Śaṅkaranandana (940-1030)

Given dates (all in the Common Era) are approximate and represent the upper and lower possible extremes of the person's lifetime.

Frauwallner 1933 (p. 241) considers "Śaṅkaranandana," the form of the name given by Abhinavagupta (passages: Gnoli 1960 pp. XXIIIf.), as the more correct equivalence of the Tibetan bde byed dga' ba. The form "Śaṅkaranandana" is also attested in the colophon of the Īśvarāpākaraṇasaṅkṣepa. AASK-t Peking 5754, 325a6: Śaṅkarānanda; in Tibetan, he is also often called bram ze chen po (e.g. PVṬ (Śa)-t Peking 5721, 338a8)

As for Śaṅkaranandana's dating, Tāranātha considers him a contemporary of Nayapāla, but Gnoli 1960 p. XXIV places him between the 9th and 10th centuries, giving Abhinavagupta (950–1020; cf. Gnoli 1960 p. XXIII) as a terminus ante queum and Dharmottara (Gnoli 1960 p. XXIV) as a terminus post quem. Krasser 2001 p. 505 dates him slightly later, to between ca. 940/50-1020/30.

Eltschinger 2015 p. 354 proposes moving the birth year of Śaṅkaranandana to between ca. 910 and 920 at the latest and conjectures that he was old (i.e., retired) or dead by between ca. 980 and 985.

For the legend of his life see Naudou 1968 p. 107.

Works: cf. Bühnemann 1980. Sequence undetermined. Quotations from different works by Śaṅkaranandana have been collected by Gnoli 1960 pp. XXIII-XXV and Bühnemann 1980 pp. 193–197.

Vincent Eltschinger presents a survey of research on Śaṅkaranandana and his works, and summarizes information on new manuscripts, in Eltschinger 2006 and Eltschinger 2015.

Works by Śaṅkaranandana