Introduction - By Smt. Malini Madiman

Shri Chitrapur Math, Bangalore, is located in Malleswaram, one of the oldest residential localities of the city. It stands at the junction of 8th Main and 15th Cross roads, a haven of peace in the noisy traffic.

The Math is almost 50 years old. In 1953, some Chitrapur Saraswats were inspired by His Holiness Swami Anandashram to acquire the property in the name of Lord Bhavanishankar, the presiding deity of Shri Chitrapur Math, Shirali, North Kanara. Prior to that, H H and His retinue used to stay in "Deva Prasad", the residence of Shri Devrao Shivram Ubhayakar, and these visits used to be treated as "private". Religious functions like Maha Shivaratri, Datta Jayanti, Ananta Vrata etc. were held at the residences of some members of the community. There was no focal point for these activities.

Initially, when the Math was established, it was used as a summer resort and transit accommodation for H H. Gradually all  socio-religious activities were shifted to the Math. "Amgelo Mathu" as Bhanaps of Bangalore lovingly call it, is now the centre for all religious, spiritual and related activities for the young and old.

History of the building:

Built in the 1930's, it was originally intended to be the "summer home" of Shri Bolangady Ganapatrao of Chennai. Shri Sirur Narsingrao and family occupied the Math building from 1943 to March 1953. Since the building was meant to be a residence, it became increasingly difficult to accommodate the ever growing Bhanap population of Bangalore, especially during major functions like Chaturmasya etc. As a result, a renovation was undertaken in 1973 by Naimpally Ganapatmam and sons, involving covering of the central courtyard with asbestos sheets to convert it into a hall.

The second major renovation to the building was carried out in 1996. A permanent RCC structure replaced the asbestos in the main hall. A music recital by Pt. Prabhakar Karekar was arranged to raise funds for meeting the expenses.

The third and latest renovation work was started in October, 1999 and completed in February, 2000. New, spacious accommodation was built for H H with a beautiful ‘sit-out’ facing the 15th Cross road. Many devotees contributed lovingly towards this project.

Recent History:

The first Gayatri Purascharana Homa in December 1992, started with a Sankalpa for Guru prapti. It was followed by Shatachandi Homa. Parama Poojya Swami Ishwaranand Giriji of Mt. Abu was invited to inaugurate the Purascharan. The next year, the second Gayatri Purascharan was followed by Sahasra Modak Archana.

The Golden Era of the Math began in 1997 after the Ordination of Parama Poojya Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji, the 11th Mathadhipati of Shri Chitrapur Math, Shirali.

Poojya Swamiji's first visit to Bangalore Math (after Pattabhishek) was in December 1997 for Geeta Jayanti. H H Ishwaranand Giriji was also present.

In 1998, H H Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji observed the Chaturmasya Vrata at Bangalore Math. Poojya Swamiji's towering personality brought about a transformation in devotees of all ages. During the two months of Chaturmasya, Poojya Swamiji performed Poojas every morning and night. He taught the devotees to chant the ritualistic Samskrut shlokas with Him so that everyone experienced a sense of involvement. The 'group chanting' creates a divine atmosphere in the Math. Ever since the 1998 Chaturmasya, there has been a tremendous revival of religious and spiritual consciousness. Shiva Poojan, Devi Poojan, Guru Poojan, Shankaracharya Poojan, Bhagwad Geeta Poojan are all performed on the respective days and are well attended.

Important Landmarks:

Sadhana Navaha (1956): A 9 day long satra was held for the first time during the visit of H H Anandashram Swamiji. Inaugurated on 14th January, the satra included Pavamana Abhishek, Samudaika Gayatri Japa, Navachandi Homa, Laghu Rudra, and Grama Bhiksha on the 21st . The Lalki Utsav that night was the first of its kind in Malleswaram.

Mahasamadhi of H H Anandashram Swamiji (Sep. 16th 1966): At 9:15 on that fateful day, the holy precincts of the Math reverberated with three resonant "Omkaars", as Poojya Swamiji attained Mahasamadhi. The Mortal Remains were taken to Shirali and interred alongside the other Samadhis as per His wish. To this day one can feel the vibrations of the Omkaars in the Samadhi room.

Chitrapur Commercial & Housing Complexes: In the mid 1970's, Chitrapur Math, Shirali was in need of additional revenue as it depended solely on the annual vantiga to carry out its daily viniyogas. H H Parijnanashram Swamiji III had the foresight to utilize the land on around the Bangalore Math to build a Commercial complex, which would stabilize the Math finances. In 1979, Shri Heble Ramanand Rao, who was President of the Local Sabha then, and Shri Jeppu Satish Rao undertook the construction of a 6 storey Chitrapur Commercial complex on the land facing 8th Main road. The complex has proved to be a "Kamadhenu" for the Math at Shirali, having made it self-sufficient.

