MAHAPERIYAVA - THE GREAT SAINT...

I am writing this post with ultimate satisfaction as it is about the great saint of Kanchi.

I dedicate this post to my beloved grandfather ( LATE SRI K.SANTHANAM).

H.H. Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Paramacharya Swamigal (1894–1994) or the Sage of Kanchi is considered to be one of the greatest saints of India (or Bharatavarsha). He is usually referred to as Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati.

Early Life:

Swaminathan was born at Villupuram, a small town in Tamil Nadu, on Sunday 20 May 1894.Swaminathan started his early education under his father’s own tutelage until he was seven. In 1905, the parents performed his Upanayanam, a vedic ceremony for empowering a brahmin boy to begin his vedic studies under a guru.

In 1906, the 66th Acharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham performed the annual Chaturmasyam (a forty-day annual ritual performed by the Hindu ascetics remaining at one place (normally the ascetics are supposed to roam at large and not stay put at any place for long)in a village near Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu. This was Swaminathan’s first exposure to the Math and the Acharya then. Swaminathan accompanied his father whenever he visited the Math, and the Acharya was deeply impressed by the young boy.

At the beginning of 1907, the 66th Acharya attained siddhi ('attainment' of godhead), and Swaminathan's maternal cousin was anointed as the 67th Acharya. On hearing, the news Swaminathan's family travelled to Kalavai to console his aunt. The family reached Kanchipuram en route to Kalavai. In the meantime, the 67th Acharya died too, after a brief seven days as the head of the Math.

Thirteen-year-old Swaminathan was inducted into the ascetic order on February 13, 1907, as the 68th Acharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, as Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati. After performing the various ceremonies for the two previous Acharyas, he left on a tour to Kumbakonam. The young Acharya spent several years in the study of the scriptures and dharma shastras, and acquainted himself with his role as the Head of the Math.

He soon gained the reverence and respect of the devotees and people around him. To millions of devotees he was simply "Periyava" — the revered one or Maha-Periyava. "Periyava" in Tamil means a great person, and conveys endearment, reverence, and devotion. "Mahaswami" and "Paramacharya" are his other well-known appellations.

To be contd...