Sri Trailangaswami, "The Walking Shiva of Varanasi"

India is a cradle of many geniuses. It is a land a great place for of religion and a great pilgrimage. 

- Mohan Lal Bandyopadhyay

Long ago, a great man was born in our country. He was Trailangaswami, (reportedly 27 November 1607- 26 December 1887), whose monastic name was Swami Ganapati Saraswati, He was a Hindu yogi and mystic, famed for his spiritual powers. He is regarded by devotees as an incarnation of Shiva. Sri Ramakrishna referred to him as the walking Shiva of Varanasi.

Many years ago, in Varanasi devotees of Shiva used to watch a hefty man remain absorbed in meditation. The saint was engrossed in his yogic kriya and never paid attention. He was always carefree like a child and people flocked for his yogic supremacy.

In 15th century, a kind hearted zamindar called Nrisinghadhar hailing from the Deccan region had a son named Shibram with his wife, Vidyabati, who was a devotee of Lord Shiva. Later on, the child was named Trilangadhar. In his childhood, he was intelligent. With the passage of time, Trilangadhar gained vast religious knowledge and was not at all interested to lead a family life but he married on his mother's request.

When Trilangadhar was forty, his father Nrisinghadhar died and his mother also passed away soon after. Trilangadhar gave up his parental property to his brother and set out as a holy man. He was patronized by a monk named Swami Vagirathananda Saraswati who later became his religious master and Trailangadhar was renamed as Trailanga Swami.