Sadhu Anandavanam Mahamandaleshwar, a native of Kerala, is now Mahamandaleshwar of Juna Akhada, the biggest and the most ancient among the 13 Akhadas in the country. He was anointed on January 27 in the ongoing Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj. Hereafter, he will be known as Swami Anadavanam Bharati. This is in sync with the Akhada tradition and convention. Importantly, Sadhu Anandavanam Mahamandaleshwar is the first Keralite to scale this esteemed position after Swami Kashikananada. Sadhu Swami Kashikananda was one of the luminaries par excellence in the realm of spiritual and Vedic wisdom and knowledge in the country. Sadhu Anandavanam Mahamandaleshwar is the proud successor of him even though not an immediate one. Sadhu Anandavanam, a Thrissur native in his poorvashram (life before embracing sanyasi), has been working as part of the Juna Akhada since the last 12 years. He was a respected journalist in a leading Malayalam morning daily. In fact, Sadhu Anandavanam passed his journalism course, scoring first rank, from Kerala Press Academy in Kochi.
Formation of Four Maths
Aadi Shankaracharya arranged sanyasi orders into ten orders and founded four maths in four corners of the country. They are:
South: Shringeri Peetam in Karnataka
East: Puri Govardhana Peetam in Odisha
West: Dwaraka in Gujarat
North: Jyothirmat in Uttarakhand
Four Shankaracharyas head these maths. Aadi Shankaracharya called for differentiating him from the heads of the four maths. The sanyasins of the ten orders were named Bharati, Saraswati, Sagaram, Theertha, Puri, Ashramam, Giri, Parvatam, Aranya and Vana. Therefore, it is called Dashanami order. Akhada is a system to unite sanyasis under separate traditions and systems. Mahamandaleshwars lead Akhadas on the basis of Dharma.
Protection of Dharma
Akhada means fight and goda is a place for wrestling. It also means an arena for interaction. Akhadas are always supposed to be ready to fight for the protection of Dharma along with Sadhana, Japa and Thapa. There are 13 recognised akhadas. The aforementioned Dashanami sannyasins are arranged into seven Shaiva Akhadas. They are Juna (Bhairav), Niranjani, Atal, Avahan, Anand, Agni and Mahanirvani. Juna is the biggest and ancient among them. Juna Akhada plays a major role in Kumbh Mela. Its headquarters is in Varanasi. Swami Kashikananda Giri Maharaj was the Mahamandaleshwar of the Niranjani Akhada. Sree Nirmohini Ani Akhada belongs to Vishnu devotees. Vaishnavi Akhadas like Sree Nirmohini Ani Akhada, Sree Digambar Ani Akhada and Sree Nirvani Akhadas are Sree Aani Akhada, Sree Nirvani are the Vaishnav Khadas.
Sree Panchayathi Bada Udaseen Akhada, Sree Panchayati Naya Udaseena Akhada and Sree Nirmmal Panchayathi Akhada do follow the teachings of Sreechand, the son of Guru Nanak. Sadhus accept Sanyasa Deeksha during Kumbh Mela. The elevation of Sadhu Anandavanam Mahamandaleshwar to the highest seat reminds one of Swarg. Swami Ranganathanandaji (1908 – 2005), the former President of Sree Ramakrishna Math who took birth in the Thrissur district of Kerala. The life histories of both blessed souls underline the importance of Kerala’s spiritual life.
