On Akshaya Tritiya this year, a historic moment unfolded at the sacred precincts of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in Kancheepuram. A 25-year-old Rig Vedic scholar from Andhra Pradesh, Ganesha Sharma Dravid—now initiated as Sri Satya Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi Shankaracharya—was anointed as the 71st pontiff of the Peetam. While the rituals were majestic and the occasion momentous, what transpired was far more than ceremonial—it was the spiritual death of an individual and the silent, dignified sacrifice of a family.
What Is Sanyasa?
Sanyasa is the ultimate renunciation in the Hindu tradition. It is not merely about giving up material possessions—it is about relinquishing identity, lineage, personal will, and all worldly ties. The one who enters Sanyasa no longer lives for oneself. He or she becomes a vessel of Dharma, an instrument of the Divine.
This transformation is not metaphorical. It is enacted through elaborate rites that include the symbolic performance of one’s own funeral (antyeshti). The renunciate shaves their head, gives up the yajnopavitam (sacred thread), performs their own shraddha (ancestral rites), and offers food to themselves as if dead. Through this, the renunciate signals that the person born to a certain family, of a certain caste and name, has ceased to exist. What remains is a spiritual being, no longer a son, brother, or friend—only a child of the cosmos.
From Ganesha Sharma Dravid To Sri Satya Chandrashekarendra Saraswathi
Sri Duttu Satya Venkata Surya Subramania Ganesha Sharma was born in 2001 in Dhuni, Andhra Pradesh, to Sri Srinivasa Surya Subramania Dhanvanthri, a Vratha Purohit at the Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Temple in Annavaram, and Smt. Alivelu Mangadevi. Encouraged by the blessings of the Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya, he began his Vedic education under Rig Vedic scholar Sri Ratnakara Bhat Sharma and trained rigorously for 12 years in the Rig Veda Samhita, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, and recitation methods like Pada and Krama.
He also studied texts like Pratishakhya and Shiksha under other esteemed scholars, while completing his formal education up to Class 10 in Annavaram. Ganesha Sharma served as a Rig Vedic Parayana scholar at temples such as Basara Saraswathi Temple and participated in key religious events like Mahamaham, Athivaradar Darshanam, and Chaturmasya camps. He also began mentoring young students in Rig Veda recitation.
In April 2024, the Shankaracharya personally charted his next phase of learning. With the Peetham’s blessings, he continued to advance studies in Yajur and Sama Veda, Vedanta, and Shastric disciplines, emerging as a promising scholar in the Vedic tradition.
The Ceremony: A Death And A Birth
The rituals began at approximately 5:00 AM. His Holiness, accompanied by Vedic hymns, traditional music, and a group of devotees, proceeded from Shrimatam to the Kamakshi temple, arriving by 5:30 AM. A warm welcome with Poornakumbham greeted him at the temple entrance, while the skies of Kanchipuram lit up with vibrant fireworks and echoed with celebratory sounds.
The ceremony took place at the Mangala Vinayaka Sannidhi, located by the Pancha-Ganga teertham. Sri Ganesha Sharma Dravid performed a ritual bath in the sacred pond and, amidst chants of mantras symbolizing renunciation, received the saffron robes, staff (Danda), water vessel (Kamandala), and seat (Asana). His Holiness imparted the Mahavakya teachings and performed an abhishekam by placing a Sudarsana Salagrama on the initiate’s head, using a conch for the ritual. In a multilingual address, His Holiness delivered an inspiring message to the global audience and formally conferred the deeksha name upon the new Acharya.
At the heart of the Sanyasa ritual is the Viraja Homa, a sacred fire ceremony in which the initiate symbolically offers up every aspect of their physical and subtle existence: bones, skin, breath, even thoughts and identities. As the mantras rise, so does the renunciate’s inner flame of detachment. “Jyotiraham viraja vipapma bhuyasam,” the initiate declares—“May I become a being of light, free from all stain.”
Then comes the declaration:
“Om bhuh sanyastam maya — I have renounced the earthly realm.
Om bhuvah sanyastam maya — I have renounced the intermediate realm.
Om svah sanyastam maya — I have renounced the celestial realm.”
And finally, the vow, “Abhayam sarvabhuteshu mattah — May all beings be free from fear of me.”
In these solemn words, the renunciate offers reassurance to the entire universe: “I am no longer a danger to any living being. I am a monk. I will wage no external war. My only battle is within.”
A Family’s Silent Heroism
In our celebration of the spiritual elevation of a renunciate, we often overlook the quiet courage of those left behind. The parents who once raised this child, the sister who shared childhood stories and meals, must now let go—not with sorrow, but with sacred pride.
They do not just say goodbye to a family member. They relinquish all claims to him. The new Acharya will no longer perform ancestral rites for his family. He will not light the pyres of his parents. He will not carry forward the family lineage. In offering him to the world, they sever ties that, for most people, define life itself.
When people say the family has “given up their own,” it is not just poetry—it is a profound existential truth. This is not a metaphorical separation. The thread of lineage is cut. The karmic chain, at least for this soul, ends here. And yet, this sacrifice is borne without grief or complaint. It is held as a badge of honor, as a family’s own offering to Dharma.
A Line Of Living Light
The new junior pontiff at Kanchi now joins an unbroken spiritual lineage that stretches back to Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have founded the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in 482 BCE. His predecessor, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, was himself initiated into Sanyasa at the age of 15. And before him, the great Jayendra Saraswathi was chosen by none other than the legendary Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, the Maha Periyava.
In this living chain of renunciation, every Acharya becomes not just a scholar or leader—but a burning flame of detachment and guidance.
To take Sanyasa is to walk into one’s own funeral and emerge as a living embodiment of the Infinite. It is to renounce not only wealth, power, and ego—but even memory, belonging, and selfhood. And for the family that gives such a soul to the world, it is a sacrifice no less sacred.
In an age that celebrates ownership, Sanyasa is the ultimate act of liberation. And in an era that measures worth by ties and achievements, the renunciate’s worth lies in having none.
The entire Hindu community is indebted to Sri Srinivasa Surya Subramania Dhanvanthri and Smt. Alivelu Mangadevi who gave up their own for the welfare of the world and to uphold the eternal dharma.
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