CHAPTER 2 Meeting His Master
One evening, Sri Srinivasa Sastry went to the residence of His elder sister, Sitalakshmi. There, ghee had just been melted. On His stretching out His hand, His sister poured a little clarified butter into His palm. He immediately sipped the same. Sitalakshmi’s husband, Narasimha Sastry, observed this and remarked, “Such drinking of ghee is done in our tradition at the time of the upanayana. Hence, you will soon be invested with the sacred thread.” These words gladdened Sri Srinivasa Sastry.
Meanwhile, at Sringeri, Jagadguru Śrī Candraśekhara Bhāratī desired to throw off the burden of pontifical duties and remain absorbed in Brahman. Hence, He resolved to choose a successor to whom He could entrust the responsibilities of the pīṭha. He had made known His resolve to Srikanta Sastry, the Agent, who administered the Maṭha on behalf of the pontiff.
One day, Srikanta Sastry arrived at Bengaluru. He asked Venkatarama Iyer, the astrologer who resided in Rama Sastry’s house, “Have you come across any boy whose horoscope indicates that he will take up the saṁnyāsa-āśrama? The Jagadguru of Sringeri is looking for a successor.” Venkatarama Iyer replied, “Yes, I have come across such a horoscope and shall bring it.” He quickly fetched Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s horoscope and handed it over to Srikanta Sastry. “Bring this boy and his father to the Maṭha,” instructed Srikanta Sastry. Venkatarama Iyer proceeded to Rama Sastry’s house and arrived at the Shankar Math with Sri Srinivasa Sastry and Rama Sastry.
Srikanta Sastry (to Rama Sastry): Has this boy’s upanayana been performed?
Rama Sastry: Not yet. I am waiting for an opportune moment.
Srikanta Sastry: In that case, if you bring Him to Sringeri, the investiture can be done there at the Maṭha’s expense. Will you come?
Viewing the offer as a godsend, Rama Sastry readily consented. Srikanta Sastry gave him in writing the day of the upanayana. Subsequently, Rama Sastry and his family left for Sringeri so as to be there a few days before the specified date. They travelled by train from Bengaluru and reached Tarikere, via Birur. They then proceeded by tramway from Tarikere to Narasimharajapura (According to the Railway Timetable of 1930, the tramway, running on a two-feet track, left every day from Tarikere at 7:00 a.m. and reached Narasimharajapura at 10:30 a.m., the fare being eight annas, half a rupee. This tramway service was discontinued in 1941.) At Narasimharajapura, they had lunch at Lakshminarayana Sastry’s house. (Lakshminarayana Sastry later became His Holiness’s Private Secretary). After food, they left by bullock cart and reached Sringeri that night, around 10 p.m. Good arrangements had been made for their stay and they were accommodated in the Dharmaśālā (This choultry housed the Maṭha’s school in the 1970s). When the Jagadguru came to that location in connection with the ongoing five-day Śaṅkara-jayantī celebrations, His glance fell on Rama Sastry and He said, “Everyone is busy now. You can have darśana at leisure tomorrow.” The functions concluded on the 3rd of May, Saturday.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s upanayana was scheduled to take place the next day, that is, on 4th May, 1930, corresponding to vaiśāka-śukla-śaṣṭī of the cyclical year Pramodūta, in Goddess Śāradāmbā’s temple itself. According to the Manu-smṛti, “For the boy’s second birth (at the time of his upanayana), Sāvitrī is said to be his mother.” Sāvitrī, Gāyatrī and Śāradā are names of Goddess Sarasvatī. That morning, Srikanta Sastry told Rama Sastry, “The time when the brahmopadeśa (initiation into the Gāyathrī-mantra) is to be performed has been decided. The bell in Śāradāmbā’s temple will ring at that time.” The ringing of the bell began just past 12:00 noon, at the start of the abhijit-muhūrta (That day the abhijit-muhūrta was from 12:02 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.). Sri Srinivasa Sastry received His initiation and, thereby, had His ‘second birth’ at that time.
