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Shankaracharya

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Religious title in the Advaita tradition

This article is about a title used in the Advaita traditions. For the philosopher, seeAdi Shankara.

Shankaracharya (Sanskrit:शङ्कराचार्य,IAST:Śaṅkarācārya, "Shankara-acharya") is a religious title used by the heads ofamnaya monasteries calledmathas in theAdvaita Vedanta tradition ofHinduism. The title derives fromAdi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of teachers retrospectively dated back to him are known as Shankaracharyas.

Etymology

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The word Shankaracharya is composed of two parts, Shankara and Acharya. Acharya is aSanskrit word meaning "teacher", so Shankaracharya means "teacher of the way ofShankara".^[1]

Establishment of the tradition

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Adi Shankara, known as Adi Shankaracharya, set up four monasteries known as Mathas or Peethams, in the North, South, East and West of India, to be administered byrealised men who would be known as Shankaracharyas. They would take on the role of teacher and could be consulted by anyone with sincere queries of a spiritual nature and they would guide the humanity in times of trouble and provide solace.^[2]^[3] Another monasteryKanchi Kamkoti Peetham in south India also derives its establishment and tradition to Adi Shankara.The table below gives an overview of the four main ShankaracharyaAmnaya Mathas reputedly founded by Adi Shankara, and their details.^[4]

Shishya (lineage)	Direction	Maṭha	Mahāvākya	Veda	Sampradaya	Present Shankaracharya
Padmapāda	East	Puri Govardhanmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ	Prajñānam brahma (Consciousness is Brahman)	Rig Veda	Bhogavala	Swami Nischalananda Saraswati
Sureśvara	South	Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ	Aham brahmāsmi (I am Brahman)	Yajur Veda	Bhurivala	Sri Bharati Tirtha
Hastāmalakācārya	West	Dvāraka Sharada Pīṭhaṃ	Tattvamasi (That thou art)	Sama Veda	Kitavala	Swami Sadanand Saraswati^[5]
Toṭakācārya	North	Badari Jyotirmaṭha Pīṭhaṃ	Ayamātmānam brahma (This Atman is Brahman)	Atharva Veda	Nandavala	Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati(disputed)^[6]