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Kanchi Jayendra Saraswati: A glimpse at the life of late Shankaracharya
Here are few of major incidents during his reign
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Chennai
Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswathi shankaracharya (18 July 1935 - 28 February 2018) born as Subramanyam Mahadeva was the 69th Shankaracharya Guru and head or pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
At the tender age 19, he was chosen as the successor of Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Swamigal and was adorned with the pontifical title Sri Jayendra Saraswathi on 22 March 1954.
The octogenarian passed away at Sri Kanchi Mutt specialty hospital after suffering from a cardiac arrest, as per reported by the sources. The mortal remains of senior Acharya was brought to the Kanchi Mutt where it was kept for the devotees, disciples and public to pay their homage.
The Goddess Kamakshi Amman temple in Kancheepuram, which was administered by the Kanchi Mutt, was closed following the death of the Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal.
He will be succeeded by Vijayendra Saraswathi, who will be anointed as the 70th Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.
Here are few of major incidents during his reign:
The disappearance act
On August 24, 1987, Jayendra Saraswathi suddenly left the mutt abdicating the religious seat . After three days of hightened tension among the employees and the disciples of the mutt across the country, he was traced at Talacauvery in Karnataka. However, Vijayendra Saraswathi, who had already been chosen by Jayendra Saraswathi as his successor, was anointed as the 70th head of the mutt by the Paramacharya, since according to mutt rules there could be no let-up in the daily poojas and related rituals. The post was restored to Jayendra Saraswathi on his return to the mutt, on September 17. The real reason of Jagadguru leaving the mutt has been in utmost confidence.
Murder case controversy:Â Shankaracharya overcame ordeal of murder charge in 2013
Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi was arrested in the sensational Sankaraman murder case in 2004 during the Jayalalithaa regime in Tamil Nadu and was cleared by a sessions court in 2013.
A.Sankararaman, manager of the Sri Varadarajaperumal temple here, was brutally murdered in his office room in the temple on September 3, 2004, by a sharp-edged weapons.
He had levelled charges of financial misappropriation in the mutt administration against Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi, who will now succeed the late seer.
Jayendra Saraswathi was arrested on November 11, 2004, on Diwali eve on charges of conspiring to murder Sankararaman.
Cases were registered against the two seers under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of IPC in connection with the murder, sending shockwaves.
Jayendra Saraswathi, who was arrested at Mahbub Nagar in Andhra Pradesh, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on January 10,2005, after spending two months in Vellore jail.
Vijayendra Saraswathi was arrested from the mutt on January 10, 2005 and got bail from the Madras High Court a month later.
The Sankaracharyas moved the Supreme Court and got the case transferred to Puducherry in 2005 on grounds that the atmosphere in Tamil Nadu was vitiated and there may not be free and fair trial.
In November 2013, the Puducherry Sessions Court acquitted Sankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi and his Deputy Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi of charges.
Besides the seers, arraigned as accused 1 and accused 2 respectively in the murder of Sankararaman, 21 other accused were also acquitted by Puducherry Principal District and Sessions Judge C.S. Murugan.
A total of 24 persons were made accused in the case, but one of them, Kathiravan, was killed in early 2013.
The Political touch
Unlike his predecessors, who were bound by mutt rules of strictly confining to spirtuality, Jayendra Saraswati was involved in both spiritual and public life and was known for his efforts he made to find a solution in the Ayodhya issue during the erstwhile period of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, but it failed to fructify.
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