There is a millennium old story reportedly explaining the reason why Sri Adi Shankara chose Sringeri for establishing His first Peetam.  It goes like this: “On a certain occasion, Sri Shankara was walking along the river Thunga at Sringeri. At a certain place, on the bank of the river, He was surprised to find a cobra with its full-spread hood providing shade to an ailing frog, and protecting it from the blazing rays of the sun.  A predator protecting its prey was of course a very rare and strange sight! The supreme sage was extremely pleased to find that at Sringeri even natural foes forget their enmity and live in perfect harmony.  Hence He resolved that Sringeri was an apt place to institute a spiritual centre for the sustenance and propagation of Sanatana Dharma.”  After his resolve, the great Acharya drew the sacred Srichakra Yantra on a rock on the bank of Thunga, and then invoked goddess Saraswathi to grace that sacred seat as Sri Sharada.  Invoked thus by none other than Lord Shiva incarnate, the holy Goddess immediately obliged.

What Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada instituted on that day at Sringeri was the glorious Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetam.  In Sanskrit ‘Dakshina’ refers to ‘Southern’, ‘Amnaya’ means ‘Veda’ and ‘Peetam’ stands for ‘Throne (Sacred seat)’.  Thus ‘Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetam’ refers to the sacred seat of the Veda, presided by Goddess Sri Sharada, in the southern part of our holy land.

As the presiding Veda for Sri Sharada Peetam, Sri Adi Shankara named the Yajur Veda.  He blessed the Peetam with the Matamnaya Sasanam (His guidelines on the methods to conduct the affairs of the Peetam). To ensure that the grace of God is made available in abundance to the followers of this Peetam, Sri Shankara blessed the Peetam with the image of Sri Chandramouleeswara in the form of a captivating crystal Lingam, received from Lord Shiva Himself.  This apart, the holy Acharya blessed the Mutt with the crystal image of Sri Rathnagarbha Ganapathy.  These sacrosanct images are seen even today in the puja of the Jagadguru of the Peetam.

For the protection of Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetam, Sri Shankaracharya installed four Guardian Deities around Sringeri.  They are Sri Kalabhairava (East), Sri Anjaneya (West), Sri Kalikamba (North), and Sri Vana Durga (South).

                    Sri Shankara nominated Sri Sureshwaracharya, worshipped as the incarnation of Lord Brahma Himself, to be the first Acharya of this Peetam.  Sri Shankara also resolved that great saints would ascend this divine Peetam of Sri Sharada as its Jagadgurus in the years to come. Will the words of Lord Shiva ever go in vain? Since then Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetam has been blessed with an unbroken chain of Jagadgurus with astonishing spiritual attainments, innate compassion and a passion to spread the tenets of Sanatana Dharma.  Devotees worship these Acharyas as the form of Sri Adi Shankara Himself and reverentially address every one of them as ‘Shankaracharya’.  In this line of illustrious Acharyas, we now are blessed with Jagadguru Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamiji as the 36th Acharya.