Short History of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham

November 19, 2004

short note on the recent history of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham

The current Peethadhipati of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, the 69th

Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal, is the first

Sankaracharya in the last more than two hundred years to have been

ordained at Kanchipuram and to have stayed at the proper seat of the

Matham. The previous several Sankaracharyas had to live in exile

away from Kanchipuram in fear of desecration at the hands of the

Mughals, and later at the hands of aggressive atheists of the

British period. Mughal influence began to be felt in the Kanchipuram

area from around the end of the seventeenth century. The deities of

Sri Bangaru Kamakshi Amman, Sri Ekamreswarar and Sri Varadaraja

Swami were shifted in 1688 to Udaiyar Palayam in the Thanjavur

kingdom, which was then ruled by the Maratha kings. The then

Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham himself was persuaded by

the second Maratha King of Thanjavur to move into his domain. Some

of the deities were later brought back to Kanchipuram around 1710;

but the Sankaracharyas of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and the deity

of the Matham, Sri Bangaru Kamakshi Amman, seemed to have remained

in the Thanjavur kingdom. The 62nd Sanakaracharya of the Peetham got

a new Matham constructed at Kumbakonam around 1750. Several

Sankaracharyas lived for their entire life at Kumbakonam, away from

Kanchipuram. In the eighteenth century records, the Sankaracharya of

Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is often referred to as the Kumbakonam

Chikkodaiyar. It was only after Independence, in 1953, that the 68th

Sankaracharya, who is universally regarded as a divine figure of our

times and is reverentially known as the Paramacharya, stayed at

Kanchipuram continuously for five years and thus shifted the seat of

the Matham back to Kanchipuram. The Paramacharya was then 59 years

old and had spent 46 years of his reign in Kumbakonam. The current

Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal, is the first

Sankaracharya in the last more than two hundred years to have been

ordained at Kanchipuram and to have stayed at the proper seat of the

Matham. In testimony to the depredations wrought by the Islamic

rulers, an imposing Mosque stands abutting the gates of the Matham;

the call of the mosque is heard several times a day in the deepest

and most sacred recesses of the Matham. The mosque was built

sometime in the early part of the eighteenth century, in the memory

of Hazarat Hamid Shah Aulia, a Sufi of Bijapur, who came to

Kanchipuram in 1675, probably along with the Mughal forces of

Hyderabad. The mosque was built at a time when the Sankaracharyas of

Kanchipuram had been forced to leave their seat at Kanchipuram in

the face of the forces that built the mosque. The Acharyas continued

to stay in exile during the British period. In testimony to the

depredations of that period, a statue of Periyar stands on the gates

of the Matham. On the pedestal of the statue are engraved slogans

abusive of God and dharma. The Kanchi Acharyas had chosen to return

to Kanchipuram on India achieving her Independence. They probably

believed that free and Independent India shall be a secure and safe

place for the practice of Dharma. The recent events suggest that

Independent India has not kept the faith.

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http://www.cpsindia.org/current_view.asp?msgid=13

NAGARAJAN KJ · February 20, 2008

Sri Kanchiswamiji As SriRam giving Upadesas to Sri Hanuman<HR style="COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=1>

WITH HUMBLE PRANAMS TO ALL DEVOTEES & WITH HUMBLE REGARDS TO SHRI MAHAAWAMIGAL I GIVE A SMALL INCIDENCE & AN EXPERIENCE OF A VERY CLOSE DEVOTEE OF PERIVA [AS SRI PARAMACHARYA SWAMIJI OF KANCHI WAS CALLED] WHO OFCOURSE DONOT WANT TO

PUBLISH THIS. HE IN FACTOPENED THIS INCIDENCE AFTER NEARLY 50 YEARS. HE HASINFACT NOT TOLD TO ANYONE INCLUDING HIS WIFE OF THIS. BY DEFAULT HE HAPPENED TO TELL RECENTLY. BELOW IS HIS NARRATION OF HIS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:

QUOTE:::-

THE DEVOTEE SHRI.SADASIVAN [name changed] WHO WAS A LEARNED VEDIC SCHOLAR WAS TO ASSIST SWAMY PARAMACHARYAL FOR HIS DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES IN 1960'S ALONGWITH OTHER SHISHYAS.

ONE NIGHT SHRI ANJNEYA SWAMY, [A SANYASI WHO WAS CALLED AS ANJANEYA SWAMY] CAME TO VISIT PERIVA [KANCHI SEER], WAS ASKED TO STAY THE NIGHT BY PARAMACHARYAL IN THE KANCHI MUTT AT KANCHIPURAM.

IN THE MIDNIGHT WHEN THE SADASIVAN WOKE UP SUDDENLY HE NOTICED & WAS ASHTONISHED TO SEE SHREE RAMA GIVING SOME ADVISE [uPADESAS] TO SHRI ANJANEYA SWAMY ON AN UPSTAIR PLATFORM WHERE SHRI PERIVA USED TO RELAX AT NIGHTS, AT HIS PLACE. IT WAS NO ONE OTHER THAN SHRIRAMACHANDRA MOORTHY[PERIVA] & SHRI BHAKTHA HANUMAN [sANYASI ANJANEYA SWAMY] WHICH WAS EXPERIENCED BY

THE DEVOTEE SADASIVAN. HE COULD NOT REALLY BELIEVE HIS EYES BUT IT WAS A TRUTH.

THEY WERE SHRI MAHA PERIVA & THE SANYASI SHRI ANJANEYA SWAMI. NEXT MORNING AS USUAL WHILE HE WAS CLEANING THE PLACE HE FOUND FEW GOLDEN VILVA TRIDALAMS BY WHICH SHRI. ANJANEYA SWAMI MIGHT HAVE DONE ARCHANA TO SHRI RAMACHANDRAMOORTHY-MAHA PERIVA. HE TOOK THE GOLDEN VILVA TRIDALAMS & PUT THEM IN THE MUTH HUNDI.HE NEVER TOLD IT TO ANYBODY EVEN HIS WIFE & CHILDREN TILL RECENTLY.

BY DEVOTEE his personal experience

UNQUOTE:

WHILE WRITING IT, I AM TEARFUL & SHIVERING. I AM WRITING IT

WITHOUT THE WISHES OF THE DEVOTEE SHRI.SADASIVAN BUT MY INTENTION IS THIS MUST REACH ALL THE BHAKTHA JANAS AROUND THE WORLD.

NAMO NAMAHA