Context:
- Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister unveiled the 108-foot-tall ‘Statue of Oneness’ of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar.
- The statue depicts Shankaracharya as a 12-year-old child when he is said to have visited Omkareshwar.
Where?
- The government has invested Rs 2,200 crore to develop the temple town located on the Mandhata island of Khandwa district, which will form an important tourism circuit, along with Ujjain, Maheshwar and Mandu religious towns.
Who was Adi Shankaracharya?
- Adi Shankara, who is believed to have lived between 788 and 820 AD, was born in Kerela’s Kaladi, situated on the bank of the Periyar River. He became a sanyasin at an early age and left his Brahmin household, where he is said to have made his way to Omkareshwar. Here, he studied under his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada and soon became a proponent of Advaita Vedanta, challenging prevailing philosophical traditions – including Buddhism and Jainism.
- He is said to have authored 116 works. The most notable among them are the commentaries on the 10 Upanishads, the Brahmasutra and the Gita.
- He was a devotee of Shiva.
- Major Work:
- Brahmasutrabhasya (Bhashya or commentary on the Brahma Sutra).
- Bhajagovinda Stotra.
- Nirvana Shatakam.
- Prakaran Granths.
- Other Contributions:
- Was responsible for reviving Hinduism in India to a great extent when Buddhism was gaining popularity.
- Established four Mathas in the four corners of India at Shingeri, Puri, Dwaraka and Badrinath– for propagation of Sanathana Dharma.
- Advaita Vedanta:
- It articulates a philosophical position of radical nondualism, a revisionary worldview which it derives from the ancient Upanishadic texts.
- According to Advaita Vedantins, the Upanishads reveal a fundamental principle of nonduality termed ‘brahman’, which is the reality of all things.
- Advaitins understand brahman as transcending individuality and empirical plurality. They seek to establish that the essential core of one’s self (atman) is brahman.
- The fundamental thrust of Advaita Vedanta is that the atman is pure non-intentional consciousness.
- It is one without a second, nondual, infinite existence, and numerically identical with brahman.
Why is the Mandhata island considered an important religious destination?
- The Mandhata island, nestled on the Narmada River, is home to two of the 12 Jyotirlingas – Omkareshwara (located on the south side of the island) and Amareshwara.
- The island is dotted with Shaivite, Vaisnavite, and Jain temples dating back to the 14th and 18th centuries. The name ‘Omkareshwar’ is derived from the shape of the island, which resembles the sacred syllable ‘Om’, and its name means ‘the Lord of Omkara’.
What are jyotirlingas?
- Puranas say that Lord Shiva pierced the world as an endless pillar of light, called the jyotirlinga. There are 12 jyotirlinga sites in India that are considered a manifestation of Shiva. Besides Mahakal in Ujjain, these include Somnath and Nageshwar in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar, Triyambakeshwar and Grishneshwar in Maharashtra, Viswanath at Varanasi, Baidyanath in Jharkhand, and Rameshwar in Tamil Nadu.