Horoscope of Sri Srinivasa Sastry
Śāradāmbā Temple
The Maṭha’s main purohita (priest), Venkatasubba Avadhani, had been deputed to conduct the ceremony and it was he who taught Sri Srinivasa Sastry His first mādhyāhnika (religious rite to be performed every afternoon). That evening, he sent his son, Ganapati Subrahmanya Avadhani (who later succeeded his father as the purohita) to substitute for him and teach the evening sandhyā-vandana (religious rite to be performed every day at dawn and dusk). Sri Srinivasa Sastry meticulously repeated what He was told to say till the portion on abhivādana (salutation with self-introduction) was reached. “Kāṣyapa-vatsara-naidhruva-trayārṣeya-pravarānvita (Belonging to the line of ancestors headed by the three sages Kaśyapa, Vatsara and Naidhruva),” intoned Avadhani. “Stop,” retorted Sri Srinivasa Sastry. “I think something is wrong.” “You do not know. Repeat what I tell you,” countered Avadhani. “What you are telling me now is different from what I was taught in the afternoon regarding this,” persisted Sri Srinivasa Sastry. His sister Sitalakshmi’s spouse Narasimha Sastry, who had heard all this, told Avadhani, “Your gotra is Kāśyapa, whereas Srinivasa’s is Kounḍinya. Hence, he should say: Vāsiṣtha-maitrāvaruṇa-kounḍinya.” Avadhani corrected himself but was surprised that Sri Srinivasa Sastry had remembered what He had heard once earlier and that too amidst numerous Vedic and non-Vedic metrical and prosaic utterances.
The religious observances connected with the upanayana were completed in five days and in this period Sri Srinivasa Sastry was required to observe ceremonial purity and was not supposed to cross any river. Thereafter, Rama Sastry and members of his family crossed the gently flowing Tuṅgā and went to Narasimhavana to behold the Jagadguru. Looking compassionately at Sri Srinivasa Sastry, the Jagadguru said, “Now you are a brahmacārin. It may be necessary for you to go home and perform the ordained duties.” “I would like to remain here,” Sri Srinivasa Sastry responded, with reverence. The Jagadguru asked, “Do you not have to study English and take up a job to earn your livelihood? If yes, it is imperative that you go.” Undaunted in His resolve and frank in His expression, Sri Srinivasa Sastry said, “I desire neither that education nor a job. I wish to study Sanskrit here.”
Jagadguru: Tell me what you are now reading in school.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry: I am studying the Nalacaritra and I know it by rote.
Jagadguru: Recite some verses from it.
At this point, He unexpectedly placed His right palm on Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s head. Sri Srinivasa Sastry recited and expounded some passages in such an exemplary manner that Rama Sastry was astonished.
Jagadguru: What else have you studied?
Sri Srinivasa Sastry: History and geography.
Jagadguru: What are you taught in history?
Sri Srinivasa Sastry: About kingdoms, wars and the like.
Looking compassionately at Sri Srinivasa Sastry, the Jagadguru said, “Now you are a brahmacārin. It may be necessary for you to go home and perform the ordained duties.” “I would like to remain here,” Sri Srinivasa Sastry responded, with reverence.
He proceeded to give a brief account of some of the historical facts learnt by Him.
Jagadguru: What about geography?
Sri Srinivasa Sastry: We read of oceans, continents, etc.
Jagadguru: You must have been taught various morals. Tell me one moral which you regard as being rather important.
The elders who were present became tense, for they did not know what answer would be given. They need not have had any fears.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry: Keep good company and eschew evil associations.
On hearing these words, which were spoken unhesitatingly and with conviction, the others heaved a sigh of relief. For His part, the Jagadguru was visibly pleased. He spoke to Srikanta Sastry for a while. Next, addressing Sri Srinivasa Sastry, He asked, “Will you study here?” Without a moment’s hesitation, Sri Srinivasa Sastry answered in the affirmative. Turning to His parents, He said, “You can go home, for I wish to be a student here.” In accordance with the Jagadguru’s instructions, arrangements were made for His stay and study at Sringeri. His parents and other relatives left for Bengaluru.
