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72-416: Dvaraka Pitha is one of the four peeths (religious centers) believed by tradition to be established by Adi Shankaracharya (9th cent. CE,) who is portrayed as pioneering the unification of Hindu religious beliefs in the country. It is a four storied structure representing four peeths believed by a tradition, developed in the 14th-17th century, to be established by Shankaracharya in different parts of

144-507: A Sannyasin or else the crocodile will kill him. The mother agrees, Shankara is freed and leaves his home for education. He reaches a Saivite sanctuary along a river in a north-central state of India, and becomes the disciple of a teacher named Govinda Bhagavatpada . The stories in various hagiographies diverge in details about the first meeting between Shankara and his Guru , where they met, as well as what happened later. Several texts suggest Shankara schooling with Govindapada happened along

216-548: A "crypto-Buddhist," a qualification which is rejected by the Advaita Vedanta tradition, highlighting their respective views on Atman , Anatta and Brahman . Several different dates have been proposed for Shankara. While the Advaita-tradition assigns him to the 5th century BCE, the scholarly-accepted dating places Shankara to be a scholar from the first half of the 8th century CE. The records of

288-465: A "divine folk-hero who spread his teaching through his digvijaya ("universal conquest," see below) all over India like a victorious conqueror." In his doxography Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha ("Summary of all views") Vidyaranya presented Shankara's teachings as the summit of all darsanas , presenting the other darsanas as partial truths which converged in Shankara's teachings, which was regarded to be

360-424: A cricket context, these countries are often referred to simply as the subcontinent around the world e.g. " Australia's tour of the subcontinent". The word is also sometimes used as an adjective in this context e.g. "subcontinental conditions". The Indian subcontinent was formerly part of Gondwana , a supercontinent formed during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic . Gondwana began to break up during

432-593: A distinct political entity that eventually became a nation-state (today the Republic of India). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term subcontinent signifies a "subdivision of a continent which has a distinct geographical, political, or cultural identity" and also a "large land mass somewhat smaller than a continent". Its use to signify the Indian subcontinent is evidenced from

504-443: A number of disciple scholars during his travels, including Padmapadacharya (also called Sanandana, associated with the text Atma-bodha ), Sureśvaracharya , Totakacharya , Hastamalakacharya , Chitsukha, Prthividhara, Chidvilasayati, Bodhendra, Brahmendra, Sadananda and others, who authored their own literature on Shankara and Advaita Vedanta. According to hagiographies, supported by four maths, Adi Shankara died at Kedarnath in

576-483: A rallying symbol of values, spread historical and cultural influence of Shankara's Vedānta philosophies, and establish monasteries ( mathas ) to expand the cultural influence of Shankara and Advaita Vedānta. Traditionally, Shankara is regarded as the greatest teacher and reformer of the Smartism sampradaya , which is one of four major sampradaya of Hinduism . According to Alf Hiltebeitel , Shankara established

648-645: A region or a 'realm' by itself than the Indian subcontinent." This natural physical landmass in South Asia is the dry-land portion of the Indian Plate , which has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The Himalayas (from Brahmaputra River in the east to Indus River in the west), Karakoram (from Indus River in the east to Yarkand River in the west) and the Hindu Kush mountains (from Yarkand River westwards) form its northern boundary. In

720-482: A small archipelago southwest of the peninsula, while largely considered a part of the Indian subcontinent, sometimes is mentioned by sources, including the International Monetary Fund , as a group of islands away from the Indian subcontinent in a south-western direction. The population of Indian subcontinent is about 1.912 billion which makes it the most populated region in the world. It

792-414: A social elite, "sharply distinguished from the general practitioners and theologians of Hinduism." Their teachings were "transmitted among a small number of selected intellectuals". Works of the early Vedanta schools do not contain references to Vishnu or Shiva. It was only after Shankara that "the theologians of the various sects of Hinduism utilized Vedanta philosophy to a greater or lesser degree to form

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864-534: A term closely linked to the region's colonial heritage, as a cover term, the latter is still widely used in typological studies. Since the Partition of India , citizens of Pakistan (which became independent of British India in 1947) and Bangladesh (which became independent of Pakistan in 1971) often perceive the use of the Indian subcontinent as offensive and suspicious because of the dominant placement of India in

