ii Gaudapada-Karika 900 B.C. Tradition' again tries to avoid such a conclusion by assign- ing a long life of thousands of years to Suka, as well as to Gauda- păda. A more rational way to explain the position would be to believe that only the chief names, and not all the names, have been preserved by tradition as lying between Suka and Sankarācārya. Luckily some fresh evidence 2 has recently come to light in respect of the relation between Gaudapāda and Sankara. A work called • Śri Vidyārnava dealing with the Śakta doctrines by Vidyāranya (circa 100 A. D.) says गौडादिशङ्करान्ताश्च सप्तसंख्या समीरिताः ।, that is, there are five names of Acāryas between Gauadpada and Sankara. The same work says that Sankarăcārya's direct pupils were fourteen (शङ्कराचार्य शिष्याश्च चतुर्दश दृढव्रताः। दिव्यात्मानो दृढात्मानो निग्रहानुग्रहक्षमाः ॥ ). Of these the names of the four pupils पद्मपाद, सुरेश्वर, हस्तामलक and त्रोटक have become more well-known (only पद्मपादs name is given in the श्रीविद्यार्णव). The account seems plausible enough, but the writer who lived about 1100 A. D. speaks of himself as living in the fourth generation from Sankaräcārya, which is not in con- formity with the generally accepted date 788 A. D. for Sankara. Anandagiri 3 in his commentary on the Gaudapāda-Kārika- bhāşya (that goes under the name of Sankara ) mentions that Gaudapāda practised penance at Badarikāśrama, and Narayana revealed to him the Kärikäs on the Mandukyopanişad. Šankara in his bhāşya on the Svetāśvataropanişad says तथा च शुकशिष्यो गौडपादाचार्यः. It is true that here Gaudapada is referred to in the singular, but so is Vyása himself in the Brahmasūtrabhāșya. 1 The Yogavāsiştha describes Suka as the greatest of Yogins was enjoyed the Samādhi state for more than ten thousand years! जगाम शिखरं मेरोः समाध्यर्थमनिन्दितम् ।। सत्र वर्षसहस्त्रापि निर्विकल्पसमाधिना । दश स्थित्वा शशामासावामन्यस्नेहदीपवत् ।। (II. 1-43-44 ). 2 See the article "A Survey of the Sakta School' (in Marathi) by Prof. H. B. Bhide, in Bharata ltihāsa Sarsodhaka Mandala Quarterly Vol. XXXIII No4.1 & 2, 1953, आचार्यो हि पुर। बदरिकाश्रमे नरनारायणाधिष्ठिते नारायणं भगवन्तमभिप्रेत्य दपो महदतप्यत ततो भगवाननिप्रसन्नस्तस्मै विद्या प्रादादिति प्रसिद्रं परमगुरुत्वं परमेश्वरस्येति भावः I on IV. 1. ३
