Golaki Matha is a Shaiva Matha at Tewar (the old Tripuri) in
Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Despite attempts to
identify the matha with the Yogini temple at Bhedaghat or in its proximity, or
with the remains of a huge circular structure unearthed at Karanbel near Tewar,
its location remains uncertain. The mutt was an important center of Shaivism for several centuries. The mutt and its teachers had great influence on the kings of Chedi, Kakatiya of Warangal and the kings of Malwa and Chola. With the decline of the power of the kings who supported the mutt, the followers of the mutt is believed to have migrated to South India.
History Of Golaki Matha
The Malkapuram (Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh) pillar inscription
(1261 AD) and some other inscriptions in Tamil Nadu inform us about the matha’s
head, Vishveshwara Shambhu. The Malkapuram inscription evidences the fact that it was founded by Sadbhav Shambhu, who received from the Kalachuri king,
Yuvaraja Deva, a gift of 300,000 villages and gave them away for running of the
Golaki Matha.
In his spiritual line, there were several great saints, some
of whom hailed from distant regions including Kerala and Gauda (Bengal).
The last Mahanta, Vishveshwara Shambhu, who hailed from Radha
in Gauda, migrated to Malkapuram, owing to the decline of Kalachuri power and
received liberal patronage from the Chola and Kakatiya rulers.
The Kakatiya ruler, Ganapati, and his daughter, Rudramadevi,
gave him two villages on the southern side of the Krishna River and turned them
into agrahara (tax free Brahmin settlement) called Vishvesvaragolaki. This establishment,
besides promoting sectarian activities, undertook works of public welfare like
running Vedic schools, hospitals, maternity homes and sattra (a free feeding
house) where food was made available to all visitors, irrespective of their
social standing.
Source -
Tripuri (1952) G Moreshwar Dikshit – Nagpur Government
Press.
Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume IV page 320 - IHRF