Amritapuri is the main Ashram

Ashram

Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....

 of Mata Amritanandamayi

Mata Amritanandamayi

Mātā Amṛtānandamayī Devī , primarily known simply as Amma ["Mother"], is a Hindu spiritual leader and guru, who is revered as a saint by her followers. She is widely respected for her humanitarian activities...

.It is also the International Headquarters of Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It is located 29 km away from Kollam City, and about 110 km north of Thiruvananthapuram and 120 km south of Cochin. Amritapuri is also the name by which the location of the ashram is now known.

Even though the place is named Parayakadavu meaning "The pier of the Pariah

Paraiyar

Paraiyar, Parayar, and Sambavar, anglicised by Europeans as Pariah are a social group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and in Sri Lanka . In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, though they have been enumerated under three different caste names, they have generally been referred to as...

", the majority of the community of Parayakadavu belong to the Arayan

Arayan

Arayan is a Malayali caste of Kerala, India. They inhabit the coastal regions of the state. The main source of income of this community is fishing...

 caste which is not known to be related genealogically to the Pariahs.

Amritapuri is also one of the five campuses of the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham or Amrita University is a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary, NAAC A grade accredited, research and teaching university located in India. The university spread across eight acre campuses in the three states of South India, in Kerala at Amritapuri and Kochi, in Tamil Nadu at...

.