936-527: A thousand years after Shankara's death, in Sanskrit and non-Sanskrit languages, and the hagiographies are filled with legends and fiction, often mutually contradictory. Many of these are called the Śankara Vijaya ('The conquests ( digvijaya ) of Shankara'), while some are called Guruvijaya , Sankarabhyudaya and Shankaracaryacarita . Of these, the Brhat-Sankara-Vijaya by Citsukha is

1008-822: Is a peninsular region in South Asia delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east. It extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by large mountain barriers. Laccadive Islands , Maldives and

1080-588: Is a physiographical region in Southern Asia , mostly situated on the Indian Plate , projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas . Geographically, it spans the countries of Bangladesh , Bhutan , the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka . Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote

1152-477: Is common to find Western scholars and Hindus arguing that Sankaracarya was the most influential and important figure in the history of Hindu intellectual thought, this does not seem to be justified by the historical evidence. According to Clark, "Sankara was relatively unknown during his life-time, and probably for several centuries after, as there is no mention of him in Buddhist or jain sources for centuries; nor

1224-444: Is he mentioned by other important philosophers of the ninth and tenth centuries." According to King and Roodurmun, until the 10th century Shankara was overshadowed by his older contemporary Mandana-Misra , the latter considered to be the major representative of Advaita. Maṇḍana Miśra , an older contemporary of Shankara, was a Mimamsa scholar and a follower of Kumarila , but also wrote a seminal text on Advaita that has survived into

1296-585: Is regarded as the founder of the Daśanāmi Sampradāya of Hindu monasticism , and the Panchayatana puja and Ṣaṇmata of the Smarta tradition . Advaita Vedanta is, at least in the west, primarily known as a philosophical system. But it is also a tradition of renunciation . Philosophy and renunciation are closely related: Most of the notable authors in the advaita tradition were members of

1368-428: Is somewhat contested as there is no globally accepted definition on which countries are a part of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Whether called the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, the definition of the geographical extent of this region varies. Afghanistan , despite often considered as a part of South Asia, is usually not included in the Indian subcontinent. Maldives, an island country consisting of

1440-531: Is uncertain. Ten monastic orders in different parts of India are generally attributed to Shankara's travel-inspired Sannyasin schools, each with Advaita notions, of which four have continued in his tradition: Bharati (Sringeri), Sarasvati (Kanchi), Tirtha and Asramin (Dvaraka). Other monasteries that record Shankara's visit include Giri, Puri, Vana, Aranya, Parvata and Sagara – all names traceable to Ashrama system in Hinduism and Vedic literature. Shankara had

1512-650: The 26 atolls of the Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Historically, the region surrounding and southeast of the Indus River was often simply referred to as "India" in many historical sources. Even today, historians use this term to denote the entire Indian subcontinent when discussing history up until the era of the British Raj. Over time, however, "India" evolved to refer to

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1584-659: The Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time. The central concern of Shankara's writings is the liberating knowledge of the true identity of jivatman (individual self) as Ātman - Brahman , taking the Upanishads as an independent means of knowledge, beyond the ritually-oriented Mīmāṃsā -exegesis of the Vedas. Shankara's Advaita shows influences from Mahayana Buddhism , despite Shankara's critiques; and Hindu Vaishnava opponents have even accused Shankara of being

1656-595: The Brahmasutrabhasya , his commentaries on ten principal Upanishads , his commentary on the Bhagavad Gita , and the Upadeśasāhasrī . The authenticity of Shankara being the author of Vivekacūḍāmaṇi has been questioned and mostly rejected by scholarship. His authentic works present a harmonizing reading of the shastras , with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing

1728-520: The Brahmatattva-samiksa , a commentary on Mandana Mishra's Brahma-siddhi . His thought was mainly inspired by Mandana Miśra, and harmonises Shankara's thought with that of Mandana Miśra. The Bhamati school takes an ontological approach. It sees the Jiva as the source of avidya. It sees yogic practice and contemplation as the main factor in the acquirement of liberation, while the study of

1800-660: The Chagos Archipelago are three series of coral atolls , cays and Faroes on the Indian Plate along with the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge , a submarine ridge that was generated by the northern drift of the Indian Plate over the Réunion hotspot during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic times. The Maldives archipelago rises from a basement of volcanic basalt outpourings from a depth of about 2000 m forming

