of the Vedas. Five years later, at the age of fourteen, in a village in Uttar Kashi, Rajaram found his chosen master and became a disciple of Svāmī Krsnānanda Sarasvatī. At that time, Rajaram was given the name of Brahma Chaitanya Brahmacari. He then became the favorite disciple in his master's ashram and, according his master's instructions, he retired to a nearby cave and visited his master only once per week. The story of Rajaram's youthful renunciation is said to echo the life of Shankara, who reportedly began his renunciate life at the age of eight. Adult life At the age of twenty five, (the later) Svāmī Brahmānanda Sarasvatī emerged from his cave and permanently rejoined his Master at his ashram. At the age of 34, he was initiated into the order of "Sannyas" by his master at the Indian celebration called Kumbh Mela. At that time, he was ordained into the ascetic order and given the formal name Svāmī Brahmānanda Sarasvatī, that is, Svāmī Brahmānanda of the Sarasvatī branch of the medieval Dashanami Sampradaya monastic order. The greater portion of his life had been lived in total seclusion; he is reported to have created a cave in central India where he lived for forty years. In 1941, at the age of 70, after repeated requests over a period of twenty years, Brahmānanda accepted the position of Jagadguru Shankaracharya (spiritual leader) of Jyotir Math, a position that had been vacant for more than 150 years. His disciple, Swami Karpatri, is reported to have been the person who brought the request for Brahmānanda to take the post after a search for a proper candidate was initiated by Dharma Maha Mandal. Brahmānanda is reported to have responded to the request by saying: "You want to put a lion to chains who moves about in the jungle freely. But if you so like, I honour your words and am ready to shoulder the responsibilities of the pitha (monastery) management. By shouldering this responsibility, I would be serving the cause for which Adi Śankarācārya stood. I fully dedicate myself for the mission." The appointment of Swami Brahmānanda on 1 April 1941 was made by a group of monks and pandits based in the city of Varanasi, with the endorsement of Svāmī Bhāratī Kṛṣṇa Tīrtha, the Śaṅkarācārya of Purī and Svāmī Candraśekhara Bhāratī the Śaṅkarācārya of Śṛṅgeri. As respected supporters of religious institutions, the rulers