Bharati Matha

Ramakanta Samantaray and Sailen Routray

Bharati Matha (From 'Hindu Monastic Life')

Amongst the mathas of Bhubaneswar, Bharati Matha is the oldest. It is also known as 'Sadavrata Matha'. It is also considered one of the major monasteries of the city belonging to the 'Bharati' sampradAya of the dasanAmi monastical sect instituted by Shankaracharya. 

This matha is surrounded by a stone wall that stands 10 feet high and 240 feet long. These walls enclose a space that is around 57, 600 square feet. One fourth of this area is occupied by a double-storied rectangular building constructed with stones, that measures 80 feet by 110 feet. 

Its inner courtyard houses a Kamakhya temple. The rest of the compound of the matha has quarters for servitors of the monastery, a cowshed and a burial place for the ascetics who have headed the institution.

Bharati Math is at least as old as the Lingaraj Temple. Some sources date it to the seventh century AD. On Yama Dwitiya, during the Dola festival in spring, deities from Lingaraj Temple visit the Bharati monastery. 

These deities also visit the matha during the Seetala Sashthi festival (the marriage of Shiva and Parvati held in summer) and the fourth day after this marriage. This matha was once an important place on the itinerary of Naga sadhus during the Rath Yatra festival. 

Reference

Miller, D.M. and Wertz, D.C., 1976. Hindu monastic life: The monks and monasteries of Bhubaneswar. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.