Desiring that Sri Srinivasa Sastry should not be disturbed in the course of His studies, the Jagadguru lodged Him in Siddhashrama (a building that is not extant now but was then situated near the present Office of the Private Secretary) in Narasimhavana. The atmosphere was that of a hermitage in ancient times. Ramaswamy Avadhani (who later served as the principal of the Maṭha’s pāṭhaśālā at Sringeri), a boy from Kerala named Krishnan, Vireswara Dongre and Anantarama Somayaji were among those who became Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s classmates and stayed with Him. Sitarama Holla was instructed to sleep in Siddhashrama at night. He was also tasked with supplying warm water to the boys in the mornings for their bath. {When Holla gave me this information, He added that he had been instructed to ensure that Sri Srinivasa Sastry did have warm water for His morning bath. This showed the Jagadguru’s concern for His disciple’s health, which He felt was in need of attention.}
Jagadguru: You must have been taught various morals. Tell me one moral which you regard as being rather important.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry: Keep good company and eschew evil associations.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry developed the habit of waking up at around 4:30 a.m. After taking a bath, He used to perform His nityakarma (scripturally-ordained religious observances to be practised regularly) with meticulous care. He then partook of light tiffin and some milk. Thereafter, He set Himself to studies. In the afternoons, after His mādhyāhnika, He used to go for a meal, which had been arranged in Narasimhavana itself. He was not in the habit of taking recourse to any siesta in the afternoons and was mostly engaged in studies. It used to be around 10:30 p.m. before He retired for the night.
About the Gāyatrī-mantra into which one is initiated during upanayana, it is said in the Sūta-saṁhitā, “By the performance of the japa of the Gayatrī-mantra and homa with it, a person gets all that he desires. There is no room here for doubt” and in the Manu-smṛti, “He whose upanayana has been performed is freed from even a great sin, like a snake from its sloughed skin, by chanting the Gāyatrī-mantra, together with the praṇava (Om) and the vyāhṛtis (‘bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, suvaḥ’), a thousand times a day for a month at a place outside the village (such as on the bank of a river or in a forest).” Sri Srinivasa Sastry felt a great fondness for the Gāyatrī-mantra and started chanting it mentally whenever He could, right from the day of His upanayana. In about a month’s time, He was able to do so even while engaged in His regular activities. He was happy to soon find that He mentally repeated the Gāyatrī even during dreams. He did not disclose any of this to others. {It was only in 1982, fifty-two years later, that His Holiness compassionately blessed with these particulars in response to my asking Him about His initial weeks in Sringeri as a brahmacārin.}
Narasimhavana
One day, Ganapati Subrahmanya Avadhani asked Him to stand with him near the entrance of Śāradāmbā’s temple to await the Jagadguru. Some other students were also present. Avadhani felt that on seeing the students, the Jagadguru would order something to be fetched from the storeroom for them to eat. The Jagadguru did do that and then told the boys to state their names, one by one. On hearing the first boy give his name, He asked, “Why were you given this name?” The boy stood still. Next, He asked Avadhani. He too remained quiet. When it was Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s turn, He immediately replied, “I have been named Srinivasa, which is a name of God. Our elders developed the practice of naming their wards after God so as to enable the thought of God to be constantly present.” This reply not only gladdened the Jagadguru but also pleased the other students who were present there.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry was of a small build and this emboldened some of His classmates to tease Him. They used to sometimes verbally make fun of Him and, at times, used to hide His books. Being an epitome of patience, He never protested. On the contrary, He would wait silently for them to return what they had taken. So the teasers did not have any reason to fear a reprimand from the Maṭha’s authorities. This teasing was an infrequent affair and was partly done in good humour. As such, it produced no disruption in Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s studies.
Goddess Gāyatrī
Sri Srinivasa Sastry felt a great fondness for the Gāyatrī-mantra and started chanting it mentally whenever He could, right from the day of His upanayana. In about a month’s time, He was able to do so even while engaged in His regular activities.
