Sringeri Sharada Peetham
Sringeri, Karnataka · Goddess Sharada · Shakti Temple
First matha established by Adi Shankaracharya on the Tunga river, on Karnataka tourism and Sri Sharada Peetham official pages.
Sringeri Sharada Peetham on the Tunga river in Chikkamagaluru district is documented on the Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sharada Peetham site and Karnataka tourism as the first of Adi Shankara’s four cardinal mathas, with Sharada and Vidyashankara temples.
History
Shankara is traditionally said to have established the peetha after seeing a cobra sheltering a spawning frog on the Tunga bank, symbolising ahimsa.
The matha publishes darshan and festival calendars on sringeri.net; state tourism lists Sringeri in the Malnad pilgrimage circuit.
Stories
The cobra that sheltered a frog
A traditional account says that Adi Shankara, during his travels, saw a snake spread its hood like an umbrella to shield a pregnant frog from the sun on the bank of the Tunga. He is said to have taken this as a sign that the place was free of enmity. It is believed that he chose this spot for the first of his four peethams. Sringeri is also linked in tradition with the sage Rishyasringa of the Ramayana.
What the records say about early history
Tradition attributes the peetham to Adi Shankara of the 8th century, and the matha keeps a line of pontiffs reaching back to him. Scholars note that surviving records are thin for the centuries before the 14th, and some, such as Paul Hacker and Paul Dundas, argue that the matha's prominence dates from the 14th century. Documented history is clearer from then. The Vidyashankara temple was begun under the early Vijayanagara rulers and completed in 1338, and Harihara and Bukka made a tax-free land grant to the matha in 1346.
A temple that blends three styles
The Vidyashankara temple on the Tunga's northern bank is described as a fusion of earlier temple traditions with Hoysala and Vijayanagara styles. It is apsidal in shape and stands on a high plinth like Hoysala temples. Inside is a large mandapa with carved pillars and a passage for circumambulating the sanctum. It can be entered from four directions, and the peetham still runs Vedic schools and preserves Sanskrit manuscripts.
Good to know
Tunga river ghats beside the Sharada and Vidyashankara temples
Vidyashankara temple’s astronomical pillars (heritage architecture)
Often combined with Horanadu and Kalasa
Getting there
Nearest airport: Mangaluru. Road: Chikkamagaluru–Sringeri; KSRTC buses frequent from Chikkamagaluru.
Best time to visit: Oct – Mar