1872-629: The Daśanāmi Sampradaya , organizing a section of the Ekadandi monks under an umbrella grouping of ten names. Several other Hindu monastic and Ekadandi traditions remained outside the organisation of the Dasanāmis. According to tradition, Adi Sankara organised the Hindu monks of these ten sects or names under four Maṭhas (Sanskrit: मठ ) (monasteries), with the headquarters at Dvārakā in

1944-768: The Mesozoic , with Insular India separating from Antarctica 130-120 million years ago and Madagascar around 90 million years ago, during the Cretaceous . Insular India subsequently drifted northeastwards, colliding with the Eurasian Plate nearly 55 million years ago, during the Eocene , forming the Indian subcontinent. The zone where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinent plates meet remains geologically active, prone to major earthquakes. Physiographically , it

2016-590: The Sringeri Matha state that Shankara was born in the 14th year of the reign of "Vikramaditya", but it is unclear to which king this name refers. Though some researchers identify the name with Chandragupta II (4th century CE), modern scholarship accepts the Vikramaditya as being from the Chalukya dynasty of Badami , most likely Vikramaditya II (733–746 CE). Shankara has an unparallelled status in

2088-581: The 10th century Shankara was overshadowed by his older contemporary Maṇḍana Miśra , and there is no mention of him in concurring Hindu, Buddhist or Jain sources until the 11th century. The popular image of Shankara started to take shape in the 14th century, centuries after his death, when Sringeri matha started to receive patronage from the kings of the Vijayanagara Empire and shifted their allegiance from Advaitic Agamic Shaivism to Brahmanical Advaita orthodoxy. Hagiographies dating from

2160-465: The 14th-17th centuries deified him as a ruler - renunciate , travelling on a digvijaya (conquest of the four quarters) across the Indian subcontinent to propagate his philosophy, defeating his opponents in theological debates. These hagiographies portray him as founding four mathas ("monasteries"), and Adi Shankara also came to be regarded as the organiser of the Dashanami monastic order, and

2232-574: The Dvaraka Math. As a result, the cumulative lineage of Mulabagal Math was merged with Dwarka when Abhinava took office there. Years later Shri Sachchidananda helped to mediate the Shankarcharya successions at Puri and Jyotir Math. Since Abhinava died in 1982, this peeth has been led by Swami Swarūpānanda Saraswatī who is one of the claimants to the position of Shankaracharya of the northern matha called Jyotish Pitha or Jyotir Math . After

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2304-468: The Indian coast through the maritime routes on the Arabian Sea. In terms of modern geopolitical boundaries, the subcontinent constitutes Bangladesh , Bhutan , India, Nepal , and Pakistan , besides, by convention, the island country of Sri Lanka and other nearby island nations of the Indian Ocean, such as Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory . Unlike "South Asia", sometimes

2376-406: The Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance". Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term South Asia is becoming more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia. While South Asia , a more accurate term that reflects the region's contemporary political demarcations, is replacing the Indian subcontinent ,

2448-588: The Suresvara school. Hajime Nakamura states that prior to Shankara, views similar to his already existed, but did not occupy a dominant position within the Vedanta. Until the 11th century, Vedanta itself was a peripheral school of thought; Vedanta became a major influence when it was utilized by various sects of Hinduism to ground their doctrines. The early Vedanta scholars were from the upper classes of society, well-educated in traditional culture. They formed

2520-781: The Vedas and reflection are additional factors. The later Advaita Vedanta tradition incorporated Maṇḍana Miśra into the Shankara-fold, by identifying him with Sureśvara (9th century), believing that Maṇḍana Miśra became a disciple of Shankara after a public debate which Shankara won. According to Satchidanandendra Sarasvati , "almost all the later Advaitins were influenced by Mandana Misra and Bhaskara ." He argues that most of post-Shankara Advaita Vedanta actually deviates from Shankara, and that only his student Suresvara, who's had little influence, represents Shankara correctly. In this view, Shankara's influential student Padmapada misunderstood Shankara, while his views were manitained by

2592-424: The Vijayanagara Empire competed for patronage from the royal court, and tried to convert others to their sect. It is only during this period that the historical fame and cultural influence of Shankara and Advaita Vedanta was established. Many of Shankara's biographies were created and published in and after the 14th century, such as Vidyaranya's widely cited Śankara-vijaya . Vidyaranya , also known as Madhava, who

