Pancha Panchakam

This collection of five pentands composed by Adi Shankaracharya is presented to the learned audience for the first time in this format. This Pentand contains Maneesha, Maya, Sadhana, Kashi and Matru pancakam. The first is dealt with extensively with exhaustive notes highlighting the greatness of Advaita as a system which can be put to practice. The Maya pancaka is Shakara awe at the powers of Maya and the illusory web it casts. Sadhana panchake prescribes steps to be undertaken by an aspirant to climb on to the ladder leading to liberation. Kashi panchake is a unique text which explains the spiritual significance of the holy city of Kashi, and equates the various spots of pilgrimage in Kashi with the various aspects of Self, and implores every devotee to purge deeper within to realize Kashi within oneself. The last, Matru panchake is an ode to motherhood said to be composed by Shankara when he met his mother breathing her last.