The boys used to play various games, such as running and catching and blind man’s bluff. On one occasion, Ramaswamy Avadhani had a cloth tied over his eyes and was the one who was supposed to touch the others who were moving around to evade him. As he came near Sri Srinivasa Sastry, the latter dexterously stepped aside. Ramaswamy struck himself mildly against a pillar there. Infuriated, he loosened the cloth that veiled his vision, struck Sri Srinivasa Sastry a blow and shouted, “You are the cause of this injury.” His hitting and accusing Sri Srinivasa Sastry were decidedly unjustified. Someone else in Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s place might have chosen to retaliate with sharp words or, if possible, with a blow. He was made of finer stuff. He gave no room to anger. On the contrary, noting that Ramaswamy had injured himself slightly, He patiently pacified him and attended to his injury. Thereby, He won the heart of Ramaswamy, who was able to recollect this incident clearly even after the lapse of over fifty years. {He was moved to tears when he narrated this to me in 1984. It was on that occasion that he also told me about the teasing.}
Off and on, the Jagadguru asked the boys, in general, questions such as, “Was the food satisfactory today? Was it tasty? Was it excessively salty or pungent?” The boys used to enthusiastically express their views on the food eaten by them. Sri Srinivasa Sastry, however, remained silent on these occasions. One day, the Jagadguru asked Him, “While all the others readily comment on their food when I ask these questions, why is it that you remain silent?” He replied, “All that we get is Your Holiness’s prasāda. As such, it is always tasty.” On hearing this reply, the Jagadguru was visibly happy.
Decades prior to that, when the Jagadguru was a brahmacārin studying in the Maṭha’s pāṭhaśālā, to similar questions posed to the students by a representative of His Guru (the 33rd pontiff), He had, unlike the others, answered, “What does all that matter? We are being taught our lessons properly.” When the representative had reported the matter to His Guru, who was then on tour, His Guru had been pleased and said, “He has simply defined his attitude that he is concerned only with his studies and other considerations do not enter his mind. Know him, therefore, to be a very good and pure soul.”
Vaidyanatha Sastry (later, Śrī Bhāṣya-svāmin) was deputed to instruct the students in the performance of their daily rituals and to teach them basic texts such as the Amarakośa (an authoritative metrical lexicon) and the declensions of Sanskrit nouns, pronouns and verbs. After their study of the Sanskrit kāvyās (literary poems) had commenced, the Jagadguru used to regularly send for the boys and question them with a view to examine their progress. Every time, He found that Sri Srinivasa Sastry was head and shoulders above the others. When the boys had gained some degree of competence in literature, the Jagadguru asked them to recite antādi-ślokas. (Herein, when a verse was chanted by a person, another had to intone one commencing with the syllable with which the previous verse had ended.) In the evenings, the Jagadguru generally went to the Kālabhairava Temple situated on a hill in Narasimhavana and often took Vaidyanatha Sastry and the young students with Him. On such occasions, several subjects were discussed and quite often antādi-ślokas were chanted.
One day, in the course of His walk to the Kālabhairava Temple, the Jagadguru was explaining to the students the importance of the Sanskrit language. A scholar happened to come there. The Jagadguru discerned that he was distressed and recited the following verse: “dārā ime me, tanayā ime me, gṛhā ime me, paśavaśca me me. itthaṁ naro meṣa-samāna-dharmā me-me-karaḥ kāla-vṛkeṇa nītaḥ (This wife is mine (the Sanskrit word ‘me’, meaning ‘mine’, sounds, when pronounced, a little like the bleating of a sheep). These children are mine (‘me’). These houses are mine (‘me’) and these cattle are mine (‘me’). The man who, in this manner, keeps saying ‘me-me’ is on par with a sheep (which bleats ‘me-me’). He is killed by the wolf that is time).”
Way to Kālabhairava Temple
As soon as the scholar heard this, he wept copiously and said that the purpose for which he had come all the way to Sringeri had been fulfilled. He sought prasāda; the Jagadguru readily blessed him with it. The scholar then moved away. Vaidyanatha Sastry, who was standing nearby, was puzzled but said nothing. Though having asked for and received prasāda, the scholar did not leave Sringeri and returned the next evening to the Kālabhairava Temple. The Jagadguru asked the students to recite the verse that He had cited the previous evening; He had directed them to learn that verse by rote. He then asked, “Do you know why I wanted you to recite this verse?” Different students gave different reasons but the answer that Sri Srinivasa Sastry gave was considered most appropriate. He said, “This verse illustrates the power of Sanskrit. Here, ‘me’ means ‘mine’ and, through it, the verse portrays the hold of the sense of possession in a human being. It also represents the sound made by sheep. Thus, in Sanskrit, the same sound can bring to mind even what are quite different.” The Jagadguru was pleased with the reply.