2664-567: The Vijayanagara Empire. Furthermore, sects competed for patronage from the royal court, and tried to convert others to their own sectarian system. Vidyaranya and his brothers, note Paul Hacker and other scholars, wrote extensive Advaitic commentaries on the Vedas and Dharma to make "the authoritative literature of the Aryan religion" more accessible. Vidyaranya was an influential Advaitin, and he created legends to turn Shankara, whose elevated philosophy had no appeal to gain widespread popularity, into

2736-829: The West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in the South and Badrikashrama in the North. Each matha was headed by one of his four main disciples, who each continues the Vedanta Sampradaya. According to Paul Hacker, the system may have been initiated by Vidyaranya (14th c.), who may have founded a matha , proclaiming that it was established by Shankara himself, as part of his campaign to propagate Shankara's Advaita Vedanta. Vidyaranya enjoyed royal support, and his sponsorship and methodical efforts helped establish Shankara as

2808-500: The basis of their doctrines," whereby "its theoretical influence upon the whole of Indian society became final and definitive." Examples are Ramanuja (11th c.), who aligned bhakti , "the major force in the religions of Hinduism," with philosophical thought, meanwhile rejecting Shankara's views, and the Nath -tradition. In medieval times, Advaita Vedanta position as most influential Hindu darsana started to take shape, as Advaitins in

2880-482: The central part of the ridge between Laccadives and the Great Chagos Bank . According to anthropologist Patrap C. Dutta, "the Indian subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia." According to historian B. N. Mukherjee , "The subcontinent is an indivisible geographical entity." According to geographer Dudley Stamp , "There is perhaps no mainland part of the world better marked off by nature as

2952-539: The country. There are paintings on the walls here depicting the life history of Shankaracharya while the dome has carvings of Shiva in different postures. Website: www.shreesharadapithmathdwarka.org In 1945, Shri Abhinava Sachchidananda Tirtha was nominated to the position. Before assuming his position at Dwarka, Abhinava was the head of the Mulabagal Math in Karnataka, which was the 17th century branch of

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3024-499: The cultural influence of Shankara and Advaita Vedānta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scanty. His existing biographies are not historical accurate documents, but politically motivated hagiographies which were all written several centuries after his time and abound in legends and improbable events. There are at least fourteen different known hagiographies of Adi Shankara's life. These, as well as other hagiographical works on Shankara, were written many centuries to

3096-927: The death of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, who was the Shankracharya of Dwarka Sharada Math, Sadanand Saraswati was made the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharada Math. Adi Shankaracharya Shaivism/Tantra/Nath New movements Kashmir Shaivism Gaudapada Adi Shankara Advaita-Yoga Nath Kashmir Shaivism Neo-Vedanta Inchegeri Sampradaya Contemporary Shaivism/Tantra/Nath Neo-Advaita Hinduism Buddhism Modern Advaita Vedanta Neo-Vedanta Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( Sanskrit : आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य , romanized :  Ādi Śaṅkara, Ādi Śaṅkarācārya , lit.   'First Shankaracharya ', pronounced [aːd̪i ɕɐŋkɐraːt͡ɕaːrjɐ] ),

3168-446: The death of his father, and was then performed by his mother. Shankara's hagiographies describe him as someone who was attracted to the life of Sannyasa (hermit) from early childhood. His mother disapproved. A story, found in all hagiographies, describe Shankara at age eight going to a river with his mother, Sivataraka , to bathe, and where he is caught by a crocodile. Shankara called out to his mother to give him permission to become

3240-631: The early twentieth century when most of the territory was either part of the British Empire or allied with them. It was a convenient term to refer to the region comprising both British India and the princely states . The term has been particularly common in the British Empire and its successors, while the term South Asia is the more common usage in Europe and North America. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal ,

3312-481: The east, it is bounded by Patkai , Naga , Lushai and Chin hills. The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea form the boundary of the Indian subcontinent in the south, south-east and south-west. Given the difficulty of passage through the Himalayas, the sociocultural, religious and political interaction of the Indian subcontinent has largely been through the valleys of Afghanistan in its northwest,

3384-444: The expression "Indian subcontinent" may exclude the islands of Maldives and Sri Lanka. According to Pawan Budhwar, Arup Varma, and Manjusha Hirekhan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian subcontinent. Budhwar, Varma, and Hirekhan also maintain that with Afghanistan and Maldives included the region is referred to as South Asia. The periphery of the subcontinent, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and

