[South Indian Sanskrit MS 024, Whish MS 23] Vivekacūḍāmaṇi

Creator – Śaṅkarācārya
Language-Sanskrit
Date [1800?]

Manuscript consists of three sections: 1. Commentaries by Śaṅkara on the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (f.1-31a), Praśna Upaniṣad (f.31b-55) and Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (f.56a-81); 2. the Upadeśagranthavivaraṇa, a commentary on Śaṅkara’s Upadeśasahasrikā, by Bodhanidhi (?), a pupil of Vidyādhāman (f.1-37); 3. the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi by Śaṅkara (f.1-31).

Text of the commentary on the Kaṭhopaniṣad begins: on namo bhagavate vaivasvatāya mṛtyave brahmavidyācāryyāya Naciketase cātha Kāṭhakopaniṣadvallīnāṃ sukhārtthapratibodhanārttham alpagranthā vṛttir ārabhyate etc.

It ends: iti śrī-Govinda-bhagavat-pūjyapāda-śiṣya-śrīparamahaṃsa-parivrājakācāryya-śrīmac-Chaṃkara-bhagavat-kṛtau Kāṭhakopaniṣad-vivaraṇe ṣaṣṭhī vallī samāptā || ….. asmatgurucaraṇāravindābhyān namaḥ ||

Text of the commentary on the Praśnopaniṣad begins: oṃ śrutismṛtipurāṇānām ālayaṃ karuṇālayaṃ | namāmi bhagavat-pāda-Śaṃkaraṃ lokaśaṃkaraṃ | … mantroktārtthasya vistarānuvādīdaṃ brāhmaṇam ārabhyate | ṛṣipraśnaprativacanākhyāyikā tu vidyā, etc.

It ends: śrī-Śaṃkara-bhagavataḥ kṛtau atharvaṇopaniṣadvivaraṇe praśnavivaraṇaṃ samāptaṃ || hariḥ oṃ || etc.

Text of the commentary on the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad begins: brahmā devānām ity ādyātharvaṇopaniṣat vyācikhyāsitā etc.

It ends: śrīmac-Chaṃkarabhagavataḥ kṛtau ātharvaṇopaniṣat-vivaraṇaṃ samāptaṃ || hariḥ oṃ ||

Text of the Upadeśagranthavivaraṇa begins: viṣṇuṃ pañcātmakaṃ vande bhaktyāṣṭādaśabhedayā … | 1 || samāvayya [read -vāpya?] kriyās sarvā dārāgnyādhānapūrvikāḥ | brahmavidyām athedānīṃ vaktuṃ vedaḥ pracakrame | 2 | etc

It ends: … iti saptaśataślokā yatīndraśrīmukhotgatāḥ | vivṛtā gurusaktena mayā brahmātmabodhakāḥ | upāsya śraddhayā śrīmad-Vidyādhāmamuneś ciraṃ | … namāmi taṃ | … iti śrīmad-Vidyādhāmaśiṣyena Bodhanidhinā śraddhābhaktimātrapreritena kṛtaṃ upadeśagranthavivaraṇaṃ samāptaṃ || yatpādakamalāsaṃgāt nirvāṇaṃ prāptavān ahaṃ | sarvāntarātmapūjyāṃs tān praṇamāmi garīyasaḥ | hariḥ oṃ | śubham astu ||

Text of the Vivekacūḍāmaṇi begins: sarvavedāntasiddhāntagocaran tam agocaraṃ | Govindaṃ paramānanda(ṃ) matguruṃ praṇatosmy ahaṃ | 1 | jantūnāṃ narajanma durllabham ataḥ puṃstvan tato vipratā tasmād vaidikamārgadharmmaparatā vidvatvam asmāt paraṃ | ātmānātmavivecanaṃ svanubhavo brahmātmanā saṃsthitir mmuktir nno śatakoṭijanmasukṛtaiḥ puṇyair vinā labhyate | 2 | etc.

It ends: iti śrīmat-paramahaṃsa-parivrājakācāryyavaryya-śrī-Govinda-bhagavatpūjyapāda-śiṣya-śrīmat-paramahaṃsa-parivrājakācāryyavaryya-śrīmat-Śaṃkara-bhagavatpāda-kṛtau vivekacūḍāmaṇis saṃpūrṇaḥ || śrīkṛṣṇāya parasmai brahmaṇe namaḥ ||

More extensive quotations of text can be found in Winternitz’s catalogue.

Winternitz notes that the 31 folios of the last work are numbered by the letters ka to ṣa (i.e. ka 1, cha 2, ga 3 etc., la 28, va 29, śa 30, ṣa 31).

South Indian Sanskrit / Whish Manuscript Collection.

See ’A catalogue of South Indian Sanskrit manuscripts (especially those of the Whish Collection) belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland’ by M. Winternitz, with an appendix by F. W. Thomas (London: RAS, 1902) p.27-29. Go to http://tinyurl.com/j3tkdwj for a digital copy of this catalogue.

J. L. Whish, gift of manuscripts collected by his brother C. M. Whish, July 1836.

Text in Sanskrit; Grantha script.