The scholar, however, opined that the verse was particularly applicable to him. He said, “I am very rich but have no progeny. Not one of the children I have begotten has survived. My wife too is unwell. I came here to supplicate Your Holiness for a talisman for her and to obtain blessings for progeny. However, as soon as I heard Your Holiness reciting this verse, my mind cleared and I realised the uselessness of all possessions. I deem that this verse was chanted only for my benefit.” Interestingly, this scholar later took saṁnyāsa in North India.
The Jagadguru had asked the students to recite a verse. He then asked, “Do you know why I wanted you to recite this verse?” Different students gave different reasons but the following answer that Sri Srinivasa Sastry gave was considered most appropriate: “This verse illustrates the power of Sanskrit. Here, ‘me’ means ‘mine’ and, through it, the verse portrays the hold of the sense of possession in a human being. It also represents the sound made by sheep. Thus, in Sanskrit, the same sound can bring to mind even what are quite different.” The Jagadguru was pleased with the reply.
One day, Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s mother came to have the darśana of and pay her respects to the Jagadguru and to see her beloved son. After meeting Them briefly in Narasimhavana, she returned to the northern bank of the Tuṅgā at about five in the evening. The Jagadguru then proceeded to the Kālabhairava Temple. On the way, He recited a verse that conveys, “A sow quickly brings forth many luckless piglets. A she-elephant, after long gestation, gives birth to a single calf that is loved by kings.” He then asked the students what, they thought, He had sought to point out through this verse. While the others were puzzled and remained silent, Sri Srinivasa Sastry stepped forward and remarked, “A big school may give instruction to more than a hundred students. But if they are unable to grasp the substance of the teaching, the instruction will be a useless effort. A small school may have a single student. But if that boy is endowed with brains and takes maximum advantage of the instruction, he will bring fame to the institution. This, I think is the implied meaning of the verse.” The Jagadguru then turned to Vaidyanatha Sastry and asked him his view. Sastry said, “It is given only to some rare lady to give birth to a child who becomes a Jagadguru worshipped by kings. Other mothers do not get this blessing.” The reason for his giving this interpretation was that the Jagadguru had cited the verse just a few minutes after Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s mother had left. Subsequently, the boys started talking amongst themselves about this. One of them asked Sri Srinivasa Sastry whether it was not apparent that the verse referred to His mother. With His characteristic humility, He replied, “I cannot even imagine giving such an interpretation.”
A few months later, as the Jagadguru was proceeding to the Kālabhairava Temple, He saw the watchman belabouring a cow with a stick. The Jagadguru called him and said, “It is improper to beat a cow thus.” The watchman replied, “This cow does not belong to the Maṭha. It is a stray cow and is feeding on the flowers. That is why I am beating it.” The Jagadguru said, “It is improper to distinguish between one’s cow and that of another and beat it. A cow should not be beaten.” The watchman pleaded his inability to drive out the cow in any other way. The Jagadguru said, “I will explain a simple means to you. Pluck some grass and hold it in front of the cow. It will come towards you. Gradually, you can lead it out.” The watchman followed the advice and, in a short while, the cow was led out of the Maṭha’s premises.
The Jagadguru then turned to the boys and asked them to recite something pertinent to the occasion. None of them could do so, barring Sri Srinivasa Sastry. He said, “upāyena hi yac-chakyaṁ na tac-chakyaṁ parākramaiḥ (What can be achieved by tactful means cannot be accomplished by the use of force).” At that juncture, a wealthy landlord came to have the darśana of the Jagadguru. He asked if he could accompany the party to the temple. The Jagadguru readily agreed. He, however, continued the conversation about the beating of the cow. It turned out that the cow belonged to the landlord. Perhaps purposefully, the Jagadguru turned to Vaidyanatha Sastry and asked him to say something that was relevant to the incident. After thinking over the matter for some time, he said that it exemplified what is said in Bhagavatpāda’s Brahmasūtra-bhāṣya. He then quoted the portion that conveys, “On noticing a man approaching them with an upraised stick, cows begin to run away thinking, ‘He wants to hurt me’ and they approach a person holding green grass in his hand.”