3456-751: The hagiographies about Shankara vary significantly. Different and widely inconsistent accounts of his life include diverse journeys, pilgrimages, public debates, installation of yantras and lingas, as well as the founding of monastic centers in north, east, west and south India. While the details and chronology vary, most hagiographies present Shankara as traveling widely within India, Gujarat to Bengal, and participating in public philosophical debates with different orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy , as well as heterodox traditions such as Buddhists, Jains, Arhatas, Saugatas, and Charvakas . The hagiographies credit him with starting several Matha (monasteries), but this

3528-463: The introduction of the Pañcāyatana form of worship , the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman , the invisible Supreme Being. While often revered as the most important Indian philosopher, the historical influence of his works on Hindu intellectual thought has been questioned. Until

3600-417: The island chains of Maldives, features large Muslim populations, while the heartland, including most of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, are overwhelmingly Hindu or Buddhist. Since most of these countries are located on the Indian Plate, a continuous landmass , the borders between countries are often either a river or a no man's land . The precise definition of an "Indian subcontinent" in a geopolitical context

3672-628: The landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas. It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole , delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east. The neighboring geographical regions around

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3744-588: The modern era, the Brahma-siddhi . The "theory of error" set forth in the Brahma-siddhi became the normative Advaita Vedanta theory of error, and for a couple of centuries he was the most influential Vedantin. His student Vachaspati Miśra , who is believed to have been an incarnation of Shankara to popularize the Advaita view, wrote the Bhamati , a commentary on Shankara's Brahma Sutra Bhashya , and

3816-405: The most accurate interpretation of the Upanishads. And Vidyaranya founded a matha , proclaiming that it was established by Shankara himself. Vidyaranya enjoyed royal support, and his sponsorship and methodical efforts helped establish Shankara as a rallying symbol of values, spread historical and cultural influence of Shankara's Vedānta philosophies, and establish monasteries ( mathas ) to expand

3888-447: The most cited Shankara hagiographies, Anandagiri's, includes stories and legends about historically different people, but all bearing the same name of Sri Shankaracarya or also referred to as Shankara but likely meaning more ancient scholars with names such as Vidya-sankara, Sankara-misra and Sankara-nanda. Some hagiographies are probably written by those who sought to create a historical basis for their rituals or theories. According to

3960-500: The most inclusive system. The Vaishanava traditions of Dvaita and Visishtadvaita were not classified as Vedanta, and placed just above Buddhism and Jainism, reflecting the threat they posed for Vidyaranya's Advaita allegiance. Bhedabheda wasn't mentioned at all, "literally written out of the history of Indian philosophy." Such was the influence of the Sarvadarśanasaṅgraha , that early Indologists also regarded Advaita Vedanta as

4032-626: The nondualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstone of a revived smarta tradition: Practically, Shankara fostered a rapprochement between Advaita and smarta orthodoxy, which by his time had not only continued to defend the varnasramadharma theory as defining the path of karman , but had developed the practice of pancayatanapuja ("five-shrine worship") as a solution to varied and conflicting devotional practices. Thus one could worship any one of five deities (Vishnu, Siva, Durga, Surya, Ganesa) as one's istadevata ("deity of choice"). Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent

4104-519: The northern Indian state of Uttarakhand , a Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas. Texts say that he was last seen by his disciples behind the Kedarnath temple, walking in the Himalayas until he was not traced. Some texts locate his death in alternate locations such as Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) and somewhere in the state of Kerala. According to the hagiographies related to the monastery of Kanchi, Adi Sankara died at Kanchi. Traditionally, Shankara

4176-449: The oldest hagiographies, Shankara was born in the southern Indian state of Kerala , in a village named Kaladi sometimes spelled as Kalati or Karati. His parents were an aged, childless, couple who led a devout life of service to the poor. They named their child Shankara, meaning "giver of prosperity". His father died while Shankara was very young. Shankara's upanayanam , the initiation into student-life, had to be delayed due to

4248-565: The oldest hagiography but only available in excerpts, while Sankaradigvijaya by Mādhava (17th c.) and Sankaravijaya by Anandagiri are the most cited. Other significant hagiographies are the Cidvilāsīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ (of Cidvilāsa, c. between the 15th and 17th centuries), and the Keraļīya Śaṅkara Vijayaṃ (of the Kerala region, extant from c. the 17th century). } Scholars note that one of

