Saundaryalahari - 32009

The Saundaryalahari is by Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada (Adi Sankara) and its exposition is by Pujyasri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati Svami (the Sage of Kanchi, widely known as Mahaswami). Saundaryalahari is indeed an inspired and inspiring work, a classic in its own right. There is poetry in this exposition; there is the fervour of devotion as well as profundity of thought that is oceanic in its vastness and depth. There is a synthesis of bhakti and jnana, of Advaita and the Sakta doctrine. When the Sage of Kanchi speaks of beauty he takes you to the sublime realm of aesthetic delight. He speaks of many laharis, many waves, and his own bhasya of the Saundaryalahari is a flood of beauty that traverses various systems of thought: he harmonizes them as only he can, proving again that he is an acharya with rare insights and with an original and creative mind.