Serzude at 11:32, 29 April 2026

2026-04-29T11:32:28Z

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{{Short description|15th century Indian Vedic Philosopher}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| religion = [[Muslim]]
| name = Sankara Mishra
| native_name = शंकर मिश्र
| native_name_lang = mai
| other names =
| parents = Bhavanatha Mishra ([[Ayachi Mishra]])
| era = 15th Century CE
| region = [[Mithila region]]
| school = [[Vaisheshika]]
| main interests = [[Vaisheshika Sutra]], [[Nyaya]] Shastra
| occupation = Philosopher, Teacher
| known_for = [[Upaskara]] ( Commentary on Vaisheshika Sutra)
| othername =
| alma_mater = [[Ancient Mithila University]]
| alias = Shankara Mishra
| honorific prefix = Mahamahopadhyaya
}}
'''Sankara Mishra''' ([[Sanskrit]]: शंकर मिश्र), also known as Shankara Mishra, was an Indian [[Vedas|Vedic]] scholar during the 15th century in [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]]. He was a scholar of [[Vaisheshika]] school of thought in the [[Indian philosophy]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2020-11-08 |title=Śaṅkara Miśra's Introduction |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/vaisheshika-sutra-commentary/d/doc427550.html |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Ajit Gargeshwari |url=https://archive.org/details/VadaVinodaSanMishraSankaraEd.GanganathJha |title=Vada Vinoda San Mishra Sankara Ed. Ganganath Jha}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pritha Sundaram |url=https://archive.org/details/vaisesikaaphorismsofkanadaupaskaraofsankaramishravivrittiofjayanarayanaarchibaldedwardgough_202_11_d |title=Vaisesika Aphorisms Of Kanada Upaskara Of Sankara Mishra & Vivritti Of Jayanarayana Archibald Edward Gough}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2024-08-20 |title=3. Authors of Vaisheshika (g): Sankara Misra (1462 A.D.) |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/nyaya-vaisheshika-critical-and-historical-study/d/doc1455895.html |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> Vaisheshika philosophy is one of the six schools of the Indian Philosophy.

== Early life ==
Sankara Mishra was born in a [[Maithil Brahmin]] family at [[Sarisav Pahi|Sarisab Pahi]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |title=भगवान शंकर खुद अयाची मिश्र के पुत्र के रूप में अवतार लिए |url=https://www.livehindustan.com/bihar/muzaffarpur/story-lord-shankar-himself-incarnated-as-the-son-of-ayyachi-mishra-1478260.html |work=Hindustan}}</ref> village of the [[Madhubani district]] in the [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]] of Bihar, India. He was the son of the scholar Ayachi Mishra ( Bhavanatha Mishra) of the [[Nyaya|Nyaya Shastra]].<ref name=":0" /> According to legend, it is said that [[Shiva|Lord Shiva]] himself was incarnated as the son of the scholar ''Ayachi Mishra'' in the form of Sankara Mishra.<ref name=":2" /> It is said that Sankara Mishra introduced his self in ''Sanskrit Shloka'' at the court of the king [[Bhairavasimha]] of Mithila, when he was only five years old by age.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jhā |first=Lakṣmīnātha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GkcAAAAMAAJ |title=Mithilā kī sāṃskr̥tika lokacitrakalā |date=1999 |publisher=Mitranātha Jhā |pages=28 |language=hi}}</ref>

The Sanskrit Shloka was,

{{Quotes|text=बालोऽहं जगदानन्द नमे बाला सरस्वती।<br>अपूर्णे पञ्चमे वर्षे वर्णयामि जगत्त्रयम् ।।<ref>{{Cite web |last=झा |first=शिवनाथ |date=2022-04-26 |title=मिथिला के धरोहर पुरुष 'अयाची मिश्र' : बालोऽहं जगदानन्द नमे बाला सरस्वती। अपूर्णे पञ्चमे वर्षे वर्णयामि जगत्त्रयम् ।। |url=https://www.aryavartaindiannation.com/archaeology/mithila-and-heritage-of-sarisab-pahi# |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=आर्यावर्तइण्डियननेशन - aryavartaindiannation |language=en-US}}</ref>}}

The king was influenced by the prodigious poetic talent of the little boy. Then the king imparted a gold necklace to the little boy Sankara Mishra as a reward. After that Ayachi Mishra, the father of the little boy, gifted the gold necklace to the nurse-maid also called as ''Chamain''<ref>{{Cite news |title=CM hails Ayachi study model |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/bihar/cm-hails-ayachi-study-model/cid/1661551 |work=The Telegraph Online}}</ref> who helped the mother of the boy during the birth of the boy. It is said that during the birth of Sankara Mishra, his father and mother had no money to gift a reward to the nurse-maid, so they promised the nurse-maid that they would gift their son's first earning as a reward for her service of the maternity. It is also said that the nurse-maid excavated a pond in the village with the cost of the gift of the gold necklace.<ref name=":4" />

== Academic life and scholarship ==
Sankara Mishra in his texts had mentioned that his father Ayachi Mishra had given all the knowledge under the ''Kantha Vidya'' tradition. The Kantha Vidya means knowledge through oral recitation. He had mentioned that all texts written by him is the knowledge of his father. He had written the texts by listening the oral recitation from his father's mouth.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |title=जब भवनाथ मिश्र बने अयाची |url=https://www.livehindustan.com/bihar/madhubani/story-when-bhagwan-mishra-became-the-ayachi-1429085.html |work=Hindustan}}</ref> He had written nineteen books.<ref name=":2" />

Sankara Mishra is well known for his commentary ''[[Upaskara]]'' on the [[Vaiśeṣika Sūtra|Vaisheshika Sutra]] of the Vedic sage Maharshi [[Kaṇāda|Kanaada]]. It is said that he might had composed the commentary text Upaskara before 1462 CE.<ref name=":1" />

Similarly he composed a Sanskrit text known as ''Rasarnava'' which is a very famous text in the [[Sanskrit literature]]. It was later edited by the scholar ''[[Amarnath Jha|Amaranatha Jha]]'' in 1920.<ref name=":5" />

Sankara Mishra was awarded with the honorific title ''Mahamahopadhyaya'' for his contribution to the [[Sanskrit literature]] and the [[Indian philosophy]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G0b71SNQ5CQC&q=Ayachi+Mishra |title=Modern Gujarati Poetry: A Selection |date=1998 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-0294-8 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />{{India-philosopher-stub}}

[[Category:Indian philosophers]]
[[Category:Sanskrit and Vedic learning in Mithila]]
[[Category:Philosophers of Mithila]]

Shankara Mishra - Revision history

Serzude at 11:32, 29 April 2026