Kaladi

Kaladi is a village located at 10.02 East and 76.20 East on the right of Periyar (Poorna) river, in Ernakulam District, Kerala State. This is an important pilgrimage center since it was the birth place of Sri Adi Sankaracharya, one of India's foremost philosophersaints who preached the monistic or 'advaita' philosophy.

Sri Sankaracharya who born here as the only son of Sivaguru and Aryamba, a Kerala Brahmin couple .His early life was marked by several miraculous exploits that singled him out for a divine role. It was he who played a major role in saving the Hindu religion from the ritualistic and superstitious state to which it had degenerated. At his birth astrologers had predicted among other things, that he would become a 'sarvajana' or an all-knowing sage. The extaordinarly inteligent boy mastered the Vedas and completed his studies when he was merely 16 years of age. He then started his quest for truth and spent many years of his life preaching the Vedic Dharma as well as its universality and superiority. He established four 'maths' in four sections of the country-Srinageri, Dwaraka, Joshimath and puri. His commentaries on the Upanishads, Brahmasustra and the Bhagavad Gita hold relevence even today. At the age of 32, Adi Sankara attained 'mahasamadhi'.

Adi Sankara's shrine at Kalady run by the Sringeri Math is a large, party open structure situated right on the bank of the river. Of the two major shrines within,one is dedicated to Sri Sankaracharya and the other to Goddess Saradamba, guardian deity of Sringeri. The samadhi of Shri Sankara' mother Aryamba is also located here. A small shrine to Vinayaka, or Ganapati, is the scene of evening prayers, chanted to the rhythmic ringing of cymbals.

The Ramakrishna Advaita Ashram adjoinig the Sri Krishna temple, has a spacious prayer hall and a beautiful shrine modelled on the Sri Ramakrishna temple at Nelur Math. The white marble statue of Sri Ramakrsihna seems to be the very epitome of tranquility. The Ashram also runs a school, charitable dispensary and library.

From the top of the tall 8-storey-high brilliantly painted pink memorial, the Sri Adi Sankara Keerthi Sthambam , one can have a splendid view of the surrounding palm-fringed green fields. The entrance to the memorial, guarded by two elephant statues, leads to the Paduka Mandapam which has two silver knobs representing the 'padukas' or wooden sandals of the Teacher. As one ascends the winding steps, framed relief paintings narrate the story of Adi Sankaracharya. Several large statues of Ganapati, Adi Sankara and others are also housed in this memorial. Adi Sankaras shrines in Kaladi are open to all pilgrims irrespective of religion or caste.

Festivals

Sankara Jayanti is celebrated for 5 days in April/May every year. The celebtation includes several religious rites. Navarathi is celebrated for 9 days during September/October) with music concerts, chariot festival, 'rathostavam' and other exciting festivities.

Around Kalady

Kerala Sanskrit University is located at Kaldy.

Manickamangalam temple, one km north of Kaladi, dedicated to Bhagavathi or Goddess Durga, Vellimanthulli temple, 2 km west of Kaladi, Malayattor church on a hillock 8 km away and Kallil Temple 22 km away are the other places of interest around Kalady. There is a College "Sree Sankara College" named after Sankarcharya at Kalady.

How to reach

Nedumbassery (Kochi International Airport) is the nearest airport just 10 km away from Kalady. Angamaly 10 km away, or Aluva 22 km away, are the nearest railway stations which are connected to major Indian cities. Buses and taxis are available from Angamaly to Kaladi. Kaladi is connected by public transport system with important towns in Kerala including Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Kozhikode.