Bhaktamal: Chandrashekarendra Saraswati
Real Name - Swaminathan Shasthri
Other Names - Mahaperiyavar, Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal, Sage of Kanchi
Guru - Mahadevendra Saraswati
Aradhya - Bhagwan Shiva
Born - 20 May 1894
Place of Birth - Villupuram, Tamilnadu
Marital Status - Unmarried
Language - Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit
Father - Subrahmanya Sastri
Mother - Mahalakshmi
Famous - 68th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati also called
“Maha Periva,” meaning “
a great person” in Tamil, the former head of Kanchi Peetham in Tamil Nadu, India was known for his simplicity, erudition in scriptures, and more importantly, as a God-realized soul. He traveled across India on foot, camping at various places while his traveling disciples arranged for the daily worship of Chandramoulishwara (Shiva Lingam handed down the lineage by Sri Sankaracharya).
In this Guru Parampara,
the 68th Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, His Holiness Mahaswamiji, Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati Shankaracharya Swamiji, is revered as a walking God. Throughout his life, Mahaperiyava practiced the Advaita philosophy of his guru, the great Hindu philosopher and reformist,
Adi Shankaracharya.
As a Jagadguru, he was popular with dignitaries including the Dalai Lama, Sathya Sai Baba, Mahatma Gandhi, M. G. Ramachandran, Dhirubhai Ambani, Birla Family, JRD Tata, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many more.