Acharya to remain in Kalavai for some more time

VELLORE, JAN. 22. The Brindhavanam of the 66th and 67th Acharyas of the Sankara Mutt at Kalavai in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu will be the headquarters of the Sankara Mutt and the abode of the senior Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, for some more time. The Acharya, who was arrested in the Sankararaman murder case and the Radhakrishnan assault case, is staying in the Kalavai Brindavanam and performing the `trikala' (thrice a day) puja for Chandramouliswara, the presiding deity of the Mutt, ever since he was released on bail from the Central Prison here on January 11.

According to sources close to the Mutt, the Sankaracharya is not inclined to move back to Kancheepuram despite the filing of the charge sheet in the Sankararaman murder case on Friday. (One of the conditions stipulated in the January 10 Supreme Court order granting bail to Sri Jayendra Saraswathi in the Sankararaman murder case was that he should not enter the Sankara Mutt at Kancheepuram till the submission of the charge sheet in the court). The absence of the junior Acharya, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, and the Kanchi Mutt Manager, Sundaresa Iyer, both of whom are in the Central Prison, Chennai, having been arrested in the Sankararaman murder case, has created a void in the Kanchi Mutt. Several administrative reforms had to be undertaken and "several loose ends tied" before Sri Jayendra Saraswathi could move to the Kancheepuram Mutt, the sources said.

According to them, the question of the Acharya shifting his abode does not arise because the place where he camps and does the `trikala' pujas is the headquarters of the Sankara Mutt for all practical purposes.

Security was stepped up at Kalavai before the arrival of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi with the posting of 16 private securitymen.

In the wake of the freezing of most of the Mutt accounts, devotees within the country and abroad have contributed sufficient funds to enable the Mutt administration to go on without hindrance. Devotees are even prepared to construct new buildings for the Kalavai Mutt but the Acharya is believed to have expressed the desire for temporary structures.