Sringeri, 100kms from Udupi, is a well-known centre of pilgrimage situated on the banks of the river Tunga and at the foot of the Sahya Mountain - a part of the Western Ghats, in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. It is as sacred as Kashi, Rameshwaram, Puri, Dwaraka, Tirupathi, Srisailam, Srirangam, Pandharpur, Badrinath and Pashupathinath. This place is held in high esteem also because of the Maha samsthan of Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya.

It is here that Sri Adi Shankarachrya, the exponent of the Advaita system of philosophy, established the first southern centre ("Sringeri Math") for propagating the Sanatana Dharma. Sharada being the Goddess worshipped here, this holy place is known as Sharada Peeth as Goddess Sharada is being worshipped here. While moving all over India, Sri Shankara selected a few places for establishing his spiritual centres. Sringeri is prominent amongst such places, the others being Puri, Dwaraka, Badrinath, Kashi and Kedarnath. Sri Shankara spent a longer period