Biography of Sri Adi Shankaracharya

Adi Shankara – also known as Shankaracharya and Shankara Bhagavatpada, spelled variously as Sankaracharya, Śaṅkarācārya, Ādi Śaṅkarācāri, Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda, Śaṅkara Bhagavatpādācārya – was a Hindu philosopher from Kaladi in present day Ernakulam ...

Born: 788 AD, Kalady

Died: 820 AD, Kedarnath

Full name: Shankara

To those who are fortunate to study his valuable works, devotion and gratitude swell up spontaneously in their hearts. His flowing language, his lucid style, his stern logic, his balanced expression, his fearless exposition, his unshakable faith in the Vedas, and other manifold qualities of his works convey an idea of his greatness that no story can adequately convey. To those who are denied the immeasurable happiness of tasting the sweetness of his works, the stories of his earthly life do convey a glimpse of his many-sided personality.

Sri Shankara Digvijayam

The Madhaviya is the the most authentic and widely known among the different Sankaravijayas today. It is certainly the most popular such text in the Advaita tradition, and is also known as the Samkshepa Sankarajaya. The popularity of this work derives from the fame of its author, Madhava, who is actually Jagadguru Sri Vidyaranya, the 12th Acharya of the Sriingeri Sharada Peetham.