Amravati

Shri Nathji came to the city of Amravati from Akola at the earnest request of an old spiritual lady named Tai Maharaj. She had made the Gopal Mandir at Amravati, and lived there taking the name of God. People had come to regard her as a saint, and she had a large group of followers in the area.

Once she had fallen seriously ill. A devotee of Shri Nathji had gone to her with a photograph of Shri Nathji and had said:

"God has come down to earth as an avatar in the Kaliyuga. He is known by the name of Shri Bhola Nathji Bhagwan!"

Tai Maharaj saw the picture and it filled her heart with gladness. She saw God in the portrait. And she said:

"If you have come down to earth in this bodily form, then I pray you to grant me your darshan before I leave this world!"

This desire of hers was to be fulfilled. Shri Nathji had come to Akola. All of Shri Nathji's movements were at the calling of thirsty souls wherever they were in the world. It was the prayers of these genuine souls that moved Shri Nathji.

He had travelled hundreds of miles from the North of India to give his darshan to Tai Maharaj.

She prayed to Shri Nathji to come to Amravati. She wanted Shri Nathji to give his darshan to her followers so that they, too, would be blessed with an inner recognition. As their guru it was her responsibility to bring her disciples to the final destination, which she had just found. Shri Nathji accepted her invitation. It was thus that Shri Nathji came to the Gopal Mandir at Amravati

Amravati is a city in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Maharashtra. Among the historical landmarks in the city are the temples of Amba, Shri Krishna and Shri Venkateshwara.

It lies 156 km west of Nagpur, and serves as the administrative center of Amravati Division. The town is located near the passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna basin to the West and the Wardha basin to the East. There are two lakes in the eastern part of the city, Chhatri Talao & Wadali Talao. Pohara & Chirodi hills are to the east of the city. The Maltekdi hill is inside the city, it is 60 meters high.

The Temple of Goddess Amba is an example of religious architecture in the Vidharbha Region. There's a legend that when Lord Krishna ran away with Goddess Rukhamini from her wedding ceremony, he used a tunnel laying from Ambadevi temple to Koundinyapur (another spiritual place near Amravati). This tunnel is still in existence but is now closed. Many research teams over the years have tried to estimate the length of the tunnel but their efforts have been in vain.

The ancient name of Amravati is "Udumbravati", in prakrut, "Umbravati". It was due to the presence of a large number of Audumber trees in the region. The variant 'Amravati' is the presently accepted name. It is said that Amravati is named for its ancient Ambadevi temple. A mention of Amravati can be found on a stone inscription on the base of the marble statue of God Adinath (Jain God) The statues date back to the year 1097.  In 14th century, there was drought and famine in Amravati, so people abandoned Amravati and left for Gujrat and Malwa. Though some locals returned after several years, This is the reason this area so thinly populated even now.

After the Marathas, the Nijam of Hyderabad ruled Amravati from 1859 to 187, till it came under Bristish control. The city grew rapidly at the end of the 18th century due to growth in businesses.