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Akhāṛās

Warrior Ascetics

The termakhār ̣ā means “ arena,” hair short, many wear jatạ̄ (dreadlocks). In terms from which akhāṛiyā derives, meaning “master of appearance and lifestyle, nāgās are in many fighter,” “skilled manoevrer,” or “strategist.” respects indistinguishable from South Asian There is a network ofakhār ̣ās throughout , Sufifaqīr s (Arab.; Hind. fakīr). Some nāgās prac- particularly in the north, where men train in wres- tice rigorous austerities, such as maintaining an tling and other methods of fighting.Akhār ̣ās arm aloft ūrdhvabāhu( ) or remaining standing specialize in various techniques of fitness and (khaṛeśvarī) for many years (see also → sādhus); combat, which include the use of weights, clubs, some practice exercises. and maces. The akhāṛās have a resident . The wrestlers’ patron deity is → Hanumān. This net- work of akhāṛās, which serves local men who Origins of the Akhārạ̄ s typically train before or after work, is distinct from another network of akhāṛās pertaining to One of the earliest available (semihistorical) ref- groups of (formerly) militant ascetics with par- erences to militant (or armed) ascetics (or yogīs) ticular religious and sectarian identities. in the Indic world is in Bāṇabhatṭ a’ṣ 7th-century That religious ascetics would be inducted romance Harsacaritạ based on the life of King into fighting regiments is neither necessarily Harsa,̣ who ruled (606–648 CE) from perverse – in the context of the history of tradi- Kanauj and Thanesar (Sthāṇvīśvara), near Kuruk- tional – nor necessarily a radical break shetra (150 km northwest of ). In the from a previous mode of life. There is an obvious Harsacaritạ appear two ascetics (Pātālasvāmin similarity in the lifestyles of both soldiers and and Karṇatāla) who eventually become employed ascetics: both require rigorous self-discipline, as personal guards to King Puspabhūti,̣ “elevated enduring the hardships of lengthy travel and to a fortune beyond their wildest dreams . . . occu- extended periods of camping; subsistence, some- pying the front rank in battle” (HCar. 3.130). In times, on meager rations; being subservient to a the Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃ graha (8th–10th cents.), commander or guru; and enduring extended (or there is a reference (18.202–207) to “mendicant permanent) celibacy. In medieval India, asceti- mercenaries with strange weapons” who are cism, trade, and war were not incompatible. described as shaven-headed → Pāśupatas who are Fighting ascetics are usually referred to as nāgās protecting trade. There are a couple of references (deriving from the Hindi term naṅgā, “naked”). (see Sanderson, 2009, 261–262n616) in the Nāgās are usually almost naked, except for a loin- Mayasaṃ graha (5.182) and the Piṅgalāmata cloth (laṅgotī/kaupīṇ ), and besmear their bodies (10.28–31), from the 9th to 12th centuries, to with ash known as bhasm or vibhūti (“supernatu- Śaiva mathạ s () containing armories ral powers,” “dignity”), the most sacred (or pure) for the storage of weapons of war. In a frequently form of which is made from the product of burnt cited reference to fighting ascetics in the mid- and filtered cow dung. They keep a sacred fire 16th-century Bījak of → Kabīr (Ramainī 69), scorn (dhūnī), and some have experience of training in is poured on yogīs, siddhas (another name for fighting and the use of basic weaponry, particu- yogīs), mahants (chiefs/superiors), and ascetics larly the sword, mace, and dagger. Some members who resort to arms, keep women, and collect (particularly nāgās) of some akhāṛās smoke a property and taxes. An entourage of (perhaps) great quantity of gāñjā (the buds of female can- three thousand, which included armed yogīs nabis plants) and caras (cannabis resin), mostly in in service to a yogī king in conflict with a ruler chillums (Hind. cilam, clay pipe), and may also in , is described by Ludovico di Varthema regularly eat bhāṅg (prepared cannabis