Type | Religious |
---|---|
Location |
|
First Jagadguru | Adi Shankara |
Present Jagadguru | Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal |
Affiliations | Hinduism |
Website | www |
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Peetham, [web 1] is a Hindu institution, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near the Kamakshi Amman Temple of the Shaktism tradition, along with a shrine for the Advaita Vedanta teacher Adi Shankara. [1]
The matha-tradition attributes its founding to Adi Shankara, but this and the reliability of the matha's succession list has been questioned. [2] [3] The Kanchi Math was originally established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt, [web 2] and later became involved with the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram. According to the Sri Kanchi math tradition, the matha was founded at Kanchipuram, and shifted south to the temple city of Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century due to the on-going wars, when there was warfare in the region, and returned to Kanchipuram in the 19th century. [4]
The matha is a living tradition, that continues to pursue spiritual scholarship in contemporary times. [5] Since February 2018, the institution has been led by Vijayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya Swamigal. [web 3]
The founding of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam is traditionally attributed by its adherents to Adi Shankara, but this and the reliability of the matha's succession list has been questioned. [2] Sringeri matha rejects the claims of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, and does not count it among the mathas established by Shankara. [6] According to Clark, the story of the four cardinal mathas founded by Shankara dates from the 16th century, questioning the founding stories of all those mathas. [3]
According to the Kanchi matha's tradition and various eminent scholars, their monastery was founded in Kali 2593 (509 BCE) by Adi Shankara. [7] According to the Sri Kanchi matha documents, the matha relocated completely to Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century to escape wars and persecution. [4] According to Jonathan Bader and other scholars, the monastic tradition gives "fear of Muslim atrocities" from Nawab of Arcot, Mysore's Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan as the reason, but the details remain unclear. [8] [9] [10] According to T. A. Gopinatha Rao, copperplate inscriptions show that the matha was located at Kanchipuram until 1686 CE, [11] and relocated to Kumbhakonam, Tajore, in the 18th century. [12] According to Rao, based on the oldest record found in the respective mathas (1291 and 1346 respectively), Kanchipuram matha may be older than Sringeri Pitham. [13] The matha returned to Kanchi in the 19th century. [4]
The successive heads of the Kanchi and all other major Hindu Advaita tradition monasteries have been called Shankaracharya leading to confusion, discrepancies and scholarly disputes. The chronology stated in Kanchi matha texts recognizes five major Shankaras: Adi, Kripa, Ujjvala, Muka and Abhinava. According to the Kanchi matha tradition, it is "Abhinava Shankara" that western scholarship recognizes as the Advaita scholar Adi Shankara. [7] Scholars such as William Cenkner, Christopher Fuller and David Smith dispute this traditional belief, though they accept that the Kanchi Shankaracharyas are his direct "spiritual descendants". [14]
The 70th Shankaracharya, Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati is the current Shankaracharya, before which, the matha was headed by Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the 69th Shankaracharya. [15] [web 4]
The Kanchi monastery, along with its sister monasteries across India, has also been an important preserver and source of historic palm leaf manuscripts. [16] [17]
In 2004, Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Mahaswamigal and his junior Vijayendra Saraswati were arrested in connection with the Sankararaman murder case on Diwali day. [18] The court said that the complainant failed to support the prosecution and he was given bail. The trial went on till 2013 when he was acquitted by the court. [19]
According to the Peetham, the chronological list of Guru Paramapara of the matham is follows: [20] [ better source needed ]
Sringeri also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the site of the first maṭha established by Adi Shankara, Hindu theologian and exponent of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Located on the banks of the river Tungā, the town draws a large number of pilgrims to its temples of Sri Sharadamba, Sri Vidyashankara, Sri Malahanikareshvara and other deities.
Shankaracharya is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of teachers retrospectively dated back to him are known as Shankaracharyas.
Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi ShankaracharyaSwamigal was the 69th Shankaracharya Guru and head or pontiff (Pïțhādhipati) of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Subramanyam Mahadeva Iyer was nominated by his predecessor, Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, as his successor and was given the pontifical title Sri Jayendra Saraswathi on 22 March 1954.
