Dakshina Amnaya Mutt - Kudali Sringeri Mutt & it's two branches
By B. Shridhar
==========
About 2500 years ago, Sri Adi Sankaracharya established Four Amnaya Advaitic Mutt's for the propagation of Advaita Philosophy.
Dwaraka Mutt
Kudali Sringeri mutt
Govardhan Mutt
Badrikashram mutt
The fifth mutt "Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam" in Kanchipuram was formed, once Sri Adi Sankaracharya, during his last days at Kanchipuram, insisted to his prime disciple, Sri Sureswaracharya to form a Guru parampara in Kanchipuram after his samadhi.
Sureshwaracharya, with his disciple, Sri Sarvagyatmendra Saraswati, continued the Chandramoulieswar pooja to the Yoga Spatika Lingam which was being worshipped by Sri Adi Sankaracharya himself, till his samadhi at Kamakshi temple, Kanchipuram.
We are now going to discuss about the origin of Kudali Sringeri Mutt, established by Sri Adi Sankara, on the confluence of the River Tunga and River Bhadra and its two branch mutts, which got separated from the main Kudali Sringeri Mutt, one in the year 1320 CE called the Tunga Sringeri and another in 1825 CE called the Avichinna Kudali Sringeri Mutt.
Kudali Sringeri Mutt, Origin:
-----
As regards the origin of Kudali Sringeri mutt, we have the story of Sri Adi Sankaracharya winning an argument against the great Mimamsakar - Sri Mandala Mishra (an incarnate of Sri Bhrama) and thus initiating him into Advaita Sanyasam and naming him as Sri Sureswaracharya.
His wife, Sarasavani, (an incarnate of Goddess Saraswati) decided to proceed to Deva Lokha, because her husband had become an advaitic Dandi Sanyasi, as per the wager and could not longer be with her.
While, Sri Adi Sankara wanted her too, to remain on earth to bless the human race but she refused, as she was no such interested especially once her husband had lost in the week-long argument with Sri Adi Sankara.
As Sarasavani refused to accept Sri Adi Sankara's request to continue to be on earth, he had no other option but to employ the Vanadurga mantram and bound her to force her to come with him.
Sarasavani, already vivid with anger, due to her husband's defeat, could not breakfree from the mantra bandanam and so to trick him asked Sri Adi Sankara to answer her questions too as he had already ascended the Sarvagnapeetam at Kashmir earlier
Sri Adi Sankara was asked by her about his knowledge on Kama Sastra.
Sri Adi Sankara, having ascended the Sarvagnapeetam in Kashmir, considered himself a Sarvagnar (knowing everything), and thus was expected to answer her questions on Kama sastra, too.
Sri Adi Sankaracharya, being an bhramacharya Dandi Sanyasi, had no experience in Kama Sastra and so either he accepts defeat to Sarasavani or find out some way to experience Kama without disturbing his Sanyas Ashram sankalpam.
So Sri Adi Sankara asked her a few days to respond and he requested Sarasavani to remain there, till he returns back with the experience / knowledge on Kama Sastra.
On her part, Sarasavani stayed put but refused to touch earth again (without her husband by her side) and thus remained suspended about 2 ft above the earth surface)
Sri Adi Sankara performed Parakaya Pravesham into the dead king Amruka's body and after experiencing kama with the King's wife, Rani Manimanjari, using her husband's body, he returned back into his own body now ready to respond to Sarasavani on the subject of Kama Sastra.
Sarasavani, being Devi Saraswati incarnate, immediately came to know about his freshly acquired knowledge and thus agreed to follow Sri Adi Sankara instructions.
Sri Adi Sankara asked her to follow him and thus took her to the banks of the confluence of River Tunga and River Bhadra where Devi Sarada still stands about 2 ft higher above earth and here Sri Adi Sankaracharya established the Kudali Sringeri Dakshinamnaya Mutt with Sri Sureswaracharya as the head.
The Kudali Sringeri Dakshinamnaya Mutt has a Guru parampara starting from Adi Sankaracharya (509 BCE - 477 BCE), till the present 71st Sankaracharya, Sri Vidyabhinava Vidyaranya Bharati.
It is the original Dakshinamnaya Mutt established by Sri Adi Sankaracharya 2,500 years ago
Tunga Sringeri Mutt - Origin:
-----
During the year 1300 CE, the Kudali Sringeri Sankaracharya went on a long Vijaya Yatra along with his entourage. Even after about 20 years, this Sankaracharya did not return back to his Head quarters at Shimoga.
Due to his prolonged absence, the local people and devotees of Kudali Sringeri mutt started suspecting that the Sankaracharya would have passed away and thus came together to select and later appointed a New incumbent to the Kundali Sringeri Guru parampara.
Within a few months, the aged Guru who had gone away for over 20 years returned back to Kundali Sringeri to find a new Sankaracharya already appointed by the locals.
The local devotees justified the new Sankaracharya and insisted that he becomes the next in line to the aged Kudali Sringeri Sankaracharya but the aged Sankaracharya declined to accept him as his disciple, as it was his prerogative to select his own disciple to head the Kudali Sringeri mutt after him.
