Hariharapura Sharada Peetham
A Shankaracharya foundation on the Tunga that almost no visitor to Sringeri ever hears about.
Hariharapura is a village on the Tunga in Koppa taluk with a matha of Sharadamba and the Sri Adi Shankaracharya Sharada Lakshminarasimha Peetam — a dharmapeetham held to have been established directly by Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth century. It is the same tradition as Sringeri, twenty-odd kilometres downstream, and it receives a fraction of the visitors.
What to do here
- Visit the Sharadamba shrine and the matha
- Walk a kilometre upstream to the Hara temple and its Ramayana carvings
- Sit on the Tunga ghats in the evening
One of the district's two Shankaracharya foundations on the Tunga, and the quiet one. If Sringeri feels overwhelming, this is what it looks like without the crowd.
History
Local tradition attributes the peetham's founding to Adi Shankaracharya himself during his southern travels. The village has functioned as an agrahara — a settlement of scholar families — for most of its recorded existence.
Travel tips
About 80 km from Chikmagalur town via Koppa. Combine with the Hara temple and with Koppa town. Facilities are minimal — eat before you come or at Koppa.
Please note
Do: dress conservatively and remove footwear and leather. Do: ask before photographing. Don't: bathe with soap in the Tunga at the ghats. Don't: arrive during the mid-day closure.
Combine your trip
Places near Hariharapura Sharada Peetham
Kopada Veerabhadra Temple, Koppa
The temple the town is named for, in the middle of areca country.
TempleVidyashankara Temple, Sringeri
Fourteenth-century Vijayanagara stone, with twelve zodiac pillars that catch the sun month by month.
Rishyashringa Temple, Kigga
The rain-bringer's shrine, ten kilometres above Sringeri in the rainforest.
WaterfallSirimane Falls
A stepped, family-friendly fall near Kigga