Vishvadesikavijayam, a Unique Sankaravajayam

VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM 

of

KALYA LAKSHMINRISIMHA KAVI

Edited and Translated in to English By

DR. CHANNAPRAGADA

LAKSHMI NARASIMHA MOORTY

First Edition: 2004

Copies: 1000

Price: Rs. 100

© C.L.N.Moorty

PUBLISHED BY :

DR. CHANNAPRAGADA LAKSHMI NARASIMHA MOORTY,

READER IN SANSKRIT, 

SRI SATYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER LEARNING, PRASHANTHINILAYAM, A.P. 515134.

VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM

Vishvadesikavijayam is one of the many diamonds still remaining hidden in the heaps of moth-eaten manuscripts stored in the Mss. Libraries all over the world and particularly in India. This is a unique Sankaravijaya kavya in 116 verses by Kalya Lakshminrisimhakavi of 16th century A.D. Unlike many other Sankaravijayakavyas, VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM does not describe the life and adventures of Adisankara. It is a eulogy of Adwaita Philosophy and its great teachers. It praises the contribution of the teachers of Adwaita, especially that of Adisankara to the Indian Thought. In this poem the poet traces the tradition of Adwaita starting from Vasishta through Sakti, Parasara, Vyasa, Suka, Gaudapada and Govinda Bhagavadpada to Sri Adisankara. The many sided personality of Sankara is described in 29 verses. Generations of Adwaita teachers and preachers are extolled in a number of verses. The poem ends with a clarion call to all to take to the path of Vishvadesika Sankara, for their salvation.

VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM

A UNIQUE SANKARAVIJAYAM

Vishvadesikavijayam is one of the many diamonds still remaining hidden in the heaps of moth-eaten manuscripts stored in the Mss. Libraries all over the world and particularly in India. This work is available in only one manuscript1- a paper Mss., preserved and looked after in the Mysore Oriental Research Institute Manuscript Library, Mysore.

This is a unique Sankaravijaya kavya in 116 verses by Kalya Lakshminrisimhakavi of 16th century A.D. He was a junior contemporary of the great Adwaita philosopher, Appayya Dikshita and Aliya Ramaraya, the regent of Sadashivaraya, the emperor of Vijayanagara kingdom. Prof. K.Krishnamurthy had brought out a critical edition of KAVIKAUMUDI2, a collection of 100 and odd Anyoktis written by the poet. The present editor of this work has published a critical edition of JANAKAJANANDAM3, an incomplete Rama theme drama in five acts, composed by the same writer.

Unlike the other Sankaravijayakavyas, VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM does not describe the life and adventures of Adisankara. It is a eulogy of Adwaita Philosophy and its great teachers. It praises the contribution of the teachers of Adwaita, especially that of Adisankara to the Indian Thought. Of course, here and there some important events from the life of Adisankara are included, viz., the Kanakadhara, the containing of river Narmada, the defeat and humiliation of Mandana Mishra, the eating of unholy food at the request of Vedavyasa in disguise etc., In this poem the poet traces the tradition of Adwaita starting from Vasishta through Sakti, Parasara, Vyasa, Suka, Gaudapada and Govinda Bhagavadpada to Sri Adisankara. The many sided personality of Sankara is described in 29 verses. The direct disciples of Sankara, Padmapada, Hastamalaka, Totaka and Sureswara are praised in a verse each. The founder of Sringeri Sankara Mutt, Swami Vidyaranya is praised in a total of seven verses. Next Nrisimhashrama is 1described in five verses. Appayya Dixita’s special contribution is praised in two verses. Finally generations of Adwaita teachers and preachers are extolled collectively in a number of verses. Their achievements in various branches of knowledge are alluded to. The poem ends with a call to all to take to the path of Vishvadesika for their salvation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPT

The text is constructed from the only Paper Manuscript No 743 preserved in the Mss Library of the Mysore Oriental Research Institute, Mysore. The work containing 117 verses was written on 16 pages of hand made paper. Each page measures 29 X 11 Cms and has 11 to 13 lines each. The Mss., is probably of 100 years old and the Telugu script used is interspersed with Kannada letters. There are plenty of Orthographical mistakes in the Mss., The manuscript was written with care and patience but towards the last pages a sense of hurry and impatience is clearly seen.

1. Mss. No C 743.

2. Published by Karnataka university, Dharwad, 1960

3. Published by C.L.N.Moorty, Bangalore, 1990

VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM

Om Sri Sai Ram

VISHVADESIKAVIJAYAM

I worship the divine true effulgence, the consort of Parvati (the daughter of the mountain)-the effulgence which is not easily comprehensible even by the Vedas (words without a beginning) and the minds, the effulgence which is the true radiance of the radiant objects i.e., the sun, the moon, the stars, fire etc., the effulgence which is the cause for the creation, existence and destruction of the worlds, the effulgence which is above and beyond the qualitative properties (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas), and pure, but besmeared with the illusion of having the qualitative properties. (The lamp which contains no wick but creates an illusion of containing one) 1.

May the pair of the lotus-like feet of the Supreme Soul, always roam in my mind- the feet upon which (the thousand eyed) Vishnu (while worshipping Lord Siva with his thousand name and offering a lotus at His feet along with each name, finding the number of the lotuses short by one) has offered his lotus-like eye. 2

May that Reality hail the roar of which (the Pranava) is inquired into in the heart of the Creator as the totality of the ingredients for the creation of the world- the Reality which is the origin of all that is auspicious, the reality which is in-equal in lustre and which has an elephant-like form above the neck. 3.

