Dwarka: Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati (born 2 September 1924), Shankaracharya of Dwarka Sharada Peetham passed away today due to a heart attack. A 99-year-old seer became Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya in Dwarka, Gujarat in 1982. He passed away in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur after prolonged illness. He had marked his 99th birthday recently.

Swaroopanand Saraswati was born Pothiram Upadhyay in 1924 at Dighori village of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh. A direct disciple of Shankaracharya Brahmananda Saraswati of Jyotir Math (1941–1953) and of Shankaracharya (disputed) Krishnabodha Ashrama of Jyotir Math (1953–1973), in 1950 his Guru Brahmananda made him a Dandi Sannyasi. Swami Swaroopanand became president of the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad, established by Swami Karpatri. On Swami Krishnabodha Ashrama’s demise in 1973 the title of Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math, Badrinath passed to Swami Swaroopanand. In 1982 he also became the Shankaracharya of Dwarka peeth. At 19 years old he became a freedom fighter in the Quit India movement in 1942. He was jailed for this for 9 months and another 6 months. DeshGujarat