Why did the propagation of the mathamnaya text begin during the 19th century and gain active promotion in the last century?
Category: FAQ
கேள்வி: ஸ்ரீசாரதா பீடம் எங்குள்ளது? ஸ்ரீசங்கராசார்யரின் ஸ்ரீசாரதாபீடவாஸம் பற்றி மாதவீய சங்கரவிஜயம் 16ஆவது அத்யாயத்தில் என்ன கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது?
பதில்: ஸ்ரீசங்கராசார்யரின் ஸர்வக்ஞ பீடாரோஹணத்தைத்தான் ‘சாரதாபீடவாஸம்’ என்று மாதவீய சங்கரவிஜயம் கூறுகிறது.
இந்த நூலின் முதல் ஸர்க்கத்தில் ‘षोडशे शारदापीठवाससः’ என்று குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. 16-ஆம் ஸர்க்கத்தில் ஸ்ரீஆசார்யருடைய சாரதா பீடவாஸம் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளதாக முன்னதாகவே முதல் ஸர்க்கத்தில் சொல்லப்படுகிறது. பிறகு, 16ஆவது ஸர்க்கத்தில் ஸ்ரீஆசார்யர்களின் ஸர்வக்ஞ பீடாரோஹணத்தைக் கூறிவிட்டு, ‘जयति यतिपते: शारदापीठवासः’ (16-18) என்று ஸர்வக்ஞ பீடத்தையே, ‘சாரதா பீடம்’ என்று இந்த நூலின் ஆசிரியரான நவகாளிதாஸ மாதவர் தெளிவுறக் கூறுவதால், துங்கா ச்ருங்கேரியில் சாரதா பீடம் என்ற ஒன்று இருப்பதாக மாதவீய க்ரந்தம் மூலம் வெளியாகவில்லை எனலாம். இதற்கு மாதவீயம் அல்லாத வேறு பழைய நூல்களில்தான் ப்ரமாணம் தேட வேண்டும் என்கிறபோது, பிற்காலத்தில் நவீனர் உருவாக்கிய புதிய மாதவீயத்தைச் சிலர் தூக்கிப் பிடிக்க முனைவதும் நகைப்பிற்குரியதே.
FAQ: Sharada in Kudali Sringeri and Virupaksha Mathas
கேள்வி: கர்நாடக மாநிலம் துங்கபத்ரா (கூடலி) ச்ருங்கேரியில் மட்டும் நின்ற நிலையிலும், விரூபாக்ஷ ச்ருங்கேரி மற்றும் துங்கா ச்ருங்கேரியில் அமர்ந்தவாறும் இரண்டு விதமான திருக்கோலங்களில் ஸ்ரீசாரதாம்பாள் விக்ரஹம் ப்ரதிஷ்டிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது ஏன்? இந்த வேறுபாட்டின் வரலாற்றுப் பின்னணி என்ன?
FAQ: Number of Mathas established by Bhagavatpada
वाराणसीमिति । योगिवर आचार्यः वाराणसीं काशीं वरणासोनद्योर्मध्ये स्थितत्वात् वाराणसी इति पृषोदरादित्वान्निपातितः । श्रीहरिश्रतुर्भुजैरिव शिष्यैः पद्मपादाचार्यादिभिः सह अधिगम्य प्राप्य आत्मना सह अमीषां शिष्याणां पञ्च मठान्प्रकल्प्य कतिचिद्दिनानि तस्थौ स्थितवान्। ‘कालाध्वनोरत्यन्तसंयोगे’ इति सप्तम्यर्थे द्वितीया ॥ २३ ॥
FAQ – Final days of Shri Shankaracharya
Q: What does Tunga Sringeri Matha’s Guruvamsakavya say about the final days of Shri Shankaracharya?
A: According to the Tunga Sringeri matha’s Guruvamsakavya, Towards the end of His career, Shri Shankaracharya traveled from Siddheshvara in Nepal to Dattatreya Ashrama, where He left His staff and water pot. Miraculously, His staff transformed into a tree, and His water pot became a tank. Finally He resided at the Dattatreya Ashrama in Mahuripuri, (Shri Renuka Devi Temple, Mahur, Nanded District, Maharashtra – See : Images), engaging in conversations with Shri Dattatreya.
FAQ: Jagadguru Acharya of Tungabhadra Sringeri Matha – Tungabhadrateeravasi
Q: Why is the Jagadguru Acharya of Tungabhadra Sringeri Matha revered with the special title “Tunga Bhadra Teeravasi”?
A:According to Mahavidvan Kasi Sesha Venkatachala Sastri of Mysore, the Birudu ” Tungabhadra Teeravasi” is associated with the Matha founded on Pitha in the confluence of Tunga-Bhadra rivers.
“तुङ्गभद्रातीरवासी”
“शृङ्गेर्याः बहुक्रोशदूरवर्तिनि तुङ्गानद्या भद्रानद्याश्च सङ्गमे (कर्नाटकभाषया कूडल्याख्ये) स्थाने मठं निर्माप्य तत्र विद्याधर्मपीठं च संस्थाप्य तत्पीठाधिकारो येन लब्धस्तेन तुङ्गभद्रातीरवासीति सम्पादितं विरुदम् ।”
He founded a Matha and Vidya-dharma Pitha at the confluence of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers (known as Kudali in Kannada), situated many krosas away from (Tunga) Śṛṅgeri. As a result, the Acharyas came to be known by the title “Tungabhadra – Teeravasi.”
