Overview

• Sri Satya Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi, formerly known as Ganesha Sharma Dravid, was formally anointed as the 71st Shankaracharya and junior pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam on April 30, 2025.
• The ceremonial anointment was conducted by senior pontiff Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, who bestowed the sanyasa name on the 25-year-old scholar during the Sanyasa Sweekara Mahotsavam.
• The event coincided with the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya and the 2534th Jayanti Mahotsavam of Adi Shankaracharya, the founder of the Peetam in 482 BCE.
• The newly anointed acharya is a Rig Vedic scholar from Annavaram Kshetra, Andhra Pradesh, with expertise in Yajurveda, Samaveda, Shadangas, and Dashopanishat.
• The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, based in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, has maintained an unbroken succession of 70 acharyas prior to this appointment, preserving its ancient Vedantic traditions.