Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Sri Kanchi Monastery or the Sarvagna Peetha, is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

institution, located in Kanchipuram,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. It is located near a temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Kamakshi (Durga, Kamakoti, Maha Tripurasundari) of the

Shaktism Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...

tradition, along with a shrine for the

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

teacher

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

. The matha-tradition attributes its founding to Adi Shankara, but this and the reliability of the matha's succession list has been questioned. The Kanchi Math was originally established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt, 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 mid-18th-century due to the on-going wars, when there was warfare in the region, and returned to Kanchipuram in the 19th century. The matha is a living tradition, that continues to pursue spiritual scholarship in contemporary times. The head of the ''

matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

'' is referred to as a "Acharya" unlike the four amnaya peetham Jagadgurs who are called "Shankaracharya", while the matha and its followers sometimes calls its head as "Shankaracharya" it has been contested and opposed by other four main Shankaracharyas. Since February 2018, the institution has been led by Vijayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya Swamigal.Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi passes away at 82; Vijayendra Saraswathi will succeed him
Times Now (28 February 2018)

History

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.

Sringeri matha Dakṣināmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pītham or Śri Śringeri Maṭha (, ; sa, मठ, ) is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the ''peetham'' or ''matha'' is said to have been established by acharya ...

rejects the claims of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, and does not count it among the mathas established by Shankara. According to Clark, the story of the four cardinal mathas founded by Shankara dates from the 16th century, questioning the founding stories off all those mathas. The Kanchi Math was originally established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 by the Maratha king of Tanjore, Serfoji II Bhonsle, as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt. It became an

apostate Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of emb ...

schismatic institution in 1839 when the Kumbakonam Mutt applied for permission to the English Collector of Arcot to perform the "

kumbhabhishekham ''Kumbhabhishekam'', also known as ''Samprokshanam'' is a Hindu temple ritual that is believed to homogenize, synergize and unite the mystic powers of the deity. It is part of the consecration ceremony of Hindu temples. ''Kumbha'' means the Hea ...

" of the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram. In 1842, the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

headquartered at Fort William, Calcutta appointed the head of the mutt as the sole trustee of the Kamakshi temple, despite the protests of the traditional priests of the Kamakshi temple, which are well documented and preserved. According to the Kanchi matha's tradition, their monastery was founded in Kali 2593 (509 BCE) by

. According to the Sri Kanchi matha documents, the ''matha'' relocated completely to Kumbakonam in mid-18th century to escape wars and persecution. 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. According to T. A. Gopinatha Rao, copperplate inscriptions show that the matha was located at Kanchipuram until 1686 CE, and relocated to Kumbhakonam, Tajore, in the 18th century. 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. The matha returned to Kanchi in the 19th century. 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. 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". The 70th Shankaracharya, Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati is the current Shankaracharya, before which, the matha was headed by Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the 69th Shankaracharya. The Kanchi monastery, along with its sister monasteries across India, has also been an important preserver and source of historic palm leaf manuscripts.

Sankararaman murder case

In 2004, Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Mahaswamigal and his junior Vijayendra Saraswati were arrested in connection with the

Sankararaman murder case Sankararaman murder case was a case on the staged murder of Sankararaman, the manager of Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram, a town in state of Tamil Nadu. He was murdered in the premises of the temple on 3 September 2004. The blame wa ...

on Diwali day. 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.

Chronological list of Shankaracharyas

According to the Peetham, the chronological list of Guru Paramapara of the matham is follows: #

Adi Sankara Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shank ...

