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Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Peetham, is a Hindu religious center of Vedic learning, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near the Kamakshi Amman Temple of the Shaktism tradition, which also contains a shrine dedicated to the alleged final resting place (disputed) of the Advaita Vedanta teacher Adi Shankara.
The matha-tradition attributes its founding to Adi Shankara, but this and the reliability of the matha's succession list has been questioned. According to the Sri Kanchi math tradition, the matha was founded at Kanchipuram, and shifted south to the temple city of Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century due to the on-going wars, when there was warfare in the region, and returned to Kanchipuram in the 19th century.
Historically, the Kanchi Math was established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt, and became involved with the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram in 1839, "set[ing] up shop in Kanchipuram at the turn of the last [19th] century."
The peetham gained a good reputation under the charismatic leadership of Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati VIII (born 20 May 1894; 68th Shankaracharya 1907 – 8 January 1994), who was regarded as an avatara purusha, a realised seer. The peetham lost authority and standing under the leadership of Sri Jayendra Saraswati (born 1935; appointed successor 1954; 69th Shankaracharya 3 January 1994 - 28 February 2018), who favoured an outreach to a broader audience beyond the Brahmins, but was implicated and later given a clean chit by the courts in a murder-trial. He was succeeded in February 2018 by Vijayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya Swamigal.
The founding of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam is traditionally attributed by its adherents to Adi Shankara. According to the Kanchi matha's tradition, Adi Shankara was born in 509 BCE and died in 477 BCE, and founded Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in 482 BCE. The chronology stated in Kanchi matha texts recognizes five major Shankaras: Adi, Kripa, Ujjvala, Muka and Abhinava. According to the Kanchi matha tradition, it is "Abhinava Shankara" that western scholarship recognizes as the Advaita scholar Adi Shankara.
According to the Sri Kanchi matha documents, the matha relocated completely to Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century to escape wars and persecution, returning to Kanchi in the 19th century. According to Jonathan Bader and other scholars, the monastic tradition gives "fear of Muslim atrocities" from Nawab of Arcot, Mysore's Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan as the reason, but the details remain unclear.
According to T. A. Gopinatha Rao, copperplate inscriptions show that the matha was located at Kanchipuram until 1686 CE, and relocated to Kumbakonam, Tanjore, in the 18th century. Sharma disputes Rao's interpretations of the copper plates, arguing that the dating is dubious, and that most plates do not refer to Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham at all. According to Rao, based on the oldest record found in the respective mathas (1291 and 1346 respectively), Kanchipuram matha may be older than Sringeri Pitham.
The foundation-story of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, and it's chronology of Shankaracharyas, is widely disputed. Sringeri matha rejects the claims of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, and does not count it among the mathas established by Shankara.
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Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Peetham, is a Hindu religious center of Vedic learning, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near the Kamakshi Amman Temple of the Shaktism tradition, which also contains a shrine dedicated to the alleged final resting place (disputed) of the Advaita Vedanta teacher Adi Shankara.
The matha-tradition attributes its founding to Adi Shankara, but this and the reliability of the matha's succession list has been questioned. According to the Sri Kanchi math tradition, the matha was founded at Kanchipuram, and shifted south to the temple city of Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century due to the on-going wars, when there was warfare in the region, and returned to Kanchipuram in the 19th century.
Historically, the Kanchi Math was established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt, and became involved with the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram in 1839, "set[ing] up shop in Kanchipuram at the turn of the last [19th] century."
The peetham gained a good reputation under the charismatic leadership of Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati VIII (born 20 May 1894; 68th Shankaracharya 1907 – 8 January 1994), who was regarded as an avatara purusha, a realised seer. The peetham lost authority and standing under the leadership of Sri Jayendra Saraswati (born 1935; appointed successor 1954; 69th Shankaracharya 3 January 1994 - 28 February 2018), who favoured an outreach to a broader audience beyond the Brahmins, but was implicated and later given a clean chit by the courts in a murder-trial. He was succeeded in February 2018 by Vijayendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya Swamigal.
The founding of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam is traditionally attributed by its adherents to Adi Shankara. According to the Kanchi matha's tradition, Adi Shankara was born in 509 BCE and died in 477 BCE, and founded Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in 482 BCE. The chronology stated in Kanchi matha texts recognizes five major Shankaras: Adi, Kripa, Ujjvala, Muka and Abhinava. According to the Kanchi matha tradition, it is "Abhinava Shankara" that western scholarship recognizes as the Advaita scholar Adi Shankara.
According to the Sri Kanchi matha documents, the matha relocated completely to Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century to escape wars and persecution, returning to Kanchi in the 19th century. According to Jonathan Bader and other scholars, the monastic tradition gives "fear of Muslim atrocities" from Nawab of Arcot, Mysore's Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan as the reason, but the details remain unclear.
According to T. A. Gopinatha Rao, copperplate inscriptions show that the matha was located at Kanchipuram until 1686 CE, and relocated to Kumbakonam, Tanjore, in the 18th century. Sharma disputes Rao's interpretations of the copper plates, arguing that the dating is dubious, and that most plates do not refer to Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham at all. According to Rao, based on the oldest record found in the respective mathas (1291 and 1346 respectively), Kanchipuram matha may be older than Sringeri Pitham.
The foundation-story of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, and it's chronology of Shankaracharyas, is widely disputed. Sringeri matha rejects the claims of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, and does not count it among the mathas established by Shankara.