leaves; see of the early 16th century (see Winter also → intoxicants). While some nāgās keep their Jones, 1863, 111–112) in what may be the first 12 Akhāṛās account by a European of a contingent of armed patronage. During the latter half of the 16th cen- ascetics. tury and the early part of the 17th century, a num- Another incident often referred to in accounts ber of bands of fighting ascetics formed into of the early history of akhāṛās is of a conflict akhāṛās with sectarian names and identities. reported at Thanesar. In 1567 the Mughal emperor These armies were of mercenaries who often (1542–1605) watched a battle between two largely disbanded during cessations of conflict groups of ascetics who had become disputatious and during harvest times, when many of the men concerning the right to collect from pilgrims would return home to attend to agricultural who had gathered at an annual to duties. The formation of mercenarynāgā armies Thanesar. The two groups, who numbered around occurred largely in parallel with the constitution three hundred and five hundred, are referred of a formal and distinct identity for many of the to, respectively, as “Purī” and “Kur” (or Gur) currently recognizable sects of sādhus, including saṃ nyāsīs by Abu al-Fazl, one of the court biogra- the Rāmānandīs and Daśanāmīs. Several com- phers of Akbar. The “Gurs” were in all probability mentators (e.g. Orr, 1940) have maintained that “Giris” (Purī and Giri are two of the ten names of members of the Nāth sect (→ Nāth Sampradāya) saṃ nyāsīs: see below). The fighting ascetics were have at times constituted elements of nāgā armies, armed with stones, swords, and cakras (metal but there seems to be no substantial evidence wheels that may be hurled at opponents). Akbar to support this assertion. It is most likely that instructed his troops to assist the Purīs, who were observers mistakenly identified either Rāmānandīs the faction weaker in number, resulting in their or Daśanāmīs as Nāths. victory. About a score of the combatants died. Some commentators follow J.N. Farquhar (1925), who reported, based on anecdotes, that Madhu- Conflicts Involving Armies ofNāgā s sūdanasarasvatī (1540–1647), the well-known → Vedānta philosopher, approached Akbar to seek From the late 16th century until the early decades advice on the protection of an order (to which he of the 19th century, many prominent regional belonged) from harassment by armed Muslim regents recruited bands of nāgās to fight in inter- faqīrs (notwithstanding the unreliability of this regional struggles for power. The Mughal emperor account, Madhusūdanasarasvatī did have a connec- Aurangzīb authorized in 1692/1693 five Rāmānandī tion to Akbar’s court). According to J.N. Farquhar, commanders and their armies to move without Madhusūdanasarasvatī was advised by Rājā Birbal hindrance. The British officer lieutenant-colonel to initiate a large number of non- into a Valentine Blacker included “gossyes” (i.e. gosāīṃ s) militant order. Thus were many Ksatriyas,̣ Vaiśyas, in his account of the rise of infantry forces in India and, says J.N. Farquhar, “multitudes of Śūdras at in the 1700s, comparing them in proficiency to a later date” admitted into the order. It is said that Afghan and Jāt ̣Sikh khālsā troops (the Sikh order, half of the Bhāratīs (see below) refused to accept or brotherhood, known as the khālsā, was, accord- this and went to to remain “pure.” The ing to tradition, founded by Gurū Gobind Singh, recruitment of nāgās into organized fighting units and its troops were drawn almost entirely from appears to have occurred around the time of the Jāt ̣ caste of northwestern cultivators). They Akbar’s reign, although it is unlikely to have been were particularly renowned for their nocturnal in response to attacks by Sufis. Nearly all of the guerilla operations: naked, sometimes slippery recorded conflicts between bands of ascetics have with oil, and dangerous with the dagger. The dis- been between factions of , in most