Kanchi matha
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The Kanchi matha is a Hindu monastic institution located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is known formally as Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. Its head is referred to as a "Shankaracharya", a title that is applied to the heads of many such institutions in India. Its current head is Jayendra Saraswati, whose appointed successor is Vijayendra Saraswati.
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[edit] History
The matha's official history states that it was founded by Adi Shankara of Kaladi, and that Jayendra Saraswati is its 69th head in succession, tracing its history back to the fifth century BCE.[1] A related claim is that Adi Shankara came to Kanchipuram, and that he established the Kanchi matha in a position of supremacy (Sarvagnya Peetha) over the other mathas of the subcontinent, before his death there. Other sources give the place of his death as Kedarnath in the Himalayas.[2]
Other historical accounts state that the matha was established much more recently (probably in the 18th century) in Kumbakonam, as a branch of the Sringeri Matha, and that it later declared itself independent.[3][4] The heads of a matha in Kumbhakonam acquired control of the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram and moved their establishment to that city, between the years 1842 and 1863. This marks the origin of the Kanchi matha.[5]
The Kanchi Matha claims to have been moved from Kanchipuram to Kumbakonam during the 18th century when Hyder Ali invaded the region. It is also claimed that archeological evidence in the form of stone architecture depicting the Shankaracharya and the epigraphy by the side situated in various temples in Kanchipuram indicate the 2500 year age of the Matha. Again, these have not been independently evaluated in the context of the ongoing dispute about the historical origin and traditional status of this institution.
[edit] List of Kamakoti Matha heads
Chronological list of heads of the matha, according to the official account. This list cannot be verified against reliable historical sources from India[citation needed].
- Sri Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada
- Sri Suresvaracharya
- Sri Sarvajnatman
- Sri Sathyabodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Jnanandendra Saraswati
- Sri Suddhanandendra Saraswati
- Sri Aanandaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Kaivalyanandayogendra Saraswati
- Sri Krpa Sankarendra Saraswati
- Sri Sureswara
- Sri Sivananda Chidghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati
- Sri Satchidghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Vidyaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati
- Sri Ujjvala Sankarendra Saraswati
- Sri Bogusrendra Hushushwati
- Sri Sadasivendra Saraswati
- Sri Shankarananda Saraswati
- Sri Martanda Vidyaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Muka Sankarendra Saraswati
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati II
- Sri Bodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Satchisukhendra Saraswati
- Sri Chitsukhendra Saraswati
- Sri Satchidanandaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Prajnaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Chidvilasendra Saraswati
- Sri Mahadeve11dra Saraswati I
- Sri Purnabhodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Bhodhendra Saraswati II
- Sri Brahmanandaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Chidanandaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Satchidananda Saraswati
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati III
- Sri Chitsukhendra Saraswati
- Sri Chitsukhanandendra Saraswati
- Sri Vidyaghanendra Saraswati III
- Sri Abhinava Sankarendra Saraswati
- Sri Satchidvilaasendra Saraswati
- Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati II
- Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati II
- Sri Brahmanandaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Anandaghanendra Saraswati
- Sri Purnabhodhendra Saraswati II
- Sri Paramasivendra Saraswati I
- Sri Sandranandabhodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati IV
- Sri Advaitanandabodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati III
- Sri Chandrachudendra Saraswati I
- Sri Kamachandrendra Saraswati 0
- Sri Vidyateerthendra Saraswati
- Sri Sankaranandendra Saraswati
- Sri Purnananda Sadasivendra Saraswati
- Sri Vyasachala Mahadevendra Saraswati
- Sri Chandrachudhendra Saraswati II
- Sri Sarvajna Sadasiva Bhodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Paramasivendra Saraswati II
- Sri Atma Bodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Bhagavannama Bodhendra Saraswati
- Sri Advaitatma Prakasendra Saraswati
- Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati IV
- Sri ChandrasekharendraSaraswati V
- Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati V
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati VI
- Sri Sudarsana Mahadevendra Saraswati
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati VII
- Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati V
- Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal
- Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal
- Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal
[edit] References
- ^ kamakoti.org
- ^ [1] [2]
- ^ The Curious Case of the Missing Monk, The Illustrated Weekly of India, issue dated September 13, 198
- ^ Real history of the Kanchi math
- ^ Mattison Mines, Vijayalakshmi Gourishankar, Leadership and Individuality in South Asia: The Case of the South Indian Big-Man, Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Nov., 1990), pp. 761-786.
[edit] External links
- Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham - Official website
- A forum for Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
- A detailed mailing list posting by Vidyasankar Sundaresan, that provides details of the two century old dispute over the origin of the Kanchi Matha.
- Vidyasankar Sundaresan, The Jyotirmath Sankaracharya Lineage in the 20th Century