Shankaracharya
Shankaracharya is a commonly used title of heads of monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The title derives from Adi Shankara, a 8th-century CE reformer of Hinduism. He is honored as
Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Lord Krishna. The popular view among historians is that there were four mathas: ▪ The
Dakshina Moolamnaya matha at Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Shringeri, Karnataka. ▪ The
Uttarāmnāya matha at Jyotir Math in the city of Jyotirmath, Uttarakhand. ▪ The
Pūrvāmnāya matha, or the Govardhana matha at Puri, Odisha. ▪ The
Paśchimāmnāya matha, or the Dvaraka Pitha at Dwarka, Gujarat. The existence of such multiple mathas occurs because a Guru or descendant of the Shankaracharya lineage could have had many disciples. This could have resulted in the branching out of the parent institution. It is also possible that a Guru might have died without naming a successor, leading to the formation of rival groups. For example, the Jyotir Math and Govardhan matha have had broken lineages and were later revived. Shankaracharya is also seen as an avatar of Shiva.