instances position of regents to employ nāgā armies may between Vaisṇ avạ → Rāmānandī vairāgīs/bairāgī have also been partly due to their reputation for and Śaiva → Daśanāmī saṃ nyāsīs (also known as “supernatural” yogic abilities, and the consequent gosāīṃ s) at melās (festivals) over bathing priori- potential apprehension of adversaries, and to sev- ties for particular akhāṛās. The Rāmānandīs and eral historical legal statutes that either restricted the Daśanāmīs are the largest of the 60 or so extant or annulled the ability of states to prosecute them, sādhu sects in India and , and also those being of religious orders, for crimes committed. with the greatest number of nāgās. In 1763, Pṛthvī Nārāyaṇ Śāh, king of Gorkha The evidence indicates that organizednāgā and the founder of modern Nepal, was engaged in military activity originally flourished under state a campaign to extend his empire into the Kath- Akhāṛās 13 mandu Valley. His chief advisor and strategist began service with Safdar Jang in 1731) – and his was a Nāth siddha named Bhagavantnāth, who successor Shuja-ud-Daulah. (The Mughals also used his influence to negotiate various matrimo- supported Rāmānandī nāgās at : Safdar nial and military alliances between Gorkha and Jang granted seven bīghās [approx. five-eights of some of the other 45 kingdoms of western Nepal. an acre] of land at Hanumān Hill in Ayodhya to During Pṛthvī Nārāyaṇ’s attack on the village of Abhay Rām Dās, the mahant of the Nirvāṇī anī Saga, his Gorkhalese troops were confronted by [see below].) Other patrons of the gosāīṃ s five hundrednāgā s – under the leadership of included the Maratha rulers Mahādjī Śiṃ de and Gulābrām – who were fighting on behalf of one Alī Bahādur, the Mughal emperor Shāh Alam, the of his opponents, Jāyāprakāś Malla, king of Kath- Jāt ̣ ruler Javāhir Singh, and the Persian Nāzaf mandu. All the nāgās were slaughtered by the Khān, who Anūpgiri joined in his campaign in Ghorkalese army, though Gulābrām escaped. 1776 in northern Rajasthan. During the 1780s, some seven hundred nāgās In league with the Afghans, the gosāīṃ nāgās died in battle in another Himalayan province, also fought the Marathas. In the lead up to the Kumaon. A total of 1,400 nāgās had been enlisted, Anglo-Maratha war, Anūpgiri and his forces with the promise of substantial financial rewards, also supported the East India Company, under by King Mohan Cand in his unsuccessful attempt Richard Wellesley. Campaigns were launched to recapture his seat in Almora, from which he by the gosāīṃ s against encroaching Afghans, had been deposed by his rival, Harsdeṿ Josī,̣ king and an unsuccessful attempt to capture Delhi was of the neighboring Himalayan province, Garhwal. pursued in 1753, resulting in the death of In the political history of North India, the most Rājendragiri. In 1775 the gosāīṃ s captured most influential armies ofnāgā s were those com- of Bundelkhand from the Marathas. However, by manded by three Daśanāmī gosāīṃ s, Rājendragiri 1803 the gosāīṃ s were supporting the British (d. 1753), and his two celās (disciples), the adopted in their (successful) campaign to conquer brothers Umrāvgiri (b. 1734) and Anūpgiri Bundelkhand. Thegosāīm ̣ s, in particular the (Himmat Bahādur; 1730–1804). Thesegosāīm ̣ s Ānanda and Jūnā akhāṛās (see below), remained had complex relationships with several wives, in service to the British for 17 months. courtesans, and offspring, leading to lengthy legal Beginning in 1743, numerous minor rebellions disputes over inheritance and property. At the (which were eventually suppressed, by 1800) took height of their careers, the gosāīṃ s commanded place, in a period of famine, against the rule, trade armies of up to 20 thousand horse and foot monopolies, and taxation imposed by the East soldiers. The movement and recruitment of troops India Company in , which for most of were greatly facilitated by a network of weapon that time was under the governorship of Warren stocks and grain stores in the