar, Maharshtra,and Rajasthan were not taken into account. Do you know that the only Saktha community in India are the Maithili Brahmins from Bihar. He never knew about the tantrik works of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states or the Vaishnavite tantras like Lakshmi Tantra. Sri Ramakrishna's Tantrik Guru Maa Bhairavi Brahmani was not only a woman but also a staunch Krishna Bhaktai. 7. No one has bothered to study Sakthi worship in any other state than Bengal. The tales about Sakthism in Maharashtra and Gujarat are even being forgotten though the Goddesses and Shakthi temples remain as a mute witness to the prevalence of Sakthi worship. Of course all the temples like Ambaaji and Tulja Bhavani continue to draw devotees even today. MAA draws Bhakthas.
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