As this Sunday is the Jayanthi of Sri Shankara Bhagavath Padal, we have a story about his victory over Amarasimha.
Amarasimha was an intelligent person. But he was not an Hindu. He belonged to the Jain religion. Sri Adi Shankara restored Sanatana Dharma by condemning the other religions that were existing at that time.
Once, Adi Shankara happened to meet Amarasimha. They both agreed for debate. Amarasimha laid a condition that he will be answering the questions of Adi Shankara behind a screen.
Adi Shankara didn't think about the reason of the condition. He agreed to the condition. The debate started. Amarasimha was behind the screen while Sri Shankara was outside the screen.
Amarasimha answered all the questions asked by Adi Shankara. Adi Shankara was astonished by Amarasimha's knowledge. He was surprised to see him answering all his questions. He finally understood what was going on as he is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, isn't it?
The questions were not answered by Amarasimha but was answered by Goddess Saraswati herself. Amarasimha worshipped Goddess Saraswati for many days. But according to his religion, he should not have worshipped Gods and Goddesses. His religion doesn't mention about Gods and Goddesses.
Amarasimha had written many books that condemned Sanatana Dharma. For the books to come out well, he worshipped the Goddess of knowledge(வாக்குத் தேவதை). If we worship Gods and Goddesses with strong belief, Gods and Goddesses themselves help us during times of need.
As Amarasimha worshipped Saraswati with strong belief, he got the fruit of his action. Amarasimha had consecrated Goddess Saraswati in a pot inside the screen. He knew he would be defeated easily if he argued with Adi Shankara and so he sought the help of Saraswati.
Saraswati heard Amarasimha's prayer and promised that she herself will be answering the questions. Shankara came to know this in due course. Adi Shankara told "Oh Mother! Are you helping Amarasimha? To the one who had written books to condemn Sanatana Dharma and worshipped Goddess of Knowledge for the books to come up well, will you help him? You had helped him till now and that is enough for his worship.
Goddess Saraswati disappeared from the place and the screen fell apart. Amarasimha was easily defeated after the disappearance of Saraswati. He accepted his defeat. After this incident, Amarasimha started burning all the books that he had written. Sri Shankara came to know about this. He tried to stop Amarasimha from burning all his books. But by that time, he had burnt all the books except a Sanskrit book he had written. Adi Shankara saved that book and that book is now being referred for Sanskrit which is called Amarakosha. It serves as the Sanskrit Dictionary.
Hara Hara Shankara Jaya Jaya Shankara!!!
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