Agartha, also spelled Agharta, Aghartta, Agharti, and other forms, is a legendary kingdom said to exist on the inner surface of the Earth. While different stories describe Agartha in various ways, it is often placed in Central Asia and ruled by a powerful leader sometimes called the King of the World, who is believed to secretly influence people on the surface. Later versions of the story connect Agartha to the idea of a hollow Earth. The concept of Agartha has been widely discussed in mystical beliefs, secret teachings, and New Age movements since the late 1800s.

The term Agartha first appeared in the 1870s in a book written by Louis Jacolliot, a French author and official. In his 1873 book Les fils de Dieu, Jacolliot claimed to have read ancient Indian manuscripts that described a lost city called Asgartha, its rise, and its fall. The original idea did not describe an underground kingdom but instead referred to a destroyed city in India, with themes more similar to Norse mythology than Indian mythology.

Jacolliot’s book became popular in France, and the idea of Agartha spread. Later writers, including Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, expanded on the concept. In his book Mission de l'Inde en Europe, Saint-Yves described Agartha as a place inside the Earth that could be reached through spiritual practices.

The idea gained more attention in 1922 with Ferdynand Ossendowski’s book Beasts, Men and Gods, which was heavily influenced by Saint-Yves and became the most common version of the Agartha story. Some interpretations of Agartha are linked to beliefs about Nordic or Aryan people. A related idea in spiritual movements like Theosophy is the "Grand Lodge of Agartha," a group of spiritual leaders said to live in Agartha and secretly control the world. For unclear reasons, Agartha is often confused with the Buddhist mythical kingdom Shambhala, sometimes seen as a rival or opposite to Agartha.

Spelling and etymology

The spelling of Agartha is not always the same. Different sources use different spellings, such as Agartha, Agharta, Aghartta, Agarttha, Agharti, Arghati, and Agardhi. Louis Jacolliot spelled it as Asgartha. One possible origin of the word is that Asgartha comes from Asgarth, another way to write the mythical Norse place called Asgard. According to this idea, the letter "a" was added to make the word look more like Sanskrit, because the story originally came from India. The term Agartha or any of its variations was used before the 1870s. However, some people say the idea is much older and dates back to ancient India.

Concept

Agartha is a large, legendary kingdom said to exist on the Earth's inner surface. It is often described as being ruled by one or more kings who are believed to secretly influence events on the surface. Agartha is typically said to be located beneath Central Asia, Tibet, or the Himalayas. Some stories mention hidden entrances to Agartha, such as Ayers Rock, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Earth's poles, Mato Grosso, the Gobi Desert, Cueva de los Tayos, and Kentucky. Agartha is sometimes connected to the idea of a hollow Earth or the Earth's hidden spiritual center.

Agartha has been a topic of interest in mystical and secret beliefs since the late 1800s. It is also discussed in New Age ideas and alternative culture groups, though most modern researchers in the occult field pay little attention to it. Many different versions of Agartha's story exist, and these versions often disagree with each other. The earliest stories did not describe Agartha as an underground kingdom. These ideas may have been inspired by earlier myths about hidden lands, such as Lemuria, Hyperborea, and Atlantis.

Some groups in Theosophy, a mystical philosophy, believe in the Grand Lodge of Agartha, a place where spiritual leaders who secretly control the world are said to live. The Order of the Solar Temple was one such group, though it also believed in Agartha as a hidden, advanced civilization. Unfortunately, members of the Solar Temple committed mass murder-suicide in the 1990s, partly justifying this act as completing a "cycle" started by the Grand Lodge of Agartha.

Dwight York, leader of the Nuwaubian Nation, wrote a book titled Shamballah and Aghaarta: Cities Within the Earth. The Polaires movement believed it could communicate with an oracle by using numbers and names, allowing contact with the "Rosicrucian Initiatic Center of 'Mysterious' Asia," led by Agartha's spiritual leaders. Some writers have claimed a connection between the Nazis and Agartha, but no evidence supports these claims.

Agartha is often confused with the Buddhist mythical kingdom of Shambhala. Some people believe the two are the same, while others think they are rivals. One interpretation describes Agartha as the "Right Hand Way," a place of goodness, and Shambhala as the "Left Hand Way." The source of this interpretation is unknown.

This idea appears in the book The Morning of the Magicians, which describes Agartha as "a place of meditation, a hidden city of Goodness, a temple of non-participation in the things of this world." The book suggests the rivalry between Agartha and Shambhala may have come from the Vril Society or from René Guénon, but Guénon never wrote about Shambhala in his work on Agartha. There is no proof the Vril Society existed at the time this idea began. However, this rivalry became common in French writings about the subject.

Esoteric writer Trevor Ravenscroft described both Agartha and Shambhala as forces of "cosmic evil," linking them to Rudolf Steiner's idea of two opposing evil forces. According to writer and occultist John Michael Greer, Agartha represents "a center of the Luciferic influence, the arrogant rejection of matter in favor of the intellect," while Shambhala represents "the Ahrimanic influence of absolute materialism." Neo-völkisch writer Wilhelm Landig mentions this idea in his novel Götzen gegen Thule, stating, "Yellow peoples […] await[…] the coming of a new Great Khan out of the underground realm, Agartha."

History

Greer describes Agartha as "one of the most remarkable products of occult history—a rich fabric of legend woven from a mix of Victorian anthropology, occult politics, and imagination." The origins of Agartha are mostly linked to Victorian euhemerism, a method that tried to explain myths as references to hidden past events. At the time, these events were often connected to ancient Germanic myths.