The Jagadguru smiled and said, “This is your opinion. But what I have in mind is different.” He then cited a verse that means, “Though one may have a hundred cows, one needs but a little milk. From heaps of grain, one’s requirement is confined to a small measure. Likewise, though one may have a palatial mansion, one needs only a portion of a cot to sleep. The rest are mere luxuries of others.” He proceeded to cite another verse whose import is, “Whosoever consumes the milk of a cow – be it a calf, one who tends to it, its owner or one who steals it – is associated with it (and should not harm it).” He then asked the students what, they thought, He was seeking to convey through the verses. Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s response that met with approval was, “A person may have hundreds of cows but what he needs for his own sustenance is very little. In the same way, the Vedas contain an enormous amount of wisdom. The person who grasps their essence is intelligent. The essence must be contemplated upon.”
The landlord, who was present during this conversation, felt that all the verses were particularly relevant to him. He said, “All that Your Holiness has spoken about cow-protection relates to me. I have numerous cows but do not take proper care of them and even beat them. This indeed is a shortcoming of mine. It is also my fault that I just keep selling all the milk of the cows to make much money. Henceforth, I shall utilise the milk for pūjā and for the benefit of holy ones. This is certain.” He then acted accordingly.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s response that met with the Jagadguru’s approval was, “A person may have hundreds of cows but what he needs for his own sustenance is very little. In the same way, the Vedas contain an enormous amount of wisdom. The person who takes the essence out of them is alone intelligent. The essence must be contemplated upon.”
One evening, as the Jagadguru was proceeding to the Kālabhairava Temple with the students, a person came there bringing several kinds of fruits. He placed them near the Jagadguru’s feet and offered prostrations. The Jagadguru began to distribute the fruits to the boys. A monkey appeared on the scene. He tossed a bunch of black grapes to it. The simian took the whole bunch to a distance, crushed each fruit with its hands and threw every one of them away. The boys were surprised that it discarded tasty fruit. Sastry remarked, “Like giving a garland of flowers to a monkey!” Sri Srinivasa Sastry said that what the monkey did was like what Hanumān had done to the pearl necklace presented to him. As the boys and Sastry looked puzzled, the Jagadguru turned to Sri Srinivasa Sastry and asked him to elaborate. Sri Srinivasa Sastry replied that He had in mind a story about Hanumān. He then narrated the following story:
“At the time of Rāma’s coronation He gave away several presents to the assembled monkeys, such as Sugrīva. Sītā observed that nothing had been given to Hanumān. She therefore asked Rāma the reason for the omission. The Lord replied that He had nothing worthy enough to give Hanumān. He had already embraced Hanumān when the latter had returned from Laṅkā after seeing Sītā there. Perhaps, He felt that there was nothing that Hanumān would regard as worthy when compared to His affectionate hug. Sītā was not satisfied. She took a pearl necklace from Her neck and gave it to Hanumān. However, Ānjaneya did not wear it round His neck. He took it to a corner and looked at each pearl carefully. He then bit every one of them and threw them away. Sītā was annoyed. In anger, She asked Him why He had behaved in that manner. Ānjaneya replied, ‘I examined each pearl to find out if any of them contained what is dear to my heart. I even broke them open to see if what captivates me was inside the pearls. What can I do with an ordinary pearl necklace?’ ‘What was it that you were seeking?’ Sītā pressed. Ānjaneya pointed to Śrī Rāma. ‘He is not inside your body. So will you destroy it?’ She asked. At that instant, Ānjaneya tore open His chest with His hands. Therein, Sītā beheld Rāma seated on the throne along with Her. Rāma praised Ānjaneya and said that there was no devotee in the universe equal to Him.”