May this salute reach Lord Shanmukha (Kumaraswamy) whose words are sweet like nectar-Lord Shanmukha who is the ornament to the armies of the angles, who is the terror for the armies of the demons, who gives joy to the hearts of those whose wealth is virtue, who gives pleasure to the Pramathas (attendants upon Shiva) that seek his refuge, who has the chief of the peacocks as his chariot and who is the son of the Ferocious Dancer, Lord Shiva. 4

May Virabhadra bestow upon you Prosperity-Virabhadra who has performed the final oblation with the instantly cut-off heads of Daksha and others in the flame of his anger thus completing the sacrificial rite begun by those wretched ones hating lord Shiva, Virabhadra who has shattered the welfare of the enemies with the striking of the thunderbolt, namely his pillar-like hands endowed with terrible and steady valour. 5

May the supreme teacher, Lord Vishnu, completely destroy all that is inauspicious to me, Vishnu who has pleased Lord Shiva as a son, as a friend, as a student, as a wife and also as a weapon. 6

I now worship that couple of effulgence (Brahma and Sarasvati), which is the cause of the whole universe, composed of names and the objects named, the couple, which is formed by a split of single effulgence, and the couple, which is equal to each other. (Brahma created the universe and Saraswati created the language and literature.) 7.

We meditate upon that effulgence named Vasishta , the abode of tranquility–Vasishta who, with his unbounded mental prowess, has decided upon the everlasting great splendour i.e., the Supreme Soul - Vasishta upon whom Brahma has conferred the over-lordship among the multitude of sages dividing his own splendour supreme into two. 8

Salute to Sage Shakti (son of Vasishta) who is the sole treasure of the knowledge of the Supreme soul, who is the collective mass of the lustre of the supreme soul and who releases the devotees from the clutches of the world. 9

May that sun-like lustrous Parasara cast away our inner darkness-Parasara by whom the supreme effulgence, which shines throughout the three tenses, is kindled. 10

May Vishnu, in the form of Vyasa, bestow upon me the attainment of all that is desired-Vyasa who, remembering that this is that same Sankara who, out of compassion, performed in the past his (Vishnu’s) coronation in Kasi to the kingdom of the whole Universe, gave him the post of the all-world-teacher-ship .11

I meditate upon the expositive posture of the fingers (the Cinmudra-joining the tips of the thumb and the index finger and stretching strait the other three fingers) of Vishnu in the shape of Vyasa-the posture which, by the floods of moonshine emanating from the crescents of moon (lit. nectar born) in the form of the tender nails, washes away through the ignorance (false-knowledge or delusion) from the expanses of minds of his disciples, the multitude of brahmin sages, and writes the beautiful characters of the knowledge of the supreme soul. 12.

I meditate upon Suka, the greatest Yogin, even a fraction of a fraction of whose bliss, the wise people say, is not attainable by the other people. 13.

Whom does not this parrot (sage Suka) surprise (who is not surprised with), which always roams about the top of the trees (who always meditates upon the Upanishads-the final portions of the Vedas), who exhibits deep red colour in his beak (who causes the attainment of non-attachment through his teachings) and which enjoys the fruits (who enjoys the fruit of wisdom, the supreme bliss) but which never flutters its wings ( who is not partial towards any person or thing). 14.

May the sage Goudapada accept my salutations-Goudapada, the treatise written by whom, hails as an eradicator of fear from oldage and birth (and death). His treatise is the first magical collyrium, which reveals the divine treasures hidden in the great commentary of the lord of the ascetics (Sankara), the treasure that is incomprehensible without the initiation of the blessed ones. 15.

I salute the pair of lotus feet of the lord of ascetics, Govinda Bhagavatpada-the lotus feet which are thronged by the bees in the form of ascetics and, on account of the coming into contact with the pollen of which, the areas of the Badarivana have become free of dust (the residents of Badarivana having come into contact with the dust of whose lotus feet have become free from the touch of the baser instincts (Rajas and Tamas). 16.

O laudable universally saluted fame of the revered Sankara, let this fellow, though mean and fickle minded, praise (lit. roar) a bit of you; what harm to you by that? May this thirst stricken chakora- offspring become fortunate enough to lick a small bit of the moonshine and feel joy; there is no harm to it.17

May my words become expansive by the stimulating power of the grace of the great preceptor-My words which are specialized in the Upanishadic philosophy, (the Vedanta or Uttara Mimamsa), words which are flavoured with the vast Sankhya philosophy founded by Kapila, words which are (strong) stout with Purva Mimamsa, words which confirm to the rules of grammar, (Vyakarana), words which surge with the essence of the science of logic, (Tarka Sastra), words which please the hearts of the poets with highly figurative style and which vehemently shatter the Veera saivaites (those who wear the Linga).18

Perfection in Vyakarana (or the Yogic-science) pronounced by the serpent (Sage Patanjali, who is the incarnation of Adisesha), shrewdness in the important doctrines of Purva Mimamsa propounded by Kumarila Bhatta, unbroken scholarship in polity endorsed by Brihaspati, valour in arguments of logic, the Tarkasastra, the unequal strides (the walkman-ship) in the path of suggestion, i.e., the science of literature, the Sahityashastra, and finally the height of non-dualistic philosophy, Advaita- all these I make best use in eulogizing the pure fame of the Preceptor-teacher Sankara. 19.

So, may my surge (compositions) of words, dance-the words which are bright like the flow of kindness of Goddess Bala’s lotus-like feet which are competent for the creation, maintenance and destruction of the three worlds, the words which imitate the huge upsurge of dance of the high galloping tides of the milky ocean which is greatly perturbed by the churning of the Manthara mountain rotating vehemently. 20.

