Shankaracarya of the North

[Claude Setzer]

-----Original Message-----
From: Dominik Wujastyk <ucgadkw at UCL.AC.UK>
To: INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Date: Monday, January 19, 1998 5:17 AM
Subject: Re: Shankaracarya of the North


>I may be out of date, but I believe there are two acaryas who claim to
>hold the Northern Sankara gadi:
>
>The first lineage goes Brahmanandasarasvati -> Santanandasarasvati ->
>Visnudevanandasarasvati.
>
>The other one goes Santanandasarasvati -> Svarupanandasarasvati.


Actually the dividsion started when Branmandasaraswati "left". Evidently,
there was one who expected to be anointed by him when he left. However
Branmandasaraswati gave his blessings to Santanandasarasvati and told him to
take over. It seems that this may not have been completely public enough,
and the other one, i don't remember his name, and think he did not live for
long, decided, along with his followers to contest the decision. There has
been a division of properties and a big legal dispute in the courts ever
since. (40 years or so) I think there have been quite a few in the
"secondary " line, and it may have split again, as suggested elsewhere. I
visited Santanandasarasvati in the Hardwar residence of the Shankaracharya
of the North in 1974, and he seemed to be pretty much in control at that
time, but that was only an outsider's opinion. I have heard that the Joytir
Math seat is much more in contest.
>
>Svarupananda is simultaneously (or was for some time) the incumbent of the
>western gadi in Dwaraka.
>
>There is much more detail to this than the simple lineages above would
>suggest.  Perhaps someone else who is more up to date than me would like
>to elaborate?
>
>All the best,
>Dominik
>
>--
>Dr Dominik Wujastyk        Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine
>email: d.wujastyk at ucl.ac.uk      183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, England
><URL: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/>                FAX: 44 171 611 8545
>