".......The writings of this boy of sixteen are the wonders of the modern world and so was the boy. He wanted to bring back the Indian world to its pristine purity.... Materialism came to the fore, taking the form of licence with higher classes and superstition with the lower. Then Sankaracharya arose and once more revived the Vedanta Philosophy. He made it a rationalistic philosophy... He worked out, rationalised and placed before men the wonderful, coherent system of Advaita"
"Kalady is a place of historic importance and it is only in the fitness of things, now that we are free, every effort is being made to revive its glory and reestablish the place which it ought to have in our national life" Dr.Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India during his visit to SriRamakrishna Advaita Ashrama on 5th February 1956
Kalady, at present, is a panchayat under Aluva taluk in Ernakulam district. It is on the bank of River Periyar(Poorna) and on the main central road, seven kilometres from Angamally and six kilometres from Perumbavoor. Taluk headquarters, Aluva is only fifteen kilometres from Kalady. Ernakulam and Kochi, the queen of Arabian Sea, are about 30 and 40 kms from Kalady respectively. The nearest access through railway is via Angamally. Next nearest railway stations are Aluva and Chalakudy. Kochi Airport is about 35 kilometres from here. The proposed Nedumbassery International Airport is about 3kms from Kalady.
Kalady, the birth place of Sankara became famous but paradoxically remained un-known and unrecognised for more than 1000 years, as it were due to his curse. The curse accorded to those who were not ready to help him or his mother in her difficult years. Sri Sankara was born at Kalady in AD 820 and attained Sayoojya at the age of 32 at Kedar in Himalayas. He left Kalady at the age of 8, met his guru Govind Bhagavatpada on the banks of Narmada and took sanyas. He travelled all over India thrice , propogated the Advaita philosophy, defeated all oponents, established four maths in the four divisions of the land and instalted his chief disciples in these Maths. He returned to Kalady only once and that to fulfil the last wish of his mother. Sri Narasimha Bharati Swami of Sringeri Math was the person behind the resurrection of Kalady from oblivion. He established a branch of Sringeri Math at the very birthplace of Sri Sankara and the holy place where his mother was cremated. He established temples of Sri Sankara and Saradamba in 1910 The outside world began to make pilgrimage to Kalady since then. But povery, social inequality, backwardness in Education, taransport facility and untouchabiltiy continued to reign supreme. It was left to Swami Agamananda of the Ramakrishna Mission to usher in a serious transformation in all these directions. .
Swami Agamananda Inspired by his own vision at Benares,swamiji took a pilgrimage to Vaikom in 1935. Being a sanyasin Disciple of Swami Brahmanada, the first President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, and as a highly educated Kerala Brahmin, he had all the authority to declare that casteism was not part of Hinduism nor the creation of Sri Sankara, as believed by most people. As a follower of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, Swami Agamananda believed and preached that God realisation is possible eeven byu the so called untouchables. He strongly felt, preached and worked for the spread of education among the masses and for their learning Sanskrit.. On 26th April, the Sri Sankara Jayanthi Day, in 1936, Swamiji with the assistance of Swami Tyagisanandaji of Trichur inaugurated Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama at Kalady. He started the Sanskrit High School and Gurukula. The first school building was inaugurated on 4th February,1938 by the then Dewan Sri C.P.Ramaswamy Iyer. An orphanage was started in 1941 , which later developed into the present Tribal Hostel with the financial aid from the Central Covernment. A free ayurvedic dispensary was also started. In 1960, Sri Sankara College was started in 1954 under and association.
Malayattor: Malayattoor, the famous christian pilgrim centre is just 7 kms from Kalady. Malayattoor in Malayalam means "a village at the meeting place of a Mala(Hill) and Aar(river) The church on the top of the hill is visited by thousands of devotees every year. Special prayers and processions are conducted during Good Friday and adjacent days. Festival is in April.
Sri Krishna Temple, built in Kerala Temple architecture style,is on the banks of river poorna and very near to Sri Sarada temple. It is believed that earlier the temple was somewhere else. When river poorna diverted its path, a temple was drowned . The idol was taken and a new temple was built.
Crocodile Ghat near the krishna and sarada temple is believed to be the place where Sri Sankara was caught by crocodile ,which is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Siva. Sankara pleaded his mother, who was not letting sankara pursue sanyasa, to let him take up sanyasa or else crocodile will eat him up. His mother then allowed him to pursue sanyasa.
Manickamangalam Devi temple also is also a good example of Kerala Temple architecture. It is about one kilometre from Kalady. According to the legend,this is the temple where Aryamba,Sankara's mother used to worship. It is believed that Devi of this temple was the family diety of Sri Sankara.
Thiruvellamanthully temple is believed to be the temple where the old parents of Sankara worshipped Lord Shiva. Sankara's Parents who used to worship lord shiva of Vadakkunantha temple of Trichur could not walk long distance in their old days. Lord shiva appeared to them in a dream and said that worship me where you see a white deer grazing. And next day they saw a white deer not far from their house. And the place got its name from this story. Sree Sankara Keerthistampa mandapam: is a nine storeyed temple with nine mandapas for worship. The nine floors are connected by a unique spiral staircase.The mandapas are named Paduka mandapam,parthasarathy mandapam, Gaanapathyam, Koumaram,Souram,Vaishnavam,Shaktam and Shaivam and navam mandap.
Sri Sankara and Devi Sarada Temple lies on the bank of river Poorna. The temple is also unique because of Aryamba Samadhisthal. The biography of Sankara is sculpted on the walls of sankara mandapa. And Devi temple has idols for sapthamathrukkal.
Where to stay: There are many lodges in and around Kalady. Early booking may be needed in some of them. A government rest house and Sringeri Mutt rest house is also there. There are a few lodges at Angamally, which will be convenient for those who come by train.
Sri Sankaracharya University for Sanskrit and Indian culture was established a few years ago to commemorate the greatest philosopher of India and to propogate sanskrit langauage. The University is fast becoming one of the centre of excellence of knowledge. Special sessions for students' interaction with professionals in various disciplines are arranged frequently. Sree Sankara College: was established in 1954 by Swami Agamananda of Sree Rama krishna Mission. It was handed over to Sringeri Mutt in 1960. Earlier affiliated to the University of Calicut,now the college is affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. Brahmanandodayam Schools was established by Swami Agamanda in 1938. Today it is a full fledged school with boarding facilites.
A page on Kalady at Kerala.com
other sites for details on Sree Sankaracharya
Site of Kanchikamakoti Madam : Bhajans in real audio format. :Biography of Jagat Guru Adi Sankara by Sri Swami Sivanndaji Maharaj:
Biography of Adi Sankaracharya:
On Sringeri in Karnataka:
Sankara and Music of Muthuswami Dikshithar:
Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi: