[Advaita-l] Can anybody tell the brief history of north Indian amnaya peethams

[Animesh]

SrI mAtre namaH 

Namaste srI Srivathsa Rao , 

Yes it is true that unlike of south Indian maThs no continues gurU paramparA is their in our North Indian maThs .

I think following are the main reasons

1) Continues attacks of mallechhAs , yavans and other AtAtAyIns.

2) smArta sampradAya ( advaita ) is not so famous among common people ( vaishnava , shaiva , shAkta sampradAyas are more famous ) so deficiency in followers leaded irregularities in sankara maThs of north.

3) adhikArI sanyAsins ( in accordance with maThamanya mahAnushAsan  ) who may ascend to piThs were rare  .

4) Those who were adhikArI sanyAsins refused to take the charge of piThas due to sva-sAdhanA.

5) Influence of this maThs and their sankarAcharyas was weak in north so sanyasins were not willing to take charge. 

6) A large number of sattA lolupa sanyasins was their .( please see real example of this  in below portion. )

6.1) In case of jyotir maTha ,  geographical location , human survival , natural epidemics were some other factors.

Brief History of jyotir maTha

After its occupation by swAmI rAmakrishna tirTha  in the 18th century it was leaderless for 165 years until the appointment of swAmI BrahmAnanda saraswatI in 1941.Since swAmI BrahmAnanda saraswatI's death in 1953 there have been several disciples and gurus who have been appointed, occupied or claimed to be the rightful occupant and leader of the monastery. Jyotir maTh was occupied by  rAmakrishna tirTha in the 18th century but the monastery was inactive for 165 years following his death The appointment of BrahmAnanda in 1941 was made by a group of monks and pandits based in the city of Varanasi with the endorsement of swamI bhArtIYlTirtha the Shankaracharya of Puri and Swami Chandrasekhara Bharati the Shankaracharya of Shringeri. Respected supporters of religious institutions, such as the rulers of the cities of Garhwal, Varanasi and Darbhanga, also endorsed Brahmananda and their recognition helped overcome opposition from previous claimants to the title. After the death of Brahmananda in 1953, Swami Hariharananda Saraswati, a now deceased disciple of Brahmananda, was offered the title but refused to accept it. After swami Shantanand was crowned. 
During his tenure, Shantanand was "supportive" of another Brahamananda disciple Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and "often appeared with him in public". However, in 1980, Shantananda vacated the Shankarcharya position in favor of Swami Vishnudevananda Saraswati, an additional disciple that was named in Brahmananda's will as an alternate choice for the Shankaracharya-ship. Author Williamson writes that Shantanand was removed by the other Shankarcharya's due to his "incompetence" and speculates that his relationship with the Maharishi may have been a contributing factor. However, Shantanand's successor, Vishnudevananda, also spoke well of the Maharishi and publicly demonstrated his support by presiding over one of the Maharishi's publicized events in New Delhi in July 1986. Vishnudevananda died in 1989 and Swami Vasudevananda Saraswati succeeded him. Former Shankaracharya, Shantanand, then died in 1997. Another claimant is Madhava Asrama who disputes the lineage of Vasudevananda and Swarupananda and who was appointed leader of Jyotir Math in the 1960s. He contends that Swarupananda cannot accept the title of Shankaracharya for both the western and northern mathas in which case the title reverts to a subsequent disciple of Krishnabodha Asrama. Madhava Asrama was reportedly appointed leader of Jyotir Math under the auspices of Shri Niranjana Deva Tirtha who was the Shankarcharya of Puri at that time.These events have resulted in three separate lineages at Jyotir Math despite Swarupananda being endorsed by other Adi Shankara mathas. These lineages include Swarupananda, the leader of the Dvaraka Math in the West and Madhava Asrama (both disciples of Krishnabodha Asrama) as well as Vasudevananda Saraswati who occupies the monastery built by Brahmananda in 1941. Another claimant is Madhava Asrama who disputes the lineage of Vasudevananda and Swarupananda and who was appointed leader of Jyotir Math in the 1960s. He contends that Swarupananda cannot accept the title of Shankaracharya for both the western and northern mathas in which case the title reverts to a subsequent disciple of Krishnabodha Asrama. Madhava Asrama was reportedly appointed leader of Jyotir Math under the auspices of Shri Niranjana Deva Tirtha who was the Shankarcharya of Puri at that time.These events have resulted in three separate lineages at Jyotir Math despite Swarupananda being endorsed by other Adi Shankara mathas.These lineages include Swarupananda, the leader of the Dvaraka Math in the West and Madhava Asrama (both disciples of Krishnabodha Asrama) as well as Vasudevananda Saraswati who occupies the monastery built by Brahmananda in 1941.

Regards
Animesh