Early life[edit]

His pre-monastic name was Shivarama and he was born in Kumbilapuram presently known as
Kumili of Puspatirega Tehisil at Vizianagaram District in Andhra Pradesh. His biographers and his
disciples differ on his birth date and the period of his longevity. According to one disciple biographer,
he was born in 1529, while according to another biographer it was 1607. [6] His most authentic
biography has been written by Acharya Biruduraju Rama Raju in one of the six volumes of his
massive project 'Andhra Yogulu'.
His parents were Narashingha Rao and Vidyavati Devi, who were devotees of the god Shiva. After
the death of his father in 1647, at the age of 40, he gave up wealth and family responsibilities to his
half brother Sridhar. His mother, Vidya Devi, then shared with him the fact that her father at the time
of death expressed desire to be born to her and continue his Kali sadhana for the benefit of
mankind. She told Sivarama that she believed that he was her father reincarnated and that he
should take up Kali sadhana. Upon the initiation of a Kali mantra from his mother, Sivarama carried
out Kali sadhana in the nearby Kali temple and Punya Kshetras, but was never far away from his
mother. In 1669 his mother, Viya Devi, died. After his mother's death, he saved his mother's sacred
ashes (chita bhasma). He would wear chita bhasma and continue his Kali sadhana day and night
(teevra sadhana). During that time, Sivarama lived the life of a recluse in a cottage, built by his halfbrother, near a cremation ground. After 20 years of spiritual practice (sadhana), he met his preceptor
swami, Bhagirathananda Saraswati, in 1679 from the Punjab. Bhagirathananda initiated Shivaram
into monastic vows (sannyasa) and named him Swami Ganapati Saraswati in 1685. Ganapati
reportedly led a life of severe austerities and went on a pilgrimage, reaching Prayag in 1733, before
finally settling in Varanasi in 1737.[6]

Varanasi in 1922, where the Swami spent a considerable part of his life

Career[edit]
A member of the Dashanami order, he became known as Trailanga Swami after he settled in
Varanasi, living the monastic life.
In Varanasi, till his death in 1887, he lived at different places including Asi Ghat, the Vedavyas
Asharama at Hanuman Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat. He was often found roaming the streets or the

ghats, naked and "carefree as a child".[7] He was reportedly seen swimming or floating on the
river Ganges for hours. He talked very little and at times not at all. A large number of people became
attracted to him upon hearing of his yogic powers to ameliorate their sufferings. [7] During his stay in
Varanasi, several prominent contemporary Bengalis known as saints met and described him,
including Loknath Brahmachari, Benimadhava Brahmachari, Bhagaban Ganguly, Sri Ramakrishna,
[8]
[11]

Vivekananda,[9] Mahendranath Gupta,[10] Lahiri Mahasaya,[4] and Swami Abhedananda.,

Bhaskarananda, Vishuddhananda, and Vijaykrishna.[12]

After seeing Trailanga, Ramakrishna said, "I saw that the universal Lord Himself was using his body
as a vehicle for manifestation. He was in an exalted state of knowledge. There was no bodyconsciousness in him. Sand there became so hot in the sun that no one could set foot on it. But he
lay comfortably on it."[2][13]Ramakrishna also stated that Trailanga was a
real paramahansa[10] (lit:"Supreme swan", used as an honorific for a spiritual teacher) and that "all
Benares was illuminated by his stay there."[2]
Trailanga had taken the vow of non-seeking (ayachaka) remaining satisfied with whatever he
received.[7] In the later stage of his life, as his fame spread, crowds of pilgrims visited him. During his
last days, he took up living like a python (ajagaravritti) in which he sat still without any movement,
and devotees poured water (abhisheka) on him from early morning till noon, looking upon him as a
living incarnation of Shiva.[7]

Death[edit]
He died on Monday evening, December 26, 1887. His body was given salilasamadhi in the Ganges,
according to the funeral customs of the monks of the Dashanami sect, in the presence of a multitude
of mourning devotees standing on the ghats.[7]

Legends and stories[edit]

There are many stories told about Telang and his spiritual powers, such that he has become a near
mythical figure in India. Robert Arnett writes that his miracles are "well documented" and "he
displayed miraculous powers that cannot be dismissed as myth" and that there were living witnesses
to his "amazing feats".[14] He was reputed to have lived to be around 300 years, and was a largerthan-life figure, reportedly weighing over 300 pounds (140 kg), though he seldom ate.[14] One account
said that he could "read peoples minds like books."[2]
On many occasions, he was seen to drink deadly poisons with no ill effect. In one instance, a skeptic
wanted to expose him as a fraud. The monk was accustomed to breaking his long fasts with buckets
of clabbered milk, so the skeptic brought him a bucket of calcium-lime mixture used for whitewashing
walls instead. The monk drank the entire bucket with no ill effect instead, the skeptic fell to the

ground writhing in pain. The monk broke his usual silence to explain the law of karma, of cause and
effect.[4][14]
According to another story, he often walked around without any clothes, much like the naga (or "skyclad") sadhus. The Varanasi police were scandalized by his behaviour, and had him locked in a jail
cell. He was soon seen on the prison roof, in all his "sky-clad" glory. The police put him back into his
locked cell, only to see him appear again on the jail roof. They soon gave up, and let him again walk
the streets of Varanasi.[2][4]
Thousands of people reportedly saw him levitating in a sitting position on the surface of the
river Ganges for days at a time. He would also apparently disappear under the waves for long
periods, and reappear unharmed.[4][14] Sivananda attributed some of his miracles to the siddhi or yogic
power Bhutajaya conquest over the five elements, "Fire will not burn such a Yogi. Water will not
drown him."[15][self-published source?]
With respect to his reportedly yogic powers, miracles abound in his biographies and exceptionally
long life, Medhasananda writes that according to the "science of yoga", attainment of these is not
"impossible".[16]
It is also said that he is same as Kulandaiananda swamigal of south India who was based out of the
south India village of batlagundu in Tamilnadu.[17]