H. H. Swami Santhananda Saraswati Avadhoota Swamigal (28 March 1921 – 27 May 2002) born as Subrahmanyam was a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

spiritual leader and teacher who established the worship of Devi

Bhuvaneswari Bhuvaneshvari (Sanskrit: भुवनेश्वरी, IAST: ''Bhuvaneśvarī'') is a Hindu goddess. She is the fourth amongst the ten Mahavidya goddesses in Shaktism, and one of the highest aspects of Mahadevi. She is identified as form of Adi ...

in Tamil Nadu. He was the founder of the

Peetam in

Pudukkottai Pudukkottai Municipal Corporation is the administrative headquarters of Pudukkottai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the oldest Heritage city located on the banks of the Vellar River. It has been ruled, at different t ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. The very embodiment of Prema, Sri Sri Swami Santhananda was the fountainhead of Hindu Dharma and Vedic principles. In his lifetime he had conducted several yagnas as elucidated in the Sasthras and challenged orthodoxy by bringing to light, guarded Moola Mantras that ensure common good, wealth and peace. He was a disciple of H.H.Sri Swayamprakasha Bhremendra Saraswathi of Sendamangalam and came in the lineage of H.H.Sadasiva Bhremendra Saraswathi (Sri Sri Judge Swamigal) of

. He founded Skandhashramam in Salem and Om Sri Skandhashramam in Chennai.

Early life and education

Subrahmanyam was born as the tenth child to the devout Brahmin couple Sri.Ramaswami and his wife Yogambal in Azhagapuri village,

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

. His parents were devotees of

Meenakshi Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the si ...

Amman. Kattikulam Sootukkol Sri Mayandi Swamigal - a famous ascetic of that time had predicted his birth and said he would be a man of action for the welfare of the world and a devotee of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari.http://santhananda.blogspot.com/ Subrahmanyam, as a child, studied at Naganathapuram Veda Patasala where he became well versed in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

Independence Movement and Prison

Subrahmanyam was drawn towards the Gandhian movement for Independence of India. He concentrated his activities on village uplift and amelioration of the lot of the poor. He was imprisoned in

Alipore Jail The Alipore Jail or Alipore Central Jail, also known as Presidency Correctional Home, is a defunct Indian prison in Alipore, Kolkata, where political prisoners were kept under British rule. It also housed the Alipore Jail Press. It is no longer ...

for his involvement in the independence struggle. In Alipore he studied the teachings of Sri

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...

Paramahamsa and

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...

Mantra Deeksha

From Alipore he went to Madurai and met Mayandi Yogi who initiated him in the Bhuvaneswari Mantra. He was also advised to remain silent, to subsist on alms, and also not to stay at a place for long.

Search for a Guru

While travelling in the

Girnar Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh, Gujarat, India. It is one of the holiest pilgrimages of Jains, where the 22nd Tirthankara, Tirthaṅkar, Lord Neminath attained omniscience, and later nirvana at its highest peak (''Neminath Shikhar''), ...

Hill,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, Subrahmanyam heard a voice commanding him to go to Sendamangalam, (Salem District, Tamil Nadu) where a Guru was waiting for him. He reached Sendamangalam and had the Darshan of Swami Swayamprakasha Bhremendra Saraswathi. At once he realized that the Avadhuta he saw in a vision at

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

was none other than Swamiji and requested that he be accepted as a disciple. Swamiji gave his consent. He admitted Subrahmanyam to the

Avadhuta ''Avadhūta'' (IAST ', written as अवधूत) is a Sanskrit term from the root 'to shake' (see V. S. Apte and Monier-Williams) that, among its many uses, in some Indian religions indicates a type of mystic or saint who is beyond egoic-conscio ...

order and gave him a new name Santhananda.

Pudukkottai Adhishtanam

On the advice of Swami Swayamprakasa, Santhananda undertook the renovation of the Samadhi of Judge Swamigal at Pudukkottai. This Samadhi was established by Swayamprakasa Swamigal in 1936. Santhananda renovated the Samadhi and a Kumbabhishekam was conducted in 1956. This is now known as Bhuvaneswari Avadootha Vidya Peetam. The main deity here is Sri Matha Bhuvaneswari.

Skandhashramam at Salem

This was established by Swami Santhananda in 1968 on top of a small hill near Salem. The main Deities are ASHTA DASA BHUJA MAHALAKSHMI and SKANDA NATHA.

Chennai Om Sri Skandhashramam

This was established by Swami Santhananda in 1999 in Raja Kilpakkam near Chennai. This is a Temple dedicated to MAA UGRAPRATHYANGIRA DEVI and LORD SARABHESWARA. For the first time in India a temple has been dedicated to MAA UGRAPRATHYANGIRA DEVI.

Notes

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External links

*https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL15778D6D8F53524F *https://redirect.dinamalar.com/redirect_to_anm.php?news_id=23

*http://santhananda.wordpress.com/ *https://archive.today/20130217214914/http://www.hinduretailplus.in/thehindu/fr/2001/11/09/stories/2001110901201600.htm *http://www.skandasramam.com/ Writers from Madurai 1921 births 2002 deaths Indian Hindu monks Vedanta Advaitin philosophers 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Indian spiritual writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers