Let us recall the affinity of Sringeri to Coimbatore at the time of the Navarathri. The Majestic Vijayanagara Empire was formed with the guidance of the 13th Peethathipadhi of Sringeri, Jagadguru Sri Vidyaranaya Swami. The empire spread and flourished under the purview of the acharya himself.
Let us recall the affinity of Sringeri to Coimbatore at the time of the Navarathri. The Majestic Vijayanagara Empire was formed with the guidance of the 13th Peethathipadhi of Sringeri, Jagadguru Sri Vidyaranaya Swami. The empire spread and flourished under the purview of the acharya himself.
The Association of the Sharadha Peetam with Coimbatore can be traced back to 15th century, when the reigns of Vijayanagara Empire spread across South. Kumara Kampanna, Son of Bukka Maharaja came south with an army of soldiers and all classes of society to establish and reinstate the dharmic order in peninsular India. Thus the seed of Sringeri Mutt’s guidance in the city was sown during the Vijayanagar Empire’s rule. The Mutt’s influence further strengthened during the rules of Madurai Naiks and flourished during the reigns of the Wodeyars of Mysore in the 17th century and that of Tippu Sultan in the 18th century. Therefore the inception of the city’s dharmic culture we see today has the impact of the Holy Acharyas and the Mutt throughout.
In spite of the strong connections of the Mutt with the city, the official visit of the Pontiff of Sringeri, was witnessed by the blessed souls of city during the year 1910 - immediately after the Kumbhabishekam of the Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya’s Janma Sthala at Kalady. Sri Sachidananda Shivabhinava Nrsimha Bharathi Swami was the first Acharya to visit the city. It was Senior Advocate T.S.Balakrishna Iyer who hosted the pontiff at his residence in race course. Following the footsteps of his Guru, Mahayogi Sri Chandrashekara Bharathi Swami visited the city. His Holiness stay was hosted by Ramachandra Rao of Sulur House (Father of S.R.Nanjundaiah, Former Dharmadhikari of Coimbatore Sringeri Mutt) at his residence in Race course. The Acharyas’s stay at Race course indicates the future adornment of the Almighty Goddess Sharadhamba at Race course to bless the people of the city eternity. A grand reception was accorded to the Acharya at Kodhanda Ramaswamy Temple, Ramnagar under the leadership of Advocate K.S.Ardhanareeswara Iyer.
The city witnessed the visit of Sri Chandrashekara Bharathi Swami once again at Sringeri Mutt, Raja street. The Panchaloka Icon of Goddess Sharadamba, (The personal deity of Sri Sachidananda Shivabhinava Nrsimha Bharathi Swami) was installed at this place and is worshipped even today. It is due to the divine grace of this Goddess that Coimbatore today has turned into an educational hub and a significant kendra for Vedic learning.
The subsequent visits of Acharyas of Sringeri, made a significant impact on the spiritual life in the city. Advocate K.N.V. Ramani recollected an incident which took place during one such visit. “My father (Advocate) KV Narayanaswamy, met Sri Chandrashekara Bharathi at the Raja Street mutt in orderbto seek Mantra Upadesham. However, the Saint guided my Father to take care of his Mother and chant the Holy Gayathri Mantram regularly. He emphasized that this would take care of everything”.
Rajaram was an ardent devotee of Sringeri Sharadhambal and he was among the few from Coimbatore to get the Padukas of Chandrashekhara Bharathi. He received it from Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swamiji , the successor. Anandamma the wife wanted to know why the senior pontiff had not given it personally. Suddenly Chandrashekhara Bharathi emerged from his chamber and stated that everything was vested with Abhinava Vidya Theertha and he closed the door of the chamber. Alameluamma, the aunt had also a Paduka of this great Saint and had named her house in Thomas Street as ‘ Padukashramam. The house was sold and the proceeds were given to Sringeri. “ It is reliably learnt that the returns are being used for the Aradhana of Chandrashekhara Bharathi. The Paduka which was given to my grandfather Rajaram is still in our house, “ stated Gurumoorthy, the energy behind the annual Natuanjali event at Perur.
Advocate K.V.Narayanaswamy Iyer and senior devotees Sulur Nanjundaiah, Binny Subba Rao along with C.S.Govinda Iyer took necessary efforts to initiate the visit of His Holiness Abhinava Vidhyatheertha Swami to Coimbatore. K.N.V.Ramani remembers accompanying his father to Kalady. “The Acharya, the very embodiment of Sharadamba, was typically seated amidst a pile of books”.
It was during this Vijaya Yatra to Coimbatore, that Hotelier C.S. Govinda Iyer got into the act of renovating the Sankara Mutt for accommodating the Acharya and his entourage. This property had been endowed to the Mutt by the Former Dharmadhikari K.Ramaswamy Iyer for the purpose of conducting Sankara Jayathi, Chandrashekara Bharathi Swami’s Aradhana, Maha Shivarathri and other holy activities. Subsequently the Acharya continued to visit the city often and this strengthened the bond of Coimbatore with Sringeri.
