Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal

Jagadguru Sri Shankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal (born 13 March 1969) is the 70th Jagadguru Peethadipathi of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Kanchipuram. He became the senior Pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt following the attainment of Vidhehamukthi of Jayendra Saraswati, the 69th Pontiff, on 28 February 2018.[1]

His Holiness Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri
Vijayendra Saraswathi
Swamigal
Sri Shankara Vijayandera Saraswathi Shankaracharya Swamigal
TitleKānchi Kāmakoti Pīṭādhipati
Personal
Born
Sankara Narayanan

(1969-03-13) 13 March 1969
thandalam, Tiruvallur
ReligionSanatana Dharma
NationalityIndian
Websitewww.kamakoti.org
HonorsShankaracharya
Kanchi Kāmakoti Pīṭādipati
Assumed office
28 Feb 2018
Preceded byJayendra Saraswathi
Personal details
ResidenceKanchi Kamakoti Math

Biography

Sri Shankara Vijayendra Saraswathi was born in 1969 as Sankara Narayanan Sastri[2] in Periyapalayam village near Arani in Tiruvallur.[3] He attended a village school in Periyapalayam and studied the Vedas with his father, Sri Krishnamurthy Sastri, a Vedic scholar and teacher. He joined the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham when he was 13 and was named 70th Peethadhipati in 1983.[4] Sri Shankara Vijayendra Sarasvati Swamigal has toured many parts of the country. He has visited places like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, and all other parts of southern India. He also visited Nepal in the year 1998 with His Guru Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal.[5]

Arrest and Acquittal
Main article: Sankararaman murder case

In 2004, the junior Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Mahaswamigal was arrested in connection with the Sankararaman murder case on Diwali day along with the senior Jayendra Saraswathi pontiff.[6] The court said that the complainant failed to support the prosecution and he was given bail. The trial went on till 2013 when he was acquitted by the court.[7][8]

Controversy

Vijayendra Saraswati chose to sit through the Tamil Thai Vazhthu even as he reportedly stood for the national anthem at during the release of a Tamil-Sanskrit dictionary compiled by late father of Bharatiya Janata Party leader H Raja in January 2018. Tamils from across the world criticized him for insulting the Tamil anthem.[9] In a clarification, the Kanchi Mutt has said that Vijayendra Saraswati was meditating when the anthem was playing.[10] Hundreds of activists belonging to Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi were arrested by the police when they tried to besiege the Mutt fortified with heavy police security. Several Tamil organisations filed complaints against him.[11] The Madras high court on March directed the police to register an FIR after a complaint filed by Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam.[12][13] Justice G.R. Swaminathan quashed an FIR in December 2021 filed by Naam Tamilar Katchi saying the ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’ is only a prayer song and not a National Anthem and hence, there is no need for every one to remain in standing posture when it is rendered.[14]

References
  1. "Know All About Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi". NDTV.com. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  2. "Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi brilliance made him the pontiff of Kanchi Mutt".
  3. "History of Kamakoti Matham". Kamakoti.org. 24 August 2018.
  4. "Vijayendra Saraswati: A quick look at the new Kanchi Shankaracharya and head of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam". Zee News. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  5. "His Jouney". giri.in. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  6. "Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi, a spiritual colossus till his arrest in 2004, dies - Times of India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  7. "Kanchi seer Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, others acquitted in auditor assault case - Times of India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  8. "The heat is now on the junior pontiff | undefined News - Times of India". The Times of India.
  9. "Junior Sankaracharya sits through 'Tamil Thai Vazhthu', creates massive furore". The News Minute. 24 January 2018.
  10. Scroll Staff. "Kanchi Mutt's junior Sankaracharya faces backlash after video shows him sitting through Tamil anthem". Scroll.in.
  11. "Kanchi seer issue: Protesting DK, VCK men held". dtNext.in. 26 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  12. Quint, The (3 March 2018). "Anthem Row: Book Kanchi Seer if Cognisable Offence Proven, Says HC". TheQuint.
  13. Scroll Staff. "Madras HC says FIR can be filed against Kanchi Mutt pontiff if he committed a cognisable offence". Scroll.in.
  14. "Tamil Thai Vazhthu is Prayer Song, not Anthem: Madras HC". NewsClick. 11 December 2021.


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