The land alongside the Math, facing 15th Cross road, was leased out to the Chitrapur Co-op. Housing Society to construct an 8 storey, 96-apartment complex. This eased the housing shortage in a fast growing Malleswaram.

Mahasamadhi of H H Parijnanashram Swamiji III: On 29th August, 1991, Parama Poojya Parijnanashram Swamiji III attained Mahasamadhi. The Mortal Remains were kept in the Math from 3:00 to 5:30 p. m. for the devotees to pay their last respects, and then flown to Mumbai by a chartered flight.


Important Rooms in the Math:

'Samadhi Kood': This room is on the ground floor. This is where Poojya Anandashram Swamiji attained Mahasamadhi. No changes have been made, since His time, in the way it is furnished. The uniqueness of this room is the peace of mind it affords. The reverberations of the last "Omkaars" still resound, not only in this room but in the entire hallowed edifice. For this reason, many Mahatmas and intellectuals love to give discourses in our Math in preference to other places with better facilities.

The Library: The Math Library houses hundreds of books on spiritual and allied topics, and is very well made use of by the devotees.

'Deva Kood': There are idols of Lord Shiva, Mookambika, and the Panchayatan deities, besides the Padukas of H H Anandashram Swamiji and photographs of H H Pandurangashram Swamiji, H H Parijnanashram Swamiji III, H H Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji and other Gods.

Special Days at the Math:

On Sundays, there are bhajans, pooja and aaratis in the evenings.

On Mondays, Panchamrita Rudrabhishek seva on a permanent basis was started by Smt. Malini Madiman in 1985-86. Ved. Baddukuli Bhavanishankar Bhatji performed the Pooja and after his demise, his son Radhakrishna Bhat continued this. When Shri Vasant and Lalita Ullal moved to Bangalore from Chennai, they introduced one hour of Stotra Pathan prior to the Pooja. Lalitapacchi trained the ladies of the Bhajan Mandali to chant almost 100 stotras. After the stotrapathan, one chapter of the Geeta and the Mrutyunjaya japa are chanted, followed by Deepanamaskars & Pooja. Eversince H H Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji introduced Shiva Poojan, it has been performed with a lot of enthusiasm by the devotees. During the months of Shravan and Kartika, many offer
Rudrabhishek Sevas on Mondays.

Thursday is the oldest "special" day, observed with bhajans, pooja and aaratis. Since July 1999, at the behest of Poojya Swamiji, Guru Poojan is being performed regularly.

Friday is a new "special" day. Again at Poojya Swamiji's behest, Devi Poojan is performed after bhajans and chanting of Shree Sukta.

Deepanamaskars are chanted every evening at 6:30 p m.

In addition, Ashtavadhan poojas are performed on the Punyatithis of all the Gurus of our Holy Guruparampara.

To facilitate the recitation of all shlokas and stotras, a compilation named "Shri Chitrapur Stuti Manjari" was published by Bhavanishankar Adarsh Taru Saghatana, a voluntary organisation. This project was sponsored by Shri Nalkur Shripad Rao of Mumbai.

The Chaturmasya period of two months is hectic with different kinds of spiritual activities. Starting with Vyasa Poornima or Guru Poornima, it spreads over three months - Ashad, Shravan and Bhadrapad. Devotees participate in a "parayana" of the Chitrapur Guruparampara Charitra. Ashada Ekadashi, Upakarma, Nag Panchami, Gokulashtami, and Punyatithi of Poojya Anandashram Swamiji are some of the important events in this period.

Gokulashtami: Special bhajans (Mhanatis) are sung for 8 days culminating on the day of the "Gopal Kallo". Tiny tots dressed as Krishnas & Gopikas are a fitting finale to the hectic festive season.

Punyatithi of H H Anandashram Swamiji: This falls on Gowri Pooja day. It is observed with a group recitation of the entire Bhagwad Gita, spread over three days. On the second day, Bilvarchana is offered to the Holy Padukas. On the third and final day, we have Ashtavadhan Pooja followed by a unique event: On a chowrang, 30 lighted oil lamps are arranged in the shape of the letter "Aum"--- the Sound uttered thrice by Poojya Swamiji just before departing from the Mortal Body. With this Chowrang in the centre, and with all the electric lights switched off, a pin-drop silence is observed for five minutes-from 8:55 to 9:00 p m. This is something that should be experienced to be believed !

During these two months, apart from Poojas, there are Bhajans, Discourses and Kirtans by eminent Bhanaps as well as non-bhanaps. Chaturmasya culminates with the Gowri Ganesha festival followed by Bhadrapad Poornima Bhajans.

Pratishtha day of the statue of H H Anandashram Swamiji: A beautiful marble statue of Poojya Anandashram Swamiji was donated by Shri Kallianpur Shivrao in 1967. The Pratishtha day is observed on Kartik Shukla Dashami every year with bhajans, pooja and prasad.

