Sri Sharadamba Temple is an ancient beautiful temple built at Sringeri in Chikkamagaluru district of Malenadu, Karnataka, a combination of Chola, Dravidian, Nagara and Chalukya styles.
It is situated on the banks of river Tunga and is known as Sharada Peetha or Shakti Peetha. Sri Sringeri Sharadamba Temple in the holy town of Sringeri is an 8th century Hindu temple. It was established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, a theologian and proponent of Advaita Vedanta philosophy, for Goddess Saraswati. The temple is open from 06 AM to 02 PM, 04 PM to 09 PM.
Sri Sharadamba Temple is about 360 km from Bangalore and 114 km from Chikkamagaluru town. Chikmagalur Railway Station (CMGR) is the nearest railway station at a distance of 117 km.
About Sringeri Sharada Temple
A standing posture idol of Sharadadevi of sandalwood was installed by Adi Shankaracharya. The original idol was destroyed during the Muslim invasion led by Malik Kafur. It was erected in the 14th century during the reign of the kings of the Vijayanagara Empire with a golden idol of Sri Sharadambe in a sitting posture.
Sri Adi Shankaracharya used to travel all over the country with his disciples. They reached Sringeri, known as Sringa Giri, which was the site of the ashram of Vibhandaka Maharshi and his great son Rishyasringa. When Shri Adi Shankar came to this place, he saw a strange sight when a pregnant frog was giving birth (laying eggs), a cobra had grown up and spread its head like an umbrella to shade the cobra from the hot sun. He was mesmerized by this scene. Goddess Saraswati, who was with him in the form of a young woman named Bharati, decided to stay here. Adi Shankaracharya also decided to stay here, he spent twelve years here.
Shringa Giri (Sringeri) is the first of the four major monasteries of Adi Shankaracharya. It was called ‘Sharada Peetha’ or ‘Shakti Peetha’. Other mathas are Jyotir Math (Joshimath, Uttarakhand), Govardhana Math (Puri, Odisha), and Dwarka Sarada Peeth (Dwarka, Gujarat).
Aksharabhyas which takes place here is considered as sacred worship. Aksharabhyas is conducted from 8 am to 1 pm. Aksharabhyas are arranged on Lalita Panchami, Vijaya Dashami, Akshaya Tritiya, as well as Moola Nakshatra day and Thursday. Aksharabhyas is held on all days except Amavasya. Parents of children aged 2 to 6 years are given a slate and chalk or a plate of rice on which they pray to Goddess Saraswati and Guru to bestow good knowledge and education on their children.