countryside. When Hastings. Peasants and marauding Sufifaqīr s and on campaigns, most of which were in the Gangetic Daśanāmī gosāīṃ s fought company troops in the region, they carried equipment – including mate- Bengal region, with many casualties on all sides, rials for mounting fortified buildings – on elephants in a series of military encounters. However, it was and other pack animals and had camel-mounted with the assistance of an army of gosāīṃ s under guns. The army was equipped with excellent Anūpgiri that the British were eventually able to horses and state-of-the-art weapons, including capture Delhi and thereby extend their control musketry and artillery. over large parts of North India. However, after The gosāīṃ s Rājendragiri, Umrāvgiri, and 1857 the company had no further use for the Anūpgiri, and their nāgā saṃ nyāsī armies, fought gosāīṃ s and suppressed their military and bank- on behalf of several North Indian regents who ing activities. By this time, the saṃ nyāsīs, owing were the most important political actors in the to their mercenary activities, had become the region during the lifetimes of these gosāīṃ s. Their wealthiest bankers and largest landowners in mercenary approach to war resulted on several North India. (Many of the akhāṛās still derive rev- occasions in their changing sides to fight on behalf enue from landholdings today.) of former adversaries. Thegosāīm ̣ s’ patrons in the Since the effective curtailment of their military 18th century included Safdar Jang – who was vazīr power by the British, the main public arenas for (chancellor) to the Mughal emperor Ahmad Shāh the display of the military organization of the and ruler of the province of (the gosāīṃ s akhāṛās is at melās, particularly at kumbh melās. 14 Akhāṛās Becoming a Nāgā in an Akhārạ̄ Banaras, Prayag () and (for the Daśanāmīs), Ayodhya (for the Rāmānandīs), To become a sādhu not only entails renouncing and Punjab state (for the Udāsīs). one’s family name and former caste identity in a Overseeing the activities of all 13 akhāṛās is an rite of renunciation (saṃ nyāsa; see → āśrama and organization, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Pari- saṃ nyāsa) but also results in acquiring a new shad, which is based in Haridwar and meets to identity and a new name as a member of a recog- decide on practical and policy issues. nizable renunciate sect. Thesam ̣ nyāsa rite to become a Daśanāmī saṃ nyāsī is performed in two stages: the first is thepañc guru saṃ skār, when the The DaśanāmīSam ̣ nyāsī Akhārạ̄ s initiate acquires fiveguru s, and the second initia- tion is the virajā homa (the rite of purification), Daśanāmī means “he who has [one of ] ten names,” which is usually performed at a kumbh , those initiate names being Giri (hill), Purī (town), when the initiate performs his own funeral rites, Bhāratī (learning), Vana (or Ban: forest), Parvata thereby relieving any family member of future (mountain), Araṇya (wilderness), Sāgara (ocean), responsibility in that regard. Once initiated as a Tīrtha (pilgrimage place), Āśrama (hermitage), sādhu, the initiate may then perform a subsequent and Sarasvatī (knowledge). The most common rite to become a nāgā in an akhāṛā (which in some names are Giri, Purī, and Bhāratī. akhāṛās entails the tendon in the penis being bro- The seven Daśanāmīakhār ̣ās are the Nirañjanī, ken, to ensure celibacy). The processes of becom- Jūnā, Mahānirvāṇī, Ānanda, Āvāhan, Atal,̣ and ing a nāgā are similar for Rāmānandīs, the first akhāṛās. The leadingakhār ̣ās, in terms of initiation being the pañc saṃ skār dīksạ̄ , which is members and property, are the Nirañjanī and almost identical to that performed by → Śrīvaisṇ avaṣ Jūnā. The Jūnā has the largest number ofnāgā s (with whom the Rāmānandīs have a complex his- and is believed to be the oldest of the akhāṛās. torical connection). A second ritual is required to Members of the akhāṛās are also affiliated to one become a tyāgī (see below), and a third ritual is or another of 52 (or 