KAn.chI v. SRngeri

[Balaji Hebbar]

Dear  Mr.  Sundaresan:

Perhaps  you  are  the  best  equipped  on  the  list  to  answer  the
following:

1.  Why  is  the  KAn.chI  KAmakoTi  PItham  always  excluded  among
the  "ShankarAcAryas".  Why  just  the  four  ones?

2.  Why  is  the  ShankarAcArya  of  SRngeri  considered  primus  inter
pares  (first  among  equals)  even  among  the  four.  Was  it  because
SRngeri  was  given  to  Shankara's  favorite  disciple  Sureshvara?

3.  Why  this  intense  rivalry  between  KAn.chI  and  SRngeri
especially?  I  have  seen  this  in  quite  a  few  disciples
belonging  to  both  pIthas.

4.  If  Shankara  established  an  apostolic  seat  at  KAn.chI, was  it
because  KAn.chI  was  the  only  one  of  the  7  holy  Hindu  places
which  was  in  the  South?  AND/OR  perhaps  it  was  a  seat  of
Buddhism  and  the  native  city  of  Buddhist  savants  such  as
Bodhidharma,  DinnAga  etc.

Kindly  clarify  these,
Regards,
B.N.Hebbar