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Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati is once again in the headlines. This time the reason was the Magh Mela of Prayagraj, where he had a clash with the administration regarding taking Sangam bath on the day of Mauni Amavasya. While moving towards Sangam in a chariot and palanquin with about 200 disciples, the administration stopped them citing the crowd and directed them to take bath on foot. After this the situation became tense and Swami staged a protest refusing to take the Sangam bath.

Birth and early life

The real name of Swami Avimukteshwaranand is Umashankar Upadhyay. He was born on 15 August 1969 in Brahmanpur village of Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. He belongs to a Brahmin family and was interested in religious and intellectual subjects since childhood.

Education and religious studies

For higher education, he studied in Gujarat, where he came in contact with Brahmachari Ram Chaitanya, a disciple of Swami Karpatri Ji. Under his guidance, Swami took the direction of Sanskrit and classical studies. After this he reached Varanasi and obtained the degrees of Shastri and Acharya from Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. During this period, he was also active in student politics and showed his leadership skills by winning the student union elections in 1994.

Journey to Sannyasa and becoming Shankaracharya

In the 1990s, he took retirement and engaged in the service of Swami Karpatri. After this he came in contact with Peetadhishwar Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of Jyotirmath. On 15 April 2003, he was given initiation into Danda Sannyasa and then he got the new name Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati.

Social and religious activities

Swami is not only a religious leader but has also been a vocal voice on social issues. In 2008, he fasted to demand declaration of Ganga as the national river. He also expressed frank opinions on issues like cow slaughter, self-reliance of temples and government interference in religion. Being conscious of the environment, he filed a PIL in the Supreme Court on land subsidence in Joshimath and expressed concern over climate change.

Shankaracharya post and Magh Mela controversy

After the demise of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati in September 2022, Swami Avimukteshwaranand was appointed the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath. However, disputes and legal complications regarding the validity of this post continued. In the Magh Mela, the administration raised questions on the validity of the post, while Swami says that the decision of Shankaracharya is decided by the pulpit and tradition, not by the court or politics.

In this way, the issue of Sangam Snan on Mauni Amavasya took the form of a confrontation between Swami Avimukteshwaranand and the administration and gave rise to political-cultural debate in the religious city of Prayagraj.