As it became difficult to accomodate this new Sankaracharya in the Kudali Sringeri Guru parampara, due to the rejection by the Sankaracharya of Kudali Sringeri mutt, the locals were forced to shift their appointed Sanyasi to the banks of Tunga River and helped him to establish a mutt there, now called as "Tunga Sringeri" mutt.
This Tunga Sringeri mutt could not secure the next Acharya to follow their nominated person and so they took the help of Sri Vidyatheerthendra Saraswati, 51st Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam who nominated the next Sankaracharya for the Tunga Sringeri mutt. He also provided them with a new Spatika Lingam and a Ratnagarba Ganapathi idol for their nitya pooja.
This story of Sri Vidyatheertha appointing Sri Vidyaranya in the year 1338 CE is mentioned in the Tunga Sringeri website
Also, the Tunga Sringeri Brudawali clearly states Sri Vidyaranya established the Tunga Sringeri mutt which confirms the year of 1338 CE when Sri Vidyaranya was initiated into their Guru parampara.
As the Tunga Sringeri Mutt lacked the support of the Kudali Sringeri Mutt, they couldn't adopt the Kudali Sringeri Sankaracharya names from Sri Adi Sankara till their 50th Kudali acharya into their own Guru parampara list.
Tunga Sringeri had to start their actual Guru parampara list afresh from 1320 CE and they had to manipulate their historical records to show that the Tunga Sringeri Mutt was established by Sri Adi Sankara himself.
While originally the Tunga Sringeri declared that Sri Adi Sankara was born during first century BCE which they later changed to 3rd Century CE. They prepared their own manipulated Guru parampara list giving Sri Sureshwaracharya a life span of 800 years.
Once the Tunga Sringeri could not convincingly explain their exaggerated Guru parampara list, they decided to zero on the date of 788CE for Sri Adi Sankara (same as that of Sri Abhinava Sankara) and then gave a 80 year life span for Sri Sureshwaracharya.
Sri Abhinava Sankara, was the 38th Sankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and whose miracles and Digvijaya Yatra exceeded in excellence to even Sri Adi Sankaracharya himaelf. He was called Abhinava Sankara or the New Sankara.
The present Guru parampara of 34 Sankaracharyas of Sri Tunga Sringeri starts from 788 CE till 1320 CE (manipulated names) and from 1320 CE till the present date. (Actual Guru parampara list)
Using their political clout, Tunga Sringeri managed to convince the Indian Govt to accept 788 CE as the birth year of Sri Adi Sankara.
Avichinna Kudali Sringeri Mutt - Origin
--------
Now we come to the origin of the last branch of the Kudali Sringeri mutt i.e. Avichinna Kudali Sringeri mutt.
This separation happened in the year 1825 CE, when their 61st Sankaracharya Sri Narasimha Bharati appointed his disciple as the 62nd Sankaracharya, Sri Sankara Bharati and handed over the Spatika Lingam pooja to him.
During that year's Chaturmasya, Sri Narasimha Bharati instructed his disciple, Sri Sankara Bharati to proceed on a yatra to another location to perform the Chaturmasya while he himself stayed put at Kudali Sringeri, performing Chaturmasya there.
Just about a month for the Chaturmasya to get completed, the Guru, Sri Narasimha Bharati, felt that it was now time for him to take Samadhi and so he asked his disciple to return back to him immediately eventhough it meant breaking the Chaturmasya Sankalpam.
His disciple, Sri Sankara Bharati, refused to come to meet his Guru because he had taken a Chaturmasyam sankalpam to stay put at one place and till that time is not over, he refused to go to him.
The Guru, Sri Narasimha Bharati, got angry and so he appointed a new disciple as his sishya to become the next Pontiff instead of Sri Sankara Bharati and then took Samadhi at Kudali Sringeri.
Upon completion of the Chaturmasyam, Sri Sankara Bharati rushed back to Kudali Sringeri to find his Guru had taken samadhi and had a newly appointed Sankaracharya in his place.
The Guru Sri Narasimha Bharati had left a note of instructions to Sri Sankara Bharati to hand over his pooja back to his newly appointed disciple immediately.
As it was the instructions from his Guru, so Sri Sankara Bharati handed over the Spatika Lingam to the new Guru and left Kudali Sringeri Mutt.
Later, he organised for a Vidyasankar Lingam and a Chandramoulieswar lingam for his pooja and continued the Avichinna Kudali Sringeri Guru parampara separately.
Interestingly, he refused to forego the names of all his previous acharyas from the Kudali Sringeri Guru parampara.
Thus we can notice that the Guru parampara list for both Kudali Sringeri mutt and the Avichinna Kudali Sringeri mutt from Sri Adi Sankara till the year 1825 CE are the same and after that they both have different acharyas to carry out the activities of their respective mutts
B. Shridhar
Managing Trustee
Kalavai Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati Sankaracharya Trust
Mumbai