Kalady or Kaladi is a town located between Angamaly and Perumbavoor, east of the Periyar river, near to Malayattoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India, not far from Cochin International Airport. It is notable as the birthplace of 9th century Indian philosopher Adi Shankara.
Vidyaranya, usually identified with Mādhavācārya, was the jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from ca. 1374–1380 until 1386 - according to tradition, after ordination at an old age, he took the name of Vidyaranya, and became the Jagadguru of this Matha at Sringeri.
Dakṣiṇāmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pīṭham or Śri Śṛṅgagiri Maṭha is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the peetham or matha is said to have been established by acharya Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Sanātana Dharma and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine of non-dualism. Located in Śringerī in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka, India, it is the Southern Āmnāya Pītham amongst the four Chaturāmnāya Pīthams, with the others being the Dvārakā Śāradā Pītham (Gujarat) in the West, Purī Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ (Odisha) in the East, Badri Jyotishpīṭhaṃ (Uttarakhand) in the North. The head of the matha is called Shankarayacharya, the title derives from Adi Shankara.
Mandana Mishra was a Hindu philosopher who wrote on the Mīmāṃsā and Advaita systems of thought. He was a follower of the Karma Mimamsa school of philosophy and a staunch defender of the holistic sphota doctrine of language. He was a contemporary of Adi Shankara, and while it is said that he became a disciple of Adi Sankara, he may actually have been the most prominent Advaitin of the two until the 10th century CE. He is often identified with Sureśvara, though the authenticity of this is doubtful. Still, the official Sringeri documents recognises Mandana Mishra as Sureśvara.
Dasanami (IAST: Daśanāmī Saṃpradāya "Tradition of Ten Names"), also known as the Order of Swamis, is a Hindu monastic tradition of "single-staff renunciation" generally associated with the four cardinal mathas of the Advaita Vedanta tradition and, according to tradition, organized in its present form by Vedic scholar and teacher Adi Shankaracharya.
PascimāmnāyaŚrī Śāradā Pītham or Dwarka Sharada Math, is one amongst the four cardinal peethams established by the saint Adi Shankara to preserve and propagate Sanatana Dharma and Advaita Vedanta, the doctrine of non-dualism. Located in the city of Dwaraka, Gujarat, India it is the pascimāmnāya matha, or Western Āmnāya Pītham amongst the four Chaturāmnāya Pīthams. It is also known as the Kālikā Matha. Their Vedantic mantra or Mahavakya is Tattvamasi and as per the tradition initiated by Adi Shankara it holds authority over Sama Veda. The head of the matha is called Shankarayacharya, the title derives from Adi Shankara.
Purvamnaya Sri Govardhana Pitham or Govardhan Math is one amongst the four cardinal pithams established by the philosopher-saint Adi Shankara to preserve and propagate Hinduism and Advaita Vedanta, the doctrine of non-dualism. Located in Puri in Odisha, India, it is the Eastern Āmnāya Pītham amongst the five pithams, with the others being the Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ (Karnataka) in the South, Dvārakā Śāradā Pītham (Gujarat) in the West, Badari Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ (Uttarakhand) in the North .It is associated with the Jagannath temple. Their Vedantic mantra or Mahavakya is Prajñānam brahma and as per the tradition initiated by Adi Shankara it holds authority over the Rigveda. The head of the matha is called Shankarayacharya, the title derives from Adi Shankara.
Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Mahaperiyavar's discourses have been recorded in a Tamil book titled "Deivathin Kural".
Govinda Bhagavatpada was the guru of the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. Little is known of his life and works, except that he is mentioned in all the traditional accounts as the teacher of Adi Shankara. He was the disciple of Gaudapada. He is mentioned in the first verse of Adi Shankara's prakaraṇa grantha (treatise) Viveka Chudamani. He is named after Gaudapada in the Guru Parampara (lineage) of Sringeri Sharada Peetham. He is considered to be an incarnation of Shesha.
