Who is Swami Avimukteshwaranad Saraswati, the ‘Shankaracharya’ taking on BJP?

Two days after his return from Magh Mela, on January 30, Swami Saraswati gave a 40-day “ultimatum” to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to “declare gau mata” as “rajya mata” and take steps to stop the export of “cow meat”. Maintaining that the Magh Mela row was over and would be addressed only during next year’s mela, Saraswati said it was now the CM’s turn to address his demands and give “proof of being a Hindu”.

Stint in student politics

Saraswati, 56, hails from Brahmanpur village in UP’s Pratapgarh district. His original name is Umashankar Pandey. He shifted to Gujarat for studies where he came in contact of Dwarka Shardapeethadhishwar Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati who inspired him to study Sanskrit in Kashi (Varanasi).

While studying in Varanasi, Saraswati entered student politics. He was elected as the vice-president of the students’ union in Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya as an Independent candidate, and later its president as a nominee of the RSS’ students wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

In 2000, he took “Deeksha” of Naisthik Brahamcharya and got a new name, Anandswaroop. In 2003, he got “Sanyas Deeksha” and got the name of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.

Elevation to ‘Shankaracharya’

Swami Avimukteshwarand’s pattabhishek (ritual for coronation as Shankaracharya) was performed on September 12, 2022, a day after Swaroopanand Saraswati passed away. “Pattabhishek ceremony of Swami Avimukteshwaranand as Shankaracharya of Jytish Peeth and Sadanand Saraswati as Shankaracharya of Dwarka peeth were performed as per the written will of Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati Maharaj,” said Yogiraj Sarkar, national media in-charge of Avimukteshwaranand. He said this coronation was performed within 24 hours of the departure of Swaroopanand Saraswati because the Peeth can not be left vacant.

Amid the tussle over Mauni Amavasya snan at the Sangam, the Magha Mela Authority under the state government, citing a 2022 Supreme Court order, issued a notice to Swami Saraswati, asking him to explain why he was using the “Shankaracharya” title.

In its notice dated January 19, the Mela Authority referred to a civil appeal pending in the Supreme Court in this matter. The notice stated that since no further order has been passed in the plea, until the Supreme Court disposes of the appeal in question or passes a further order regarding the consecration, no Dharmacharya can be consecrated as Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth.

In response, Swami Saraswati’s team said it would take legal action against the Mela Authority, accusing it of interfering with the age-old traditions of Shankaracharya and his disciples.

On the pending case in the apex court, Yogiraj Sarkar said: “Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati had earlier challenged the coronation of Swaroopanand Saraswati as Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth and later he challenged the coronation of Avimukteshwaranand ji but no final order has come in his recent petition.”

Multiple rows

Swami Saraswati has been a vocal seer, who has often made headlines by making statements castigating various governments on different issues.

While the UP BJP leaders have officially refrained from making any comments during Saraswati’s protest against alleged “high-handedness’ of the Prayagraj administration and Mela Authority against him and his followers, some of them have dubbed him “pro-Congress” and “anti-BJP”, flagging the point that UP Congress chief Ajay Rai not only backed the seer’s sit-in, but also visited him.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera has attacked the BJP, alleging that the ruling party used to ask Muslims “kaagaz dikhao” (show the papers) and was now telling the same to a top Hindu seer.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP too extended its support to Saraswati, accusing the BJP of “disrespecting Sanatan Dharma”.

From the BJP camp, only Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya urged Avimukteshwaranand to take a holy dip in Prayagraj while promising action against those officials who might have disrespected him.

However, CM Adityanath seemed to have struck a different note. While speaking at an event in Haryana then, Adityanath, without naming anyone, said, “Aise kayi kalnemi honge jo dharma ki aadh mein Sanatan Dharma ko kamzor karne ki sazish rach rahe honge. Humein unse sawadhan hona hoga, satarka rehna hoga (There would be many such demons, who under the pretext of religion are conspiring to weaken Sanatan Dharma. We need to be watchful and on alert against such people).”

But it was not the first time Avimukteshwaranand has found himself at the centre of a controversy. He has had fraught relations with the BJP.

In the wake of the stampede at the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj in January 2025, in which at least 30 people were killed, Saraswati had blamed the Adityanath government for the incident.

In January 2024, ahead of the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Avimukteshwaranand not only declined to attend the ceremony, but also objected to the consecration taking place for an “under-construction temple”.

A year earlier, he had alleged that 228 kg of gold was missing from the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand, referring to it as a “scam”.

Akhilesh Yadav spoke to Swami Saraswati over phone to extend the SP’s support to him over the Magh mela row, but it was under his government in September 2015 when the police had cracked down on the protesters, including Avimukteshwaranand, who had blocked the Godaulia Chauraha near Dashashwamedha ghat in Varanasi, demanding that the Ganesha idol should be immersed in Ganga.

Violence and arson had then broken out in Varanasi during a protest march by seers and other local leaders against police action, following which Ajay Rai had left for Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi. Rai was arrested from the Varanasi airport following his return.

“He (Saraswati) is neither a supporter nor an opponent of any particular political party. He had opposed demolition of Rani Bhawani temple during the Mayawati government. He protested the insult of lord Ganesha’s idol during the Samajwadi Party government. He ran a Mandir Bachao Andolan to protect the idols and temples during the development of Kashi Vishwanath corridor in the first term of Yogi Adityanath government. He led Ganga Andolan against the Congress-led UPA government. Also, he had excommunicated Rahul from Hinduism for allegedly ‘insulting’ the ancient Sanskrit text, the Manusmriti,” said Sanjay Pandey, another media in-charge of Avimukteshwaranand.

Pandey said Swami Saraswati had launched Ramsetu Rakasha Andolan and had also run Ganga Seva Abhiyan to demand that Ganga be declared a national river. “The Ganga demand was accepted by the UPA government. He also fought for the construction of Ram Temple,” Pandey claimed.