Shankara appeared at a critical juncture in Indian religious history. Buddhism, after flourishing under Gupta patronage (4th-6th centuries), still maintained institutional strength through universities like Nalanda and Vikramashila. However, it was losing connection with lay society and drifting toward excessive ritualism. Meanwhile, Vedic religion had degenerated into empty ritualistic performances divorced from the profound philosophical insights of the Upanishads. The Mimamsa school revived rituals but not wisdom. Seventy-two heterodox schools competed for followers. Hinduism faced potential extinction, fragmented and philosophically incoherent. Into this chaos stepped an eight-year-old boy who would, in three decades, provide the intellectual framework and institutional structure to revive and unify Sanatana Dharma.