Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi Dies At 82

Mangalore Today News Network

Chennai, Feb 28, 2018:  Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, the 69th pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt, died on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram. He was 82.

He had been admitted to a hospital after he complained of breathing problems. He had been in poor health for much of last year.

Born Sri Subramaniyam on July 18, 1935, Jayendra Saraswathi was head of the Kanchi Mutt or Hindu monastery established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century and had a huge following in South India. The Mutt runs several schools, eye clinics and hospitals.

He had been named as the successor to the Mutt by Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal and was given the title Sri Jayendra Saraswathi on March 22, 1954.


The Shankaracharya was among those charged in a 2004 murder of a Kanchipuram temple employee. In 2013, he and 22 others were cleared of the charges.


Courtesy: NDTV