which was renunciant, individualist,
and stressed inner experience.
By the time of the Dharma
Shastras(treatises on religious duty),
this tension had been somewhat
resolved; asceticism had been relegat-
ed to the last of the four ashramas
(stages of life), that of the Sanyasi. Yet
even here the tension remains, since
according to these texts, a twice-born
man cannot become a Sanyasi until he
has seen his children’s children, which
would make him well advanced in
years. These texts restrict asceticism to
twice-born men who have fulfilled
their obligations as householders, but
they deny it to womenand low-caste
men. Needless to say, the actual pic-
ture has never been quite as neat as
the idealized society found in the
Dharma Shastras.
Organizationally, initiated Hindu
ascetics can be divided into several
major groups. One division is based on
the ascetics’ patron deity; the Shaiva
are devotees (bhakta) of Shiva, and the
Vaishnavaworship Vishnu.
The Kapalikas, Kalamukhas, and
Pashupatasare Shaiva ascetic groups
that have disappeared; the two Shaiva
groups that still survive are the
Dashanamisand the Nathpanthis. The
Dashanamis are the most prestigious of
all ascetics. They were supposedly orga-
nized by the great philosopher
Shankaracharyaand have traditionally
emphasized learning. The Nathpanthis
trace their origin to Gorakhnath, a mir-
acle-working yogi about whom little
is definitely known. The Nathpanthis
are known for their stress on the
transformation of the physical body
through yoga.
Vaishnava ascetics are more recently
organized, and in northern India they
are broken into four groups (chatuh-
sampradayi Nagas), named after each
group’s reported founder: Ramananda
for the Ramanandis, Nimbarkafor the
Nimbarkis, Chaitanya for the Madhva
Gaudiyas (Brahma Sampraday), and
Vishnuswamifor the Vishnuswamis.
From at least the sixteenth century,
and perhaps much earlier, both the
Dashanamis and the Vaishnava ascetics
organized bands of fighters known as
Nagas(“naked”). These soldier-ascetics
were commissioned to protect the other
ascetics, but they also served as long-
distance traders and mercenary
soldiers. These Naga orders still exist
today, although they are no longer
prepared for battle. Another important
sect is the Udasis, who worship the
panchayatana (“five-fold”), a collection
of five Hindu deities: Shiva, Vishnu,
Durga, Ganesh, and Surya. Religiously
speaking, the Udasis thus fall between
the Shaivas and Vaishnavas.
In the past few centuries, reform-
minded ascetics have organized their
own ascetic bands, a process that still
continues today. For further informa-
tion see G. S. Ghurye, Indian Sadhus,
1964; Jadunath Sarkar, A History of the
Dasanami Naga Sanyasis, 1958;
Padmanabh S. Jaini, “Sramanas: Their
Conflict with Brahmanical Society,” in
Joseph Elder (ed.), Chapters in Indian
Civilization, 1970; Robert Lewis Gross,
The Sadhus of India, 1992; and Peter van
der Veer, Gods on Earth, 1988. See also
panchayatana puja.Ashadh
According to the lunar calendar, by which
most Hindu religious festivals are cele-
brated, Ashadh is the fourth month in the
lunar year, usually falling within June and
July. In northern India, this is usually the
hottest month of the year.
The major holidays celebrated in
Ashadh are Yogini Ekadashi, the Rath
Yatra, Devshayani Ekadashi, and Guru
Purnima. Devshayani Ekadashi also
marks the beginning of the Chaturmas Vrat.
This is a four-month (lunar) period
generally coinciding with the rainy
season. During this time the god
Vishnu is believed to be “sleeping,”
and because of this the period is con-
sidered inauspicious.Ashadh