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Kanchi's godmen - II By: P C Vinoj Kumar December 4, 2004

In the concluding half of our two-part series on the leaders of the

Kanchi Math, P C Vinoj Kumar presents brief biopics of the

Shankaracharyas, from the 36th to the 70th

36. Sri Chitsukhanandendra SaraswathiThe 36th leader was the son of

Somagiri and was from a village near Palar. He was known as Suresa

before sanyasa.

37. Sri Vidyaghanendra Saraswathi III The 37th Shankaracharya, whose

original name was Suryanarayana, was the son of Balachandra. He

attained mukti in 795 AD in Chidambaram. 38. Sri Abhinava Sankarendra

SaraswathiOne of the greatest Pontiffs of the Kanchi Math, his life

story is described in detail in Sankara Vilasa. He was an erudite

scholar, who defeated Vakpati Bhatta, another great scholar, in a

famous debate. He is believed to have entered the Dattatreya cave in

the Himalayas in 840 AD. 39. Sri Satchidvilaasendra SaraswathiKnown

as Sripati before sanyasa, he was the son of Kamaleswara of

Kanyakubja. He lived in Padmapura for many years. He attained mukti

in 873 AD. 40. Sri Mahadevendra Saraswathi II Sri Mahadevendra

Saraswathi II was from Karnataka. The son of Kannayya, he is said to

have been very handsome. He attained mukti in 915 AD. 41. Sri

Gangadharendra Saraswathi IIThe 41st head was from a village on the

banks of the river Bhima. He is said to have restored the vision of a

poet who had become blind. He attained mukti in 950 AD. 42. Sri

Brahmanandaghanendra SaraswathiSri Brahmanandaghanendra Saraswathi,

the son of Subramanya, was known as Narasambhatta before sanyasa. He

attained mukti in 978 AD. 43. Sri Anandaghanendra SaraswathiThe son

of Sudeva Bhatta, he was from a village in the Tungabhadra valley.

His original name was Sankara Pandita. He attained mukti in 1014 AD.

44. Sri Purnabhodhendra Saraswathi IISri Purnabhodhendra Saraswathi II

was from Karnataka. The son of Siva, he was known as Hari before

sanyasa. He attained mukti in 1040 AD. 45. Sri Paramasivendra

Saraswathi IThe 45th leader, the son of Sivasamba Panditar, was known

as Srikanta before Sanyasa. He attained mukti in 1061 AD. 46. Sri

Sandranandabhodhendra SaraswathiThe son of Surya, the 46th

Shankaracharya devoted a substantial part of his early life to

attending to Sri Paramasivendra Saraswathi I, his predecessor. The

author of Katha-Sarit Sagara, he attained mukti in 1098 AD. 47. Sri

Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi IVThe 47th leader was a great scholar,

who was held in high esteem. He was the son of Suka Deva. He was

originally known as Srikantha. He attained mukti in 1166 AD. 48. Sri

Advaitanandabodhendra SaraswathiThe 48th head of the Kanchi Math was

also a renowned scholar. He was known for defeating in debate

Sriharsha, the author of Khandana Khanda Khadya. His pre-sanyasa name

was Sitapati. He attained mukti in 1200 AD. 49. Sri Mahadevendra

Saraswathi IIIThe 49th leader was from Tanjore and was the son of

Achyuta. His pre-sanyasa name was Gurumurthi. A devotee of

Parasakthi, he attained mukti in 1247 AD. 50. Sri Chandrachudendra

Saraswathi ILike his predecessor, Sri Chandrachudendra Saraswathi I,

son of Arunagiri, was a devout worshipper of Parasakti. Before

sanyas, he was known as Gangesa. He attained mukti in 1297 AD. 51.

Sri Vidyateerthendra SaraswathiThe 51st leader, a native of

Bilvaranya, had illustrious disciples. The Vaisnava scholar Vedanta

Desika, and Bharati Krisna Tritha were some of his well-known pupils.

After 73 years at the Kanchi Math, he headed for the Himalayas to

perform tapas. He attained mukti in 1385 AD. 52. Sri

Sankaranandendra SaraswathiSri Sankaranandendra Saraswathi had gone

with his guru and predecessor Sri Vidyateerthendra to the Himalayas.

He played a key role in establishing eight new Advaita Mathas in

Karnataka. He attained mukti in 1417 AD. 53. Sri Purnananda

Sadasivendra SaraswathiThe 53rd head travelled to Nepal, where the

king received him with royal honours. He was from Nagarayana. 54.

