Legend sthala purana · as told by tradition
The Peetham traces Sringeri’s name to the sage Rishyashringa, who performed the rite that led to the birth of Rama. Tradition recounts that Adi Shankara chose the place after seeing a cobra spread its hood to shade a frog in labour on the bank of the Tunga; the Kappe Shankara shrine marks the spot.1
Documented history
The Peetham says Adi Shankara founded here, more than twelve centuries ago, the first of the four Amnaya Peethams, appointing his disciple Sureshwaracharya as its first head. The Madhaviya Shankara Digvijayam, by Vidyaranya, records that he invoked the goddess Sharadamba and consecrated her image.12
Tradition says the first image was of sandalwood, later replaced in gold during the Vijayanagara era. In the fourteenth century the twelfth acharya, Vidyaranya, guided the founding of the Vijayanagara empire; its kings ruled in his name and he instituted the Navaratri Durbar, which the Peetham still holds.21
Scholars debate the founding date: some place it in the ninth century, and one finds no mention of mathas before the fourteenth. The shrine was rebuilt in the fifteenth century and enlarged in the early twentieth, its gopura consecrated in 1916.2
Where to go next
AI-created illustration
AI-created illustrationSources
- Official matha website History — Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri (official website) · accessed 2026-11-08
- Encyclopedia Sringeri Sharada Peetham — Wikipedia · accessed 2026-11-08
Researched 2026-11-08 from the cited sources. Community corrections are welcome; traditions differ, and differences are shown rather than resolved.