Sringeri

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Sringeri

A jagir in the west of the Koppa taluk of Kadur District, Mysore, lying between 13° 22' and 13° 28' N. and 75° 17' and 75° 23' E., with an area of 44 square miles. Population (1901), 10,656. The jagir contains one town and 259 villages. The Tunga river runs through it from south-west to north-east, and the country is pure Malnad or highland. The annual rainfall averages 150 inches. Sringeri town is situated in 13° 25' N. and 75° 19' E., on the Tunga, 15 miles from Koppa. Population (1901), 2,430. The dominant institution of the place is the math established by the great Hindu reformer Sankaracharya in the eighth century, which is the seat of the Jagad Guru, the high-priest of the Smarta Brahmans. Madhava or Vidyaranya, the head of the math at that time, was instrumental in founding the Vijayanagar empire in 1336, and was its first minister. Sringeri (Sringa-giri, or Rishya-Sringa-giri) is said to have been the place where the Rishi Vibhandaka performed penance, and where Rishya Sringa, a celebrated character of the Ramayana, was born, who grew up to man's estate without having ever seen a woman. He was allured away to the North, and eventually became the priest of Dasa- ratha, and performed the great sacrifice which resulted in the birth of Rama. According to an inscription, the tract was granted as an endowment of the inath, by Harihara, the first king of Vijaya- nagar, in 1346. Venkatappa Naik of Keladi claims in inscriptions to have rescued the ja^r out of unlawful hands and restored it to the math in 1621. The revenue is estimated at Rs. 50,000 a year, which is supplemented by Rs. 12,000 from the Mysore State. A municipality was established in 1888. The receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1901 averaged Rs. 2,400. In 1903-4 the receipts rose to Rs. 11,000, and the expenditure to Rs. 10,000.