On hearing the story and its moral, the man who had brought the fruits declared that he had been more than recompensed for his submission of fruits. Finally, the Jagadguru asked Sri Srinivasa Sastry, “Who told you this story?” He replied that it had been narrated to Him by His mother a few years ago. When they returned from the temple, He mentioned to His friends that it had been strange that while the Jagadguru had given them oranges and bananas, which the monkey would have readily eaten, He had given only black grapes to the monkey. He felt that the Jagadguru had intentionally done so to make Him speak what He did.
On another evening, the Jagadguru was proceeding to the Kālabhairava Temple with the students and Vaidyanatha Sastry. They were engaged in chanting antādi-ślokas. Required to present a verse beginning with ‘ta’, Sastry recited the 75th verse of the Soundaryalaharī. This verse commences with the words “tava stanyaṁ manye” and means, “O Daughter of the mountain (O, Goddess Pārvatī)! I think that the ocean of milk of poetry flows from Your heart as the milk of Your breasts. On savouring that milk, given by You who are compassionate, the ‘draviḍa-śiṣu (Dravidian child)’ became the poet-laureate among great poets.” When the Jagadguru asked Sastry to give the gist of the verse, he said, “O Divine Mother! The milk that flows from Your breast is a veritable flow of learning because after drinking it, the draviḍa child, Sambandhar, became a great poet. Thus, in the guise of giving milk, the Divine Mother actually gives knowledge.” The Jagadguru asked him, “What is the authoritative basis on which you have understood the word ‘draviḍa-śiṣu (Dravidian child)’ as referring to Tirujñāna-sambandhar (the celebrated Tamilian saint-poet who was a great devotee of Lord Śiva and lived in the 7th century)?” No satisfactory answer was forthcoming from Sastry. The Jagadguru then said that He had read another story in this regard and related it. The story that He narrated is as follows and is essentially what is recounted in the commentaries of Lakṣmīdhara and Kaivalyāśrama on the Soundaryalaharī:
“Pārvatī and Parameśvara were coursing in the heavens. When seeing whether anything interesting was happening in the world below, they heard a child in the southern part of India calling out, ‘Mother, Mother!’ Pārvatī came down to the place from which the sound had come. She beheld a male child resplendent in beauty. She took him on Her lap and gave him milk from Her breast. Immediately, the child praised Her in a hundred verses. The Goddess then returned to where Śiva was in the sky. He asked Her to recount the verses. She felt reluctant to do so as the verses glorified Her. After reaching Kailāsa, the Lord again asked Her to repeat those verses. Instead of reciting them, She wrote them on a rock. Bhagavatpāda was then in samādhi and directed His mind towards Kailāsa. He saw the ślokas on the boulder. He read seventy-four stanzas. Meanwhile, Pārvatī had finished the hundred verses and had started erasing them one by one. As Bhagavatpāda could not see the final twenty-six verses, He composed them on His own. It is said that Bhagavatpāda had mentioned this incident in a disguised manner in the seventy-fifth verse.”
Sri Srinivasa Sastry said, “I have heard that the Divine Mother had given milk from Her breast to Bhagavatpāda.” The Jagadguru asked Him to narrate the story that He was having in His mind. Sri Srinivasa Sastry proceeded to do so. He said, “When Bhagavatpāda was a child, He used to be given cow’s milk that had first been taken to the temple and offered as naivedya to the Goddess. One day, as there was some pollution in the household, no such offering was made to the Divine Mother. Hence, Bhagavatpāda’s mother, Āryāmbā, gave Him unoffered milk to drink. On imbibing a little of it, the child found it to be insipid and started weeping. He said, ‘You have given me some other milk. Give me some milk which I can first take to the Divine Mother.’ So she gave Him another tumbler of milk. He took it with great joy to the temple and beseeched the deity to partake of it. As the milk was delicious, the Goddess drank the whole of it and left nothing for Him. The child began to cry. At this, the Divine Mother embraced Him and gave Him the milk of Her breast. When He narrated this incident to the members of His family, they were sceptical. It is said that His consumption of the milk of knowledge contributed to His unique greatness.”
The Jagadguru asked Sri Srinivasa Sastry if this story had been narrated by His mother. He answered in the affirmative.
