śṛṅgeri-maá¹he ÄilÄ Å›aá¹…karÄcÄrya-sthÄne
matsya-tÄ«rtha dekhi' kaila tuá¹…gabhadrÄya snÄne
śṛṅgeri-maá¹he - to the Śṛṅgeri monastery; ÄilÄ - came; Å›aá¹…karÄcÄrya-sthÄne - at the place of Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya; matsya-tÄ«rtha - the holy place named Matsya-tÄ«rtha; dekhi' - seeing; kaila - did; tuá¹…gabhadrÄya snÄne - bathing in the river Tuá¹…gabhadrÄ.
Then He saw the monastery known as Śṛṅgeri-maá¹ha, the abode of Ä€cÄrya Åšaá¹…kara. He then visited Matsya-tÄ«rtha, a place of pilgrimage, and took a bath in the river Tuá¹…gabhadrÄ.
The monastery known as Śṛṅgeri-maá¹ha is situated in the state of Karnataka, in the district of Chikmagalur. This monastery is located at the confluence of the rivers Tuá¹…ga and BhadrÄ, seven miles south of Harihara-pura. The real name of this place is Śṛṅga-giri or Śṛṅgavera-purÄ«, and it is the headquarters of Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya.
Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya had four principal disciples, and he established four centers under their management. In North India at BadarikÄÅ›rama, the monastery named Jyotir-maá¹ha was established. At Puruá¹£ottama, the Bhogavardhana or Govardhana monastery was established. In DvÄrakÄ, the SÄradÄ monastery was established. And the fourth monastery, established in South India, is known as Śṛṅgeri-maá¹ha. In the Śṛṅgeri-maá¹ha, the sannyÄsÄ«s assume the designations SarasvatÄ«, BhÄratÄ« and PurÄ«. They are all ekadaṇá¸i-sannyÄsÄ«s, distinguished from the Vaiṣṇava sannyÄsÄ«s, who are known as tridaṇá¸i-sannyÄsÄ«s. The Śṛṅgeri-maá¹ha is situated in South India, in a portion of the country comprising Ä€ndhra, Draviá¸a, KarṇÄá¹a and Kerala. The community is called BhÅ«rivÄra, and the dynasty is called BhÅ«r-bhuvaḥ. The place is called RÄmeÅ›vara, and the slogan is ahaá¹ brahmÄsmi. The Deity is Lord VarÄha, and the energetic power is KÄmÄkṣī. The ÄcÄrya is HastÄmalaka, and the brahmacÄrÄ« assistants of the sannyÄsÄ«s are known as Caitanya. The place of pilgrimage is called Tuá¹…gabhadrÄ, and the subject for Vedic study is the Yajur Veda.
The list of the disciplic succession from Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya is available, and the names of the ÄcÄryas and the dates of their accepting sannyÄsa, according to the Åšaka Era (or ÅšakÄbda), are as follows (for approximate Christian-era dates, add 78 years): Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, 622 Åšaka; SureÅ›varÄcÄrya, 630; BodhanÄcÄrya, 680; JñÄnadhanÄcÄrya, 768; JñÄnottama-Å›ivÄcÄrya, 827; JñÄnagiri Ä€cÄrya, 871; Siá¹hagiri Ä€cÄrya, 958; Īśvara TÄ«rtha, 1019; Narasiá¹ha TÄ«rtha, 1067; VidyÄtÄ«rtha VidyÄ-Å›aá¹…kara, 1150; BhÄratÄ«-kṛṣṇa TÄ«rtha, 1250; VidyÄraṇya BhÄratÄ«, 1253; CandraÅ›ekhara BhÄratÄ«, 1290; Narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1309; Puruá¹£ottama BhÄratÄ«, 1328; Åšaá¹…karÄnanda, 1350; CandraÅ›ekhara BhÄratÄ«, 1371; Narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1386; Puruá¹£ottama BhÄratÄ«, 1398; RÄmacandra BhÄratÄ«, 1430; Narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1479; Narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1485; Dhanamaá¸i-narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1498; Abhinava-narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1521; SaccidÄnanda BhÄratÄ«, 1544; Narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1585; SaccidÄnanda BhÄratÄ«, 1627; Abhinava-saccidÄnanda BhÄratÄ«, 1663; Ná¹›siá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1689; SaccidÄnanda BhÄratÄ«, 1692; Abhinava-saccidÄnanda BhÄratÄ«, 1730; Narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1739; SaccidÄnanda ÅšivÄbhinava VidyÄ-narasiá¹ha BhÄratÄ«, 1788.
Regarding Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, it is understood that he was born in the year 608 of the ÅšakÄbda Era, in the month of VaiÅ›Äkha, on the third day of the waxing moon, in a place in South India known as KÄlÄá¸i. His father’s name was Åšivaguru, and he lost his father at an early age. When Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya was only eight years old, he completed his study of all scriptures and took sannyÄsa from Govinda, who was residing on the banks of the NarmadÄ. After accepting sannyÄsa, Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya stayed with his spiritual master for some days. He then took his permission to go to VÄrÄṇasÄ«, and from there he went to BadarikÄÅ›rama, where he stayed until his twelfth year. While there, he wrote a commentary on the Brahma-sÅ«tra, as well as on ten Upaniá¹£ads and the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ. He also wrote Sanat-sujÄtÄ«ya and a commentary on the Ná¹›siá¹ha-tÄpanÄ«. Among his many disciples, his four chief disciples are PadmapÄda, SureÅ›vara, HastÄmalaka and Troá¹aka. After departing from VÄrÄṇasÄ«, Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya went to PrayÄga, where he met a great learned scholar called KumÄrila Bhaá¹á¹a. Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya wanted to discuss the authority of the scriptures, but KumÄrila Bhaá¹á¹a, being on his deathbed, sent him to his disciple Maṇá¸ana, in the city of MÄhiá¹£matÄ«. It was there that Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya defeated Maṇá¸ana MiÅ›ra in a discussion of the Å›Ästras. Maṇá¸ana had a wife named SarasvatÄ«, or Ubhaya-bhÄratÄ«, who served as mediator between Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya and her husband. It is said that she wanted to discuss erotic principles and amorous love with Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya, but Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya had been a brahmacÄrÄ« since birth and therefore had no experience in amorous love. He took a month’s leave from Ubhaya-bhÄratÄ« and, by his mystic power, entered the body of a king who had just died. In this way Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya experienced the erotic principles. After attaining this experience, he wanted to discuss erotic principles with Ubhaya-bhÄratÄ«, but without hearing his discussion she blessed him and assured the continuous existence of the Śṛṅgeri-maá¹ha. She then took leave of material life. Afterwards, Maṇá¸ana MiÅ›ra took the order of sannyÄsa from Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya and became known as SureÅ›vara. Åšaá¹…karÄcÄrya defeated many scholars throughout India and converted them to his MÄyÄvÄda philosophy. He left his material body at the age of thirty-three.
As far as Matsya-tīrtha is concerned, it was supposedly situated beside the ocean in the district of Malabar.
