ThirujnAnasampandar and JainAs

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

Somayaji Rajagopala <SSRVJ at AOL.COM> wrote :-

>Mahaathmiyam" .The book purports to describe 64 Leelas(Thiruvilaiyaadal)
>enacted by Lord Somasundareswara(Siva) in Madurai. But Acharya Sankara
>talks
>about 64 "Tantras" of Lord Siva in Soundarya Lahari. Acharya Sankara’s
>period
>is at least 400-500 years before sri.Sambandar’s period.

Note that,

1. The number 64 (16x4) is somewhat of a standard thing, comparable to 108
in religious contexts. Even if it were not so, the connection between 64
tiruviLaiyATal of Siva and the 64 tantras in saundaryalaharI is
non-existent.
2. The relative dating you propose would make either Jnanasambandhar a
contemporary of Ramanuja, or Sankara a contemporary of Nagarjuna, if not
Gautma Buddha himself. Both possibilities are quite incongruous.
3. If anything, surely you must be aware that Sankara's date has been
proposed to be after that of Sambandhar. Re: draviDaSiSu reference in
saundaryalaharI. However, this argument is quite inconclusive, for a number
of reasons.

Vidyasankar

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com