Govardhan Math
 Govardhan Math logo | |
 Govardhan Math Entrance Gate | |
| Founder | Adi Shankara |
|---|---|
| Type | Religious |
| Location |
|
First Shankaracharya | Padmapadacharya |
Present Shankaracharya | Nishchalananda Saraswati |
| Website | govardhanpeeth.org |
Purvamnaya Sri Govardhana Pitham or Govardhan Math (ଗୋବର୍ଦ୍ଧନ ମଠ) is one amongst the four cardinal pithams established by the philosopher-saint Adi Shankara to preserve and propagate Hinduism and Advaita Vedanta, the doctrine of non-dualism. It is located in Puri in Odisha, India. According to Advaita tradition, it is the Eastern Āmnāya Pītham amongst the four pithams.
The matha is associated with the Jagannath temple. Its vedantic mantra, or Mahavakya, is Prajñānam brahma (Consciousness is supreme being), and as per the tradition initiated by Adi Shankara, it holds authority over the Rigveda. The head of the matha is called Shankaracharya; the title derives from Adi Shankara.
The deity here is Jagannath (Vishnu), and the goddess is Vimala (Bhairavi).
The whole of the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent is considered the territory of Sri Govardhan Peeth. This includes the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh till Rajamundry, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Telangana, Tripura, Mizoram, and Uttar Pradesh till Prayag. The countries Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, as well as the Southeast Asian and Tibetan regions, are also considered spiritual territory of the math. Puri, Prayagraj, Gaya, and Varanasi are some of the holy places under this Math.
