Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi, who passed away at Kanchipuram, had a special association with Vijayawada. His first visit to the city was in the early 60s. Since then he had visited Andhra Pradesh, more particularly the city, several times.
The pontiff was in the city to observe ‘Chaturmasya’ and also took part in the Krishna Pushkaram in 2016. In the early 60s, he observed Chaturmasya along with Kanchi paramacharya Chandrashekarendra Saraswati in the city, according to Maganti Subrahmanyam, a close associate of the seer and managing director of Mithra Agencies. The seer accompanied Mahaswami during his padayatra in 1962 and covered all the districts of undivided Andhra Pradesh. The seer reintroduced several traditional art forms such as ‘tolubommalata’ and burrakatha during the Chaturmasya. He fell ill during his stay in the city in 2016 and was treated at Andhra Hospitals.
Promoting spirituality
Jayendra Saraswathi’s primary motto was to promote spirituality among people and also spread the bhakti cult. He renovated or participated in ‘kumbhabhishekam’ of more than 100 temples in the State. The seer took part in the ‘kumbhabhishekam’ at the Kanaka Durga temple atop Indrkeeladri in the 90s.
He also installed Krishna’s idol at the Labbipet Venkateswara Swamy temple a couple of years ago.
The Kanchi Kamakoti Charitable Trust in Tenali is among the several institutions set up by him.
He also conducted ‘Viswaroopa Yatra’ and ‘Sandarsanam’ at the Poranki Veda Pathasala. He played an important role in the establishment of the eye hospital – Sankara Nethrayala – between Vijayawada and Guntur in 2004.
