Edneer Mutt: The story of how a legal battle made history

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Built along the Madhuvahini river, this sacred ashram or mutt has been present here from centuries. The mutt belongs to the line of Totakacharyas who were the main disciples of the revered Hindu Sage Shankaracharya. They follow the Bhagavatha Tradition & Advaita Vedanta in Hindu Philosophy. Inside the mutt one can find two temples, one is the beautiful temple dedicated to Dakshinamurthi & the other is for Gopalakrishna. The mutt is looked after today by the Sivalli Brahmin sect as it is believed that centuries ago Totakacharya entrusted the work to them for their tradition of Sanyasa. 


The head of the Mutt is called Edneer Swamiji. There have been many eminent Edneers at the mutt over a period of time. It was during the time of Satchidananda Bharti that the mutt attained its current glory, the work of overall development of the mutt was taken up by Balakrishna Bharti later. The elementary school that is seen in the premises was founded by Srimadiswaranda & is today a government upper primary school. The mutt apart from spiritual awakening was also important in creating a social awakening among believers in India.


One such Edneer at the mutt was the most celebrated Kesavananda Bharti who was the head of the mutt for around 60yrs. His clear thoughts & positive attitude changed the way the mutt functions today. Though he was met with many criticisms he believed in what was right & followed his conscience. One such action is historic in the Indian Judiciary by the case of Kesavananda Bharati v/s State of Kerala 1973 which till date is considered to be the longest hearing with 13 judges sitting on its hearing for 69 days. The judgement changed the way religious institutions work today for good or bad. The Kerala Government in 1969 amended the land reforms & by this act they could take over the Mutt’s property which was a surprise to Kesavananda Bharati as no deliberation or discussion over this was conducted by any party. The government did not relent to take back their decision & the Edneer had to take a judicial course. The case for Kesavananda Bharati was argued by Nani Palkhiwala who was a celebrated attorney. He argued the case stating violation of 3 fundamental rights given to each citizen by the constitution of India - right to religion, right or religious practice & right to property. As the case questioned fundamental rights a constitutional bench of 13  jurists was appointed to deliberate on the case. In 1973 after 69 long days of arguments & counter arguments the bench gave its historic judgement in favor of the petitioner stating that the “basic structure” of the constitution cannot be altered. This judgement changed the way for all religions to operate with free will & without any coercion from any government. The judgement was found to uphold the ethos of democracy. Kesavananda Bharati was the force behind this historic judgement as he believed in the freedom to practice religion. This case & its judgement was again brought up by Kesavananda Bharati when the Kerala government decided to open the vaults of Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum. He believed that it was unethical & against the wills of the religion to take the valuables of the temple & should be given to the temple trust for usage of wellbeing of the devotees & temple. 


The mutt today stands as a witness to all the teachings of the revered Adi Sankaracharya & a visit to the place helps all to understand what life is other than having material benefits. Come to the place & be part of the sessions here with the Edneers.


Location: Kasaragod, Kerala, India

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