Legends of Shankaracharya

Shower of Gold

Before he was eight, as a young Brahmachari, the young Shankara went to a house to beg for his daily food. The hostess was a kind but very poor lady. All she could give him was a small amalaka fruit. Shankara was deeply touched by the sincerity of this poor lady and he invoked Goddess Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth) by singing spontaneously the Kanakadhara Stotra The legend has it that the Goddess showered golden amalaka fruits into the house.

The daily repetition of this stotra is believed to be an effective cure for poverty.

Changing the course of the Purna river

Shankara's mother used to go a long way everyday to take her bath in the Purna river. One day the young Shankara found her lying unconscious, due to exhaustion. He prayed to the Lord and the next morning the river started flowing by the side of his house.

Sannyasa When Shankara broached the topic of his embracing the Sannyasa way of life, his mother was reluctant to give him her permission and blessings. One day, however, when he accompanied his mother for a bath in the river, a crocodile caught hold of his leg and started dragging him. His mother could only stand and watch helplessly. Then Shankara called out to his mother, asking her to permit him to become a Sannyasi at least during these last moments of his life. She agreed and miraculously the crocodile let go of Shankara's leg. To console his mother he promised her that he would come back to her at the time of her death and perform the last rites.

According to the legend, many years later when he came to know of her impending death, Shankaracharya by using his Yogic powers travelled through the air to reach her quickly. At her request he granted her divine visions. When he tried to arrange the cremation of his mother's body, his relatives refused to help him on the grounds that as a Sannyasi he was not permitted to perform funeral rites. Normally this would have been a serious setback as a cremation involves rituals, which would require physical assistance by a few people. So Shankaracharya performed a miracle. He made a funeral pyre out of plantain stalks. After placing the body on the pyre he took some water and after chanting a few mantras he sprinkled the water on the pyre. Immediately the pyre caught fire. Thus he was able to complete the funeral rites without help.