Shankaracarya, aka: Shankara-acarya, Śaṅkarācārya; 5 Definition(s)



The Sanskrit term Śaṅkarācārya can be transliterated into English as Sankaracarya or Shankaracarya, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

Alternative spellings of this word include Shankaracharya.

In Hinduism


[Shankaracarya in Purana glossaries]

Śaṅkarācārya (शङ्कराचार्य).—General. The spiritual and philosophical preceptor of India. Śrī Śaṅkara was born in the village of Kālaṭi on the banks of the holy river Periyār, also called Cūrṇā and Pūrṇā. According to certain scholars he was born in 509 B.C. while certain others contend that he saw the light of day in 84 A.D. Yet others place his date of birth in various periods between 509 B.C. and 84 A.D. Whatever that may be, the great ācārya is believed to have lived only for 32 years. (See full article at Story of Śaṅkarācārya from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)

(Source): Puranic Encyclopaedia
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General definition (in Hinduism)

[Shankaracarya in Hinduism glossaries]

Adi Sankaracharya founded four monasteries that helped in the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta. Adi Shankara is believed to be the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and the founder of the Shanmata tradition of worship. He established the importance of monastic life. Shankara is credited for the defeat of Buddhism in Hindu literature. He was active after Buddhism had almost faded from prominence.

In his commentaries Shankara developed a theology in which he tried to establish that spiritual ignorance (avidya) or illusion (maya) is caused by the superimposition (adhyasa) of what is not the self onto the self. All knowledge is distorted by superimposition or projection, which prevents us from seeing our true nature as the self`s (atman`s) pure subjectivity, ontologically identical with the absolute (brahman). In order to realize the truth of the identity of the self with the absolute, a person must develop discrimination.

(Source): India Netzone: Indian Philosophy

Śaṅkarācārya (शङ्कराचार्य).—An incarnation of Lord Śiva who appeared in South India at the end of the 7th century A.D. to re-establish the authority of the Vedic scriptures. He was a philosopher and lived about three hundred years before Rāmānuja. He did this at a time when India was under the sway of Buddhism, whose tenets deny the authority of the Vedas. He took sannyāsa at a very tender age and wrote commentaries establishing an impersonal philosophy similar to Buddhism, substituting Brahman (Spirit) for the void. He traveled all over India defeating the great scholars of the day and converting them to his doctrine of Māyāvāda, the advaita (non-dualism) interpretation of the Upaniṣads and Vedānta.

(Source): ISKCON Press: Glossary

India history and geogprahy

[Shankaracarya in India history glossaries]

Adi Shankaracharya (569 BCE) was the greatest philosopher of India who single-handedly demolished the mightiest edifice of the Buddhist philosophy and re-established the authority of ancient philosophy of Upanishads & Vedanta. He was the founder of the theory of Brahmadvaitavada i.e. Non-dualism. He was perhaps the greatest spiritual leader of the world has ever known who re-energized entire country in his short life of 32 years.

(Source): The Date of Ādi Śankarāchārya
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Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

[Shankaracarya in Marathi glossaries]

śaṅkarācārya (शंकराचार्य).—m (S śaṅkara & ācārya) The designation of the celebrated teacher of the Wedant philosophy. He is stated to be an incarnation of Shiva. 2 Applied also to the Sunyasi presiding over the several maṭha or colleges established by him.

(Source): DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary
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