The ardent devotee of the Sringeri Mutt, Binny Subba Rao, was conferred the title of “Guru Bhakta Choodamani" by the Jyeshta Maha Sannidhanam - his son, S.Nagarajan remembers this conferment with reverence. The family is thoroughly blessed as they conduct the Navarathri Chandi Homam of Sringeri Mutt every year. So far Binny Subba Rao and his family are really blessed, for they are continuing this tradition. This has been happening for the past sixty two years all over the country– wherever Navaratri is celebrated by the Sringeri Mutt. His Holiness had blessed this devotee by conducting the entire Navaratri Puja of 1958 at his residence.
Mirasdar and Banker - Udumalpet Doraiswamy Iyer (Seshadri Iyer), was the fortunate devotee, for he had the opportunity to perform pada pooja to Abhinava Vidhyatheertha with one hundred gold sovereigns. The blessed couple, T.S.Sankara Iyer and Saraswati ammal (Daughter of Doraiswamy Iyer), had the good fortune of preparing the kashaya vastram (Ochre robe) for Abhinava Vidhyatheertha Swami at their residence. The son T.S.Mohan Sankar continues to be deeply involved in the activities of the mutt.
Irrespective of Caste, Creed or Social Status, Abhinava Vidhya Theertha Swami and his successor Bharathi Theertha Swami had made a mark in the mind of the public through their numerous visits to the houses of devotees in Coimbatore. During one of the visits to Shell House – the residence G.K.Devarajulu of the Lakshmi Group of companies, the Acharya expressed that the services of the doctors and nursing staff of the G.Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital would be useful at the medical hospital located in Sringeri. This request was complied with immediately.
The industrial scientist and rationalist G.D.Naidu, invited Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swami and also E.V.R. Periyar to inaugurate facilities in his campus. A number of devotees opposed the idea and requested the Acharya to not accept the invitation. His Holiness, who had been known for his equipoise nature attended the event without even an ounce of hesitation. This increased the goodwill of everyone concerned tremendously.
The visits and the activities of His Holiness Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swami, strengthened the Sringeri Mutt in the Coimbatore region. This foundation laid by the Jyeshta Maha Sannidhanam made Coimbatore an integral part of the Sringeri empire. Bharathi Theertha Maha Swami has expanded the realm in the footsteps of his Guru.
A number of institutions were established over the ages and are being managed by the Mutt through the successive Dharmadhikaris – S.R.Nanjundaiah, C.G.Venkataramanan and B.Vijay Anand.
Cochin Diwan Nanjappaiyer Chathram
The Diwan of Cochin State, Nanjappa Iyer an ardent devotee of Sringeri, had created a trust for the purpose of helping the poor and down trodden to make use of his property. As the time passed, the chathram became old. Advocates K.N.Lakshminarayana Iyer and K.N.V.Ramani proposed that the whole property be reconstructed. They approached Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swami for his approval. However His Holiness, who was known for his keen and in depth study, recalled the will and the purpose of the endowment. This recall took the Advocates by surprise. The Pontiff felt that it was his duty to uphold the beliefs with which the asset was handed over to the Mutt. He wanted to ensure the noble intention of the Diwan was kept up by the mutt and therefore he advised them to make only few required minor changes to the structure.
Institutions at Kalady – role of Coimbatoreans
A group of educational institutions run by one Kottayam Krishna Iyer came up for sale due to circumstances. Advocate K.V.Narayanaswamy Iyer of Coimbatore took the matter to Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swami. His Holiness felt that the Holy hamlet Kalady would be greatly benefited with the continuance of these institutions, particularly by the Sringeri Mutt. Eventually, the Mutt took over these institutions and by the grace of His Holiness these institutions have become preeminent center of skill and knowledge. Advocate K.V.Narayanaswamy and his son K.N.V.Ramani played their part by heading these institutions. Advocate B.N.Krishnan was involved in the day to day development of the institutions.
Pancha Mukha Raja Ganapathi temple at Perur:
T.K.Krishna Iyer of Ranjitha Vilas, settled a property at Perur 1962 with a unique Pratishta of Heramba Ganapathi. The Pancha Mukha Ganapathi has his consorts Sidhi and Budhi seated on his Lap. This Temple was taken care by a pious devotee by name Sesha Bhattar who had amazing astrological skills. His skills coupled with bhakthi produced excellent results.
This Temple is being administered by the Sringeri Mutt under the divine blessings of His Holiness Abhinava Vidyatheertha Swami, a great upasaka of Lord Ganesha.
Sanganoor Subramanya Iyer Trust:
Sanganoor Subramanya Iyer a government servant executed a will and bequeathed few properties as corpus to the trust. Subsequently the trust was handed over to the Sringeri mutt as per the will and even today, a Veda Adyayana sabha (Veda Patashala) is being run at the Sharadhalayam, at Race course in the name of the above trust with the objective of upholding propagation of Veda Dharma - the primary objective of the Trust.
