Who was Sri Jayendra Saraswathi?

He will be succeeded by Vijayendra Saraswathi, who will be anointed as the 70th Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.

Disappearance

Born in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvarur district, Jayendra Saraswathi was chosen as the successor to Parmacharya Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi when he was only 19.

In 1987, Jayendra Saraswathi mysteriously disappeared from the mutt. He reportedly left behind his sacred thread and other articles of faith in his living quarters. Jayendra Saraswathi, however, was traced in Karnataka’s Talacauvery three days after he went missing. His chosen successor, Sankara Vijayendra Sarasvati, was given charge of the mutt’s daily rituals in Jayendra Saraswati’s absence. Jayendra Saraswathi, till date, hasn’t fully explained the circumstances surrounding his sudden disappearance.

Nearly forty years after he was chosen as a successor, Jayendra Saraswathi succeeded Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi as the 69th Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in 1994.

Sankararaman murder case

Jayendra Saraswati’s role as the senior-most seer increasingly came under the spotlight in 2004 after he was named as an accused in the murder case of Sankararaman, a temple manager.

In 2000, when Jayendra Saraswati intended to visit China, Sankararaman sought the court intervention to stop the senior seer from travelling abroad. Sankararaman argued that a Hindu would lose his/her religion if he/she crossed the ocean, and as the head of the Kanchi mutt, Jayendra Saraswati should have known better. Jayendra Saraswati was forced to abandon his plans.

Sankararaman was allegedly barred from entering the mutt owing to differences between the two. He even wrote open letters to Jayendra Saraswati, warning him against abusing his position at the mutt and threatened to move to court seeking his removal. The junior seer and his successor, Vijayendra Saraswathi was also named as an accused in the case. Jaynedra Saraswathi was however acquitted in the case in 2013 after a prolonged legal fight.

In 2004, Sankaraman was attacked by five men at the Debrajasamy temple and stabbed him to death.

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