Shankaracharya of Puri Peeth, Swami Sri Nischalananda Saraswati-ji Maharaj was born on 30th June 1943 in a village called Haripur Bakshi Tol in the Madhubani district of Bihar. His father was Pandit Sri Lalvamshi Jha and his mother was Smt Gita Devi. His father was a high-ranking scholar of Sanskrit in the Mithila tradition and was a court vidwan of the then king of Mithila (Darbhanga Kingdom). The Swami’s previous name was Nilambar, given by his elder brother Pandit Sridev Jha. In his childhood Nilambar was bestowed with amazing character and was very studious and intelligent as well. His early education took place in his village Kaluahi and Loha and in Delhi later. At age 17, he left his home and started in pursuit of his life journey.