Varkala is a coastal town neare Thiruvananthapuram. It is located 50 km. north-west of Thiruvananthapuram and 37 km. south-west of Kollam city. Varkala is also famous for the 2,000 year old Janardana Swami Temple which is an important Vaishnavaite shrine in India and is often referred to as Dakshin Kashi (Benares of the South). To the east of the town is the Sivagiri Hill, where Shree Narayan guru established a social and spritual center. The hill-top mausoleum of Sree Narayana Guru is one of the most famous monuments in Kerala. The adjacent hills house the East-West University of Brahmavidya and Sree Narayana Gurukulam. Narayana Guru (1856–1928), was a Hindu saint and social reformer of India. The Guru was born into an Ezhava family, in an era when people from the Ezhava community and other communities that were regarded as "Avarna", faced much social injustices in the caste-ridden Kerala society. Gurudevan, as he was fondly known to his followers, led Reform movement in Kerala, revolted against casteism and worked on propagating new values of freedom in spirituality and of social equality, thereby transforming the Kerala society and as such he is adored as a prophet. The cancellation depicts Sree Narayana Guru Samadhi at Sivagiri, Varkala.