Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 9.244

śṛńgeri-maṭhe āilā śańkarācārya-sthāne

matsya-tīrtha dekhi' kaila tuńgabhadrāya snāne

SYNONYMS

śṛńgeri-maṭhe — to the Śṛńgeri monastery; āilā — came; śańkarācārya-sthāne — at the place of Śańkarācārya; matsya-tīrtha — the holy place named Matsya-tīrtha; dekhi' — seeing; kaila — did; tuńgabhadrāya snāne — bathing in the river Tuńgabhadrā.

TRANSLATION

Then He saw the monastery known as Śṛńgeri-maṭha, the abode of Ācārya Śańkara. He then visited Matsya-tīrtha, a place of pilgrimage, and took a bath in the river Tuńgabhadrā.

PURPORT

The monastery known as Śṛńgeri-maṭha is situated in the state of Karnataka, in the district of Chikmagalur. This monastery is located at the confluence of the rivers Tuńga and Bhadrā, seven miles south of Harihara-pura. The real name of this place is Śṛńga-giri or Śṛńgavera-purī, and it is the headquarters of Śańkarācārya.

Śańkarācārya had four principal disciples, and he established four centers under their management. In North India at Badarikāśrama, the monastery named Jyotir-maṭha was established. At Puruṣottama, the Bhogavardhana or Govardhana monastery was established. In Dvārakā, the Sāradā monastery was established. And the fourth monastery, established in South India, is known as Śṛńgeri-maṭha. In the Śṛńgeri-maṭha, the sannyāsīs assume the designations Sarasvatī, Bhāratī and Purī. They are all ekadaṇḍi-sannyāsīs, distinguished from the Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs, who are known as tridaṇḍi-sannyāsīs. The Śṛńgeri-maṭha is situated in South India in a portion of the country known as Āndhra, Draviḍa, Karṇāṭa and Kerala. The community is called Bhūrivāra, and the dynasty is called Bhūr-bhuvaḥ. The place is called Rāmeśvara, and the slogan is ahaḿ brahmāsmi. The Deity is Lord Varāha, and the energetic power is Kāmākṣī. The ācārya is Hastāmalaka, and the brahmacārī assistants of the sannyāsīs are known as Caitanya. The place of pilgrimage is called Tuńgabhadrā, and the subject for Vedic study is the Yajur Veda.

The list of the disciplic succession from Śańkarācārya is available, and the names of the ācāryas and the dates of their accepting sannyāsa, according to the Śaka Era (or Śakābda), are as follows (for approximate Christian-era dates, add 78 years): Śańkarācārya, 622 Śaka; Sureśvarācārya, 630; Bodhanācārya, 680; Jñānadhanācārya, 768; Jñānottama-śivācārya, 827; Jñānagiri Ācārya, 871; Siḿhagiri Ācārya, 958; Īśvara Tīrtha, 1019; Narasiḿha Tīrtha, 1067; Vidyātīrtha Vidyā-śańkara, 1150; Bhāratī-kṛṣṇa Tīrtha, 1250; Vidyāraṇya Bhāratī, 1253; Candraśekhara Bhāratī, 1290; Narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1309; Puruṣottama Bhāratī, 1328; Śańkarānanda, 1350; Candraśekhara Bhāratī, 1371; Narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1386; Puruṣottama Bhāratī, 1398; Rāmacandra Bhāratī, 1430; Narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1479; Narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1485; Dhanamaḍi-narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1498; Abhinava-narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1521; Saccidānanda Bhāratī, 1544; Narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1585; Saccidānanda Bhāratī, 1627; Abhinava-saccidānanda Bhāratī, 1663; Nṛsiḿha Bhāratī, 1689; Saccidānanda Bhāratī, 1692; Abhinava-saccidānanda Bhāratī, 1730; Narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1739; Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Vidyā-narasiḿha Bhāratī, 1788.

Regarding Śańkarācārya, it is understood that he was born in the year 608 of the Śakābda Era, in the month of Vaiśākha, on the third day of the waxing moon, in a place in South India known as Kālāḍi. His father's name was Śivaguru, and he lost his father at an early age. When Śańkarācārya was only eight years old, he completed his study of all scriptures and took sannyāsa from Govinda, who was residing on the banks of the Narmadā. After accepting sannyāsa, Śańkarācārya stayed with his spiritual master for some days. He then took his permission to go to Vārāṇasī, and from there he went to Badarikāśrama, where he stayed until his twelfth year. While there, he wrote a commentary on the Brahma-sūtra, as well as on ten Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad-gītā. He also wrote Sanat-sujātīya and a commentary on the Nṛsiḿha-tāpanī. Among his many disciples, his four chief disciples are Padmapāda, Sureśvara, Hastāmalaka and Troṭaka. After departing from Vārāṇasī, Śańkarācārya went to Prayāga, where he met a great learned scholar called Kumārila Bhaṭṭa. Śańkarācārya wanted to discuss the authority of the scriptures, but Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, being on his deathbed, sent him to his disciple Maṇḍana, in the city of Māhiṣmatī. It was there that Śańkarācārya defeated Maṇḍana Miśra in a discussion of the śāstras. Maṇḍana had a wife named Sarasvatī, or Ubhaya-bhāratī, who served as mediator between Śańkarācārya and her husband. It is said that she wanted to discuss erotic principles and amorous love with Śańkarācārya, but Śańkarācārya had been a brahmacārī since birth and therefore had no experience in amorous love. He took a month's leave from Ubhaya-bhāratī and, by his mystic power, entered the body of a king who had just died. In this way Śańkarācārya experienced the erotic principles. After attaining this experience, he wanted to discuss erotic principles with Ubhaya-bhāratī, but without hearing his discussion she blessed him and assured the continuous existence of the Śṛńgeri-maṭha. She then took leave of material life. Afterwards, Maṇḍana Miśra took the order of sannyāsa from Śańkarācārya and became known as Sureśvara. Śańkarācārya defeated many scholars throughout India and converted them to his Māyāvāda philosophy. He left his material body at the age of thirty-three.

As far as Matsya-tīrtha is concerned, it was supposedly situated beside the ocean in the district of Malabar.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness