Adiguru Shankaracharya is an Indian teacher from the 8th century. He pioneered the advaita vedanta doctrine and founded four mathas (monasteries) in His travels across the length and breadth of the subcontinent. As such, He is widely revered by Hindus in India to this day. The seated murti of Shankaracharya that you see on this page depicts Him as the quintessential teacher (acharya).
The Adiguru is seated in ardhapadmasana. Beneath Him is the hide of a wild animal and a simple four-legged quadrilateral plinth. He is nestling within a cave-like structure that has taken the shape of His seated form. In the right hand of Shankaracharya is a staff; in the left, a pothi (manuscript). Both of these are indicative of the twin qualities of asceticism and erudition.
Note the fine-boned structure of the teacher, the glamour of vidya pouring forth from His mukhamandala (visage). Large ears and regal facial features betray His unputdownable pedigree. This Shankaracharya murti is both lifelike and iconographically replete.
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