4320-525: The one who reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Saktism) with the introduction of the Pañcāyatana form of worship , the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman , the invisible Supreme Being, implying that Advaita Vedanta stood above all other traditions. Scholars have questioned Shankara's early influence in India. The Buddhist scholar Richard E. King states, Although it

4392-431: The region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan , which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding the British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent. Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India , an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with

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4464-643: The river Narmada in Omkareshwar , a few place it along river Ganges in Kashi ( Varanasi ) as well as Badari ( Badrinath in the Himalayas). The hagiographies vary in their description of where he went, who he met and debated and many other details of his life. Most mention Shankara studying the Vedas , Upanishads and Brahmasutra with Govindapada, and Shankara authoring several key works in his youth, while he

4536-421: The sannyasa tradition, and both sides of the tradition share the same values, attitudes and metaphysics. Shankara was a Vaishnavite who came to be presented as an incarnation of Shiva in the 14th century, to facilitate the adoption of his teachings by previously Saiva-oriented mathas in the Vijayanagara Empire. From the 14th century onwards hagiographies were composed, in which he is portrayed as establishing

4608-766: The subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south. Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia (the Malay Archipelago ), the maritime region of the subcontinent ( littoral South Asia ) is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere : the British Indian Ocean Territory two of

4680-483: The term. As such it is being increasingly less used in those countries. Meanwhile, many Indian analysts prefer to use the term because of the socio-cultural commonalities of the region. The region has also been called the "Asian subcontinent", the "South Asian subcontinent", as well as "India" or " Greater India " in the classical and pre-modern sense. The sport of cricket is notably popular in India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Nepal and Bangladesh . Within

4752-542: The tradition of Advaita Vedanta . Hagiographies from the 14th-17th century portray him as a victor who travelled all over India to help restore the study of the Vedas According to Frank Whaling, "Hindus of the Advaita persuasion (and others too) have seen in Sankara the one who restored the Hindu dharma against the attacks of the Buddhists (and Jains) and in the process helped to drive Buddhism out of India." His teachings and tradition are central to Smartism and have influenced Sant Mat lineages. Tradition portrays him as

4824-495: The unifier of the Shanmata tradition of worship. The title of Shankaracharya , used by heads of certain monasteries in India, is derived from his name. Due to his later fame, over 300 texts are attributed to him, including commentaries ( Bhāṣya ), introductory topical expositions ( Prakaraṇa grantha ) and poetry ( Stotra ). However, most of these are likely to be written by admirers or pretenders or scholars with an eponymous name. Works known to be written by Shankara himself are

4896-402: The valleys of Manipur in its east, and by maritime routes . More difficult but historically important interaction has also occurred through passages pioneered by the Tibetans . These routes and interactions have led to the spread of Buddhism out of the subcontinent into other parts of Asia. The Islamic expansion arrived into the subcontinent in two ways: through Afghanistan on land, and to

4968-401: The west it is bounded by parts of the mountain ranges of Hindu Kush , Spīn Ghar (Safed Koh), Sulaiman Mountains , Kirthar Mountains , Brahui range, and Pab range among others, with the Western Fold Belt along the border (between the Sulaiman Range and the Chaman Fault) is the western boundary of the Indian Plate, where, along the Eastern Hindu Kush, lies the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In

5040-422: Was an Indian Vedic scholar , philosopher and teacher ( acharya ) of Advaita Vedanta . Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scanty, and his true impact lies in his "iconic representation of Hindu religion and culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta. Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Saktism) with

5112-450: Was studying with his teacher. It is with his teacher Govinda, that Shankara studied Gaudapadiya Karika, as Govinda was himself taught by Gaudapada. Most also mention a meeting with scholars of the Mimamsa school of Hinduism namely Kumarila and Prabhakara, as well as Mandana and various Buddhists, in Shastrartha (an Indian tradition of public philosophical debates attended by large number of people, sometimes with royalty). Thereafter,

5184-577: Was the 12th Jagadguru of the Śringeri Śarada Pītham from 1380 to 1386 and a minister in the Vijayanagara Empire, inspired the re-creation of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire of South India. This may have been in response to the devastation caused by the Islamic Delhi Sultanate , but his efforts were also targeted at Sri Vaishnava groups, especially Visishtadvaita , which was dominant in territories conquered by

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