Geeta Jayanti is observed in December every year with the recitation of the entire Bhagwad Geeta and Bhagwad Geeta poojan.

Other Activities:

Shri Chitrapur Bhajan Mandali: Started in 1982 by Mullerpatan Sharadapacchi in the form of Bhajan classes for Bhanap ladies, this group now not only sings in the Math, but is much sought after to perform elsewhere at religious functions. As early as 1977, this Bhajan Mandali led by Shardapacchi and Manjeshwar Umapacchi, learnt to recite the Ashtavadhan pooja under the guidance of Ved. Kandlur Anant Bhatji.

Samskrit and Bhagwad Geeta Adhyayan Kendra: Convened by Kulkarni Mangeshmam on a purely voluntary basis, the classes are held on weekends. The syllabus adopted for the exams is that of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

"Aksharam": a centre for Samskrut prachar conducted two conversational camps which were very well attended. At present regular classes for children are held in conversational Samskrut on every Sunday morning by Kum. Shobha Vasuki. Bhagwad Geeta classes are conducted regularly by Shri H. R. Chandrashekhar.

Bal Vihar: Since 1994, Bal Vihar classes are being taken by Kum. Pooja Bedramane with the help of Smt. Usha Basrur and Smt. Uma Trasi.


Over the decades, besides the Pravachans and Ashirvachans of our own Swamijis, there have been inspiring discourses by other Mahatmas like (1) Swami Tejomayananda and Swami Brahmananda of Chinmaya Mission, (2) Swami Dayananda Saraswati and Chidroopananda Saraswati of Arshya Vidya Kendra, (3) Swami Aadidevanandaji, Swami Chidanandaji, Swami Harshanandaji and Swami Purushothamanandaji of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore, (4) Swami Ishwaranand Giriji of Samvit Sadhanayana, Mount Abu, (5) Swami Bodhanandaji, Swami Swaroopananda and Swami Jitatmananda.

Some prominent scholars who have lectured at our Math are: Shri Anantanarayana, Prof. S. K. Ramachandra Rao, Devraya Kulkarni, Ved. Subbaraya Sharma, Matthur Krishnamurthy of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Dr. B. R. Sheshachar.

There has been no dearth of Bhanap speakers. K. Gurudutt, Sirur Prabhakar Rao, Savkur Shankar Shastry, Bondal Lakshman Rao, Narsing Rao, M. S. Kulkarni, Nagarkar Pandurang Rao, Nagarkar Narayan, Haldipur Bhaskar Rao, Marballi Venkat Rao, Ved. Baindur Gopalkrishna Bhat, Smt. Uma Manjeshwar, Smt. Malini Madiman, Kelkar Bhaskar, Pandit Babmam, Mavinkurve Prabhakar, A. V. Shankar Rao, Hattikudur Shiva Rao, Justice K. Narayan Rao, Basrur Ganesh, Manjeshwar Umanath and several others.

Hari Kirtans: The following people have performed Kirtans at the Math: Bhadragiri Achutdas, Kalyanpur Sanjeev Rao, Hosangdi Babu Rao, Kalyanpur Gajanan, Smt. Shaila Amembal, Smt. Ashwini Bhat from Mumbai and Suresh Bhat of Udupi.

Vimarsh: This activity was introduced by H H Sadyojat Shankarashram Swamiji in November 1998. Vimarsh helps us to understand ourselves better. It gives scope for introspection and self-expression, and helps Sadhakas in their Sadhana. Vimarsh is conducted on the first Saturday of every month by Smt. Udaya Mavinkurve and Shri Dinkar Katre and is well attended.

In addition to all these activities, the Math premises are made available at a nominal rent for Upanayans, Satyanarayan Poojas, Vaikuntha Samaradhanas, and free of cost for Dharma Prachar activities.

Donations & Endowments:

The 'Deva Kood' has several articles donated by devotees. Shri Dinkar Kalbag donated the Shivalinga Peetha with the Mukha of Gangadhara. Shri Ramanand Nadkarni has donated silver Prabhavali, Kavacha along with silver pooja articles.

A marble idol of Lord Krishna was donated by Smt. Shantabai Basrur. This idol is kept in the Samadhi room and during Gokulashtami it is decorated in different costumes on each day.

Folding steel chairs have been donated by late Shri Sadanand Moodbidri and new plastic ones by Dr. Murli Saletore. Shri Mohan Hattikudur got the mosaic flooring done in the main Hall in memory of his departed wife, Smt. Padmini Hattikudur. The P A system has been donated by Smt. Malini Madiman & family, U P S system by Shri Dayanand Basrur. Some of the Local Sabha members jointly provided the fans.