Chapter-6

The boys after listening to the story about Auvai clamoured for a story about a 'strong boy' also. The ever ready grandpa this time wanted respite and so sent the children to grandma. The children woke grandma from her siesta with their vociferous demand for the story. Grandma sat up, pulled the kids to her side and started her story.

Nearly 2500 years back, in a village called Kaladi in Kerala lived a couple Shivaguru and his wife Aryamba. They were very rich, well respected, had hordes of relatives, yet were sad for they were childless. They prayed to Shiva, the presiding deity in Thrissur for a child. Shiva appeared in their dreams and asked " Do you want 100 idiots as children who will live long or one brilliant intelligent son who will live for eight years only?". The couple chose the intelligent son. With God's blessing Aryamba gave birth to a child after ten months and they named their son Shankara. Shivaguru passed away when Shankara was a mere toddler.

When Shankara turned five upanayan ceremony was done before he was sent for studies. Shankara was a brilliant student and learned one lesson per day(hence he is called 'ekasandagrahi' which means one who can grasp and understand at the first instance itself), thus completing his studies in just two years which would normally take ten years.

He came back home to be with his ageing mother. One day Aryamba was not well and was too tired to walk up to the river for bath. Noticing this Shankara prayed for the river to change its course and flow in the backyard of his house. Aryamba was surprised to see the river flowing near her house. Shankara helped his mother to reach the water for her bath. After her bath, shankara entered the water for his bath. The little shankara was playing in the water with his mother supervising him from the bank. Suddenly she heard Shankara shouting for help and noticed that a crocodile had caught hold of little Shankara's leg. Their relatives and friends rushed to the river on hearing her cry for help, but no one dared to enter the water as each feared for his life. As time passed by, people started leaving as lunch time was nearing. Shankara told his mother" Mother you trusted that relatives would help. But now you see no one is left by your side. Pray to God for He alone never leaves us". Aryamba cried" Oh God, as you promised have you come now to take away my child as he is eight now? Please spare him". On hearing this Shankara inquired his mother about God's promise and was told by his mother about the dream she and his father had before his birth. Shankara then told his mother" If that is so, as per fate an eight year old Brahmachari has to die now. Suppose I leave this Ashrama and become a sanyasi then there is a chance that I might survive. I can become a sanyasi only with your permission mother. Think carefully before giving your consent for I can not continue to live in our house once I become a Sanyasi". His mother gave her consent for she would prefer him to be alive rather than lose him totally. In a small ceremony, by chanting certain vedic mantras Shankara removed his sacred thread, took a ceremonial bath and embraced sanyasa ashrama. The crocodile left his leg and disappeared and Shankara came out of the river. Everything happened as though a drama was being enacted. Aryamba rushed to him, embraced her child and then took his hand in hers, pulled him towards home. But Shankara resisted, gently reminded his mother that he could no longer live in their home. With a promise to his mother that he'd be by her side during her last moments, this brave little boy of eight years walked out of his house into the big world outside.

He later met his Guru and was given proper sanyasa ashrama by his Guru. During Shankara's period more than seventy two non-vedic religions were being practised in India and most of them were misguiding people. Shankara wanted to reform and re-establish vedic religion. He travelled all over India from Kanyakumari to Kashmir by foot not once but four times to establish Advaita philosophy.

As promised, he reached Kaladi just in time to be by the side of his mother during her last moments. Shankara lived only for thirty-two years, but his accomplishment in reforming religion in our country is immense and his guidelines are still followed by hindus in India.

Adu and Ajju were speechless after listening to the story of the brave intelligent little boy , who from eight years of age lived outside under sun and moon , embraced the whole world as his home, entire humanity as his kin.