Believed to be the incarnation of Lord Dakshinamoorti Himself, Shri Shankara Bhagavat Pada, the Great Acharya, was born in the 8th century to re-establish the supremacy of non – dualistic Vedanta, to revive man’s faith in his own divinity.

At a critical juncture when the country was teeming with conflicting sects and total confusion reigned because of the lack of a worthy spiritual leader, Shankaracharya’s prolific genius and indefatigable efforts proved to be the salvation of Vedic culture. In a brief span of just 32 years, this poet and philosopher, savant and saint, meritorious debater and zealous reformer traversed the length and breadth of Bharatvarsha thrice, establishing Maths and Peethas to reinforce the foundation of Advaita.

While He Himself held that the Ultimate Reality is of the nature of pure consciousness, beyond the limitations of name and form, Shankara could bring Himself to the level of the layperson too and create lyrical hymns of unparalleled beauty to kindle bhakti for one’s chosen deity. These paeans, along with the vast body of exhaustive – commentaries He wrote on our scriptures, reveal stupendous canvas, the grand sweep of His Divine Erudition.

Shankaracharya entrusted the responsibility of the study and dissemination of spiritual knowledge to the all – renouncing monks of the Vaidika Paramahansa Sannyasa order. The members of this well – defined spiritual body are distinguished by the ten epithets bestowed by Him, namely - Giri, Puri, Bharati, Ashrama, Teertha, Saraswati, Parvata, Vana, Aranya and Sagara.