Tantric heritage and its following consisted of twice-born Hindus as well as
untouchables, women, and converted Muslims (Burghart 1978: 124, 133). At
the end of eighteenth century the Ra ̄ma ̄nandı ̄ ascetics formed a militant order
(akha ̄r.a ̄), gathering ascetic-warriors named na ̄ga ̄sin view of retaining or regain-
ing control over several pilgrimage centers against the concurrence of Das ́ana ̄mı ̄
ascetics (Burghart 1978: 126). By the nineteenth century, the tradition com-
prised of several lineages (some of them consisting of ascetic-warriors like the
Ba ̄la ̄nandı ̄s) associated with different monasteries, of which the head bore the
title of Mahant. Each lineage owned its own temples, villages, and territories
(Clémentin-Ojha 1999: 73).
Several groups arose out of the Ra ̄ma ̄nandı ̄ tradition. Two of them originated
from Varanasi: the Ra ̄ida ̄sı ̄ group, a religious corporation of tanners, organized
by Ra ̄ida ̄sa (or Ravida ̄sa) (fifteenth century) and the Sadhanapantha founded by
a butcher named Sadhana (seventeenth century). The Sena ̄pantha which claims
the barber Sena ̄ (or Sena ̄nanda) (fifteenth century) as its founder and the
Malu ̄kada ̄sı ̄ group said to have been founded by Malu ̄kada ̄sa in the seventeenth
century also belong to the Ra ̄ma ̄nandı ̄ fold (Farquhar 1967: 323–30; Renou
1985a: 655).
Da ̄du ̄ (Da ̄du ̄Daya ̄la) (1544–1604) was born in Ahmedabad (Gujarat) accord-
ing to the hagiographical work of his direct disciple, Janagopa ̄la. He probably
belonged to a family of humble origin. Having experienced several mystical
visions in his youth, he left home in around 1562 and became an itinerant
preaching ascetic. He is said to have married and become a cotton-carder. He died
in Narain.a ̄ (near Jaipur) which continues to be the center of his tradition. The
Da ̄du ̄pantha developed soon after his death. One of Da ̄du ̄’s disciples, Rajjab, is said
to have compiled his sayings (ba ̄nı ̄), which consist of religious didactic verses and
devotional songs in Braj bha ̄s.a ̄. Another disciple, Sundarada ̄sa, composed many
devotional hymns and short religious poems in a highly Sanskritized Braj bha ̄s.a ̄.
His Jña ̄nasamudra integrated a yogic heritage from the system of Gorakhana ̄tha
and from the Pa ̄tañjalayoga, and was perhaps influenced by Caitanyaite theol-
ogy. According to the Da ̄du ̄pantha doctrine, devotion consisting of chanting
God’s name, etc., leads to a state of union with God who is the object of devotion.
In this state of nonduality, the devotee becomes fully conscious of his total depen-
dance on God (da ̄satva). While Da ̄du ̄ himself converted members from all strata
of society, Hindus and Muslims alike, to his way, the Da ̄du ̄pantha today only
accepts persons identified as twice-born. It is followed by laymen and by religious
ascetics, mostly men, who are designated as viraktas. The Da ̄du ̄pantha is divided
into two main branches, Kha ̄lsa ̄ which is attached to the center of Narain.a ̄ and
to Da ̄du ̄’s immediate disciples and Uttara ̄dha ̄ which traces its lineage to those pre-
ceptors of the Da ̄du ̄pantha who migrated to northern regions after Da ̄du ̄’s death.
While the viraktasof the Uttara ̄dha ̄ branch sometimes exercise a profession in
society, the Kha ̄khi (“ash-smeared”) viraktas, another group of Da ̄du ̄pantha
ascetics, lead a life of complete renunciation. The Da ̄du ̄panthı ̄ Na ̄ga ̄s were origi-
nally organized as a militant group perhaps around the mid-seventeenth century,
but today consist of laymen and ascetics (Thiel-Horstmann 1983).
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