Kaladi

Kalady കാലടി
city
Adi Shankara with disciples, drawing by Raja Ravivarma,1904
Coordinates: 10°09′58″N 76°26′20″E / 10.1661°N 76.4389°E / 10.1661; 76.4389Coordinates: 10°09′58″N 76°26′20″E / 10.1661°N 76.4389°E / 10.1661; 76.4389
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Ernakulam
City UA	Kochi
Area
• Total	0.633 km2 (0.244 sq mi)
Population
• Total	20,407
• Density	32,000/km2 (83,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Kalady or Kaladi is a census town located east of the Periyar river, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India near to Cochin International Airport at a distance of 6 Km . Notably, it is the birthplace of Adi Shankara and a popular destination for pilgrims. Kalady started featuring in the spiritual map of India only after its rediscovery in the late 19th century by the then Shankaracharya of Sringeri and the subsequent consecration of a temple for Sri Adi Shankara in 1910. The Centenary of Kalady was celebrated in May 2010 and the story of Kalady and its re-discovery a hundred years ago has been documented in a film by the Sringeri Sharada Peetham.

In the local language, Malayalam, Kalady means "footprint." The village was previously called Sasalam.

Legend holds that one day, the widowed mother of Little Sankara, Aryamba, fainted after walking three kilometers for her daily bath in the Periyar then known as Purna river. Feeling helpless, Little Sankara prayed to Lord Krishna. The tears of the child moved Krishna, who blessed him thus: "the river will flow where your little feet marks (കാലടി വരയുന്നിട്ത്തു നദി ഗതി ആവും). The Purna river took its new course in the place marked by the little boy's feet. That place came to be called Kalady.

The Purna river began flowing through Little Sankara's home garden. Sankara then installed Lord Krishna into the present temple, and marked the occasion by reciting his famous Ätchutha Ashtakam.

Thus 'Kalady' signifies the love of an innocent child for his beloved mother and the blessings of Lord Krishna.

Adi Shankara was born in Brahmin family (refer Shankara vijaya) as the only son of Sivaguru and Aryamba. Shankara's shrine at Kalady, run by the Sringeri Mutt, is a large, partly open structure situated on the northern bank of the river Periyar, or Purna. There are two major shrines in the temple; one is dedicated to Sri Sankaracharya and the other to Goddess Saradamba, the main deity of Sringeri. The samadhi of Sri Sankara's mother, Aryamba, is also located here. A small shrine to Vinayaka, or Ganapati, is the scene of evening prayers, chanted to the rhythmic ringing of cymbals. The worship in these temples is done by Tamil or Kannada Smartha Brahmins, and not by Namboothiris.