I T is with mixed feelings of personal satisfaction and some
diffidence that I am venturing to commend to the notice of
the public my English translation of the famous Brahma-
Sutra-Shankara-Bhashya, also known as the Sharlraka-
Bhashya. I am not sure if a book of this nature needs any
preface at all, still, it is usual for a book of this type to have
some such introduction, just as it has been the recognized
traditional practice of old Sanskrit writers to begin their
work with an auspicious verse (Mangala). This tradition of
an auspicious verse is so deeply rooted in the minds of old
Sanskrit writers, that when in some few cases such an aus-
picious verse is conspicuous by its absence, it is found
necessary to supply the deficiency anyhow. For instance
the Brahma-Sutras of Badarayana have no such auspicious
verse, and commenting on their very first Sutra, ‘Athato
Brahmajijnasa ’, Sbankaracharya, while observing that the
word ‘ Atha ’ could not be construed in the sense of an
auspicious verse, is yet anxious to supply the deficiency by
saying that the mere hearing of the word ‘ Atha ’ has the
effect of an auspicious verse. It is merely with a view to
comply with such usual practice, therefore, that a short
preface is here attempted.

Adhysa bhashyam, Gignasadhikarnam.