Sri Vyasachala Mahadevendra SaraswathiThe author of Sankara Vijaya,

the 54th leader’s pre-sanyasa name was Kuppanna. He hailed from

Kanchi. He attained mukti in 1507 AD. 55. Sri Chandrachudhendra

Saraswathi IIThe 55th head belonged to Asmachala. His pre-sanyasa

name was Arunagiri. He attained mukti in 1524 AD. 56. Sri Sarvajna

Sadasiva Bhodhendra SaraswathiThe 56th leader was from a village on

the banks of the north Pennar. He was the guru of Pravira Setupati

Raja of Ramnad. He attained mukti in 1539 AD. 57. Sri Paramasivendra

Saraswathi IISri Paramasivendra Saraswathi II was the 57th head, who

wrote a commentary on Siva Gita. Sadasiva Brahmendra, who wrote

Gururatna Malika, was his disciple. It is said that Sadasiva revered

his guru so much that he used to carry his guru’s sandals on his

head. He attained mukti in 1586 AD. 58. Sri Atma Bodhendra

SaraswathiThe 58th leader was from Vruddhachala. He wrote a Bhasya on

the Sri Rudram. He attained mukti in 1638 AD. 59. Sri Bhagavannama

Bodhendra SaraswathiThe 59th Shankaracharya is known for his Nama

Siddhanta. He stressed the importance of reciting the names of

Bhagwan in his writings, Namamrta Rasayana and Namamrta Rasodaya. He

attained mukti in 1692 AD. 60. Sri Advaitatma Prakasendra

SaraswathiThe 60th Shankaracharya, who was the son of Parasurama,

lived for some time in Govindapuram, the place where his predecessor

attained mukti. Also known as Govinda, he attained mukti in 1704 AD.

 

61. Sri Mahadevendra Saraswathi IVThe 61st leader’s pre-sanyasa name

was Narayana. Atma Bodha wrote his commentary Susama on the Gururatna

Malika when Sri Mahadevendra Saraswathi IV was the Shankaracharya. He

attained mukti in 1746 AD. 62. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi VThe

62nd head moved out the headquarters of the math to Tanjore because

Kanchi was caught in the grip of the Karntic wars. From Tanjore, he

again shifted to nearby Kumbakonam. He attained mukti in 1783 AD.

63. Sri Mahadevendra Saraswathi VSri Mahadevendra Saraswathi V was

from Kumbakonam and was a great yogi. His pre-sanyasa name was Anna

Srauti. He attained mukti in 1813. 64. Sri Chandrasekharendra

Saraswathi VIThe 64th Shankaracharya was from Tanjore. His

pre-sansaya name was Venkatasubramanya Dikshita. He attained mukti in

1851. 65. Sri Sudarsana Mahadevendra SaraswathiSri Sudarsana

Mahadevendra Saraswathi travelled a lot. His pre-sanyasa name was

Mahalingam. He was the son of Seshadri Sastri. He attained siddhi in

1891. 66. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi VIIThe 66th leader was

from Udayambakkam. The son of Sitarama Sastri, his poorvasrama name

was Swaminatha. He attained mukti in 1907. 67. Sri Mahadevendra

Saraswathi V The 67th leader held the position for just seven days.

The son of Narasimha Sastri, his pre-sanyasa name was Lakshmi

Narasimha. He attained mukti in 1907. 68 . Sri Chandrasekharendra

Saraswathi SwamigalThe 68th Shankaracharya, Sri Chandrasekharendra

Saraswathi, was known by his devotees as Mahaswamigal. He widely

travelled the country both on foot and palanquin. An ardent

nationalist, he wore khadi and rejected foreign clothes. Born in

1894, he died in his centenary year in 1994. 69. Sri Jayendra

Saraswathi SwamigalBorn on July 18, 1935 at Irulneeki in Thanjavur

district, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was declared successor to Sri

Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal in 1954. He was responsible

for intensifying the activities of the math in the fields of

education and health. The math started educational institutions,

including a deemed university, and hospitals. He attained national

fame during the term of the NDA government when he mediated in the

Ayodhya dispute.

70. Sri Sankara Vijayendra SaraswathiAll eyes are now on the 70th head

of the math, who runs its affairs in the absence of Sri Jayendra

Saraswathi. Born in 1969, he is interested in instilling values in

the youth and making available modern education.Express yourself

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