Swami Nithyananda Ashram - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Built by Swami (sage) Nithyananda, the monastery is located south of Kanhangad Town. This area was part of a forest and here, Swami Nithyananda constructed 44 caves in a mountain slope. These caves are an architectural wonder and thousands from all over the world visit here yearly to take a look at them.

A look around the monastery premises

There is a temple inside the ashram on top of the caves called Nithyananda Bala Mandir, built similar to the famous Lord Krishna Somanath Temple in Gujrat State.

The ashram also houses a full size statue of Swami Nithyannda in sitting posture. Just in front of the temple is the imprint in marble of the soles of Nithyananda’s feet. Usually it is the dorsum of the feet that are sculpted. But here, his soles are embossed on marble.

The 44 dark caves were once used by Swamis to spend long hours in meditation. The linen, crockery, vessels, and religious things used by the Swami is exhibited in a room adjacent to the caves.

 

The life of sage Nithyananda

Nithyananda was born at Quilandy in Kerala in 1897, he left home at the age of twelve, and performed meditation in the Himalayas for several years. He them traveled to Myanmar and Sri Lanka, and later to Calicut, Tellicherry, Kumbla, Mangalore, Udupi, places in Kerala State. He found numerous monasteries during his journeys. 

Nithyananda came to Kanhangad in the early 20th century. He first did his meditation five kilometers away from the main Ashram in a rocky hillock surrounded by 40 acres of forest. The place is called Guruvanam and it is believed that through meditation he created a stream of flowing water considered to be holy in which devotees could take a holy dip.?

The Nithyananda Ashram was founded in 1931. He lived in the ashram for many more years until migrating to Ganeshpuri in Bombay and building another monastery there. He died there in 1961.

Getting to Nithyananda Ashram

The monastery is located in Hosdurg Town of Kasaragod District of Kerala State in Southern India. Hosdurg is connected to the nearest large town Kanhangad by buses. Kanhangad hosts the nearest major railway station and is connected well to rest of the parts of the country.