I worship sage Bhagavatpada (one whose feet are meritorious) Sankara in my inner heart-Sankara who is (as is customary for the monks) devoid of a tuft of hair but also resplendent with a tuft (bright as fire), who has discarded the sacred thread but has a well formed own thread (who has made clear the aphorisms of the supreme soul), who bestows fearlessness to the world but himself handles a rod (the customary stick worn by a monk). 21

May the unblemished lustrous ornament of the swan–species proclaim by stretching himself and fluttering his wings in the starry path (sky) which is employed by the noble birds the pleasant multi-faceted nature of Lord Brahma at once when the lotus in the Manasa lake blossoms. (May the unblemished virtuous ornament of the monk-clan proclaim the blissful nature of the multifaceted supreme soul by expanding his soul and being partial towards the virtuous path tread by the great Brahmin sages). 22.

The lord of ascetics made the richly self-luminous Supreme Soul a clear mirror by brushing away the cobwebs inserted (created) by unskilled persons, because he wanted the naturally one’s own happiness of the subtle-visioned ones whose humiliation due to ignorance has dropped away (by knowing the self in its original form). 23.

There may be thousands of feigned ascetics, who are connoisseurs of rich, soft, tasty foods, and who roam about villages and towns to satisfy their hunger and thus become a great burden to the earth. But who can drink the fresh molten iron (the numerous cannons) just like the meaty food served by Vyasa disguised as a low-born (Candala). 24.

It is no wonder that the shoe, serving Sankara, who stays near his disciples, resides in the body of king Amaruka and also adorns the peak of the Kailasa, the silver mountain, dwells with his lotus feet, and plays in my heart as well as upon the heads of the feigned monks simultaneously. The miraculous power of the preceptor is not unattainable to those who serve his feet. 25

May the world-teacher wipe away our hardship-the teacher, recognizing whose intellectual splendour, river Reva (Narmada) became joyful and laughed loudly with a terrible sound of the huge floods of water like the playful skill of argument in refuting the haughty words of the proud master-scholar Mandana Mishra. 26.

Which disputationist’s heart (stomach) does the teacher’s resounding roar not shatter-the roar comprising of various sparkling, strong and profoundly overpowering arguments, the roar which uprooted the series of objections raised by the sever e intellect of the great logician (Mandana Mishra, the disciple of Kumarila Bhatta) who was saluted by the multitude of scholars throughout the world and who was considered as the stout (teak wood) pillar of victory (of Purva Mimamsa). 27.

The flow (creeper) of the Master’s words is the companion of the Triad- the three Vedas. It is endowed with a style that worsts the strong fragrance of the Serpent-lord’s (The thousand-hooded Adisesha) style of words. It is the ancient stream of knowledge gushing in the hearts of his devotees. It is the war-drum declaring the conquest of the world. 28.

How many dumb people have not humiliated the opponents with their disputations by wearing on the foreheads the dust particles from the paths which were first formed by the lotus-like impressions caused the placing of the tender feet of the world Teacher, and latter spread with the pollen-like clusters of lustre emanating from the anklets of Goddess Saraswati who followed him and lastly well-formed by the treading of scholars (abodes of knowledge). 29.

May the Teacher drive away our darkness (ignorance) like the sun-the Teacher by whose words the golden cloud, as if swollen by the rays named Amrita, rained gold that destroyed the miseries throughout the whole world brightened by the sparkling lustre of the tremendous series of lightning. 30.

The female attendant, namely, the preaching of the Teacher has brightened all the directions by anointing them with the pure turmeric–like radiance of the constant flow of gold poured from the basket of raising clouds and bathing and cleaning them herself by pouring the clean and pleasant water i.e., the flooding fame of the Teacher who is the refuge of all knowledge-the directions which are besmeared with the misery–dirt of the multitude of his own people. 31.

The venerable world-teacher’s stream of words hail-the stream which is formed of the fame of extinguishing the wild –fire like (conflagration) miseries of the world, the stream which takes pride in felling down the expanses of the forest-like arguments of the Buddhists, the stream which emerges from the group of peaks of the mountain-row-like Vedas i.e. the Upanishads, the stream which surpasses nectar in sweetness. 32.

The revered Teacher’s word is the sacred river Bhagirathi itself which enters the ocean of the bliss of the Supreme Being-Bhagirathi, which has felled down with its terrible flow the trees of he vast forest of philosophies (Buddhism etc.,) alien to the Vedas, Bhagirathi which has cut off thoroughly with vehemence the tank-bunds that are the rows of religions of the schools of difference (between the Brahman and the soul, i.e. the Dwaita etc.,), Bhagirathi which is skillful in protecting the three worlds which are struck with the fear of the multitude of sins. 33.

The words of our revered teacher give us immense happiness-the words which slaughter the proud faith of Madhva philosophy with vehement valour of logic, and shatter the grief of the world scorched by the mischievous poison of the serpents i.e., Vaishnavas (lit. the horned animals- a mockery of the caste marks of the Vaishnavas on their foreheads extending to a part of the head) who oppose the Upanishads which proclaim the supremacy of Lord Shiva (bull-bannered one). 34.

Cannot the ancient words of the universal Teacher have the power of shattering through his latest follows the sorrow of the world caused by the recent-born philosophies of separateness (of the Atman and the Brahman). Cannot the ocean extinguish the conflagration by pouring its water through the clouds? 35.

May the words of the lord of ascetics shatter away our miseries-the words which bestow welfare to the six faiths (Brahma, Vaishnava, Saiva, Saktheya, Ganapatya and Kapalika), the words which rise up crushing the multitudes of arguments of the opponents of recent origin, the words which remove the uneasiness of the people which are aggrieved by the trouble of the materialists who rely only upon the authority of the eye (Pratyakshapramana) (who are afflicted by an eye-sore), the words which protect the Triad (the three Vedas and the three worlds) which are agitated by the fear of being swallowed by the hyenas that are the false-monks. 36.

