The Shankar ling Math near Sankeshwar is an important religious center associated with the Sringeri Peetha. In around 1553 CE, the sixteenth pontiff of Sringeri, Shri Vidyashankar Bharati (also known as Devgosavi), undertook a great pilgrimage with a few chosen disciples. From Sringeri, they travelled to Kashi and then proceeded to the Himalayas. In the Himalayas, they visited the cave of Govind Bhagavat Pujyapadacharya. Before entering the cave, Shri Vidyashankar instructed his disciples: “If I do not return within a certain number of days, accept one among you as the guru and return to Sringeri to continue the responsibilities of the Math.” When the stipulated days passed and Devgosavi did not emerge, the disciples, following his command, accepted one among them as their new guru and returned to Sringeri. ... A few days later, Devgosavi came out of the cave, but finding his disciples absent, he immediately set off toward Sringeri. At the confluence of the Tungabhadra River at Kudalagi, he met his disciples. There he received a written message from the Sringeri Swami stating that he was no longer allowed to return to the Math. This incident became a turning point in his life. He chose to settle in Kudalagi, establishing a new Math there and continuing his spiritual and religious work. While at Kudalagi, Krishnaraya, a Somvanshi king of Kolhapur, invited him to Karvir (modern Kolhapur). On his way to Karvir, he stayed at Vallabhagad (three miles northwest of Sankeshwar), residing in the cave of a siddha (ascetic). It was there that he had a divine vision of Goddess Parvati, who instructed him to reside and perform his worship near the Hiranyakeshi River at the holy site of Sankeshwar. Obeying this divine command, he made Vallabhagad his permanent abode. It was at this place that the Shankar ling Math was eventually established, which a significant spiritual and historical center remains to this day.
© Suresh Nimbalkar