SRI SHANKARACHARYA
AND HIS CONNECTION WITH KANCHIPURAM

(1)  A hamlet by name Surittil, on the border of Kudiyantandalam (known at present as Kundiyantandalam) situated about 9 miles off kanci, is referred to as ‘Sankaracaryapuram alias Suruttil’ in an inscription on the west wall of the rock, in the Varadarajasvami temple at Kanchipuram.   (Vide Annual Report on Epigraphy – 1919 -20 No.443 of 1919).

N.B.  A copper – plate inscription of Vira Narasimha Deva, King of Vijayanagar, of Saka year 1428 (1507 A.D.) mentions the grant of Kudiyantandalam of the Kacchinadu, to Mahadeva Sarasvati (of Kanci Sankjaracarya Matha).  In the coppet – plate it is stated that Kudiyantandalam is on the west of Surittil village.

(2) William Taylor gives a short summary of a copper plate inscription of Visnu – Kanci, in which the name of Sankaracarya appears among others as one who had something to do with the temple of Sri Varadaraja (Vide Volume – III pages 340,341, of the Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts relating to Mackenzie’s collections).

(3) There is a copper – plate inscription of 1111 A.D. recording a grant of the village of Ambikapuram to an Acarya of the Kanci Sankaracarya Math by the Andhra Cola ruler Vijayaganda Gopala.  It is to be noted that though the grant is to an Acarya who lived long after Sri Sankaracarya, the done is referred to only as Sankaracarya Guru’ and not by the actual name of the Swami.

The pertinent lines of the copper plate are given below :