Parijnanashram I
| Swami Parijnanashram I | |
|---|---|
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Shaivism, Dharma as path to Moksha |
| Personal | |
| Born | Unknown |
| Died | 1720 (Krishna Chaturdashi day of Chaitra Month) Gokarn |
| Guru | Lord Bhavanishankar |
| Honors | First Guru of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins Established Adi-matha at Gokarn |
Swami Parijnanashram I or Adi Parijnanashram(Devanāgarī: आिद पिर्ज्ञानाश्रम ्, Ādi Pari.jñān.āśram) was the first guru and Mathadhipati(Head of a community,that is, Head of a matha or community monastery) of the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Brahmins. He is supposed to have been ordained by Lord Bhavanishankara(Bha.vā.ni.śan.kar) to guide the Chitrāpur Sāraswat Community in 1708(See Ordination).
He was a Sanyasi who was a Kashmir Sāraswat Brahmin. He was asked by Lord Bhavanishankara in a dream to come down to the banks of Kotiteerth(a water tank) in Gokarn to lead the Chitrāpur Sāraswat community. The community had been faced with an official decree from the King of Nagar which stated that unless the saraswats had shown him their guru, the community would have to face heavy penalties.(See Royal Decree)
He was a man of great spiritual grace and was a scholar in the Sanskrit scriptures and the Vedanta. He established the first matha of the community at Gokarn. He was succeeded by his shishya(śi.śya) or disciple Shankarashram(Śankar.āśram).Swami Parijnanashram I died in 1720.(See Mahā-Samādhi) His samadhi(shrine) is located at Bhandikere in Gokarn, next to the Uma Maheshwar(U.mã Ma.he.śwar) temple. (Bhandikere means lane(keri) of carts(bhandi) )
After their migration from the north,the Saraswats had occupied highly prestigious posts in administration in the kingdom of Nagar(parts of present day Kanara). They were more intelligent and more efficient than the other people of the region. This caused jealousy amongst the other people and they went and complained to the king that they did not have a guru and hence no "spiritual existence of their own". So the King issued them a decree stating that unless the community showed them their guru, heavy penalties would be imposed on them. This included evicting them from their present administrative posts.
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