The revered teacher’s declarations are the thunders of the terrible Vajra to the multitude of the mountains (pashandas) i.e., the atheists. They are competent to remove the misery caused by the active and very cruel world (lit. the birth, death and family etc.,). They are delightful as the raging high-pitched murmur of the chain of tides of the river, which upsurges among the tufts of mattered hair of Siva who is engrossed in dancing in the evenings. 37.

The treatise written by the noblest of the ascetics is a mechanical device that is capable of bringing up the great essence, which is hidden in the profound Vedas. It causes great relief to the pure minded people who are put to distress being unable to understand them (the Vedas) because of the distortion created by the wicked texts. (The treatise is like a mechanical device of buckets, which is capable of bringing up the water lying deep in a well and causes great relief to the rice crop of good quality, which is scorched because of the drought. 38.

The world-teacher’s teaching hails. It severs (the chain of) birth, old age (and death). It removes all obstacles in enjoying the boundless bliss of the Self. It affords support by stretching a helping hand to the ancient word. The Vedas, (the old Saraswati) which has fallen in the deceptive well, namely those evil-minded people who stay in the well namely, bad logic. 39.

This word (the Bhasya), which takes its birth from the king of the ascetics hails. (The river Saraswati takes its birth from Kailasa). Numerous scholars comment it upon. It causes the destruction of the sins of the world. It gives life to the people who are afflicted by the disease of double vision doubled by the bad treatment given by (the quack physicians who are themselves ill-visioned) those whose vision is impaired. (The Bhasya is river Saraswati that take its birth in the mountain called Sankara. It is approached by even angles. It destroys all the sins of the world. It cures the people from the malady of dualist philosophy, which is spread by the bad commentaries written, by people who lack proper vision of the Reality). 40

The path of the Vedas is embellished by the universal teacher with his sayings which are like magic collyrium to find out the untraceable Supreme soul, which reveal good fortunes by removing the indefinable darkness, which are unhindered in their actions and which are laden with sweetness of the essence of the nectar. 41.

The word (foot) (of Sankara) was put upon the worlds with exalted sayings which are the entrance to salvation (Non-returning to the cycle of birth and death), which are thunderbolts to the rocks that are the numerous false faiths, which are divine medicines to the people who are tormented by the disease of ignorance, which are held up by the Upanishads and which are logical and lofty. 42

The Supreme knowledge expounded by one who has enjoyed the nectar–like essence of the words of the master of knowledge, cannot be besmeared even by the wretched mischief-mongers. Is the great whale interested in the little water of the canal, the whale which shines at the time of the Dooms day, the whale which is engaged in playing in the ocean in which numerous movables and immovable are floating. 43.

The saying of the teacher which is the viaticum (provision for the journey) of the people treading the path of salvation can not be gained-even by a bit of it cannot be gained-by those who are pleased with the words of the thieves, the false mendicants just as the river Ganges, the expanse of the flow of which passes through the openings of the mattered hair of Lord Siva, is not available to the evil spirits (goblins) who rejoice in the slowly dripping water from rags. 44

The sayings of the teacher are victorious. They are showers of nectar, which bring down (acts against) the fever of those who use (enjoy) them-the fever caused by the injury of birth and old age (and death). They are ferocious wild fires, which burn the forests of fame of those insignificant people who attack just out of curiosity of (participating in) a battle of disputation. 45.

The saying of Sankara which is supported by the voices of hundreds of great scholars may not be able to get the praise of those whose hearts have become diseased by contemplating upon the false faiths propounded by the perverted ones. Can the sun’s dazzling splendour, the glory of which spreads through out the whole world surrounded by the Chakravala Mountain (the circular mountain which surrounds the whole world) gets the praise of the owls whose sight is at ease in darkness only. 46.

The teacher’s saying which is waited upon (received reverentially) by the virtuous and noble that have performed virtuous acts and who approach the Supreme thing to be aspired for, may be ignored by the diseased minded. What harm is there to the rays of the sun if they are despised by the owls-the rays, the effulgence of which acts like a physician (one who makes and gives medicine) to the three worlds which swoon due to darkness. 47.

Even a worthless creature devoid of noble qualities is satisfied by the sayings of the teacher, every letter, every word and every combination of letters of which is stamped with the liquid (ink) of the all round wakeful nectar and which fight the qualified truths. 48.

Some pleasant words of the clan of poets hail-the words which are rich with the unhindered, flooded nectar-stream of the teacher, the words which smash the stubborn pride of those who hate the lotus-feet of Lord Sadasiva, the words which are the bells proclaiming the conquest of the ancient lady (the Vedas). 49. 

The world became sacred on account of the literary works of Sankara, which belong to the same clan as that of streams of extremely sweet nectar which drips from the Mandara flowers, which are agreeable and auspicious like a garland of slightly blossomed jasmines, which are composed of pleasant words and which have allayed all the sins. 50.

The (revered) honorable people, after establishing the worlds in virtue, cause to give up the path of sin by allegories, but do not sacrifice the original meaning expressing the non-dual supreme soul. They do not even forgive any lapse in the order of the letters and rules of the words (in the Vedas). Oh! Sankara is resorted to by the four Vedas as disciples for the attainment of their acceptable meanings (things and wealth desired). 51

I reverentially bow to Padmapada, because of the radiance of the rays of whose feet, at every step in the row of lotuses which instantly sprang up as a favour of the Ganges (heavenly river), a general saying became current that Goddess Lakshmi lives in the lotuses.52.

