(adi Sankara) 08 Padma Pada Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

One Sanandana by name,
To meet Sankara came,
From a Cholan Town,
Of the Southern region.

As a devotee of Narasimha,
At Kasi, he met Sankara,
Became then his disciple,
And moved in closer circle.

How devoted he was,
Sankara revealed this,
One day, to all the rest,
In a surprising test.

On the bank of the river,
Sankara was giving a lecture.
On the other side he was
Drying Sankara’s clothes.

Sankara called him
And then told him,
“My clothes are wet.
Dried ones, I want.”

He heard his Master’s order.
At once, he crossed the river,
Not by any available boat
But he walked on his feet.

The river was in flood.
So, Sankara was afraid
Any time, he may sink,
Before reaching the bank.

What a wonder it was!
For every step of his,
There grew up a lotus,
As he walked in a trance.

“How did you cross
To bring my dress? ”
When Sankara asked,
Like this, he replied.

“If one thinks of you,
He can cross, it’s true,
This very ocean of birth,
Besides death and rebirth.”

“So, to cross this river
Will it not be easier?
My forgetting this river,
It’s really no wonder.”

“You’re my boat.
Here I was brought
With my thought
Of you till last.”

Sankara gave him
Another fitting name,
“From now onward
You’re Padma Pada! ”