French writer Louis Jacolliot introduced the Agartha myth in his book Les fils de Dieu (1873), meaning "The Sons of God." Jacolliot was a colonial official in South India and wrote many popular books, including a trilogy about Indian mythology’s relationship to Christianity. He claimed Brahmin friends gave him access to manuscripts that revealed 15,000 years of Indian history, including the story of Asgartha. This is likely untrue, as Jacolliot probably created the idea himself.

Jacolliot did not describe an underground kingdom; Asgartha was said to be an ancient city, the solar capital of India since 13,300 BC. He imagined it ruled by the "Brahmatma," figures representing God and the chief priests of the Brahmins. Jacolliot’s Agartha was created not by the Aryans but by their ancestors, who were later overthrown by the Aryans (who became the Kshatriyas) in 10,000 BC.

His book describes Agartha’s rise and fall. The story of Agartha has few similarities to actual Indian mythology but shares traits with theories about prehistory and Norse mythology, such as "Agartha" possibly being a misspelling of "Asgard." Asgartha was said to have been destroyed in 5000 BC, shortly before the start of the Kali Yuga, by invaders named Ioda and Skandeh from the Himalayas. The invaders were driven out by the Brahmins and fled north, becoming the Norse and supposedly the namesakes of Odin and Scandinavia.

Les fils de Dieu became popular in France, spreading the Agartha idea widely. Soon after, Ernest Renan, possibly influenced by Jacolliot, wrote about a Nordic Asgaard in Central Asia. The next major step in Agartha’s development came in 1886, when French occultist Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre wrote Mission de l'Inde en Europe ("Indian Mission to Europe"). He paid for the book himself, and the first edition was labeled as the third, a common marketing practice. Less than two weeks later, he recalled and destroyed nearly all copies, possibly fearing he had revealed too much about Agartha. Some sources say informants in India threatened him for exposing Agarthan secrets. The book was reissued in 1910 after his death.

Saint-Yves learned about Agartha from a man named Haji Sharif or Hardjji Scharipf, who taught him Sanskrit. Saint-Yves said Sharif was a "high official of the Hindu church," though his name was more common among Muslims. Sharif may have been from Albania. His origins and later life remain unclear. Sharif claimed knowledge of Agartha, which he said still existed. He also taught Saint-Yves the supposed language and alphabet of Agartha, called Vattanian or Vattan, which Sharif created. Jacolliot’s influence on Saint-Yves’s story is unclear, as Sharif likely introduced him to the concept. Saint-Yves and Sharif later had a disagreement, and Saint-Yves claimed to have used astral projection to learn more. Saint-Yves’s version shares similarities with Jacolliot’s story but includes ideas from the Mahatma Letters in Theosophy and the novel Vril.

Saint-Yves described Agartha as an underground city with millions of people, ruled by a powerful leader called the Sovereign Pontiff, of Ethiopian origin, like the Brahmatma. The Pontiff had magical powers and advanced technology, aided by the Mahatma and the Mahanga. Unlike Jacolliot, Saint-Yves claimed Agartha still existed underground, having moved there at the start of the Kali Yuga 3,200 years ago. Agartha monitors the surface world, is technologically advanced, and maintains a government called Synarchy, which was lost by the surface after the "Universal Empire" dissolved in 4000 BC. In this version, Agartha sends emissaries to the surface and holds knowledge the surface lacks. When the surface world advances enough, Agartha will reveal itself and share its secrets. Saint-Yves encouraged world leaders to use their power to bring this about.

Saint-Yves’s version became the most popular and influential. Though his book was not republished until after his death, he referenced Agartha in other works. The idea spread among Martinists, a small group of Paris-based occultists. Theosophy, a spiritual movement, was gaining popularity, and some anti-Theosophists used the Agartha idea to oppose Theosophy.

Influenced by Saint-Yves, likely through Martinist connections, Polish explorer Ferdynand Ossendowski wrote about Agartha in his 1922 book Beasts, Men and Gods, spelling it "Agharti." He claimed to have heard of it in Mongolia. According to Ossendowski, Agharti had 800 million people and would invade the surface in 2029. Its people spoke Vattanan and were led by the Brahytma ("King of the World"), the Mahytma, and the Mahynga.

Ossendowski’s version is said by some scholars to closely resemble Saint-Yves’s work, though he denied reading Saint-Yves’s book or knowing of him before writing his own. His book became widely popular, spreading the Agartha idea beyond occult circles. Ossendowski’s version is the most commonly recognized today.

René Guénon expanded on Ossendowski’s ideas in his book Le Roi du Monde, using Agartha to explore spiritual and metaphysical themes. He linked Agartha to Rosicrucianism, a mystical tradition. Guénon claimed other Central Asian sources also described Agartha, portraying it as the world’s spiritual center ruled by the "King of the World." He was unsure whether the idea was historically true. His followers were interested in Agartha, and one associate claimed to have founded a secret society called Agartha 8 after contacting the Pontiff.

The Agartha idea spread through publications like the magazine Amazing Stories, which featured science fiction stories about Agartha in the 1940s. Esotericist and ufologist Robert Ernst Dickhoff’s 1951 book Agharta likely drew from these stories. Dickhoff described Agartha as "the Holy abode of the Buddhist world, located in the Sangpo Valley, China," originally colonized by Martians. He was associated with Om Cherenzi-Lind, who claimed to be the reincarnation of "Koot Hoomi, Regent of Agartha." Cherenzi-Lind distinguished Agartha from Agarthi.

Hollow Earth theorist Walter Siegmeister (writing as Raymond Bernard) wrote about Agartha, linking it to theories about a hollow Earth. French writer Robert