Sringeri Sharada Peetham

Temple in India

Dakṣināmnāya Śrī Śāradā Pītham or Śri Śringeri Maṭha (/mʌt/, /mʌtɦ/; Sanskrit: मठ, maṭha) is one amongst the five cardinal pīthams following the Daśanāmi Sampradaya - the peetham or matha is said to have been established by acharya Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara to preserve and propagate Sanātana Dharma and Advaita Vedānta, the doctrine of non-dualism. Located in Śringerī in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka, India, it is the Southern Āmnāya Pītham amongst the four Chaturāmnāya Pīthams, with the others being the Dvārakā Śāradā Pītham (Gujarat) in the West, Purī Govardhana Pīṭhaṃ (Odisha) in the East, Badri Jyotishpīṭhaṃ (Uttarakhand) in the North and the Sarvagnya Pītham being Kanchi Kamakoti Sarvagnya Peetam again in the South (Tamil Nadu). The head of the matha is called Shankarayacharya, the title derives from Adi Shankara. Śri Śringerī Mutt, as the Pītham is referred to in common parlance, is situated on the banks of the Tuṅgā River in Śringerī. The Mutt complex consists of shrines on both the northern and southern banks of the river. The three prominent shrines on the northern bank of the Tunga are dedicated to the presiding deity of the Pītham and the divinity of Ātma-vidyā - Śrī Śāradā, Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara, and Jagadguru Śrī Vidyāśankara Tīrtha, the 10th Jagadguru of the Pītham. The southern bank houses the residence of the reigning pontiff, the adhisthānam shrines of the previous pontiffs and the Sadvidyā Sañjīvini Samskrita Mahāpāthashālā. The Pītham is traditionally headed by an ascetic pontiff belonging to the order of the Jagadguru Śankarāchārya. According to tradition, the first pontiff of the Pītham was Śrī Ādi Śaṅkara's eldest disciple, Śrī Sureshvarāchārya, renowned for his treatises on Vedānta - Mānasollāsa and Naishkarmya-Siddhi. The current pontiff, Śrī Bhārathī Tīrtha Svāmin is the 36th Jagadguru in the since-unbroken spiritual succession of pontiffs. The Pītham is one of the major Hindu institutions that has historically coordinated Smārta tradition and monastic activities through satellite institutions in South India, preserved Sanskrit literature and pursued Advaita studies. The Pītham runs several vedic schools (pathashalas), maintains libraries and repositories of historic Sanskrit manuscripts. The Śringerī Mutt has been active in preserving Vedas, sponsoring students and recitals, Sanskrit scholarship, and celebrating traditional annual festivals such as Śaṅkara Jayanti and Guru Pūrnima (Vyāsa Pūrnima). The Pītham has branches across India and maintains temples at several locations. It also has a social outreach programme. It has initiated various reforms against orthodoxy in an initiative to become the holy see of a single united Hindu religion with the support of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. From Wikipedia