Vijaya Yatras of Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji

It is true that right from the beginning the Acharyas of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham have undertaken tours to bless the devotees. But it is difficult to find a personality like Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha in the annals of the Math who had so extensively and repeatedly traveled from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

Not only that, He is the only Amnaya Pithadhipati after Adi Shankara to have visited Nepal. Maha Shivaratri was celebrated by the Jagadguru at Nepal in 1967. That too was on the earnest and devout request made by the then king of Nepal. Out of gratitude for the special blessings received by his father, King Tribhuvan, from Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati, king Mahendra of Nepal extended a reverential invitation to the Acharya.

Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamigal started on His first tour in 1956 and covered the four southern states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, for a period of six years. Again starting from Sringeri in June 1964, He covered southern and northern India continuously for four years. This was His second major tour.

In many parts of the country, He established branches. In many places, He consecrated the idols of Sri Sharadamba and Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada. He established Patashala and initiated activities for Dharmic awareness. For propagation of Vedas, the Acharya added a Veda Patashala to the existing one at Bangalore where only Sastras were being taught. Tremendous developments took place in the 100-year old Patashala at Sringeri. Similarly, for the propagation of Sanskrit, He established ‘Surasaraswathi Sabha’ which is conducting examinations for a large number of students twice a year.

The finances of the Math were not in good shape when He became the Acharya. Added to it, the Inam abolition and land reforms brought fresh problems. But He resolved the problems bravely and put the Math on a strong footing by efficient management of the affairs.