Category: Shankarite Institutions

The Traditional date of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada : 44 B.C – Ancient Records of the Tunga Sringeri Matha :

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The Traditional date of Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada : 44 B.C – Ancient Records of the Tunga Sringeri Matha :

“… It is idle for us to attempt to fix the exact period of time when the Master blessed the earth with his presence. Scholars who have specialised in the ransacking of old records and re-building the history of the land are of varied opinion and the dates suggested by them range from 509 B C. to 788 A D. that is, for a period of nearly thirteen hundred years.

It may be mentioned however that the Sringeri tradition gives a date between these two limits and that date, namely 44 B.C is probably nearer the truth if we accept the authority of Bhaskaracharya, the famous commentator of the Lalita Sahasranama Stotra.

If the Vikramarka Saka is referred to in this stanza, the date of Sri Sankara is about 49 B.C.”

– Sri.R.Krishnaswamy lyer, M.A.,B.L., Advocate, Tinnevelly

(The Journal of Sankara Gurukulam, Published By Sri Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, Vol.4, No.13.)

Joint declaration made in Tunga Sringeri on June 27, 1993 by the Sankaracharyas of the five Peethas:

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Extract of the joint declaration made in Tunga Sringeri on June 27, 1993 by the Sankaracharyas of the five Peethas:

“Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavatpadacharya, incarnation of. Lord Parama shiva; took birth at Kalady to revive the Sanatana dharma–the eternal law–and preached the Advaita philosophy touring in all the directions of our country. He appealed to everyone to restore and foster the ideals of dharma and spirituality of this great land which alone would secure the well-being of humanity.

There are many points with regard to the date and life of Sri Adi Sankara that we are not in agreement: However, we do not want to discuss these issues now. We also direct our devotees not to give room for discussion on these issues in future. We deem it right to have discussion on other subjects where we have unanimity. Keeping in mind the prevailing situation in the country and the need to give a unanimous call and direction to all believers…”

Sri Virupaksha Sringeri Matha.. 2

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The following three paragraphs are from ‘Sri Sankaracharya and Sankarite Institutions’ by Anantanandendra Sarasvati, 139 and 140. pages & “The Sringeri Math- A Research Study’ by B.Krishnan, in pages 40 and 41.

Note: According to K.R.Venkatrama Iyer, an adherent of the Tunga Sringeri Matha, the following answer was given by the eminent pandits who met in the Surat conference In S.1808 (A. D. 1886) and issued a pamphlet entitled संशयतिमिर भास्कर.

” सन्ति शाखामठाः शृंगेरि मठस्य तेषां नामानि कुडली, करवीर, पुष्पगिरि, हंपी, अवनि, शिवगंगेतिषट्तत्पीठस्था अपि आचार्य परंपरागता एव ।

( Kudali Matha, K.R.Venkatrama Iyer, Formerly Director of Public Instruction, Puduccottah State, Published by K.N.Natesan, Sri Sarada Institute, Salem-1).

Sri Virupaksha Sringeri Matha ..1

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According to tradition and available literary sources a matha was established by Sri Vidyaranya at Virupaksha, on the bank of the Tungabhadra.

According to the Pushpagiri Mathamnaya Stotra, which is quoted at length in the booklet (in Telugu), entitled Sankara-matha Tatvaprakasikartha-Sangraha, written by Kokkandram Venkatrathnam Pantulu, and published in 1877 A.D., the founding of this math by Sri Vidyaranya and his installing one of his two disciples Narasimha Bharati, as first Acharya of this new Matha is dated in the cyclic year Subhakrit – 1362 A.D.

– B.Krishnan, Madras (1991)

Kudali Matha Vishaya Charcha – ShriShankaraPithaTattvadarshanam

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” कूडलीमठविषयचर्चा ” – श्रीशाङ्करपीठतत्त्वदर्शनम् ।

सम्पादकाः प्रकाशकाश्च-

श्रीस्वामी रामानन्दसन्यासी व्याकरणाचार्यः

पं० विद्याधरशर्मा वेदाचार्यः

पं० महादेवशास्त्री व्याकरण साहित्याचार्यः

पं० पट्टाभिरामशास्त्री मीमांसाचार्यश्च ।

rīśānkarapithatattvadarśanam By Svāmī Rāmānanda Sannyāsī, Pandita Vidyadhara Sarma, Pandita Mahadeva Śāstrī and Pandita Pattabhirama Śāstri with an introduction by Śrīkantha Śāstrī.

Rāmānanda Swami, author. Published by Jayakṛṣṇadāsa gupta Banaras (1938).

A Note on Tirukkamakkottam 2/2

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A Note on Tirukkamakkottam

– V.R.Ramachandra Dikshitar [Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (1946)] …2/2

“Tradition avers that Adi Sankara in the course of his digvijaya established mutts at different places and one such place was Kanchi, the modern Conjeevaram.

At Kanchi. Sankara founded what is known as Kamakotipitha. This Pitha of Kamakoti was flourishing here till at least A. D. 1686, and in this connection the temple of Kamakshi in Conjeevaram is said to be the one erected or renovated by Sankara and his disciples.

Even to-day a figure of Sankara is to be seen in this temple, evidently a figure of the first acharya. And Kamakoti is written in inscriptions as Kamakottam.

Kamakottam means the shrine dedicated to the goddess Kamakshi. The cult of Kamakshi must have become popular after Sankara and shrines in her honour were erected and dedicated by kings and pious devotees.

As time went on, the Kamakshi amman koil became generally known as Amman koil. For Parvati or Uma, Minakshi and other names are the names of one and the same goddess. So whatever be the name of the goddess enshrined in a temple, the common people call it even to this day Amman koil.

The revival of Devi worship as Kamakshi must be therefore due to Sankara who founded the Kamakoti pitha in Conjeevaram for the first time. Hence the Kamakottam which we find in the inscriptions. If Kamakottam is the same as Kamakoti, then the institution of Kamakottam must at least go back to the age of Sankara.”

A NOTE ON TIRUKKAMAKKOTTAM – 1/2

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BY V. R. RAMACHANDRA DIKSHITAR, University of Madras. (Part-I)

In a paper contributed to the All India Oriental Conference Nagpur (1946) Mr. K. R. Srinivasan said: ‘In the South Indian temples, Tirukkamakkottam is the name given in inscriptions to the separate shrine dedicated to Parvati or Devi installed and consecrated as the consort of Lord Siva, the presiding deity in a South Indian temple unit’ He further proceeded and remarked that only in the period of the Imperial Cholas the Tirukkamakottam was introduced as a new member and later on grew in importance.

The conclusion arrived at, is based on mere references in the inscriptions, and perhaps also from a study of the temple architecture, and the tentative definition of a temple unit.

According to him till about the eleventh century A. D. there was no place for a separate Amman shrine or shrine for the goddess.

We are afraid that this theory of a separate Amman shrine as a later addition and that from about the eleventh century cannot be readily admitted. This is to ignore all tradition, literary and oral.

We must first examine the term Tirukkamak-kottam or simply Kamakkottam, tiru meaning sacred. The origin of this expression will be indeed significant for our investigation. It may be a very ancient one but it became very much popular certainly after the Adi Sankaracharya. (1/2)