History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c44.63.2

v3.c44.63.2

The foundation of maṭhas received a great fillip after the times of the celebrated *Advaita* teacher, the great Śaṅkarācārya, whom tradition credits with having established for the propagation of his system of Vedānta four maṭhas at Śṛṅgerī, Purī (Govardhanamaṭha), Dvārakā (Śāradāmaṭha) and Badarī (Jyotirmaṭha). Vide E. C. vol. VI Sg. No. 11 (an inscription dated 1652 A. D.) where reference is made to a grant in Śṛṅgapura, the dharmapīṭha established by Śaṅkarācārya, to the famous maṭha at Śṛṅgerī for the worship of Mallikārjuna, Vidyā-śaṅkara-svāmī and Śāradāmbā. Other ācāryas like Rāmānuja and Madhva established their own maṭhas and the number of maṭhas is now legion. Originally a maṭha started by a sannyāsin like the great Śaṅkarācārya must have had no property, as ascetics were prohibited by the śāstras from possessing property, except such articles of personal use as clothes, sandals, religious books on palm leaf or paper &c. Besides sannyāsins were required not to stay long in one place. So people built shelters for them, in order to accommodate them when they visited their town or village and these were probably originally called maṭha, which in its narrow sense means a place where an ascetic resides. In its wider sense it means an institution where a teacher presides and instructs several disciples in religious and analogous tenets, practices and dogmas.