Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati Passes Away at 99; PM Modi Condoles Death
Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati passed away on Sunday at the age of 99 in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district.
The Hindu religious leader breathed his last at Shridham Jhoteshwar Ashram at around 3:30 pm, Swami Sadanand Maharaj, second-in-command (known as Dandi Swami) of the Dwarka Peeth told PTI.
An Ashram release said the Shankaracharya died of cardiac arrest. He was on dialysis and used to be on and off ventilator for the last couple of months. He was also suffering from age-related issues and was a diabetic, sources were quoted as saying, adding that a special facility was built at the Ashram to treat him.
He will be given a “bhoo samadhi” (burial) on the campus of the Ashram around 3 to 4 pm on Monday, the release said. “His bhoo Samadhi in sitting position which is given to ‘sanyasis’ will take place around 3-4 pm at his Paramhansi Ganga Ashram, Jyoteshwar, in Gotegaon in Narsinghpur on Monday,” it said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is “deeply saddened” by the demise of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. “My condolences to his followers in this time of grief. Om Shanti!” he said in a tweet.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief and said the Shankaracharya’s work on spreading Sanatan Dharm will always be remembered. “I express my condolences to his followers. God bless the departed soul. Om Shanti.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed Shankaracharya’s death as “an irreparable loss.” “May Lord Shri Ram grant the departed soul a place in his supreme abode and strength to the bereaved Hindu society to bear this sorrow,” he said in a tweet.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati always showed the way to follow the path of righteousness and truth. “May God grant peace to the departed soul,” he said.
wami Swaroopanand Saraswati was the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharada Peetham in Gujarat and the Jyotir Math in Badrinath.
The Shankaracharya was born as Pothiram Upadhyay in Dighori village in the Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh in 1924. He had left his home in pursuit of God at the age of 9.
Swaroopanand Saraswati had also gone to jail during India’s freedom struggle and called ‘Revolutionary Sadhu’. He is also known for his contributions to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
He became Shankaracharya in 1981, his followers said, adding Shankaracharya’s 99th birthday was celebrated recently.
