Pascimāmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pītham or Dwarka Sharada Math, is one amongst the four cardinal
peethams established by the saint
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 ...
to preserve and propagate
Sanatana Dharma and
Advaita Vedanta
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the Āstika and nāstika, orthodox Hindu school Ved ...
, the doctrine of
non-dualism
Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondiffe ...
. Located in the city of
Dwaraka Dvaraka, Dwaraka, Dwarka may refer to:
Places India
* Dvārakā, ancient city in Gujarat, the capital of the Yadus in the Mahabharata
:* Dvārakā–Kamboja route, an ancient trade-route and a branch of the Silk Road
* Dwarka, Gujarat, also k ...
,
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
it is the ''pascimāmnāya matha'', or Western Āmnāya Pītham
[Pasricha, Prem C. (1977) The Whole Thing the Real Thing, Delhi Photo Company, p. 59-63] amongst the four Chaturāmnāya Pīthams, with the others being the
Sringeri Śāradā pīṭhaṃ (Karnataka) in the South,
Purī Govardhanmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ (Odisha) in the East and
Badari Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ (Uttarakhand) in the North. It is also known as the Kālikā Matha. Their Vedantic mantra or
Mahavakya is ''Tattvamasi (That thou art) and'' as per the tradition initiated by Adi Shankara it holds authority over Sama Veda. The head of the matha is called
Shankarayacharya, the title derives from
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 ...
.
History
# Shri Trivikrama Tirtha was the head of the monastery until 1921 when he was succeeded by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha.
# Shri Bharati was invited to lead the Puri matha in 1925 after the position had become vacant.
# Shri Bharati was succeeded by Shri Swarupananda.
1945 - Present
In 1945, Shri Abhinava Saccidananda Tirtha was nominated to the position. Before assuming his position at Dvaraka, Abhinava was the head of the Mulabagal matha in Karnataka, which was the 17th century branch of the Dvaraka matha. As a result, the cumulative lineage of Mulabagal matha was merged with Dvaraka when Abhinava took office there. Years later Shri Saccidananda helped to mediate the Shankarcharya successions at Puri and Jyotir Math.
Since Abhinava died in 1982, this peeth has been led by
Swami Swarūpānanda Saraswatī[Unknown author (5 May 1999) archive]
here
Accessed: 2012-08-30. o
Advaita Vedanta web page, retrieved 28 August 2012 who is one of the claimants to the position of Shankaracharya of the northern matha called Jyotish Pitha or
Jyotir Math
Uttarāmnāya Śrī Jyotish Pītham or Jyotir Math is one amongst the four cardinal pīthams established by the 820 CE philosopher-saint Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Sanātana Dharma and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine o ...
.
[Unknown author (2005]
Indology
The Jyotirmaṭha Śaṅkarācārya Lineage in the 20th Century, retrieved 4 August 2012
After the death of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, who was the Shankracharya of Dwarka Sharad Math,
Swami Sadanand Saraswati
Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...
was made the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharada Math.
Notes
See also
*
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 ...
*
Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya ( sa, शङ्कराचार्य, , "Adi Shankara, Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi ...
*
Kalady, Kerala - the holy birthplace of Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya
*
Govardhan Math Peetham (East), Puri, Orissa
*
Jyotir Badrikashram Peetham (North), Joshimath, Uttarakhand
*
Shri Sringeri Sharada Peetham (South), Sringeri, Karnataka
*
Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu
References
Sources
*
*
Hindu organisations based in India
Shankaracharya mathas in India
Hinduism in Gujarat
Adi Shankara
8th-century establishments in India
Dwarka
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