Shankaracharyas

The philosopher Shankaracharya
(788–820) is traditionally said to have
established centers for the Dashanami
Sanyasi ascetics, devotees (bhakta) of
the god Shiva, at four places in India:
Badrinath, Puri, Shringeri, and
Dwaraka. The head monk at each
of these centers has been given the
title Shankaracharya, as a sign of the
status of his office. The head of the
Kamakotipith, an ascetic center in the
southern Indian city of Kanchipuram,
has also come to be described as a
Shankaracharya, even though this site is
not one of the original four; this reflects
the Kamakotipith’s importance as an
ascetic center and Kanchipuram’s general status as a religious center.
Although by this reckoning there are
five places, at present there are only
four Shankaracharyas, since Swami
Swaroopanand Saraswati holds the seat
for both Badrinath and Dwaraka. The
other Shankaracharyas are Swami
Nishchalanand (Puri), Swami Bharati
Tirtha (Shringeri), and Swami Jayendra
Saraswati (Kanchipuram). Their traditional office gives the Shankaracharyas a great deal of religious status
and prestige, and because of this they
have become highly influential figures,
even in an intensely decentralized religious tradition.