Shree Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani

The Shree Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani sits behind a heavy, unassuming gate in the Shivala neighborhood. It functions as a monastic establishment for the Naga sadhus, the ascetic warriors who renounce material possessions and smear their bodies with ash. This akhada traces its roots back to the eighth century and the teachings of Adi Shankara. Inside, members undergo rigorous physical training alongside their spiritual disciplines, maintaining a tradition of celibacy and austerity that has persisted in Varanasi for over a thousand years.