Shrimad Jagadguru Shankaracharya

Kudali Sringeri Mahasamsthan

Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetha

Kudali, Shivamogga, Karnataka

On January 23, 1565 CE, during the Battle of Talikota, also known as the Battle of Rakshasa-Tangadi, the Vijayanagara Empire faced a disastrous defeat against the combined forces of the Bahmani Sultanate. As a result of this defeat, the Vijayanagara Empire was completely dismantled, and anarchy spread throughout its territories. The religious institutions that had received reverence and honour from the rulers of Vijayanagara also suffered greatly.

Around the same time, the disciple of Third Narasimha Bhārati Swāmiji, Śrī Vidyāraṇya Bhārati Swāmiji, who was the head of the Śriṅgeri Pīṭha at that time had to come and stay at the "old maṭh” in Kūdali Kṣetra. (Various records and books mention the existence of this "old maṭh'' in Kūdali, when was it built earlier? Who established it? Why? All this needs to be researched.)

After Śrī Vidyāraṇya Bhārati Swāmiji left Śriṅgeri, the local community leaders, the administrative class of the region, and the other disciples of the maṭha came together. They gave sannyasa to a person, conferred him with the title "Śrī Rāmacandra Bhārati" and anointed him on the Śriṅgeri Guru Pīṭha. (Source: Saṅkṣipta Itihāsa)

Later, Śrī Tritīya Narasimha Bhārati Swāmi, who had gone on a pilgrimage, completed the journey. While returning to Śriṅgeri in the Dhātṛ Samvatsara of 1576 CE, he found out that someone else was occupying his seat in his Pīṭha, that his disciple Vidyāraṇya Bhārati was also not present in Śriṅgeri. In response, the third Nrisimha Bhārati chose not to go to Śriṅgeri but instead came to Śrī Kūdali Kṣetra. Here, he met his disciple Śrī Vidyāraṇya Bhārati (who was staying in the old Maṭha) and was informed about all the events that had taken place in Śriṅgeri.

The chieftains of Tarikere, Keladi, Basavapatna, Channagiri, Chitradurga, Harapanahalli, Santhebennur, and others came to know that Śrī Tritīya Narasimha Bhārati Swāmi had come to Kūdali. Due to the fall of the Vijayanagar empire, all kings and chieftains needed a unifying figure and institution, and Swāmi was seen as that much-needed reliance. They requested him not to return to Śriṅgeri and instead settle in Kūdali. They wished for his blessings and assured him that necessary arrangements would be made in Kūdali. At this point, knowing that another Swāmi had been appointed to the Śriṅgeri Pīṭha, Śrī Narasimha Bharti made a firm decision to settle in Kūdali.

Delighted by the decision of Swāmi Śrī Narasimha Bhārati, Hanumappa Nāyaka, the administrator of Basavapatna, constructed a grand new maṭha and Śrī Vidyasaṅkara temple at the location of the old-Maṭha in Kūdali. He also generously donated sufficient land to the maṭha for its daily activities. Additionally, he built some houses for the members of the maṭha’s community. As a result of these efforts, on Kārtika Śukla Pratipada of the Śakābda 1498 (Monday, October 26, 1576), Śrī Narasimha Bhārati Swāmi established the Dakṣiṇāmnāya Jagadguru Pīṭha in Kūdali Kṣetra, dedicated to Advaita Siddhānta.

In memory of this event, to this day, at the Śrī Maṭha in Kūdali Kṣetra, special ceremonies such as Mahāpūja and Mahābhiṣeka are conducted annually on the Kārtika Śuddha Pratipada day. From that time onwards until the present, the lineage of Yatis has been continued, and the tradition has been passed down through the 71st Ācārya. Currently, Śrī Śrī Vidyābhinava Vidyāraṇya Bhārati Swāmi holds the position of the 71st Pīṭhadhipati (head of the Pīṭha), and Śrī Abhinava Śaṅkara Bhārati Swāmi has been appointed as the 72nd successor to the Pīṭha.

In Śriṅgeri, Śrī Śaṅkara Bhagavatpāda established the Dakṣiṇāmnāya Pīṭha and appointed Śrī Sureśwarācārya as its first head. Starting from Śrī Sureśwarācārya, a total of fourty-seven Pithacharyas presided over Śriṅgeri Jagadguru Pīṭha. (Source: Śrī Kūdali Maṭhada Saṅkṣipta Itihāsa: Author Viṣṇu Tīrtha)

A special event took place during the tenure of Śrī Tritīya Narasimha Bhārati. In the year 1546 CE, which corresponds to the Śālivāhana Śaka year 1468, the Third Narasimha Bhārati Swāmi was installed as the pontiff of the Śriṅgeri Mahāsamsthānam. In 1551 CE, during Nala Samvatsara (corresponding to Śālivāhana Śaka year 1479), the administration of Śriṅgeri Pīṭha was entrusted to his disciple, Śrī Vidyāraṇya Bhārati Swāmi, and the Third Narasimha Bhārati Swāmiji embarked on a pilgrimage. This pilgrimage lasted for about twenty years.