Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Dwarka-based Sharda Peeth passes away aged 99

Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Badrinath and Sharda Peeth Dwarka, passed away at the age of 99. He breathed his last at Paramhansi Ganga Ashram at Jhoteshwar in Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh at 3.30 pm.

Swami Shankracharya was struggling with health ailments for a long. During his lifetime he had also served a jail term during India’s struggle for independence and has fought a long legal battle for the cause of Ram Mandir.

Swaroopanand Saraswati was born in a Brahmin family in Dighori village near Jabalpur in the Seoni district. His parents named him Pothiram Upadhyay.

At the age of 9, he left home and started the journey of religion. During this, he also reached Kashi in Uttar Pradesh where he learned the scriptures of Brahmalin Shri Swami Karpatri Maharaj Veda-Vedang.

In the year 1942, at the age of just 19, he became famous as a revolutionary monk, because of his involvement in the Indian freedom struggle from the British.

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Jagatguru Shankaracharya's 99th birthday was celebrated on the day of Haryali Teej in the month of August. After leaving his home at the age of 9 he visited every prominent pilgrimage site and reached Kashi after meeting the great monks of the time.

In 1950 Swami Swaroopanand was made a Dandi Sanyasi in 1950. The Brahmalin Shankaracharya of Jyotimath Peeth took initiation of Dand Sanyas from Swami Brahmanand Saraswati and came to be known as Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. He received the title of Shankaracharya in 1981.

Swami Swaroopanand was made a Dandi Sanyasi in 1950. The Brahmalin Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Peeth took initiation of Dand Sanyas from Swami Brahmanand Saraswati and came to be known as Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. Later, he received the title of Shankaracharya in 1981.

In 1942 when the Quit India Movement was launched Swaroopanand devoted himself to the freedom struggle and was recognized as a revolutionary monk at the meager age of 19. He was under the British clutch for over 9 months in Varanasi-based jail and later in MP for 6 months.