Maharajapuram Santhanam, was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1989.
Sri Sharadamba Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Sharadamba in the holy town of Sringeri in Karnataka, India.
Jagadguru Sri Shankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal is the 70th Jagadguru Peethadipathi of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Kanchipuram. He became the senior Pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt following the death of Jayendra Saraswati, the 69th Pontiff, on 28 February 2018.
Shri Gaudapadacharya Math, also known as Kavaḷē maṭha, located in Kavale, Ponda, Goa, is the oldest matha of the Smarthan Saraswat Brahman Samaj. It was founded by Gauḍapāda around 740 AD, whose student was Govinda Bhagavatpada, the guru of Adi Shankara, a highly influential figure in Hinduism. There is also a belief that Gauḍapāda himself established the Shri Gaudapadacharya matha when he lived in Gomantak (Goa). Thus, the matha came to be known as Shri Saunstan Gaudapadacharya matha. Unlike other mathas, Shri Gaudapadacharya matha is not a polemical center established to influence the faith of all Hindus, its jurisdiction is limited to only Dakshinatya Saraswat Brahmins. The Peetadhipathi "head monk" is Śrī Gauḍapadācārya. Smartist Goud Saraswat Brahman Samaj and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin are its main disciples.
Jagadguru Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswami was the 35th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, which has been occupied by an unbroken lineage of gurus stretching back to the Advaitic philosopher Adi Shankaracharya, who established the matha for the propagation of Advaitha Vedanta.
The Advaita Guru-Paramparā is the traditional lineage (parampara) of divine, Vedic and historical teachers of Advaita Vedanta. It begins with the Daiva-paramparā, the gods; followed by the Ṛṣi-paramparā, the Vedic seers; and then the Mānava-paramparā, with the historical teachers Gaudapada and Adi Shankara, and four of Shankara's pupils. Of the five contemporary acharyas, the heads of the five Advaita mathas, four acharyas trace their lineage to those four pupils and one to Adi Shankara himself.
Uttarāmnāya Śrī Jyotish Pītham or Jyotir Math is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams established by the Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Hinduism and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine of non-dualism. Located in the city of Joshimath, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, it is the uttarāmnāya matha or Northern Āmnāya Pītham, amongst the four Chaturamnay Peethams and in later period, Moolamnaya Sarvajna Peetham was declared as Moolamnay by disciples which is in Kalady, Kerala, birth place of Adi Shankara with the others being the Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ (Karnataka) in the South, Dvārakā Śāradā Pītham in the West and Purī Govardhanmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ in the east. Its appointees bear the title of Shankaracharya. It is the headquarters of Giri, Parvata & Sagara sects of the Dasnami Sampradaya. Their Vedantic mantra or Mahavakya is Ayamātmānam brahma and as per the tradition initiated by Adi Shankara it holds authority over Atharva Veda. The head of the matha is called Shankaracharya, the title derives from Adi Shankara.
Atma Bodhendra Saraswati was the 58th Pontiff of the Kanchi Matha from 1586 AD to 1638 AD. He was a native of Vridhachalam, Tamil Nadu. He was born in the year 1586. His pre-monastic name was Visvesvara. In some texts name him as Vishwakendra Saraswati or Girvanendra Saraswati. Sri Neelakanta Dikshitar in Guru Ratna Malika praised him as Girvanendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. He toured south India extensively and stayed at Benares. He wrote a commentary on the Vedic Sri Rudram. It was Atma Bodhendhra who instructed the great Avadhuta Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra to write the Guru ratna Malika stotram on the Gurus of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. For Sadasiva brahmendra saraswathi and Atma Bodendra Saraswathi, the common guru is 57th Pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Paramasivendra Saraswathi who attained siddhi at Tiruvengadu. Atma Bodhendra Saraswathi is the immediate guru of Bodhendra Saraswathi, the 59th pontiff of Sri Kanchi Mutt who attained siddhi at Govindapuram, near Kumbakonam.