Udupi : Srimad Vidyadhiraja Teertha Sripad Wader Swamiji, the spiritual and administrative head of the Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math has passed away on Monday, 19th July, 2021.

The end came peacefully at about 1:00 p.m. while the swamiji was engaged in study at the Math’s headquarters in Partagali, a small town in South Goa. He was 76 and cardiac arrest is suspected to be the cause of death. His disciple and designated successor Shri Vidhyadheesh Theertha was believed to have been in residence at the time and was the first to discover that the swamiji is no more.

Shree Samsthan Gokarn Partagali Jeevottam Math is one of the three religious orders of the Gowd Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community (the other two being Shree Kaivalya Math and Shree Kashi Math). The swamiji was the 23rd pontiff of the Math, which is said to have been founded in 1475 AD and has a history of 546 years. The swamiji has a large following in Mangalore and the local branch math is situated at Car Street in the city. In 2016, he undertook the annual Chaturmasa Vritha in the city, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his Deeksha Sweekar.

Srimad Vidyadhiraja Teertha Swamiji was born on 3rd Aug 1945 at Gangulli, in Udupi District. His birth name was Raghavendra Acharya. He was given Sanyas Deeksha on 26th Feb.,1967 at Shri Ram Mandir Wadala, Mumbai by his guru and predecessor, Shrimad Dwarakanath Teertha Swamiji. He succeeded as the head of the math following the demise of his guru on 5 April 1973 and thereafter tirelessly working for the spiritual upliftment of the followers, the prime duty cast on the maths. Under his leadership numerous old temples and math branches were renovated and rebuilt. He is also credited with reviving the ancient modes of worship like yagas and yajnas and undertaking pilgrimages to holy places, including in the remote part of the Himalayas. He has also headed the numerous charitable and educational endeavours of the Math.

He adopted Uday Bhat Sharma as his disciple and successor on 9th Feb 2017 and gave him the pontifical name Shri Vidhyadheesh Theertha .

PIC’s : Manju Neereshwaly, Studio XL