(Bhumika- Sareeraka Meemamsa Bhashyam by Kasi Sesha Venkatachala Sastri, Dharmadhikari & Hereditary Court Pandit of Mysore State, Printed By Venkateswara Steam Press, Bombay, 1913)
FAQs – Shakha Mathas – History
“Annual Tributes and Historical Connections: Sivaganga and Avani Mathas’ Relationship with Tungabhadra Kudali Sringeri Matha”
Q: What evidence supports the fact that Sivaganga and Avani Mathas had been making annual tributes or offerings to the Tungabhadra Kudali Sringeri Matha?
A: The evidence includes letters from Sivaganga Matha dated Khara, Kārtika Suddha 15, Salivahana Saka 1633, 1711 A.D. and the letter bearing Vyaya, Śaka, 1635, 1713 A.D. Additionally, letters from Avani Matha dated Vyaya, Magha Suddha 15, Salivahana Era, 1635, 1714 A.D. and Jaya, Salivahana Saka 1636, 1715 A.D. also support this fact.
Q: Is it historically correct to consider Sivaganga and Avani mathas as the Shakha or Branch mathas of Tunga Sringeri matha?
A: No, treating Sivaganga and Avani mathas as the shakha or Branch mathas of Tunga Sringeri matha is not historically accurate.
(Source: Preceptors of Advaita- Sankara And Sankarite Institutions: Sri Anantanandendra Saraswati Swami, Upanishad Brahmendra Matha)
FAQ – Tungabhadra (Kudali) Sringeri and Rameswaram (Rama-Kshetram)
Question: Are Tungabhadra (Kudali) Sringeri and Rameswaram (Rama-Kshetram) two different locations or Are they referring to the same place?
Answer:
“He (Sri Sankaracharya), retired to the banks of Tungabhadra and fixed His camp at Rameswara Tirtha.” (A History of South India-Sri K. A. N. Sastri)
This would mean that Tungabhadra Sringeri and Rameswara kshetra are identical places.
FAQs – Kashmir and Kamakoti
Kanchipuram’s Kashmira Connection (2/5)
Question: Which other city was known in ancient times as Kashmira and was a peetham of Vagdevi kamakshi?
Answer: Kanchipuram was well-known by the name Kashmira in the South; Govindanatha in his Sankaracharya Charitam says, “भूयः काञ्चीपुरं गतः । जम्बूद्वीपस्य कुर्वाणे शोभां भारतमण्डले । शस्तं काश्मीरनामानं देश विद्योतयद्भृशम् । कामाक्ष्या नाम वाग्देव्याः स्थानं तत्पुरमाप्तवान्” – गोविन्दनाथीये ।
“Bhagavatpada went to Kanchipuram again. Adorning Jambudvipa in Bharatamandala, there brightly shone a place named Kashmiram. He reached that place belonging to Vakdevata Kamakshi” says Govindanatha.
Vyasachaliya Shankara Vijaya also begins the context of Sarvajnapitharohanam “In Jambudvipa in the earth and there too in the mandala known as Bharata, there is a mandala named Kashmira the location of Vagdevata and ends with “In this manner, He worshipping that Devi who is beyond words, He ascended that Sarvajnapitha in the Matha established by Himself.
As per the mother’s words he conducted vādam with various scholars who came there and lived in Kanchipuram for sometime”
“जम्बूद्वीपे शस्यतेऽस्यां पृथिव्यां तत्राप्येतन्मण्डलं भारताख्यम् । काश्मीराख्यं मण्डलं तत्र शस्तं यत्रास्ते सा शारदा वागधीशा’ … “एवं निरुत्तरपदां स विधाय देवीं सर्वज्ञपीठमधिरुह्य मठे स्वक्लृप्ते। मात्रा गिरामपि तथोपगतैश्च मिश्रैः संभावित: कमपि कालमुवास काञ्च्याम्” ।
We also have the very first verse of Acharya Shri MukaShankarendra Sarasvati who adores Her who dwells in Kanchipuram in the Kamakoti Pitha, her shariram as delicate as the “Kashmira” flower invoking Kanchi and Kashmira in the same breadth.
FAQs – Mathamnaya Scheme – Naming Discrepancies
Question: Does the deviation from the Prescribed Naming Convention by the Dvaraka, Puri and Tunga Sringeri Mathas Cast Doubts on Their Adherence to the Mathamnaya Scheme?
Answer: In response to this question, Matthew Clarke, a researcher who has extensively studied this subject, offers the following conclusive answer supported by compelling evidence.
” According to the guru-parampara of (Tunga) Śrngeri (see Aiyer and Sastri 1962:164–181), none of the first four ācārya-s of the Sṛngeri after Sankara are named Sarasvati, Bhāratī or Purī, as they should be according to the Maṭhāmnāya; ācārya-s nos. 8 to 11, and nos. 35 and 36 are named Tirtha (located at Dvārakā in the Mathamnaya); and acārya-s nos. 5, 6 and 7 are Giris (located at Jyotir matha in the Mathamnaya).
There are no Puris or Sarasvatis in the list at all.
In the Kuḍalī list all the ācārya-s are Bhāratīs.
Of the seventy-nine acarya-s of Dvārakā (Tīrtha and Asrama according to the Mathamnaya), only six are Tirtha, one is a Sarasvati (acc. Śrigerī), thirty-six are Asrama, while the rest have other names.
The 144 ācārya-s of the Jagannatha matha should be called either Vana or Aranya, according to the Mathamnaya, yet none of them have that name.
After the eighteenth, all but two are Tirtha (located at Dvārakā in the Mathamnaya) and the first seventeen have other names. (No guru – parampara is provided by Aiyer and Sastri for the Jyotir matha.)” – Matthew Clark (2006)
In summary, the deviation from the prescribed naming conventions in these three Sankarite institutions viz. Dvārakā, Jagannatha and Tunga Śrigerī, raises questions about their adherence to the Mathamnaya scheme, casting doubt on their claimed consistency.