Shakatapuram Sri Vidya Peetam (Sri Badari Shankaracharya Samsthanam)

Shakatapuram, also known by the name Bhandigadi, is a religious place for Hindus located in the Koppa taluk cpoae to Hariharapura and Sringeri and is situated on the banks of river Tunga. It is famous for a Hindu Math called Shri Vidya Peetam which is present at this place.

Historical records relating to the Kingdom of Vijayanagar (14th/15th Centuries) throw a lot of light on the origins of “SHRI JAGADGURU BADARI SHANKARACHARYA SAMSTHANAM, SHAKATAPURAM SHRIVIDYA PEETAM”.

The history of the Shri Vidya Peetam can be traced to a sadhu named Thotakacharya, who was a disciple of Adi Shankara and the first pontiff of the Uttaramnaya Jyotish Peetam, a Hindu institution, located in Badrinath.Around 1338 AD, due to foreign invasion and massive disturbances a Jagadguru  Sri Satya Theertha Mahamuni who was of the same lineage as Thotakacharya left Badarinath and came down south in search of a place where he could continue his Dharmic activities undisturbed. He selected Shakatapuram, on the banks of river Tunga in Karnataka as the right place and established his ‘peeta parampara’.

An idol of the Hindu God, Lakshmi Narayana was brought by Sri Satya Teertha from Badarinath and installed at Shakatapuram. This is the presiding deity of this place.

The Hindu shrines dedicated to Sri Vidya Raja Rajeshwari,Santana Venugopala Krishna, Lakshmi Narasimha and Dattatreya are also worshipped here. The Math preaches the Advaita form of Hindu philosophy.

Jagadguru Sri Vidyabhinava Sri Sri Krishnananda Theertha Mahaswamigal, adorns this Peetham, as the present Peethadhipathi, the 33rd in the illustrious line of succession. Ascending this transcendental religious seat on Feb 22, 1981, at the tender age of thirteen, His Holiness mastered the Veda, Vedanta and the highly esoteric Shrividyopasana of Rahoyaga. His Holiness is regarded as “Shrividya Taponiodhi” & “Shrividya Sadhakottama” throughout the country.