Know the Truth Through Meditation 

Adivarapupeta: The First Ashram

Adivarapupeta is where Shivabalayogi was born, where he attained enlightenment and sat in tapas for twelve years, the site of his first ashram, and where he consecrated a Shiva linga and an image of the Divine Mother Parvati. After he attained mahasamadhi in 1994, his physical body was interred in the samadhi at his ashram in Adivarapupeta. Those who seek the blessings of being in the master’s physical presence can have that darshan at the samadhi.

Adivarapupeta is a small village nestled in the lush, rice paddy country of the Godavari River delta. It consists of the houses of mostly weavers who weave cotton sarees and men’s dhoties on handlooms. The village has no shops and no businesses other than weaving. It is a peaceful and beautiful place by nature.

The land for Shri Swamiji’s adiashram (first ashram) was donated by Vattikuti Pattabhiramanna, the zamindar (landlord) of Vella village. It was to this landowner’s fields that Swamiji moved his tapas in November of 1949. He sat in a small, crude hut with gunny sack curtains until October of 1950 when a one room, twelve foot square dhyana mandir (meditation temple) was completed for his protection. There he sat for over ten years, meditating in samadhi.

After he completed tapas, Shivabalayogi consecrated a Shiva linga and a statue of Parvati Devi in the dhyana mandir. Another, small ashram building was constructed for Shri Swamiji’s living quarters, a place where he would give public darshan, and some other rooms for the ashram use. That darshan room is now the samadhi, and to this day, his living quarters are kept set aside for his exclusive use and food is offered to him there daily.

On March 19th, 1994, about two weeks before his mahasamadhi, Shivabalayogi consecrated the foundation for a new temple to replace the dhyana mandir. It measures 86 feet long and 46 feet wide with a 45 foot high dome. The ashram trust also constructed a large, three story, modern building with eighteen guest rooms each with its own bathroom plus a dining hall, offices, living quarters for caretakers, and store rooms. All this was made possible and accomplished through the continuous guidance and specific directions of Shivabalayogi since the mahasamadhi, including the design and engineering details for construction.

The main celebration in Adivarapupeta, when devotees from around India and the world gather and thousands are fed blessed food, is Mahashivaratri, the annual great night of Shiva that occurs in February or March depending upon the lunar calendar. Shivabalayogi returned to his native place every year to attend this celebration in honor of his divine guru.

The Adivarapupeta ashram is a spiritually important site which belongs not only to the devotees of Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, but to all those who seek God and spiritual development. Shri Swamiji assures us that it is from his sacred samadhi in Adivarapupeta that he is radiating his blessings throughout the world to all who would take them.

VISITING ADIVARAPUPETA.  Visitors and devotees are welcome to visit the Adivarapupeta ashram, located about one kilometer from Draksharam. Most visitors take a train to either Rajamundry or Kakinada and either arrange for a car or take one of many busses that run to Draksharam. There is a local bus every hour that connects Adivarapupeta to Draksharam and nearby Ramachandrapuram. Visitors traveling from abroad may find the most convenient route from the coastal city of Vishakapatnam which has a domestic airport and a good choice of accommodations. Hotel staff can assist with the hiring of a car and driver for the three-hour drive to the ashram. For general information, contact info@shiva.org. To make arrangements to stay at the ashram (there are no other accommodations in Adivarapupeta and nothing suitable for Westerners in nearby Draksharam), please contact the ashram at telephone (+91-80-8857-252412) 412, or the trustee Mr. K. Gopanna in Kakinada at (91-884-2378303.)

The Adivarapupeta ashram. In the middle is the temple, on the left the guest building, and the original ashram building, which now contains the Samadhi, can be partially seen on the right.

 

A small shrine by the side of the irrigation canal marks where Shivabalayogi’s divine guru appeared to make him sit in tapas. Adivarapupeta village is behind the trees in the left background.

Below is a map of the Adivarapupeta area on the East Coast of India,
roughly between Calcutta and Chennai (Madras).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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