May that Hastamalakacarya bestow upon us unsurpassable welfare-Hastamalaka to whom the object pervading the times became clear as an Amalaka fruit in the hand. 53

I take refuge in Totaka, the crown of the crores of disciples of the revered teacher-Totaka, whose long dumbness burst in the form of a eulogy of the teacher in the Totaka metre.54

I store in my heart the moon-diamond (the great king of the twice-born, brahmins) namely the revered Totaka, which is pure from birth-the moon-diamond from which; getting moistened (wit) by the moonlight, namely the kind glances of the Lord of Ascetics (Sanakara), the flow of Totaka verses sprang. 55.

Is this hunter named Suresh, the revered, who is strong enough to attack the wild bears i.e. the ill know ledged opponents, appointed to protect Brahma’s garden of knowledge by the owner i.e. Brahma- the garden which is nourished by the channel of River Reva made to flow towards the garden of knowledge and flooding with overwhelming kindness, and which provides delicious nectar-like fruit to be enjoyed by his (Suresha’s) disciples. 56.

The great sage Vidyaranya, the victory –banner of master of knowledge hails- Vidyaranya who is the chopping thunderbolt to the mountain-range i.e., the heretics, the raging conflagration to the forest i.e. the Buddhists, the sun to the assembled darkness i.e. the haughty logicians, the protecting diamond to the Upanishads, the lion to the herd of wild elephants i.e. the clay-horned (Vaishnavaites) and the stormy wind to the lotuses i.e. the Madhwas. 57.

I think that Lord Narayana has descended to the earth as the incarnation of Vidyaranya to uphold the Vedas, which are sunk in the mire of false faiths. Narayana has killed the demons Madhu etc.; He praised Lord Siva with his eulogy. He never deserts his consorts Goddesses Earth (Bhuh) and Wealth (Shree) and is served by the angles. Vidyaranya has crushed the Madhwas etc. He eulogised Acharya Sankara. He never gives up forgiveness (Kshama) and splendour (Rama) and is attended upon by scholars. 58.

Those who were destined to endless beggar-ship born of forehead-scorching writing of the hand of Brahma, who was incited by one’s strong past wicked deeds forming the root cause (for one’s future), they, having taken refuge in Sankara make the quarters filled with clusters of clouds with the dust of the battle-field which make the aspirations of the enemy kings futile, which makes the enemy kings blind and attain the overlord-ship of the nine continents. 59.

The style of Sage Vidyaranya’s commentary is free from faults, pleasing and known through out the world for its grandeur. It pacifies the affliction of the heat caused by the loss of faith in the authority of the three Vedas and not observing the ordained rites because of the ignorance of the real entity. (the words and their meanings). 60.

The treatise of commentary written by Vidyaranya is free from faults. It is a market place for the virtuous actions capable of bestowing all the desired objectives. It is a spacious abode of all the usages of speech codified by the various grammars. It removes the profound affliction caused by the vague, worthless and unfounded arguments. 61.

When Vidyaranya became the refuge to varied good-minded people, when surging praise of the pillars of victory in every direction was being established in the gathering of great ascetics to discus the pleasant knowledge, when the banner of conquest, the sounding bell of robbing the riches of stability of the followers of other faiths was being proclaimed by the world, where, in which cave did Ramanuja etc., enter immediately (to hide themselves). 62.

“The philosophy of he Vaishnavas (wild rams with clay horns) who have broken the ordained rites is not fit to be heard by one who treads the path of the Vedas”. When Vidyaranya’s trumpet blows like this through out all directions, where, in which cave did, immediately Ramanuja’s edicts enter? (In addition, hide). 63

Nrisimhashrama brought back the Upanishadic cows, which were carried away to the un-treadable forest-the forest-like Dwaita commentary of difference (between the Soul and he Supreme) which is unworthy to be followed, and pestered with mosquitoes, i.e. bad arguments. The cows were carried away by the unkind fake mendicant-thieves who are avaricious of money and were tormented by them. (Who are anxious to get their desired meanings by twisting the words.). Having thus brought back the cows, he made them emit milk by leaving the calves to drink first. (Having made the meaning clear by his explanatory words), he milched the Advaitic-nectar (from the Upanishadic cows) and made his devotees drink it. (Enjoy the bliss of the true knowledge) 64.

The earth would have sunk by the weight, had not the ever-vehement Nrisimhashrama, like the thunderbolt, made the mountain-like opponents wingless-argument-less -by chopping off them again and again-Nrisimhashrama, the thunderbolt, discharged by Sankara, the great saint, (self-controlled-Indra) who was seated upon the earliest elephant ( Airavata) in the shape of scholarship in the four Vedas. His stroke was terrific with radiating a series of arguments adhering to the tenets of strong logic. 65.

Nrisimhashrama is verily a lion. He is engrossed in playing on the tops of the series of mountains, the ancient words, the Vedas (the Upanishads being their endings.). Having reached there, by the path-the treatise of Sankara, the monk-monarch, he has torn apart the herd of elephants, the followers of wicked faiths, with the devastating strokes of his sharp and hard nails- the good logic. 66

One, who is determined to protect the garden of knowledge pleasant with noble birds like the parrot (great Brahmins like sage Suka) should take in his hand the rod-the teaching of Nrisimha. Driving away the monkeys-the crowds of distressing bad logicians, which jump about the tops of the trees- the Vedas, protected by the world-teacher. 67.

All the trees (Vedas) were nourished by the fragrant words of the great teacher-Nrisimha-the trees that were hurt by the human serpents blind with intoxication and by their followers. 68.

