Vijayendra Saraswati

His Holiness Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal (born 13 March 1969 as Sankaranarayanan,[1] son of Sri Krishnamurthy Sastrigal) is the seventieth Shankaracharya (guru and head or pontiff (In Tamil: Peetadhipathi)) of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, a Hindu religious institution established by Sri Adi Sankara in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Sri Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal has been adorning the pontifical seat at Kanchipuram since 29 May 1983 when he was anointed to be the seventieth peetathipathi, successor in waiting, to succeed the current peetathipathi, the sixty-ninth pontiff Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal Sri Pada, at a later date.[2] Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal was anointed by the sixty-eighth pontiff Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal VIII, reverentially known as "Mahaperiyavaa" and "Moving or Walking God".

History

Vijayendra Saraswati was born in a small hamlet known as "Thandalam" near Periyapalayam, a village near Arani in Uthukottai Taluk, Tiruvallore district, on the Madras-Tirupathi route via Red Hills, and was studying at Polur when taken as Acharya to the Peetam.[2] His parents are presently living in Chennai.

In 2004, upon the arrest of Jayendra Saraswathi for the conspiracy in the murder of a temple manager, there were calls to immediately promote Vijayendra Saraswati to Jayendra Saraswathi's position,[3] but in January 2005 Vijayendra Saraswati, too, was arrested as one of 24 persons suspected of the alleged crime.[4][5][6] On 26 October 2005, the Supreme Court of India transferred the case out of the state of Tamil Nadu state to the adjoining Union Territory of Pondicherry.[7] The case had not been settled as of February 2010, at which point 29 of the 59 witnesses in the case had been deemed hostile by prosecutors.[8]

As recently as 1 March 2011, the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam celebrated Sri Vijayendra Saraswati Day, to mark Vijayendra Saraswati's 43rd Jayanthi (43rd Birthday based on Tamil calendar).

References