Siddhashrama (;

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

:सिद्धाश्रम), popularly called Gyangunj, is considered as a mystical hermitage, which according to a tradition, is located in a secret land deep in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, where great

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

sadhu ''Sadhu'' (, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female), also spelled ''saddhu'') is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternatively ...

s, and sages who are

siddha ''Siddha'' (Sanskrit: '; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of perfection of the intellect as we ...

s live. This place is also revered as the mystical land of

Shambhala Shambhala (, ),Śambhala m. (also written Sambhala): Name of a town (situated between the Rathaprā and Ganges, and identified by some with Sambhal in Moradabad; the town or district of Śambhala is fabled to be the place where Kalki, the last ...

by Tibetans. According to another tradition, the Siddhashrama is located in the Tibetan region, nearby Kailash parvat. Though any Sadhu, Sannyasi, Yeti, Monk and Yogi might have known 'Siddhashram' by any name or various cults might have used different worship or Sadhana methods according to their beliefs.The context of this supernatural land has been mentioned in many ancient scriptures along with four Vedas. The Siddhashram is described as a divine place in spiritual journey. Thus it is also believed that while discharging their divine works in this universe the spiritually empowered Yogis remain in constant touch with Siddhashram and they visit it regularly. Siddhashram is considered as the base of spiritual consciousness, heart of divinity and the mortification land of great

Rishi In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...

s. Thus, the Siddhashram is assumed as a very scarce divine place. It's believed by Hindus, Buddhists that it is possible to get the divine power to enter this scarce

place Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Of ...

by doing hard works through Sadhana procedure and following Sadhana path. Siddhashram is considered to be a secret and mystical land deep in the Himalayas, where it is said and is believed by

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

that great siddha yogis, sadhus, and sages live. Siddhashram is believed to be the ashram of Ancient saints, sages & Yogis of high order. It is referred to in many Indian epics, the

Veda FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

and

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

including the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

, one of the oldest scripture of human civilization. Siddhashram is considered to be the society for the enlightened people or

s. The person, who reaches high level in sadhana can reach the

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...

siddhashram with the blessings of the

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

, who is the regular of this place, as considered by believers. They are able to see it with their third eye. Its believed that this

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Mansarovar lake and the

Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of ...

. Siddha

s and sanyasis are

meditating Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

in this place for thousands of years and it is believed that this place can't be seen with naked eye and can only be seen after meditation and other spiritual practices, as believed by many. Swami Vishuddhananda Paramahansa first talked of this place in public. He was taken there in His childhood by some adept and He did his sadhana in Gyanganj Ashram for long long years. Many in Hinduism believe that Maharishi Vashishtha,

Vishwamitra Vishvamitra (, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. Vishvamitra is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Ga ...

, Kanada,

Pulastya Pulastya (Sanskrit: पुलस्त्य) is one of the ten Prajapati, and one of the mind-born sons of Brahma in Hinduism. He is also one of the Saptarishi (Seven great sages) in the first age of Manu, the Manvantara.< ...

Atri Atri or Attri is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing numerous shlokas to Agni, Indra, and other Vedic deities of Hinduism. Atri is one of the Saptarishi (seven great Vedic sages) in the Hindu tradition, and the one most mentioned in ...

, Mahayogi Gorakhnath, Srimad Shankaracharya, Bheesma, Kripacharya can be seen wandering there in physical form and also one can have the privilege of listening to their sermons. Many Siddha yogi, yoginis, Apsara (Angel), saints are believed to be found meditating in this place. Those who allegedly went there say that the beautiful flowers in the garden, trees, birds, siddha-yoga lake, meditating saints and many other things of the place cannot be described in words. The exact location of this legendary kingdom is unknown as it is believed that Gyanganj artfully camouflages (willingly hides itself) itself from humans, as well as mapping technologies. Some also believe that Gyanganj exists in a different plane of reality and thus cannot be detected by satellites.

In ancient Indian literature

Siddhashrama (literally, the hermitage of the siddhas) is referred to in the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

and the

Purana Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

s. In

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

's Ramayana it is said that Viswamitra has his hermitage in Siddhashrama and it was the erstwhile hermitage of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, when he appeared as the

Vamana Vamana (, ) also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (, ), and Balibandhana (), is an Dashavatara, avatar of the Hinduism, Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu and the first Dashavatara in the Treta ...

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

. He takes

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and

Lakshmana Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and i ...

to Siddhashrama to exterminate the demons who are disturbing his religious sacrifices. In the

Narada Purana The ''Naradiya Purana'' (, ) or ''Narada Purana'' (), are two Vaishnavism texts written in Sanskrit language. One of the texts is termed as a Major Purana, also called a Mahapurana, while the other is termed as a Minor Purana (''Upapurana'' ...

(Purva,1.25), Siddhashrama is mentioned as the hermitage of sage Suta.

In recent writings

In the modern era, the knowledge of Siddhashram is first referred by the Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj. It is also mentioned in the book Autobiography of an Avadhoota by Swami Nadananda.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2017 Purana temples of Vishnu Places in Hindu mythology Fictional populated places Mythological kingdoms, empires, and countries Hindu pilgrimage sites