Another evening, during the chanting of antādi-ślokas, it was Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s turn to recite a verse beginning with ‘ma’. He intoned a śloka that began with the words “mano na me” and meant, “My mind does not incline towards the breasts of women or to a young disciple or to gold. I only know the delight of the lotus feet of Śiva.” The Jagadguru asked Him, “Who is the author of this verse?” Sri Srinivasa Sastry indicated Vaidyanatha Sastry. The latter, however, stated that it was not his composition but was that of the Jagadguru Himself. “I heard it when Your Holiness was in an indrawn state,” said Sastry.
The Jagadguru asked him whether there were other such verses. Sastry replied that he had noted down a few. The Jagadguru asked him to bring his notes the next day. When the jottings were brought and read out, the Jagadguru selected one verse and wanted Sastry to give its meaning later. The verse’s thrust is, “Śiva, in His manifestation as Dakṣiṇāmūrti, indicated through His silence and cinmudrā that the Ātman is without a second, is of the nature of consciousness and is all pervading. The book, snake and flame (in His hands) evidence this.” {The cinmudrā is characterised by the tips of the index finger and the thumb of the right hand touching one another, and the other fingers being held straight. This is deemed to be the sign of knowledge of the non-dual Truth, with the touching of the tips of index finger and thumb pointing to the non-difference of the individual soul and the Supreme. As for the Lord teaching through silence, Bhagavatpāda has recounted in His Brahmasūtra-bhāṣya, a Vedic account of Bāskali approaching the sage Bādhva and requesting to be instructed about the Supreme Brahman. Bādhva remained silent. Bāskali repeated his request; Bādhva remained silent. When Bāskali made his request for the third time, Bādhva said, “I have already taught you (by my silence) but you have failed to comprehend. This Ātman is quiescence.”}
The next day, scholars of the Maṭha also came to the Kālabhairava Temple. They were unable to go beyond the basic meaning of the verse and explain what the book, snake and fire stood for and how they evidenced the non-dual Truth. Vaidyanatha Sastry emphasised that the book stood for Advaita, the serpent for knowledge and the fire for all-pervasiveness. Although the leaves of the book are separate, there is unity in a book. This indicates Advaita or non-duality in the midst of the appearance of variety. The example of a rope mistaken for a snake is common and shows that with the dawn of knowledge, illusion disappears. Fire represents all-pervasion. Just as the whole world is pervaded by the heat of fire, so also the Ātman is omnipresent. This explanation did not satisfy the Jagadguru.
Sri Srinivasa Sastry then remarked that the book, snake and fire indicated the scripture, reasoning and direct experience respectively. {The book, understandably, represents the scripture, which is the fundamental means of right knowledge of the non-dual Truth. Though learning from the scripture that there is just the non-dual Truth, one may be assailed by the doubt about how this could be so as the world of duality is seen. The snake stands for the illusory snake of the well-known rope-snake example. Just as a snake that is mistakenly seen in the place of a rope does not affect either the actual non-duality or the intrinsic nature of the rope, the perceived world of duality, being like the snake of the example, does not affect the Truth, which is non-dual. In this fashion, the snake held by Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti is suggestive of reasoning that is in consonance with the scriptural teaching and serves to dispel any doubt about the non-dual Truth. The Lord has said in the Bhagavadgītā, “O Arjuna, just as a well-kindled fire reduces wooden fuel to ashes, so does the fire of knowledge reduce all karma to ashes.” In this and several other places, direct realization of the Truth has been presented as analogous to fire. So the fire held by Lord can indicate direct experience.} Thus, according to the Jagadguru’s verse, Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti teaches the non-dual Ātman, of the nature of consciousness, through His silence and the cinmudrā and, as explained by Sri Srinivasa Sastry, the book, snake and fire in His hands represent the scripture, reasoning and direct experience, the means to rightly know that non-dual Ātman. Neither the Jagadguru nor any of the scholars had any objection to Sri Srinivasa Sastry’s profound explanation, which was advanced by Him on the spot and that too when He was just twelve years of age and without prior exposure to Vedānta.