Sri Śaṅkara in Cambodia?
Summary
S. Srikanta Sastri critically examines the claim, put forward by D. C. Majumdar and K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, that a Cambodian inscription proves the great Advaita philosopher Śaṅkara visited Cambodia around 800 AD. The inscription records that a monk named Siva Soma installed the god Bhadreśvara and learnt the śāstras from Bhagavat Śaṅkara. Previous scholars assumed that this Bhagavat Śaṅkara was Adi Śaṅkara and that Siva Soma was his disciple. Sastri argues that this identification is untenable. Siva Soma was a grandson of Jayendradhipativarman and guru of Indravarman I (r. 877–889 AD). The Cambodian king Jayavarman II, who founded the Angkorian dynasty, reigned from 787 to 854 AD. Sastri points out that the eighth century in Cambodia was chaotic; Pasupata Saivism rather than Advaita Vedanta dominated. He provides a chronological table showing kings Jayavarman II, Jayavarman III and Indravarman I alongside priests Siva Kaivalya, Siva Soma and Vama Siva. An inscription of 895 AD records that Vama Siva, a disciple of Siva Soma, consecrated Bhadreśvara. These data suggest that Siva Soma belonged to a lineage of Pasupata teachers, not Advaitins. Sastri notes that the Saiva tantras learned by Siva Kaivalya—Vinasika, Nayottara, Sammoha and Siraccheda—are associated with the Kalamukha Pasupata sect. He emphasises that Śaṅkara, an opponent of tantra, would not have sanctioned such practices and could not have been the guru of a Pasupata teacher. Furthermore, internal chronology places Adi Śaṅkara in the late sixth or early seventh century, as a contemporary of Buddhist philosopher Śāntarakṣita and playwright Bhavabhuti. Sastri concludes that Bhagavat Śaṅkara in the Cambodian inscription was a different teacher, perhaps a Saiva preceptor with the surname Śaṅkara. The article argues that the evidence for Śaṅkara’s presence in Cambodia is chronologically and doctrinally untenable and urges caution in using epigraphic references to support historical conjectures.
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Conclusion
Sastri’s analysis dismantles the hypothesis that Adi Śaṅkara travelled to Cambodia. By contextualising Cambodian inscriptions within the chronology of Angkorian kings and Pasupata teachers and by noting Śaṅkara’s opposition to tantric practices, he shows that the Bhagavat Śaṅkara mentioned in the inscription was not the Advaita philosopher. The article cautions scholars against conflating similar names and highlights the need for rigorous historical method when interpreting epigraphic evidence.