Shri Sri Sharadamba Temple

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The Sharada Temple is located at Sringeri and is dedicated to Goddess of Knowledge, Goddess Sharada. This is one of the four Hindu Advaita mutt which was established by Jagadguru Shri adi Shankaracharya. This place is also known as ‘Dakshinamnaya Sharada Peetham ad it follows the teachings of the Yajur Veda. Next to the main sanctum of Goddess, there is temple of God Shiva or Vidyashankara temple. There are around twelve pillars which are installed in this temple. These 12 pillars are representatives of the 12 zodiac signs. The striking part about these pillars is that they are mounted in such a way that the sunlight firstly falls on the pillar which is the zodiac sign of that particular day. The credit definitely goes to the mind behind this architectural braininess. One of the other major sightings of this temple is the fishes in the river just next to the temple. This temple is also known as Sringeri Math and is one of the major tourist and pilgrimage destinations in the city of Sringeri. The Goddess Sharada is respected as the embodiment of Goddess Saraswati. The deity of Goddess Sharada can be seen seated on the Sri Yantra. In three of her hands, the idol is carrying a rosary, vessel and a book. The fourth hand of the Goddess is in the position of protection. Similar to this main idol, the temple also has two smaller idols which are called as utsava murthis. One of them is in silver and the other one in bronze. This temple is very ancient and is known to have been built in the 7th century A.D. by Sri Adi Shankaracharya. The temple has been renovated a number of times since a long time. The present architectural style of the temple follows the Dravidian design. The original deity was made up of sandal wood but now it has been changed to a stone idol. The idol of Goddess is magnificently beautiful and soulful to look at. During the closing time of the temple, the utsavamurthi is taken around the sanctum in a silver chariot and hoards of devotees come to enjoy this beautiful moment. There are two other temples in the premises where devotees go and take the blessings. One is of the Malayala Brhama Temple and the other one of Adi Shankar Temple. On the far side of this temple, there is a temple called as Vidyashankara temple which is very attractive and is built with the Dravidian, Hoysala and Vijayanagar style of architecture. This temple has a vidyathirtha lingam and it is known that this temple was established in the memory of Guru Vidyashankara. This temple was established in the 14th century A.D. and was assisted by Vijaynagar rulers. The twelve pillars of the Vidyashankar Temple are known as Rashistambhas which literally means zodiacal pillars. The festival of Sankara Jayanti is celebrated in this temple in a grand fashion. People can also see the statue of lions made of stone and they have stones in their mouths which can be rotated. The deity of Goddess Sarada is in a sitting position in this temple. She is sitting on the Sri Chaktra Peetham and she holds a Japa mala in her hand, one can also see a parrot hovering on top of her hand. The lower right hand of the idol has a Chinmudra and the upper left hand is seen holding the Amrita Kalasa while the lower left hand holds a book. The Amrita Kalasa signifies immortality, the book indicates Supreme Knowledge, the rosary represents the subtle Aksharas or Bijas and the Chinmudra is the representative of the awareness of the Jiva identity with the Brahman. The southern prakaram of this temple houses the processional image of Goddess Saradamba. Other shrines of this temple include that of God Ganapathi, Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, Aadi Shankara. The Navratri festival is attended by thousands of devotees who witness the beautiful procession of the image of Sharadamba. Just in front of the temple are the sanctum and a small hall which are fenced in a fine cabinet of polished granite and are surrounded by a spacious and huge corridor. The hall is pillared and is beautifully carved. The amazing part about the temple architecture is that the idol of Goddess can easily be seen even far away from the entrance. The entrance of this temple is adorned with a stone gopura and the front mandap is ornamented with the gorgeous images of Rajarjeshwari and Mahishasuramardhini. The Goddess Sarada is also known as Guru Rupini and she bestows her blessings in the form of Jagadguru. According to the Hindu mythology, Goddess Sharada is the embodiment of all the three Shakti Goddesses: Goddess Saraswathi, Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Ishwari. All the pujas are accompanied by the recital of Lalitha Sahasranama. The western prakara of this temple enshrines God Vinayaka who has 10 hands and Goddess Shakti sits on his left lap. Outside the main shrine of the Goddess, devotees can see a huge 35 geet tall deepa stambha or lamp post.