Varasiddhi Vinayakar Temple:
This Temple was endowed by G.V.Ramachandraiah and Family to Sringeri Mutt. The temple boasts of a wonderful Go-Shala. The Sanctity of the Temple is paving way for many asthika activities in the neighborhood.
Veda Sasthra Vidhya Trust 1996:
Industrialist S.N.Varadarajan, started a Veda Sasthra Vidhya Trust in the year 1996 with the blessings of Bharathi Theertha Swami. With 30 students and Pundits from all parts of India are teaches Rig veda, Krishna Yajur Veda and Shukla yajur Veda. The trust has also ventured into building a Sharadamba temple Palakkad with a budget of 4.5 crores. One Sundar Iyer from Bombay has purchased the adjacent 60 cents and is in the process of building a community hall. These will be hopefully completed shortly and handed over to the Mutt.
Sharadhalayam
As mentioned earlier, Former Dharmadhikari Sri S.R.Nanjundaiah and his brothers S.R.Subbarayar, S.R. Ramakrishnan and S.R.Lakshminarasimhan of the Sulur House Family had the privilege of hosting all the Sringeri Acharyas who visited Coimbatore, contributed over an Acre of property in Race Course for building the Sharadhamba temple.
With the contributions from the Public and Annur K.Govindaswamy Naidu, the Almighty Godess Sharadhamba adorns her Raja Simhasana at Sharadhalayam Race Course. It is now an important shrine for the people of Coimbatore. Kannammal the daughter of K.Govindaswamy Naidu and her husband R.Ramakrishnan have been deeply attached to the temple.
The devotion of People of Coimbatore towards Sharadamba and the Acharya is always appreciated by the Pontiffs of Sringeri with a sense of pride.
His Holiness Bharathi Theertha Swami used to say quite often “Coimbatore devotees are sincere in executing the words of Acharya with utmost Guru Bhakthi”
Chandrasekhara Bharathi was a Jeevan Mukhta Gnani. Though he was deeply interested in directing the people to the Sastric ways, he generally kept himself aloof, immersed in meditation. But it is really surprising that he gave an elaborate detailed Anugraha Bashanam for 5 days during his visit to Coimbatore in the June of 1927. And it is a matter of Pride for the people of Coimbatore to have witnessed the great Pontiff delivering these pearls of wisdom. It is worth mentioning that these are the only recorded speeches of Chandrashekhara Bharathi Swami published in the book Guru Kripa Vilasam.
Devotees of this region was so devoted to the Mutt, they approached Acharya for all their prayers and Acharya granted to their requests each and every time.
A.Chandramouleeswaran, Dharmadhikari of Sathyamangalam Sringeri Mutt used to say, “The devotees of Sathyamangalam had the liberty to ask for a rainfall whenever there was a shortage of water. Acharya used to heed to their request and immediately direct the priests concerned to performed special pujas at the Shrines of Sharadhamba and Rishyasringa. The devotees enjoyed copious rainfall as a result of the munificence of the Guru.”
Acharya’s love for the city spontaneously sprung even for small things. Once while crossing the Ramar Kovil at Ramnagar, Abhinava Vidhya Theertha Swami made a passing reference. “For a temple with such a great sanctity and location, it would be appropriate to adorn it with a Raja Gopuram ”. Needless to say, today the Ramar Kovil is standing with a magnificent Raja Gopuram and in addition to that a Pravachana Mandapam is named after Abivana Vidhya Theertha Swami. Advocate N.S.Venkatasubbiar of Ramnagar put in a lot of work towards the construction of the same.
Each of the visits of the Sringeri Acharyas bestowed many auspicious blessings to the people of Coimbatore. Each and every devotee has a story to share about the benevolent grace of Acharya which acts as a guiding spirit. This bond seems to be growing and strengthening with the passage of time. Be it, the Adi Sankara Janma Bhoomi Kalady to Sringeri or wherever Sharadamba is ensconced, we can see a role or kainkaryam of the Coimbatorean.
The Acharyas love towards the devotees brought them to Coimbatore quite often. Right from the days of Sachidananda Shivabhinava Nrsimha Bharathi, the city has witnessed so many Chandramouleeshwara Pujas, Anugraha Bhashanams, Padha Pujas, Kumbabhishekams and what not ?
Recently the city was blessed with Bharathi Theertha Swami’s Vardanti Celebrations in the year 2012 and Grand Sankara Jayanthi Mahothsavam in 2017 where both Bharathi Theertha Maha Sannidhanam and Shri Vidhushekara Bharathi Sannidhanam abundantly blessed the city and the devotees. The devotees of Coimbatore consider themselves to be the real recipients of the grace of His Holiness Bharathi Theertha.
Such a Guru Sishya bandam is very rare to find. Such has been the karunyam, and affection with which the Sringeri Guru Parampara has been guiding the devotees of Sharadhambal at Coimbatore.