Sringeri

Sringeri lies on the Tunga River in the wooded Western Ghats of Karnataka. Its Sharada monastery became an important centre of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Although its precise origins are debated, inscriptions establish its presence in the fourteenth century, when its influence grew under Vijayanagara patronage.

In 1346 Vijayanagara rulers Harihara and Bukka granted tax-exempt land around Sringeri to the monastery. Later the Keladi Nayakas also made gifts and protected its revenues. In 1791 irregular troops associated with Maratha forces looted the monastery and damaged its images; Tipu Sultan subsequently sent funds for restoration. Letters and endowments thus record relationships with several competing regional powers as well as the vulnerability of the institution during war.