{"id":37410,"date":"2023-09-23T06:55:16","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T01:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=37410"},"modified":"2025-04-22T13:58:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T08:28:05","slug":"adi-shankaracharya-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/adi-shankaracharya-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Adi Shankaracharya statue at Omkareshwar"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Adi Shankaracharya<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Who was Adi Shankaracharya?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mandhata island<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>News Summary: Adi Shankaracharya statue at Omkareshwar<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>How was the project conceptualised?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are the features of the project?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are the other projects?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister unveiled the 108-foot-tall \u2018Statue of Oneness\u2019 of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar.\n<ul>\n<li>The statue depicts Shankaracharya as a 12-year-old child when he is said to have visited Omkareshwar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Omkareshwar is the temple town located on <strong>the Mandhata island<\/strong> of Khandwa district.\n<ul>\n<li>It will form an important tourism circuit, along with Ujjain, Maheshwar and Mandu religious towns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Who was Adi Shankaracharya?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Adi Shankara, who is believed to have lived between 788 and 820 AD, was born in Kerela\u2019s Kaladi, situated on the bank of the Periyar River.<\/li>\n<li>He became a sanyasin at an early age and left his Brahmin household, where he is said to have made his way to Omkareshwar.<\/li>\n<li>Here, he studied under his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Proponent of Advaita Vedanta<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Adi Shankaracharya became a proponent of Advaita Vedanta, challenging prevailing philosophical traditions \u2013 including Buddhism and Jainism.\n<ul>\n<li>Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy that teaches <strong>non-duality<\/strong>, or the <u>absence of separation between the subject and object<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Notable works of Adi Shankaracharya\n<ul>\n<li>He is said to have authored 116 works. The most notable among them are:<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commentaries (Bhashyas)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brahma Sutras Bhashya &#8211;<\/strong> Shankaracharya wrote commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, also known as the Vedanta Sutras, which are foundational texts for the Vedanta school of philosophy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upanishad Bhashyas &#8211; <\/strong>He wrote commentaries on several major Upanishads, including the Isa Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, and Chandogya Upanishad, among others.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bhagavad Gita Bhashya &#8211; <\/strong>Shankaracharya provided a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important texts in Hindu philosophy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prakarana Granthas<\/strong> (Introductory Texts):\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Vivekachudamani:<\/strong> This work explores the concept of discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal and is considered one of Shankaracharya&#8217;s masterpieces.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Upadeshasahasri:<\/strong> It consists of a thousand verses and offers teachings on Advaita Vedanta.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Atma Bodha<\/strong>: A concise treatise on self-realization, it outlines the path to understanding the true nature of the self.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stotras (Devotional Hymns):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Nirvana Shatakam<\/strong>: Also known as Atma Shatakam, this hymn delineates the realization of the self as distinct from the body and mind.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bhaja Govindam<\/strong>: A devotional composition emphasizing the importance of devotion and spiritual practice in one&#8217;s life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commentaries on Sanatana Dharma<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dakshinamurti Stotra<\/strong>: A hymn to Lord Dakshinamurti, it explains the significance of the guru in one&#8217;s spiritual journey.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Travel and Teachings<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Shankaracharya is also known for his extensive travels across India to engage in philosophical debates and establish monastic centers (mathas) in various parts of the country.<\/li>\n<li>These mathas continue to propagate Advaita Vedanta teachings to this day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Mandhata island<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Mandhata island, nestled on the Narmada River, is home to <u>two of the 12 Jyotirlingas<\/u>: Omkareshwara (located on the south side of the island) and Amareshwara.\n<ul>\n<li>The area is close to Mahakaleshwara Jyotirlinga at Ujjain, located 110 km to the northwest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The island is dotted with Shaivite, Vaisnavite, and Jain temples dating back to the 14th and 18th centuries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>News Summary: Adi Shankaracharya statue at Omkareshwar<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>How was the project conceptualised?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In February 2017, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the construction of a <u>108-foot-tall Adi Shankaracharya statue, a Shankar Museum, and the Acharya Shankar International Institute of Advaita Vedanta<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>The metal for building the statue was collected from people across more than 23,000 grama panchayats.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Larsen and Toubro <\/strong>was awarded an Engineering Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract to construct the Statue of Oneness.<\/li>\n<li>The Statue of Oneness is <u>intended to endure for more than 500 years<\/u>, while the museum building is designed to have a service life of 100 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are the features of the project?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The multi-metal Adi Shankaracharya statue is installed atop Mandhata Parvat hill, <u>facing southwards towards the Narmada River<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>This statue stands atop a 54-feet pedestal, supported by a <u>27-feet lotus petal base which is made of red stone<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>The idol weighs <u>100 tons and has been installed on a 75-foot-high platform<\/u>.<\/li>\n<li>It is made up of bronze that contains 88% copper, 4% zinc and 8% tin and its internal structure is made up of high-quality steel.<\/li>\n<li>At the base of the statue is the Shankar Stambh, which features wooden domes and stone pillars with carvings depicting 32 stories related to Acharya Shankar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are the other projects?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ekatma Dham <\/strong>will include the Advaita Lok museum.\n<ul>\n<li>The Ekatma Dham will feature a mosaic of architectural styles, including Nagara, Dravidian, Oriya, Maru-Gurjara, Hoysala, North Indian-Himalayan, and Kerala styles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Acharya Shankar International Institute of Advaita Vedanta <\/strong>is being built to promote the study and understanding of Advaita Vedanta.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1) What is Advaita Vedanta?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Advaita Vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy that teaches non-duality, or the absence of separation between the subject and object.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2) Where does Narmada River originate?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Narmada River originates from the Amarkantak Plateau in Madhya Pradesh, India.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-culture\/madhya-pradesh-cm-adi-shankaracharya-omkareshwar-significance-8951323\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Madhya Pradesh CM unveils Adi Shankaracharya statue at Omkareshwar: Its story, significance<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shankaracharya.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Sankaracharya.org<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adi Shankaracharya was the 8th-century Indian philosopher who revived Advaita Vedanta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}