Four maTha tradition

[Swaminathan Madhuresan]

Usually, in neo-vedanta or Sankara matha writings, we come across
the statement that Adi Sankaracharya founded  mathams in
all the four cardinal directions. How old is this tradition?
Is this only a post-Vivekananda phenomenon? Related question:
are they any written records of interactions between the
4 mathams suppposed to have been founded by Sankara, and how
far back in time those records go?

In other words, what is the oldest writing which mentions
Sankara founding 4 mutts? 19th/20th centurie, or earlier?

Thanks,
SM


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