Dwarka-Shardapeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati died in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur on Sunday, his aide said. He was 99. Swami Swaroopanand, who was the Shankracharya of Dwarka, Sharda, and Jyotish Peeth, was not keeping well for over a year, the aide said.
The Hindu religious leader breathed his last at 3.30pm, said Swami Sadanand Maharaj, second-in-command (known as Dandi Swami) of the Dwarka Peeth, according to the news agency PTI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath have expressed deep sadness at his death and offered condolences to the seer’s followers.
In a tweet in Hindi, Yogi Adityanath said: “The demise of Shri Dwarka-Shardapeeth and Jyotirmath Peeth’s Jagatguru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanandji Maharaj is an irreplaceable loss to the sant samaj (seers’ community). May Lord Ram give him a place in his abode and give strength to the grief- stricken Hindu samaj to bear the loss.”
Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav, in a message, said: “We have lost an exemplary scholar of Indian culture and Sanskrit. Tributes.”
Born in a Brahmin family, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati had learned the scriptures from Swami Karpatri Maharaj after reaching Kashi (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh. His main ashram in U.P. is the Shri Vidya Math in Varanasi.
{{/usCountry}}Born in a Brahmin family, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati had learned the scriptures from Swami Karpatri Maharaj after reaching Kashi (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh. His main ashram in U.P. is the Shri Vidya Math in Varanasi.
{{/usCountry}}The Shankaracharya was born as Pothiram Upadhyay in Dighori village in the Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh in 1924, according to a PTI report.
He had left his home in the pursuit of God at the age of nine. He was incarcerated during the freedom struggle. He became the Shankaracharya in 1981, his followers said, adding his 99th birthday was celebrated recently.