 | ||
The Dwaraka pīţha or Dwaraka maţha, also called Saradha Matha/Peeth and "western peeth", is an ancient monastery situated in the coastal city of Dwaraka, Gujarat, India. It is one of the four cardinal mathas or seats of learning founded by Adi Shankara in 8th Century CE, and is the pascimāmnāya matha, or western matha. It is also known as the Kālikā Matha, and per the tradition initiated by Adi Shankara it represents Sama Veda.
Contents
History
- Shri Trivikrama Tirtha was the head of the monastery until 1921 when he was succeeded by Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha.
- Shri Bharati was invited to lead the Puri matha in 1925 after the position had become vacant.
- Shri Bharati was succeeded by Shri Swarupananda and Shri Yogeswarananda.
1945
In 1945, Shri Abhinava Saccidananda Tirtha was nominated to the position. Before assuming his position at Dvaraka, Abhinava was the head of the Mulabagal matha in Karnataka, which was the 17th century branch of the Dvaraka matha. As a result, the cumulative lineage of Mulabagal matha was merged with Dvaraka when Abhinava took office there. Years later Shri Saccidananda helped to mediate the Shankarcharya successions at Puri and Jyotir Math. Since Abhinava died in 1982, this peeth has been led by Swami Swarūpānanda Saraswatī who is one of the claimants to the position of Shankaracharya of the northern matha called Jyotir Pitha or Jyotir Math.