|
by Jayaram V
Different meanings and interpretations
The word "samkara" or "sankara" is a
combination of two words: "sam"+"kara".
"Sam" means good and "kara" means doer and therefore "samkara" means doer of
good deeds. According to another interpretation,
"sam" means the "sam" of "samadhi" or the
state of complete self absorption or self
realization. According to this interpretation, the word "samkara" means
the cause of union or self realization. The word "sam" also means harmony, as in
the word "sam/veda" or "sama/veda". Of
all the Vedas, Samaveda contains the most
musical hymns and are actually sung
according to a set melody. Probably for
this reason, Lord Krishna declared in the
Bhagavad gita that of all the Vedas He
would be found in the Samaveda,
signifying the harmony and melody hidden
in the hymns. If we go by this meaning,
the word "samkara" means creator of
harmony or music. Indeed Lord Siva is
very much the master of sounds and music
as symbolized by the dhamru he carries.
The word "samkara" as in the expression
"varna samkaram" has a different
connotation meaning intermingling or
inter mixture. In rural Andhra pradesh,
there is an expression "samkara jati" (
and I am sure similar usage may be found
else where also), which is used to refer
domestic animals borne out of two
different breeds. In this context
"Samkara" probably was also used either
as a reference to the black color or as
the cause of color (caste) confusion.
There is no true equivalent to the
Sanskrit letter "sa" of the word
"samkara" in English. The nearest
rendering of it is "Sha". In practice
Lord Siva is pronounced as "Shankara" or
"Shankar" not "Samkara" or "Samkar"
If we take the word as "Shankara" instead
of "samkara", we come across two more
interpretations. The word "Shankara" is a
combination of two words, namely "shanka"
and "hara". "Shanka" means doubt and
"hara" means destroyer. Thus the word
"Shankara" means, He who destroys or
defeats doubt. Shankara is the dispeller of all doubts.
By his dynamic response to our prayers,
He destroys all our doubts, and
stabilizes our faith in Him.
Faith is the absence of all forms of
doubt. Faith is a natural expression of
the Sattvic nature in man. While the
qualities of rajas and tamas are ego
oriented and tend to strengthen the
egoism in us, the quality of sattva
inspires us to surrender to the divine
and work for our salvation from the cycle
of births and deaths.
Selflessness, humility, purity of thought
and devotion are its fundamental
evolutes. Without these qualities, man
cannot expect to progress much on the
spiritual path.
Shankara destroys the animal nature in
man, which is represented by the tamasic
and rajasic qualities. These two
qualities are primarily responsible for
his lower nature, his egoistic disbeliefs
and profound ignorance. By destroying these qualities and thereby
our lower nature, Siva establishes the
conditions conducive to the emergence of
divine nature in man.
It is interesting to note that in the
Hindu mythology, most of the demons, such
as Ravana of the Ramayana or Bhasmasur
and many others, were great devotees of
Siva, who despite of their excessive
wickedness, showed immense faith in Siva.
These stories tend to suggest that only
Siva can transform such individuals, who
are characterized by excessive rajas and
tamas, through His immense powers. The
moral of these stories is that if you
have excessive rajas and tamas in you,
you should invariably worship Lord Siva
in order to overcome these impediments. This, in essence, is the meaning of the
word, "Shankara", the Destroyer of all
doubts.
Shanakra The Creator of Lord Vishnu?
The word "Shank" also means conch shell.
The word "Shankara" thereby means either
the creator of or remover of or destroyer
of conchshell. In the former sense it
means Siva is the cretor of Lord Vishnu
and in the latter sense it means He is
supreme to Lord Vishnu. The conch is the symbol of Lord Vishnu
and is revered by all Vaishnavites as a
sacred symbol. They keep it in their
prayer places and venerate it as Lord
Vishnu himself. The followers of Lord Siva must have used
this interpretation of Shankara as the
creator or destroyer of conch shells to
highlight their rivalry with Vaishnavites
or simply to declare their supremacy over
their rivals
We are well aware that for long serious
rivalry existed in ancient India between
Saivites and Vaishnavites. And it is
quite possible that some Saivites might
have used the word Shanakara to declare
the supremacy of Lord Siva over Lord
Vishnu.
Note: These interpretations of Lord Siva
are individual interpretations and we do
not claim an exclusive authority over the
subject. It is possible that there may be
several other interpretations of the word
"Shankara" or "Samkara". We encourage our
readers to communicate with us and
enlighten us with new ideas and
interpretations on this subject. We also
thank those who have already done it.
|
