Why devotees come here
Govardhana Matha is one of the four cardinal pithams that tradition links with Adi Shankaracharya. It stands in Puri, Odisha, and is associated with the Jagannath Temple.
Govardhana Matha is one of the four cardinal pithams, seats that tradition says Adi Shankaracharya set up. The matha's own site says he established it at Jagannath Puri. Its presiding deity is Jagannath, a form of Vishnu. The other deity named is Devi Vimala, also called Bhairavi. The matha is associated with the Jagannath Temple. Legend says Adi Shankara installed Shri Vigrahas of Govardhananatha Krishna and Ardhanareshvara Shiva there.
Padmapadacharya became the first leader of the matha. Bharati Krishna Tirtha took over its leadership in 1925. In 1992 Niranjana Deva Tirtha stepped down and named Nishchalananda Saraswati as his successor. Bharati Krishna Tirthaji is recorded as the 143rd Shankaracharya of the matha.
Each year on Paush Purnima, the Shankaracharya comes out to offer prayers to the sea. The headquarters is on Shankaracharya Marg in Puri, and the matha's contact page gives that address. Puri lies 60 km from Bhubaneswar, the city with the nearest airport. At the heart of the town stands the Jagannath Temple, a timeless axis of devotion. The matha lists Mahodadhi Arati among its activities.
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