This Sunday we have a story from Deivathin Kural(Voice of God) about Padmapada and his devotion towards his Guru, Sri Adi Shankaracharya. In one of the posts, we had seen about Sanandha and the hunter who had a great faith. This Sunday, we will be seeing an incident that happened after his initiation into Sanyasa.
One day, Sanandha was standing in the banks of the sacred river, Ganga. His Guru was standing on the opposite bank of Ganga. While Adi Shankara was taking bath in the river, Sanandha was drying his Guru's clothes on the other bank.
Shankara thought of showing his disciple's devotion to the other disciples and this world too. "Bring me the clothes", Shankara ordered Sanandha. Sanandha thought "It is my Guru's order and it should be fulfilled immediately". He didn't think of river Ganga flowing in front of him. He started walking as if he were walking in a plain land.
The moment Sanandha kept his feet in the river, Goddess Ganga placed a lotus under his feet. As he continued to walk, Ganga offered the pathway by placing lotus for every step of Sanandha.
He finally reached the other bank and reached his Guru, Adi Shankaracharya and gave his clothes. As he walked on lotuses, he got the name Padma-Paadar. All the other disciples of Shankara were shocked and surprised on seeing PadmaPaadar. PadmaPaadar is considered to have originated from Lord Vishnu.
Once, when Veda Vyasa came in the form of a old Brahmana to have a debat with Adi Shankara in Kasi(Varanasi), it was PadmaPaadar who identified Vyasa even before Adi Shankara could realize it. With Bhagavath Paadal's blessings, we may see that in one of the coming weeks.
