Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Peetham, is a Hindu religious center of Vedic learning, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near the Kamakshi Amman Temple of the Shaktism tradition, which also contains a shrine dedicated to the alleged final resting place (disputed) of the Advaita Vedanta teacher Adi Shankara.
thumb|Jagadguru [[Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal|Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, the 70th and Current Peetadhipathi of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam]]
The matha-tradition attributes its founding to Adi Shankara, but this and the reliability of the matha's succession list has been questioned. According to the Sri Kanchi math tradition, the matha was founded at Kanchipuram, and shifted south to the temple city of Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century due to the on-going wars, when there was warfare in the region, and returned to Kanchipuram in the 19th century.
Historically, the Kanchi Math was established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 as a branch of the Sringeri Mutt, and became involved with the Kamakshi temple in Kanchipuram in 1839, "set[ing] up shop in Kanchipuram at the turn of the last [19th] century." The chronology stated in Kanchi matha texts recognizes five major Shankaras: Adi, Kripa, Ujjvala, Muka and Abhinava. According to the Kanchi matha tradition, it is "Abhinava Shankara" that western scholarship recognizes as the Advaita scholar Adi Shankara.
According to the Sri Kanchi matha documents, the matha relocated completely to Kumbakonam in the mid-18th century to escape wars and persecution, returning to Kanchi in the 19th century. According to Jonathan Bader and other scholars, the monastic tradition gives "fear of Muslim atrocities" from Nawab of Arcot, Mysore's Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan as the reason, but the details remain unclear.
According to T. A. Gopinatha Rao, copperplate inscriptions show that the matha was located at Kanchipuram until 1686 CE, and relocated to Kumbakonam, Tanjore, in the 18th century. Sharma disputes Rao's interpretations of the copper plates, arguing that the dating is dubious, and that most plates do not refer to Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham at all. According to Rao, based on the oldest record found in the respective mathas (1291 and 1346 respectively), Kanchipuram matha may be older than Sringeri Pitham.
Disputed chronology
thumb|Kanakabhishekam (ceremonial shower of gold coins donated by devotees) of the 68th Jagadguru [[Chandrashekharendra Saraswati VIII, also known as Mahaperiyava being performed by his successor, the 69th Jagadguru Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal. At his feet is the 70th Jagadguru Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal. Together, all three were considered the trinity of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.]]
The foundation-story of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, and it's chronology of Shankaracharyas, is widely disputed. Sringeri matha rejects the claims of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, and does not count it among the mathas established by Shankara.
Modern scholarship places Shankara in the 8th century CE, and the story of the four cardinal mathas founded by Shankara dates from the 16th century, putting in question the founding stories of all those mathas, though Christopher Fuller and David Smith regard the Kanchi Shankaracharyas as his "spiritual descendants." According to Sunil, the history of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham has been rewritten in the 20th century, when Chandrashekharendra Saraswati was the Paramacharya.
Historical account
Historically, the Kanchi Math was established as the Kumbakonam Mutt in 1821 by the Maratha king of Tanjore, Serfoji II Bhonsle, Mohan Guruswamy recalls,