The apadravya piercing is situated vertically through the head of the penis. A barbell here may be capable of stimulating a woman’s G-spot (a sexually sensitive area on the front wall of the vagina) and increasing sensation and pleasure for both partners. Sexual motivations are the inspiration for most men who seek these piercings.
The ancient Sanskrit treatise on love, the Kama Sutra, contains the oldest written reference to penis piercing with a discussion of the apadravya!
General Information
In the West, we have come to call the vertical placement through the penile glans an apadravya, although it is uncertain if this term was used the same way in ancient times. The term ampallang (pronounced “am puh lang”), which is used to refer to the horizontal placement, is said to derive from the Dyaks in Borneo.
An iron cross or magic cross is made when the same piercee wears both horizontal and vertical piercings of the glans.
Though this piercing takes longer to heal than most of the other male genital piercings, its potential to add erotic pleasure can make the necessary patience and dedication worthwhile.
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Placement
The apadravya is pierced vertically through the penis head. It may rest in the center of the glans on the top or be placed back closer to the coronal ridge. Because it passes through the urethra, it usually heals faster than a glans piercing that does not (such as the American ampallang).
The apadravya is unique because this single placement encompasses multiple piercings: it is comprised of a Prince Albert (PA) on the lower portion and a reverse Prince Albert on the upper.
Care should be taken to insure that the jewelry doesn't rest straight up and down, which can make entry during penetration more difficult. A backward-leaning angle is most common, depending on build.
When you have the entire piercing performed in one session, advantages include a single healing period and the assurance that the upper and lower parts of the piercing align nicely. The apadravya can also be performed in any sequence to work with previous piercings: most common is to extend an existing PA up through the top.
If you already have a Prince Albert piercing that is set well off to one side of your midline, it may be possible to make an apadravya on the other side and keep your PA as a separate piercing, if desired. However, the jewelry will pinch the sensitive tissue underneath if there is not enough space between the two piercings.
A notable feature of the adaptable apadravya is that once it has healed you have multiple piercings and the freedom to treat each section differently. For example, you can add a ring or other jewelry to stretch only the lower part of the piercing, leaving the top as is. In fact, you might want to do just that, because enlarging the upper side of the piercing is considerably more difficult. The bottom portion, however, is an easy-to-enlarge Prince Albert.
In the event you know that you want to stretch the PA portion to large sizes eventually, it is best to tell your piercer, so they can take this into consideration while marking the placement.
Note that I ALWAYS wear gloves for client contact! Images without gloves were sent to me for consultations, and are posted anonymously and with permission.
Jewelry
I'll use 12 or 10 gauge for this piercing, though the thicker (10ga) is more common. Generally the apadravya is started with a barbell from bottom to top. Later separate jewelry could be worn in various combinations (i.e., a ring in the PA part, plus a barbell through the entire glans, or a separate ring in each segment, coming out the urethra).
The jewelry diameter is anatomically dependent, and the post must accommodate your maximum erect measurement. Extra length is not necessary as this one is more apt to bleed than to swell. And there's a certain amount of built-in space since the jewelry is sized to fit you at your largest.
If you plan to be pierced by me, I require an online (photo) consultation in which I'll mark prospective placement on your pictures and have you measure yourself at that location for post length. Accuracy is crucial because if your bar is too short, it will pinch painfully when you are erect; if it is overly long, it will snag. Therefore I suggest you strive for precision when taking your measurement.
Many men who extend their stretched their PAs will immediately put jewelry back into that part of the piercing. Some elect to wait until the apadravya is somewhat healed before adding back the PA jewelry.
Procedure
I perform the apadravya piercing most commonly using a freehand technique from the bottom up through the top, though different scenarios are possible. If you already have the upper or lower portion of the apadravya (a Prince Albert or Reverse Prince Albert), I carefully place the needle into the existing hole (sometimes with the assistance of a guidance tube that is like a short needle receiving tube) and pierce through the opposite side.
Depending on individual build and tissue, at times, I will use forceps to perform this piercing.
Some men elect to heal for a few days or weeks before reinserting Prince Albert jewelry in an existing piercing, depending on placement, jewelry choice, and previous PA size. The channel may shrink but it can’t close—the new apadravya jewelry occupies the hole. If your PA is enlarged, you might have room to put jewelry back right away. Alternatively, you can drop to a thinner gauge in your PA or stretch up later to reinsert your usual jewelry.
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Healing and Troubleshooting
As with stretching, you have the same flexibility to keep part of the piercing and not the other. If you abandon it, the top may leave a divot or scar. The bottom may remain open, as a PA tends to, especially if it was stretched. Once you heal an apadravya, you probably have a permanent Prince Albert opening.
What My Happy Clients Say
I flew out from Chicago to meet with Elayne Angel at Cold Steel Tattoo and Piercing on the famous Haight Street. After following all of Elayne’s instructions, my new apadravya piercing has been healing as good as it gets. I love it!
She performed such a wonderful job with amazing placement. Everything occurred perfectly as planned because her technique is so advanced. Thank you Elayne.
I got an Apadravya along with a Pubic and a Lorum. My appointment with Elayne was simply awesome.
The actual piercings were over in an instant. Didn't hurt nearly as much as I had been fearing.
I can't say enough nice things about this experience. I shared a moment with Elayne and got exactly the piercings I wanted. I could not be happier with them.
I decided to transform my self-pierced Prince Albert into a Apadravya. Elayne did an amazing job--the piercing was quick, precise and relatively painless.
I highly recommend Elayne Angel if you are considering a below-the-neck piercing. I can't think of a more competent, experienced and ethical piercer on the planet!