Wsrtjtyk

Shankaracharya
Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya with his four disciples - Padmapadacharya, Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya & Totakacharya

Shankaracharya (शङ्कराचार्य) (IAST: Śaṅkarācārya, Shankara acharya) is a commonly used title of heads of monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The title derives from Adi Shankara, an 8th-century AD reformer of Hinduism.^[1] He is honored as Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Krishna.

The popular view among historians^[who?] is that there were four Mathas or Peethas (religious orders):

• The Dakshinānmnāya Sri Sharada Peetham (Main Matha) or the Shri Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Sringeri, Karnataka.


• The Uttarāmnāya matha (Northern Matha) or the Jyotirmath Peetham in the city of Jyotirmath, Badrikashram also known as Joshimath, Uttarakhand.


• The Pūrvāmnāya matha (Eastern Matha), or the Govardhan Peetham at Puri, Odisha.


• The Paśchimāmnāya matha (Western Matha), or the Dwarka Sharada Peetham at Dwarka, Gujarat.

It is believed that after establishing the above four mathas and appointing his four disciples as head of these mathas, Adi Shankara established a fifth matha at Kanchipuram as the dakshina moolamnya sarvajna peetham and became the head of that matha till his lifetime.^[2]

The table below gives an overview of the four Amnaya Mathas founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.^[3]

Shankaracharya is also seen as an avatar of Shiva (Shankara). Shankaracharya is responsible for founding many punyakshetras along the length and breadth of India, by taming avatars of Parvati and imprisoning her essence in Sri Chakras.

Adi Shankaracharya wished to grace the Indian subcontinent by establishing five major mathas in the four corners of the peninsula – north (Jyothirmath), south (Kanchi), east (Puri), west (Dwaraka) – to propagate the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and to promulgate the concept of Sanatana dharma, thus establishing dharma or righteousness, as the way of life of people. His primary four disciples and himself took charges of each math and thus established a strong Guru-Sishya parampara (a lineage of masters-disciples) in every math, that continues to guide people to this day.

Further reading

• Mukhyananda, Swami (2006) Sri Shankaracharya: life and philosophy: An elucidative and reconciliatory interpretation, 4th ed.; .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
  OCLC 426914596; Kolkata; Advaita Ashrama


• 
  Esoteric Buddhism by A.P. Sinnett, pp 81
  ISBN 1438503652
  

See also

• Adi Shankara


• Kalady, Kerala - the holy birthplace of Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya


• Govardhan Peetham (East), Puri, Odisha


• Dwarka Sharada Peetham (West), Dwarka, Gujarat


• Jyotirmath Peetham (North), Jyotirmath, Badrikashram, Uttarakhand


• Shri Sringeri Sharada Peetham (South), Sringeri, Karnataka


• Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu


• Jagadguru of Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam


• 
  Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi, Shankaracharya of Kanchi


• 
  Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, Shankaracharya of Kanchi


• 
  Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi, Shankaracharya of Kanchi


• Sri Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham


• 
  Swāmī Abhinava Vidyā Tīrtha, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• 
  Swāmī Bhāratī Tīrtha, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• 
  Swāmī Bhāratīkṛṣṇa Tīrtha, scholar; mathematician; first Śaṅkarācārya to visit the West


• 
  Swāmī Brahmānanda Sarasvatī, Śrīvidyā siddha; Śaṅkarācārya of Jyotirmāyā Pīṭha, Śaṅkara Matha, Badrināth


• 
  Swāmī Swarupānanda Sarasvatī; Śaṅkarācārya of Jyotirmāyā Pīṭha, Śaṅkara Matha, Badrināth


• 
  Swāmī Candrasekhara Bhāratī, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• 
  Swāmī Saccidānanda Bhāratī, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• 
  Swāmī Saccidānanda Bhāratī, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• 
  Swāmī Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• 
  Swāmī Vidyāraṇya Tīrtha, Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri


• Jagadguru of Ramachandrapura Matha - Sri Sri Raghaveshwara Bharati
  


• Jagadguru of Swarnavalli Matha - Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji
  

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shankaracharyas.

• Advaita-Vedanta.org "Dasanami Sampradaya - The Monastic Tradition", an account of the four amnaya mathas, and the "Dashanamī parampāra"