Pilgrims can then visit Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to seek the blessings of Lord Venkateswara and Srisailam for the darshan of the Mallikarjuna jyotirlinga.įollowing which, Lord Jagannatha awaits his devotees at Puri in Odisha - this holy city also houses the Govardhan Math - one of the four cardinal maths established by Adi Shankara. ![]() (After receiving darshan there, pilgrims can, one day hopefully, travel to the Adi Shankararacharya’s Sharada Peeth that is currently in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir).Īlternatively, after starting from Kanyakumari, one can traverse through Tamil Nadu, visit the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple at Tiruchendur, the jyotirlinga at the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram, the Meenakshi temple at Madurai and the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram. Finally, one arrives at the land of Kedarnath - this blessed bhoomi is home to both a jyotirlinga as well as the samadhi sthal of the great saint. ![]() The journey then continues in Haridwar, the peetha in Joshimath and the Char Dhams in the state of Uttarakhand. From here, one can proceed to the holy cities of Prayagraj and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Next stops are the Jyotirlingas at Triyambak and Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh. Nearby, lies Shankarnarayana, Mookambika and Gokarana (here the Mahabaleshwar temple is built on the site where Ravana laid down the Atmalinga). Then to Sringeri, where the Adi Shankaracharya established one of his four cardinal peethams - The Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, and the renowned Sri Sharadamba (a goddess often associated with Saraswati) temple. From there, one can proceed to Karnataka’s Subramanya to seek the blessings of Lord Kartikeya at the Kukke Shri Subramanya temple. The famous crocodile shrine where the revered saint obtained permission to pursue sanyasa is another sacred site visit. Starting from the southernmost tip of India - Kanyakumari - where lies the Sarvani Shakti Peetha’s Bhagavathi Kumari Amman Temple, one can proceed to Kalady to visit the temple whose complex encompasses Adi Shankaracharya’s birthplace as well as the spot of his mother’s cremation (which he performed in defiance of his vows of sainthood). The Adi Shankara traversed the entire length and breadth of India in this regard, we, as pilgrims of the 21st century, can retrace this trail of his - from Kalady (Adi Shankaracharya's place of birth in Kerala) to Kedarnath (his samadhi sthal in Uttarakhand) by visiting some of the prominent religious places of worship he travelled through (in some instances established), regardless of where we begin within the boundaries of Bharat. So vast have been the travels of this great saint that from every corner of the subcontinent can one journey in his footsteps. Adi Shankara, apart from setting up four renowned maths across India (Dwarka, Puri, Sringeri and Joshimath) is also said to have renovated the route to the Himalayan Char Dhams (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri). The holy places he visited still remain central sites of pilgrimage in Hinduism. The echoes of the hymns and shlokas he composed in their honour still resonate right from Kalady to Kedarnath. He organised the worship of the deities Surya, Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and Ganesh. His position within the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta is unparalleled. “Invoke Shankara in every nook and cranny, every element of Hindustan - it’s the time to go out” he said.Īdi Shankaracharya through debate, discourse and over the course of his life revived Hinduism and heralded a new era for its expression. ![]() ![]() During his 52 minute speech, PM Modi advocated for a countrywide pilgrimage and urged Indians to follow the trail of the great saint and visit sacred places of worship throughout the country. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the statue of the revered eighth century philosopher Adi Shankaracharya at Kedarnath.
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