The words of the great scholar Appayya which swallow the grandeur of even Brihaspati (said to be the lord of words) bestow upon the righteous fortunate ones a great happiness which is beyond all rites-the words which assure fearlessness (protection) to his followers who flee from the tough battle-field, afraid of the arguments of the ill-learnt contestants whose ignorance is evident from the obstinate anger for each other’s faiths. 69.

The speech (the writing) of Appaya Dikshita who dispels the mud, i.e., ignorance, is the sacred Ganges itself. It purifies the whole world. It (the river) flows in numerous directions and purifies all the countries. Appaya is multifaceted. His works deal with numerous sciences and clarifies a number of subjects. 70.

The revered teacher’s numerous students, Kalidasa etc., hail. They are thunderbolts to the hillocks-the followers of the faiths of the crooked-minded people who are proud with their false knowledge. The style of their words is laden with the sweetness of the streams of nectar dripping from the rows of fully blossomed early morning lotuses. 71.

The disciples of the revered teacher are famous for their highly intellectual commentaries, glossaries and notes on various sciences founded by Kanada (Vaiseshika), Gautama ( Nyaya), Kapila ( Sankhya), Jaimini ( Purva Mimamsa) and Vyasa ( Uttara Mimamsa). They are also great scholars in grammar, the three Vedas, Smritis, dramaturgy, aesthetics, literature, ethics, medicine, astrology, priest-craft, and sciences governing horses, elephants and gemstones. 72.

The followers of the world-teacher, Sankara, the moon, are victories. Their perfection as disputants has spread to the whole world circumscribed by the Chakravala Mountain. They, with their profound words, act like medicine for the world, which is suffering from the disease of dualism. They have destroyed those who cover gone astray, away from the Vedic path and have proclaimed the superiority of the knowledge of non-dualism, which evidently satisfies the Vedas. 73.

The treatises of the adherents of Sankara, along with their appendices, establish their victory without any doubt. They are the medicinal dry ginger to the disease of ignorance of the followers of all the false faiths. They are the grinding stones for those who are depraved from the path shown by the monarch of ascetics. They are well received by the rumblings of the east, west, south and north oceans.74

All the sixty-four branches of knowledge take refuge in the disciples of the universal teacher, because the fame of being the teacher to all the people is only with them. This is the result of the victory over Saraswati, wife of Brahma, (Ubhayabharati, the wife of Mandana Mishra) with a profundity of arguments in all sciences- a profundity that equals the River Reva’s up-surging strong tides. 75.

The blemish-less knowledge of non-dualism will not compose any work other than the tradition of the world-teacher’s active current of kindness. Where else does Goddess Lakshmi cast her glances- Lakshmi who is immersed in the happiness of playing about the excellent chest enriched with the expanse of the adorable mark of Srivatsa and the sparkling gem Kaustubha. 76.

The streams of words born out of the heavy rain of nectar created first by the thick cloud, namely the world-teacher, bestow victory upon the noble souls-the streams that uproot the clusters of trees and bushes, i.e., the concealed wretches. They also cut off vehemently the vast tanks, i.e. all the conclaves of the speakers who abuse (the pious people). 77.

How much is the fame of cutting away the rootless, concealed, wretched seedlings- to those who are armed with the mighty hard axe, i.e., the arguments taught by the world-teacher, and who are strong enough to chop off the thorny, fierce, vast, dense forest areas, i.e., the followers of the wicked and cruel non-Vedic faiths incomprehensible with crooked and mean and worthless arguments. 78.

The teacher disproved the anti-Vedic systems, impenetrable with bad logic and established the path of the Vedas. Even then, his disciples demolished the newly arisen faith of dualism. Don’t people pluck out the blades of grass that have grown upon the palaces built by their elders? 79.

Even as the Vedic path was established (well laid) by the king of ascetics long ago, to pluck out the newly born faith of dualism now by his followers is a matter of play just like plucking off the blades of grass that have grown upon the roofs of he grand mansions constructed by their elders. 80.

There is no question of exempting the philosophy of difference (between the soul and the Brahman) though already smashed and is extremely of little weight for the disciples of Sankara who have completely destroyed the harmful followers of other alien paths (religions) who were numerous and strong. Is not the sharp, cruel, edged axe, which has chopped off the body of Kartavirya who has conquered his entire opponent world, competent enough to nip away the Kshatriya embryos-who has conquered all his opponent world. 81

The effort of the world-teacher’s great disciples has shattered to pieces the diamond-hard pillars supporting the places of worship of the religions which are against to the Vedas and which cause confusion with their logic. Let it destroy the hidden weed seedlings also. Did not Parashurama’s cruel axe, which cut off the forest of hands of Kartavirya, work upon the Kshatriya embryos also. 82.

Let the disciples of the great teacher proclaim- “ O Madhva, your path is ruined; Vyasaraya, Is your mind laden with dust? Jaya, your fame as Tirtha (holy) is meaningless. Lakshmana (Ramanuja), enough with your epithet as a scholar. Venkatesha (Vedanta Desika), you fell in the swampy well.” 83.

The greatness of these people (disciples of Sankara) is boundless, of everlasting wealth, secure and unequal. That is the fortune of the wakeful, vast and great kindness of the world-teacher. The swelling lustre of glass-mica, sun-stone, quartz, moon-stone, oyster shell, pearl and so on is after all the grace i.e., reflected splendour of the Sun-god alone. 84.

