Kanchi Acharya Jayendra Saraswathi is no more

The 69th head of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, passed away on Wednesday morning. He was 83. His end came in a hospital near the mutt in Kancheepuram where he was taken after suffering from breathlessness.

Born as Subramaniayam in Irulneeki, a small hamlet near Mannargudi, in Tamil Nadu, he was initiated into sanyasam by his predecessor at the mutt — the late Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi in 1954. Sri Jayendra Saraswathi was 19 years old then.

Unlike his predecessor, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi sought to reach out to various sections of society and in the process, is said to have departed from the well established traditions of the mutt. His tenure witnessed many tumultuous moments.