Journey Around Chikmagalur


Gomatesvara, Sravanabelagola | Hoysalesvara Temple, Halebid Chennakesava Temple, Belur | Chikmagalur Golf Club | Cascades Hill
Resort &Spa site | Muthodi Wildlife Sanctuary | Mullayyanagiri peak
Hebbe Falls, Kemmangundi | Sringeri | White-water rafting, Agumbe Kudremukh range | Cascades Hill Resort & Spa

Photograph by T.N.A. Perumal, F.R.P.S., M.F.I.A.P.

Sringeri, on the banks of the Tunga
(90 km from Chikmagalur)


One of the holiest and most important Hindu pilgrim centres in India, Sringeri is located amidst the forests of Chikmagalur, on the left bank of the Tunga river. It was the first of the four great Mutts started in the 8th century by Adi Shankaracharya, founder of the Advaita philosophy, for revival of the Hindu religion. Vidyaranya, who inspired the founding of the fabled Vijayanagar Empire, was a Jagadguru at Sringeri.

The Bhadra, which joins the Tunga at Kudali near Shimoga, to become the Tungabhadra river

The main temple complex at Sringeri contains the Shankara, Sharadamba and Vidyashankara temples. Of these, the most famous is the 14th century Vidyashankara temple; a blend of Dravidian, Hoysala and other styles of architecture. Adi Shankaracharya is said to have brought an idol of the Goddess Sharada from Kashmir and installed it in the temple. The temple has 12 sculpted pillars, each representing a sign of the zodiac, positioned so the sun's rays fall on each in order of the solar month. Also in the vicinity is a Jain basti dedicated to Parshwanath Tirthankara.

	Vidyashankara Temple, Sringeri

A bathing ghat for pilgrims, filled with huge fish, is located at the back of the temple complex. Across the bridge is the residence of the Jagadguru and the burial shrines of previous pontiffs. The Mutt runs a dining hall that caters to over 3,000-6,000 pilgrims a day, a hospital and many schools.

Famed as a centre of learning, the Sringeri Peetha contains a theological seminary, a training school for priests and a library of rare texts.

Over the centuries, the Mutt has enjoyed the patronage and protection of rulers from the region and far away, including non-Hindu rulers like the Adil Shahis of Bijapur, Hyder Ali and Tippu Sutan and British commissioners like Lord Cubbon and Lord Bowring.

According to legend, Adi Shankaracharya passed away on the banks of the Tunga river, close to Sringeri.