Chitrapur Math

Shri Chitrapur Math is the central Math for the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin sect. This Math is located at Shirali in the Bhatkal Taluk in North Kanara district of Karnataka and has been there since 1757. The other Maths of this community are located in Gokarn, Karla, Mangalore and Mallapur. All the Maths have the insignia of the saffron flag as shown right, below.The chief deity worshipped in this Math is Shri Bhavanishankar who is a form of Shiva. The other 6 sanctorums of the temple are of the Samadhis of the previous GuruSwami's of the community. Daily Puja is carried out at the shrine of Bhavanishankar as well as the other Swamijis.Shri Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji has been the head of the Math having ascended the Peetha in February 1997. Shree Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji is the eleventh of this lineage of Gurus which began in 1708.HistorySwami Parijnanashram I is believed to be a direct avatar of Shiva himself and he came down from somewhere in the North . Not many details are known about this Swami, since record-keeping within the Math started only in about 1722.Swami Shankarashram hailed from the Harite family. He was consecrated by Shri Parijnanashram Swami in 1720 . He attained Mahasamadhi in 1757 .At this point the issue of location of his Samadhi came up, and the Nagarkatti family offered their house in Chitrapur, Shirali for construction of the Samadhi and the Temple, which stands till today.Shri Shankarashram-I had not adopted any disciple which caused some concern as to the continuity of this lineage. The threat of property takeover by the regional authorities loomed large over the Math, and a member of the Pandit family was considered a worthy person for this position. He was ordained Shri Parijnanashram-II. He adopted a disciple from the priestly family of Shukla, assigning him the name of Shri Shankarashram-II, and spent his life in Kollur in Dhyan, though He often visited Shirali. His Samadhi is located to the right of the Main Samadhi at Shri Chitrapur Math, Shirali..