Dwarka Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati passes away; PM Modi, Shah condole the death

New Delhi, Sep 11: Dwarka Sharda Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati passed away on Sunday after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was aged 99.

He died in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur, news agency ANI said in a tweet.

Swami Swaroopanand, who was the Shankracharya of Dwarka, Sharda, and Jyotish Peeth, was not keeping well for over a year, his aide told PTI. He passed away at his Ashram in the Narsinghpur district around 3:30 PM, Swami Sadanand Maharaj, second-in-command (known as Dandi Swami) of the Dwarka Peeth, told the news agency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolence over the death. He tweeted, "Deeply saddened by the demise of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharda Peeth. My condolences to his followers in this time of grief. om Shanti! [sic]"

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in his condolence tweet, said that the seer "dedicated to the propagation of Sanatan culture and religion." He wrote, "Received the sad news of the demise of Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati ji of Dwarka Sharda Peeth. His work dedicated to the propagation of Sanatan culture and religion will always be remembered. I express my condolences to his followers. God bless the departed soul. peace. [sic]"

The seer was born as Pothiram Upadhyay in 1924 at Dighori village of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh.

He was a direct disciple of Shankaracharya Brahmananda Saraswati of Jyotir Math (1941-1953) and of Shankaracharya (disputed) Krishnabodha Ashrama of Jyotir Math (1953-1973).

His Guru Brahmananda made him a Dandi Sannyasi in 1950.

Swami Swaroopanand became president of the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad, established by Swami Karpatri.

On Swami Krishnabodha Ashrama's demise in 1973 the title of Shankaracharya (disputed) of Jyotir Math, Badrinath passed to Swami Swaroopanand.

In 1982, he also became the Shankaracharya of Dwarka peetha.

As per the reports, he stands different from other religious leaders as he participated in the freedom movement.

At 19 years old he became a freedom fighter in the Quit India movement in 1942, and was known as "Revolutionary Sadhu". He was jailed for this, serving a prison sentence of 9 months and another of 6 months.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took Twitter to mourn the death. He posted, "The existence of Shri Dwarka-Sharda Peeth and Jagatguru Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Peeth, revered Swami Shri Swaroopanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj, is an irreparable loss to the saint society. May Lord Shri Ram grant the departed soul a place in his supreme abode and strength to the bereaved Hindu society to bear this sorrow. Peace!"