Shringeri

Vidyasankara temple

Sringeri, (Shringeri, Śŗngeri, Śŗngagiri, Ŗshyaśŗnga-giri), located in Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka, is the site of the first maţha established by Ādi Śankarāchārya, Hindu theologian and exponent of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, in the 8th century C.E. It is located on the banks of the river Tungā. According to legend, Ādi Śankarāchārya is said to have selected the site as the place to stay and teach his disciples, because when he was walking by the Tunga river, he saw a cobra with a raised hood, providing shelter from the hot sun, to a frog about to spawn. Impressed with the place where natural enemies had gone beyond their instincts, he stayed here for twelve years. Ādi Śankarāchārya also established mathas in the northern (at Jyotirmath, near Badrinath), eastern (at Puri) and western (at Dwaraka) quarters of India.

The name Sringeri is derived from Ŗshyaśŗnga-giri, a nearby hill that is believed to have contained the hermitage of Rishi Vibhandaka and his son Rishyashringa. Rishyashringa appears in an episode in the Bala-Kanda of the Ramayana where a story, narrated by Vasishtha, relates how he brought rains to the drought-stricken kingdom of Romapada.

The most important temples at Sringeri are the Śāradā temple and the Vidyāśankara temple. The Śāradā temple, dedicated to the Goddess of learning and wisdom, has grown from a simple shrine dating to the time of Ādi Śankarāchārya. In the fourteenth century, Vidyāraņya is said to have replaced the old sandalwood image with a stone and gold image. The temple structure itself continued to be made of wood till the early 20th century. After an unexpected fire that damaged the structure, the current structure was built in the traditional south Indian (Dravidian) style of temple architecture.

The Vidyāśankara temple was built in commemoration of the pontiff Vidyāśankara, around 1357-58 AD. It was built by Vidyāraņya, patron-saint of Harihara and Bukka, the brothers who founded the Vijayanagara empire. The niches in the temple have a number of sculptures from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain mythologies. Inscriptions in the temple record contributions made by several Vijayanagara emperors, but the temple was probably built on an earlier Hoysala site, as it combines Hoysala and Vijayanagara architectural features. The temple architecture is also an exhibition of the astronomical expertise of medieval south Indian temple builders. The main temple hall features 12 pillars designated for the 12 signs of the zodiac. Windows and doors along the temple walls are arranged such that at the start of each solar month in the Indian calendar, the sun's rays fall on the pillar designated for the zodiac sign of that month.

The matha at Sringeri is known as Sringeri Sharada Peetham. The head of the matha is called Jagadguru (teacher of the world) and also carries the Shankaracharya name as a title. The present Sringeri Shankaracharya is Shri Bharati Tirtha Swamigal.

Places of interest and nearer to Sringeri

*Horanadu - (Annapoorneshari Temple)
*Hariharapura - (a branch of Sringeri Matha) www.hariharapura.org
*Kigga - (Rishyashringa Temple)
*Agumbe - (Venugopalaswami Temple and Sunset Spot)
*Thirthahalli - (Rameshwara Temple and Beautiful river bank of Tunga) Thirthahalli
*Kalasa - (Kalaseshwara Temple)
*Balehonnur - (Rambapuri Matha - Virasaiva)
*Bandigadi - (Bandigadi/Shakatapuram Matha)