Sreemath, Hariharapura,
Koppa Taluk, Chickmagalur Dist., Karnataka, India.
Hariharapura, the holy
land, located on the banks of River Tunga is where the Lord Daksha Prajapathi
performed his great Yajna (Sacrifice), according to Skanda Purana (Sahyadri
Kaanda). Lord Parama Shiva appeared from the ‘Yajna Kunda’ as Dakshahara Someshwara
and blessed all. There is a ‘Swayambhoo Someshwara Temple’ here and hence it is
considered as Yaga Bhoomi and sacred, auspicious and effective for performing
homa, havana and yajnas.
This “Yaga Bhoomi’ became a ‘Tapo Bhoomi’ later, when Sage Agasthya stayed here and did penance (Tapas). The Lakshminarasimha Saligrama, worshipped by Sage Agasthya is in the main shrine at Hariharapura even today.
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Later, this holy land of sacrifice and tapas turned into a land of wisdom/knowledge (Jnana Bhoomi) when Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya installed Sri Chakra Yantra and consecrated the idol of Sharada Paramesheari, the Goddess of knowledge and gave ‘mantra diksha’ to Sri Sri Swayamprakasha Krishna Yogendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji, the first Guru of this Peetam.
This yaga, Tapo and Jnana bhoomi having closeness to Lord Shiva was earlier known as ‘Kapaalam’. About 600 years ago, the Emperor of Vijayanagar Empire, Harihara Raya constructed an Agrahara here and gifted several villages to the Peetadhipathi Sri Sri Ramachandra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji. Hence this place came to be known as Hariharapura. So far 25 Gurus have adorned this Peetam and have been upholding, protecting and propagating (Dharma Samrakshana, Paripaalana and Prachara) the ancient ‘Sanathana Hindu Dharma’ in spite of many adverse situations, ups and downs in the country, socially, politically and spiritually with the strength of ‘tapas’ of the successive Gurus.