The destruction of the bad faiths, the dissolution of the hypocritical rituals of the wicked-minded, the conquest of the world surrounded by the four oceans, scholarship in its entirety- all this of the learned ones of Advaita is the retinue of the world-teacher’s fame of wakeful inspiration. 85

The ascetic-lord’s purest greatness prospers- It illuminates the three worlds, removes the suffering caused by birth, and drives away the lingering affects of having been possessed by the spiteful evil spirit- that is the belief of (difference) dualism easily caught by treading on evil paths. 86.

As the world-wide pervading sun shines i.e., as the glory of the teacher of three worlds, which is capable of dispelling the pitch darkness of the fetters of worldly life pervades, at once the lotuses endowed with strong sweet smell, blossom; but these owls i.e., those that are afraid of the Adwaita, enter into darkness of evil faiths. 87.

Except Sankara who else can overcome the mighty hindrance of the desire and the resulting death? How can a traveler quench his severe thirst by going to a dreadful desert? Sankara only, by taking refuge with whose feet, which are the refuge to the ascetics, a devotee overcome the fetters of death and a glance at whom can, in a moment, make Kama (desire) along with Krodha (anger) fade away? 88.

Every creature gets satisfied with obtaining something equal to it whether despicable or respectable. Some mean persons having given up the service of Lord Sankara, the propitious God of Gods--service consisting of the tide of nectar of immense happiness, bear the stamp of serving the low-born (sudras) etc., because of the affection for the body-the stamp suffered on account of their inborn misfortune. 89.

What if some petty faiths are intended to be formed by little-educated persons to equal with the philosophy of the master of knowledge- the philosophy the greatness of which is worthy of praise of the worlds, and which is abode of unequal joy? Are the drains full of dirty water with stinking pits and infested by the goblins equal to the heavenly river, the Ganges, which resounds with the cooing of the swans and is adorned with rows of golden lotuses. 90.

Fools who are merged in the wicked faith which is the sum-total of all evils and which has discarded all that is salutary, are abusing us who are high minded well versed in the Shritis and Smritis. What other punishment can we give them? Alas! We are cheated by their bodies, which are already afflicted with the spikes of the sharp-tipped crackling spears. (Mockery at the Vaishnavas who have the caste-marks resembling the triple pointed spears all over their bodies) 91.

These birds also, being birds, are entitled to reach the heights of the species. (These people also, non-Advaitins, being born as Brahmins, are fit to attain the highest bliss of the wise ones, the advaitins. Yet they fall down, because their wings are burnt to the roots. (Yet they become outcaste when their reasoning is burnt-the reasoning created by the false-monks who are intoxicated by untrue knowledge.) 92.

Our habitation cannot be reached by the wicked creatures ( Non-advaitins). Our habitation, which is dense with rest giving trees in a secluded place (salvation-giving knowledge of the Upanishads) and which is sought after by wise people who are anxious to attain the intuitive perception of the un-waned Supreme Soul. It is only fitting that those creatures i.e., wicked-minded ones who leave the right path fall into the abysm (chasm) of false faiths, in the forests of deceitful doctrines and practices, having been wounded, in the heart by the herd of bears that are false-monks. (Silly animals that stray away from the safe path get wounded by cruel bears etc., and fall in to the pits laid by the deceitful hunters.) 93

The fools, because of their block-headedness, consider Vyasa, who is the moon of the followers of the Vedas as their follower-even though he is far away from their paths though his proximity is easy for the disciples of Sankara. 94.

It is proper that the teaching of the venerable teacher which is laden with sweetness but which is hard to crack, is not to the relish of those whose stomach (or tongue, literally, the heart) is injured by the garlic-the a-philosophic systems of the recent origin. People, the tasting sense of whose tongues has become pervert, being damaged by the over action of the bile, consider as caustic, the milk of the pleasing sugar cane, the sweetness of which is well-known to the three words. 95.

This world has become a matter of laughing-stock because of those who do not have the mirror, i.e., the great philosophy propounded by the great teacher and so who do not know their own form (the nature of the soul), those wicked minded who are obstinate above their own versions and fight between themselves tooth and nail. Those who are blind from birth beat each other severely due to the useless quarrel about the loftiness of their own form.96

How can it be not a laughing stock-the opponent-ship against the world-teacher who has vanquished Saraswati, (Bharati) the Goddess of all languages, in the disputation and made her his attendant-opponent-ship by those who feel proud with the bundles of their own books, which are the adaptations of some ticklish esoteric rites? It is just like the beggars, who are pleased with getting alms, competing with Kubera, the lord of treasures. 97.

What danger is there for him from mean people of recent origin who resort to flimsy arguments –for him who has destroyed the wicked pride of such enraged Buddhists and who has subdued the Goddess Saraswati . This is like danger from the twinkling worms to the sun, the terribly bright one with whose lustre all the worlds are filled-the lustre of expertness in the play of driving away the clusters of immensely dense darkness. 98.

How can a disputant who is present on the spot forbear the argument resorted to by one whose ambitions become shattered when the greatness of the revered teacher is heard? - The disputant who is pre-eminent in the great logic which is an opponent of (equal to) the crashing high sound of the series of waves of the river Ganges which surges in the frying pan, i.e., the matted hair of the dancing Siva. 99.

Let alone Sankara stay-Sankara who is the master of all learning, Sankara who has defeated Goddess Saraswati, the wife of Lord Brahma, Sankara is Lord Sankara himself. Let alone his disciples stay- the disciples whose fame of profundity in all sciences is spread throughout the three worlds. Where (how) can the opponent sparrows flutter their wings (their arguments)- the opponents who are terrified in their minds by the thunderbolt-like tumult of the clapping on the shoulders by the youngsters who have become known only as my up-surging students? 100.

