Note 24 — Chapter V · WORSHIP OF THE MALEVOLENT DEAD.
Reading edition
Shankarāchārya was a life long celibate. Once, in a discussion with the wife of Mandan Mishra, she put to him a question on the subject of the pleasures of married life. To answer the question it was necessary to have the experiences of a married life. To gain these experiences Shankarāchārya’s soul left his body and entered the corpse of a king just dead, and enjoyed the pleasures of married life for six months in the company of the queen of the deceased king. It then returned to his body, which was preserved by his disciples according to his instructions, and answered the question put to him by the wife of Mandan Mishra.24