Mahanirvani Akhara

The Mahanirvani Akhara, also called Shri Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani, is a Shaivite shastradhari akhara, one of seven such recognized monastic orders of Hindu ascetics and among the three largest. Tradition holds it was formally organized in 748 CE, when seven sadhus from the Atal Akhara undertook spiritual disciplines at Gangasagar and received a vision of the sage Kapila Muni, who blessed them to found the order, with some accounts crediting the philosopher Adi Shankaracharya with its formal organization during his own lifetime. Its headquarters sits near Neel Dhara in Haridwar, India, and its members follow the naga, or renunciate, tradition within Shaivism.