A maţha (also written math, matha or mutt) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of the Hindu tradition.[1] A maţha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule-based than an ashram.
Advaita Maţhas
The oldest such institutions follow the Advaita tradition, where the head of a maţha is called a Shankaracharya, a title derived from Ādi Śankara. Śankara was a prominent religious teacher of the eighth century, from whose philosophies originate the environment of popular modern Indian thought.[2] Ādi Śankara established the following mathas, with each of his four main disciples in charge: Sureshwaracharya, Hastamalakacharya, Padmapadacharya, and Totakacharya respectively. The four Āmnāya maţhas founded by Ādi Śankara, all of the Smarta tradition, are:
- Śringeri Śāradā Pīţham, at Sringeri, Karnataka
- Dwaraka Pītham, at Dwaraka, Gujarat
- Govardhana matha, at Puri, Orissa
- Jyotirmath, in Uttarakhand
In addition, these Advaita mathas also claim they were founded by Ādi Śankara:
- Swarnavalli Mutt [1] at Swarnavalli, Sirsi
- Ramachandrapura Math at Haniya, Hosanagara, Karnataka
- Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, at Tamil Nadu
References
- ^ Britannica Online Encyclopedia, matha. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 22 Jan. 2009.
- ^ Britannica Online Encyclopedia, Śankara. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Jan. 2009 .
See also
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