In 1791, a Hindu Maratha army violently sacked the sacred Sringeri Mutt, stripping holy idols of their gold. To unpaid mercenaries, the ancient site was just an unguarded bank vault.
This apparent contradiction—Hindu forces attacking a revered Hindu institution, only to be financially rescued by the Muslim ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sultan—makes sense only when you strip away modern religious binaries and look at the brutal economics of 18th-century warfare.
During the Third Anglo-Mysore War, the Marathas were allied with the British and the Nizam of Hyderabad against Tipu Sultan. The Maratha army, commanded by Parshuram Bhau Patwardhan, was operating deep in Mysore territory. Like most armies of the era, the Marathas were accompanied by irregular camp followers and mercenaries known as Pindaris and Lamanis. These irregulars were not paid a regular salary; instead, they sustained themselves through state-sanctioned plunder.
Sringeri happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As an ancient and highly venerated Shankara mutt, the monastery had accumulated centuries worth of gold, jewels, silver chariots, and land grants. It was an irresistible, lightly defended target sitting squarely in enemy territory. Driven entirely by greed rather than religious animosity, the raiders ransacked the temple complex. They damaged the central Sharada idol, looted the treasury, and killed or wounded dozens of priests who tried to stop them. The reigning pontiff, Swami Sachidananda Bharati III, was forced to flee to Karkala.
The raid was not a state-ordered strike by the Peshwa in Pune. When news of the sack reached the Maratha leadership, they were horrified by the political and religious fallout. The Peshwa’s administration recognized the disaster of desecrating a holy Shankara institution, expressing deep regret and making attempts to track down the stolen property and compensate the mutt.
Meanwhile, the exiled Swami appealed to Tipu Sultan for help. Tipu swiftly condemned the attackers, writing that "people who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds." He provided the monastery with funds, grain, and gifts to rebuild the temple and reconsecrate the goddess. While Tipu’s intervention served the genuine religious function of restoring a sacred site, it was also a calculated political move to secure the loyalty of a powerful institution within his own borders.