108 Facets of the Inimitable Guru
23. कालट्यादिपरिष्कर्ता Kālaṭyādi-pariṣkartā
One who brought about the development of Kalady and other places
His Holiness is described as pariṣkarta, One who brought about the development, kālaṭyādi, of Kalady and other places. Being the birthplace of Bhagavatpāda, Kalady held a very special place in His Holiness’s heart, and He spent considerable time, energy and resources in effecting extensive development at Kalady. In fact, He spent three cāturmāsyas in Kalady (1956, 1958 and 1984) and this especially facilitated His planning and overseeing the execution of developmental projects there.
Apart from Kalady, His Holiness took particular interest in carrying out the development of shrines and branches of the Sringeri Math at many locations throughout the country. The projects included creating facilities for pilgrims’ stay and for devotees to conduct religious and spiritual activities, renovating existing temples and consecrating new ones, and establishing pāṭhaśālās for Vedic and Śāstraic studies.
Being an able administrator and having a keen engineering sense, He did not stop with merely initiating such works, but also planned the projects in great detail, meticulously architected them, closely monitored their progress, ensured that impediments at any stage were effectively neutralized, and made sure that the implementation was completely in optimal time.
❧
The following list of improvements His Holiness brought about in existing branch Maṭhas like Kalady is merely illustrative and not exhaustive.
| Location | Developmental work | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Kalady, Kerala | Construction of new buildings in the Maṭha premises including a guest house for pilgrims’ stay, was started under His Holiness’s direct supervision. | Jun-Sep, 1958 |
| His Holiness formed the Sri Shankara Educational Trust to manage Sri Shankara College whose financial position had become precarious. (The High Court of Travancore had entrusted His Holiness with the power to appoint the Managing Committee.) | 1959-60 | |
| In response to His appeal, devotees collectively raised Rs. 10 lakhs for the development of Sri Shankara College, and submitted the amount to His Holiness. | 19.10.1960 | |
| Various developmental activities planned for Sri Shankara College by His Holiness in consultation with the Sri Shankara Educational Trust. | March 1962 | |
| Laid the foundation stone for Sri Shankara Memorial Hall housing a library, an auditorium, a gallery of murals, sculptures and other cultural accessories. | 16.05.1964 | |
| After completion of major renovation and expansion projects, the inauguration of the Shankara Memorial Arch and Hall was done by Sri K. Hanumanthiah, Hon’ble Minister for Railways, Government of India, in the august presence of His Holiness. | 29.04.1971 | |
| Consecrated newly constructed rājagopuras for the Śāradāmbā and Bhagavatpāda shrines. | 22.08.1984 | |
| Foundation stone for Sree Shankaracharya University of Sanskrit laid in the august presence of His Holiness and Jagadguru Śrī Bhāratī Tīrtha Mahāsvāmin. | 10.09.1984 | |
| Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Inaugurated the renovated Maṭha at Krishnappa Naicken Agraharam at George Town. | 13.03.1962 |
| Bengaluru, Karnataka | Inaugurated the Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Kalyana Mandapa inside the Shankara Math campus. | 03.06.1963 |
| Inaugurated the newly fabricated procession car (ratha) for Śāradāmbā. | 02.04.1988 | |
| Inaugurated the Jnanodaya School close to the Shankara Math compound, in the presence of Sri B. Somashekar, Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, Government of Karnataka. | 10.04.1988 | |
| Performed aṣṭabandhana-kumbhābhiṣeka for the renovated Bhagavatpāda Temple in Shankara Math. | April 1988 | |
| Laid foundation stone for a new auditorium in the Maṭha complex. | ||
| Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu | Consecrated the idol of Bhagavatpāda and His four principal disciples in the Sringeri Shankara Math. | 05.03.1965 |
| Guntur, Andhra Pradesh | Consecrated the idol of Śrī Śāradāmbā in the newly constructed temple in the Maṭha. | 09.02.1966 |
| Foundation stone laid for Shankara Sadan, a hall to be constructed between the newly built Śāradāmbā shrine and already existing Bhagavatpāda shrine. | ||
| Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh | Made arrangements in the Maṭha for the installation of Śrī Śāradāmbā. | 30.04.1967 |
| Haridwar, Uttarakhand | Minutely scrutinized newly constructed main building in the Maṭha and gave instructions for future work. | 24.06.1967 |
| Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh | Consecrated the idol of Bhagavatpāda at the Sringeri Math | 18.12.1967 |
| Shivaganga, Karnataka | Consecrated new shrines of Dakṣiṇāmūrti, Mahā-gaṇapati and Daṇḍapāṇi. | 01.03.1971 |
| Hassan, Karnataka | Consecrated the idols of Śrī Śāradāmbā and Śrī Bhagavatpāda. | 18.03.1968 |
| Shikaripur, Karnataka | Consecrated shrines for Śāradāmbā, Bhagavatpāda and Dattātreya. | 23.01.1969 |
| Karur, Tamil Nadu | Consecrated the idol of Śrī Rājarājeśvarī at the Shankaralaya. | 16.04.1971 |
| Udupi, Karnataka | Consecrated the idol of Śāradāmbā at the Shankara Math | 11.03.1976 |
| New Delhi | In the august presence of His Holiness, the foundation stone for the library buildings at Shankara Vidya Kendra was laid by Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Union External Affairs Minister. | 19.04.1977 |
| Consecrated new shrines of Bhagavatpāda, Candraśekhara, Śāradāmbā at Shankara Vidya Kendra | 05.05.1977 | |
| Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu | Consecrated new temple at Sringeri Math for Śāradāmbā, Bhagavatpāda, Gaṇapati, Subrahmaṇya | 25.11.1979 |
| Madurai, Tamil Nadu | Consecrated idols of Śāradāmbā, Bhagavatpāda, Viśālakṣī, Viśveśvara after extensive renovations at Shankara Math, Amman Kovil Street | 27.01.1980 |
| Mysuru, Karnataka | Consecrated idols of Śāradāmbā, Bhagavatpāda and Jagadguru Śrī Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī Mahāsvāmin. | 05.05.1980 |
| Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu | Inaugurated Sringeri Sri Sharada Kalyana Mandapam at Sivapuram Street, Meenakshipuram. | 18.11.1981 |
| Nanjanagudu, Karnataka | Consecrated idols of Śāradāmbā and Bhagavatpāda at Shankara Math. | 02.06.1986 |
| Mysuru, Karnataka | Consecrated Navagraha idols in the newly constructed temple at Abhinava Shankaralaya. | 04.06.1986 |
| Kotekar, Karnataka | Oversaw the progress of the construction of a temple for Gaṇeśa, Śāradāmbā and Bhagavatpāda. | January 1988 |
| Kolar, Karnataka | Inaugurated newly constructed Kalyana Mandapa of Shankara Math. | April 1988 |
| Tarikere, Karnataka | Jagadguru Śrī Bhāratī Tīrtha Mahāsvāmin inaugurated the newly constructed Sri Sringeri Sharada Sabha Bhavanam in the presence of His Holiness. | 03.07.1988 |
| Dharwad, Karnataka | Consecrated idols of Śāradāmbā and Bhagavatpāda at the Shankara Math. | 26.05.1989 |
❧