The disputation of an ill-minded person is futile-the one who refuses to accept the words of the great teacher, which revealed the knowledge of the nature of the reality and the non-reality. It is just like a child, even whose birth-rites have not been yet performed, trying to get rites of austerities performed by goblins which are not empowered to perform Vedic rites. 101

O block-headed fellows! Your antagonism towards the pure effulgence called Sankara is certainly rooted in foolishness. Sankara who is unrestrained in his supreme over-lordship of all the arts and sciences taught by divine Vedas and who has made Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of speech, his dependent. The worldly existence is certainly unmanageable for the poor people who are deprived of the service of the rich ones. 102.

When the disease of stark block-headedness is slowly receding (getting cured) by taking medicine, i.e., our salutary treatise, the fickle-minded ones, by consuming unarguable foods and also by hating the physicians i.e., the Advaitins, at once get high fever, burning the body and suffer the affliction of the incurable malady, namely, dualism which is the cause for all terrible miseries. 103.

Oh! How can I tell the mightiness of delusion? Even though the path of the un-attackable non-dual knowledge of the supreme soul which is the price of salvation is being proclaimed by the band of drums, that is, the Vedas, the fools who are far away from the order of the revered preceptor become injured in mind by their adherence to their respective faiths and become constant traders of the path of birth (and death). 104 

Even after knowing about the lineage of our teachers, which is renowned throughout the three worlds for its unequal greatness, even after knowing about the hundreds of nectar-ocean like treatises of their disciples, the fools are not ashamed of praising their own teachers and their works, which are equal to flowers, blossomed in the empty sky. So I presume that even the feeling of shame which overpowers noble minded persons easily, is ashamed of approaching them.105

Knowing the in-concealable frivolousness of the niggardly words contained in their bundles of books, the fools attribute some magic power to them to deceive the innocent people. The barbers who are only interested in shaving off locks of hairs praise the shaving blade as sharper than even the thunderbolt, which has demolished the pride of the demon Jambha. 106.

Even the meaning of the name Ramanujas (Vaishnavas) brings about their low-birth (pun on he word Jaghanya which means younger brotherhood-Anujatva in the name of Ramanuja and also low-birth)-which is proved by their giving up the happiness born out of the knowledge that ‘ I am the Supreme Soul itself’ and embracing servant-hood (the Prapatti philosophy). The dirty Madhvas being the darkness is again revealed (Pun on the word Dhwanta that means darkness and ‘ending in ‘Dhva’ of the word Madhva)-by their being Madhvas who are highly irritated by the splendour of the rising sun (the expounding king of ascetics, Sankara. 107

O my God, where is the hope of salvation when the world is spread with the modern Muslims i.e., the Vaishnavas and the Madhvas. Or there is the teaching of the ascetic-king, which is the price of salvation. The Vaishnavas resemble the Muslims, who tear off, kill the Brahmins, carry away forcibly and kill the good cows, torment the people with greatly hardened cruelty and adhere to false scriptures. The Vaishnavas view the soul and the Supreme Soul as different, forcibly misinterpret the Vedas, brand the people very cruelly (with the marks of Sankha and Chakra), and follow the false philosophy of Visistha-adwaita. Again, the Muslims consume wine etc., The Madhwas follow their teacher, Madhwa (Pun on Madhu and Adi, and Madhva and Adi). 108.

The depraved ones who are pleased with wicked words may not recognize my teacher. What do the pigs which are engrossed in amusing themselves in the foul water know about Airavata, the divine elephant, which is an embellishment to the gold-coloured sand-beaches spread with the pollen of the clusters of golden lotuses which dance in the waves of the river Ganges. 109.

Some insignificant fellow who is on the verge of falling down may turn away from hearing the renowned divine-footed Sankara’s noble qualities. It is his dense ignorance. But can he obstruct Sankara’s ocean-like fame inside (in the stomach of) which piles of worlds tumble-the ocean in the expanses of the sprays of pearls of which the sun and the moon are positioned. 110.

What if the fame of the ascetic-lord is not to the liking of some human animals-the fame that cleanses the sins (of the worlds) and brightens the ten directions? Does it mean that the Goddess of speech is not vanquished? Or is the reputation of being the exponent of the six faiths, stolen? 111.

My right hand offers a juicy pack of betel-leaf and areca in the mouth of the wise-people, the mouth which is flavoured with nectar-like story of the world-teacher. In the mouth of the wicked-minded ones, which is filthy with the denouncement of my teacher, my left foot throws the sandal haughtily. 112.

I meditate upon the teacher’s glances ebbing with the sentiments of (tranquility) peace and kindness glanced by which the Siddha women experienced utmost pleasure-the women who hastily raced towards and thronged around him, struck by cupid, contemplating upon his figure, which is a treasure of beauty and his face resplendent with the smile born out of enjoyment of supreme bliss. 113.

If you have despise towards mean faiths, if you have a desire to taste the propitious-ness of the teacher of Vedanta, if you have a desire to ascend on the throne of salvation, then listen to VISVADESIKAVIJAYA-the conquest of the world-teacher. 115.

May the roar of LAKSHMINRISIMHA, the human lion, be victorious as long as the world lasts-the roar which is wakeful (resounds) in the forest i.e., the fame of the world-teacher, the roar which shatters the arrogance of the proud Vaishnavas (tusked animals, elephants i.e., Vaishnavas who wear the caste marks resembling tusks on their foreheads), the roar which shatters the courage of the haughty Madhvas (addicts of wine). 116.

The eulogy of the conquest of the world-teacher is written- This pure composition of Lakshmi Nrisimha, the teacher, the full moon born in the ocean of nectar i.e., the Kalya family, is a torch light which enables one to search the path of salvation. 117.

OM TAT SAT