Nishchalananda Saraswati

Shri Nishchalananda Saraswati
Shri Nishchalananda Saraswati
Title	145th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Govardhan Math
Personal life
Born	Nilambar Jha, later ordinated as Dhruvachaitanya; 30 June 1943 (age 81); Haripur Bakshi Tol, Madhubani, Bihar, India
Nationality	Indian
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Order	Mathematicians Vedanta, Smārta
Philosophy	Advaita Vedanta, Nondualism
Religious career
Guru	Swami Karpatri
Govardhan Math
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1992-present
Preceded by	Niranjanadeva Tirtha
Website	https://govardhanpeeth.org

Nishchalananda Saraswati is an Indian spiritual leader and scholar in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. He is the 145th Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Rigvediya Purvamnaya Sri Govardhana Peetha of Puri, Odisha, India.^[1]^[2]^[3] He has played a pivotal role in promoting and preserving India's spiritual and cultural heritage. As a revered figure in Hinduism, he engages in spiritual discourse, addressing contemporary issues, while upholding ancient traditions.

Early life

Sri Nishchalananda Saraswati was born Neelambar Jha in a Maithil Brahmin family in Madhubani in 1943. He was a son of the Raja-Pandita (Royal Priest) of the Maharaja of Darabhanga to Pandit Lalvamshi Jha and Smt. Gita Devi. His father was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and court vidwan of the Darbhanga Kingdom. ^[4]

He studied at Tibbia College, Delhi, before taking initiation as a Brahmachari. He was given the name Dhruvachaitanya by Swami Sri Naradanand Saraswati of Naimisharanya. He studied Shastras in Kashi, Vrindavan, Haridwar, Prayagraj, Naimisharanya, Puri and Sringeri.

Career

He participated in cow protection movements and was imprisoned for 52 days in 1966 for his advocacy in Dharma Samrat Karpatriji Maharaj’s protests against cow slaughtering. On 11 April 1974 in Haridwar, he was ordained into Sannyasa by Swami Karapatri, who bestowed upon him the monastic name Nishchalananda Saraswati.

His was appointed 145th Shankaracharya of the Govardhan Math in Puri by Swami Niranjanadev Tirtha ji Maharaj on 9 February 1992 (Vikram Samvat 2048).

On 11 February 2018, the silver jubilee (25th anniversary) of the pattabhisheka of Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati was celebrated in Puri, attended by the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, former King of Nepal, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, and Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deba of Puri.