Bhagavatpada (482 BCE–477 BCE) # Suresvaracharya (477 BCE–407 BCE) # Sarvajnatman (407 BCE–367 BCE) # Sathyabodhendra Saraswati (367 BCE–268 BCE) # Jnanandendra Saraswati (268 BCE–205 BCE) # Suddhanandendra Saraswati (205 BCE–124 BCE) # Aanandaghanendra Saraswati (124 BCE–55 BCE) # Kaivalyanandayogendra Saraswati (55 BCE–28 CE) # Krpa Sankarendra Saraswati (28 CE–69 CE) # Sureswara Saraswati (69 CE–127 CE) # Sivananda Chidghanendra Saraswati (127 CE–172 CE) # Chandrasekharendra Saraswati (172–235) # Satchidghanendra Saraswati (235–272) # Vidyaghanendra Saraswati (272–317) # Gangadharendra Saraswati (317–329) # Ujjvala Sankarendra Saraswati (329–367) # Sadasivendra Saraswati (367–375) # Shankarananda Saraswati (375–385) # Martanda Vidyaghanendra Saraswati (385–398) # Muka Sankarendra Saraswati (398–437) # Chandrasekharendra Saraswati II (437–447) # Bodhendra Saraswati (447–481) # Satchisukhendra Saraswati (481–512) # Chitsukhendra Saraswati (512–527) # Satchidanandaghanendra Saraswati (527–548) # Prajnaghanendra Saraswati (548–565) # Chidvilasendra Saraswati (565–577) # Mahadevendra Saraswati I (577–601) # Purnabhodhendra Saraswati (601–618) # Bhodhendra Saraswati II (618–655) # Brahmanandaghanendra Saraswati (655–668) # Chidanandaghanendra Saraswati (668–672) # Satchidananda Saraswati (672–692) # Chandrasekharendra Saraswati III (692–710) # Chitsukhendra Saraswati (710–737) # Chitsukhanandendra Saraswati (737–758) # Vidyaghanendra Saraswati III (758–788) # Abhinava Sankarendra Saraswati (788–840) # Satchidvilaasendra Saraswati (840–873) # Mahadevendra Saraswati II (873–915) # Gangadharendra Saraswati II (915–950) # Brahmanandaghanendra Saraswati (950–978) # Anandaghanendra Saraswati (978–1014) # Purnabhodhendra Saraswati II (1014–1040) # Paramasivendra Saraswati I (1040–1061) # Sandranandabhodhendra Saraswati (1061–1098) # Chandrasekharendra Saraswati IV (1098–1166) # Advaitanandabodhendra Saraswati (1166–1200) # Mahadevendra Saraswati III (1200–1247) # Chandrachudendra Saraswati I (1247–1297) # Vidyateerthendra Saraswati (1297–1385) # Sankaranandendra Saraswati (1385–1417) # Purnananda Sadasivendra Saraswati (1417–1498) # Vyasachala Mahadevendra Saraswati (1498–1507) # Chandrachudhendra Saraswati II (1507–1524) # Sarvajna Sadasiva Bhodhendra Saraswati (1524–1539) # Paramasivendra Saraswati II (1539–1586) #

Atma Bodhendra Saraswati He 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 ...

(1586–1638) # Bodhendra Saraswathi (1638–1692) # Advaitatma Prakasendra Saraswati (1692–1704) # Mahadevendra Saraswati IV (1704–1746) # ChandrasekharendraSaraswati V (1746–1783) # Mahadevendra Saraswati V (1783–1813) # Chandrasekharendra Saraswati VI (1813–1851) # Sudarsana Mahadevendra Saraswati (1851–1891) # Chandrasekharendra Saraswati VII (1891 – 7 February 1907) # Mahadevendra Saraswathi V (7 February 1907 – 13 February 1907) #

Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal (born Swaminathan Sharma; 20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994) also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar (meaning, "The great elder") was the 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanch ...

(13 February 1907 – 8 January 1994) #

Jayendra Saraswathi Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya (born Subramanyam Mahadeva; 18 July 1935 – 28 February 2018) was the 69th Shankaracharya Guru and head or pontiff (Pïțhādhipati) of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Subramanyam Mahadeva Iyer ...

(3 January 1994 – 28 February 2018) # Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati (28 February 2018 – Present)

References

Sources

;Printed sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ;Web-sources

External links