51) maṛhīs, which are subdi- traditionally required to become a nāgā, but in visions of the akhāṛās. The system ofmar ̣hī orga- recent decades nāgās have been initiated without nization is further organized in a system of eight their first becomingtyāgī . dāvās (section, claim). Within each akhāṛā, there At kumbh melās one may see the camps of is a hierarchy of authority – mahant, śrī mahant, the 13 akhāṛās extant in South Asia. The Śaiva and mahāmaṇḍaleśvara – and (nominally) at the Nāths also have institutions in several places apex there are the śaṅkarācāryas (see below). The in India and Nepal but camp separately from the mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras usually live in their own 13 akhāṛās and are not within the organization of matḥ s or āśrams and generally have little practical akhārạ̄ s pertaining to the other Śaiva and Vaisṇ avạ involvement in the daily operation of the akhāṛā, sects. Seven of the 13 akhāṛās are Śaiva Daśanāmī except when they preside over initiation rituals saṃ nyāsī akhāṛās. Threeakhār ̣ās of the 13 are and become involved in administrative issues. In of the Vaisṇ ̣ava Rāmānandī Sampradāy, which all akhāṛās (including those of the Rāmānandīs, are referred to as anīs (army corps) in Vaisṇ ̣ava Udāsīs, and Nirmals), each of which has an terminology, akhāṛā being a subdivision of an administrative body (pañc or pañcāyat), there is anī. The Dādūpanth (see→ Dādū Dayāl) also usually a sabhāpati (president), and beneath mah- has an akhāṛā, which has an affiliation with the ants there is a hierarchy of other elected function- Rāmānandīs. aries: kārbārīs (assistants), thānāpatis (property The other three of the 13akhār ̣ās are affiliated managers), sacivs (secretaries), pujārīs (who with the Sikh tradition. Two are Udāsī (“detached”; perform ritual worship), kotvāḷ s (guards), and see also → sādhus), namely, the Baṛā (large) kothārị̄ s/bhaṇḍārīs (who manage daily supplies). Pañcāyatī Udāsī Akhāṛā, and the Chotạ̄ (small) or The main venue for initiations, elections to posi- Nayā (new) Pañcāyatī Udāsī Akhāṛā; the third of tions within the akhāṛā, and administrative dis- the Sikh-affiliatedakhār ạ̄ s is the Nirmal Pañcāyatī cussions is kumbh melās. The Daśanāmīakhār ̣ās Akhāṛā. Although historically involved in the administer up to a hundred institutions, includ- Sikh movement, these three akhāṛās function as ing temples, matḥ s, and āśrams. independent organizations. All 13 akhāṛās have Each of the Daśanāmī akhāṛās has a tutelary administrative offices, particularly in the of deity, namely, Kārttikeya (Nirañjanī), Dattātreya Akhāṛās 15 (Jūnā), Kapil Muni (Mahānirvāṇī), Sūrya Mahānirvāṇī (749 CE), Ānanda (856 CE), (Ānanda), Siddh Gaṇeś (Āvāhan), Ādi Gaṇeś Nirañjanī (904 CE), Agni (1136), and Jūnā (1156). (Atal),̣ and Gāyatrī (Agni). Thenāgā s of each (In other sources the founding year of the Agni Daśanāmī akhāṛā revere the bhālā, which is a five- akhāṛā is given as 1370.) However, J. Sarkar adds to seven-meter-long javelin engraved with the one thousand years to some of the founding dates, sign of the respective deity of the akhāṛā. It is car- which produces many inconsistencies. Notwith- ried at the front of the arrival (peśvāī) and “royal” standing accounts stating a greater antiquity, it bathing processions (śāhī snān) at melās by the seems probable that it was during the latter chief mahant or by nāgās. The bhālā is usually decades of the 16th century and the early decades kept at the headquarters of the akhāṛā that it rep- of the 17th century that the Daśanāmī saṃ nyāsī resents, but during melās, it is planted in the akhāṛās first formed, a time when diverse ground near the temporary shrine of the tutelary lineages of both monastic and militant renunci- deity, at the center of the akhāṛā’s camping area. ates coalesced into a sect with a distinct identity, The members of six of the seven Daśanāmī sectarian history, and founding guru, namely akhāṛās, apart from the Agni akhāṛā, take one of Śaṅkarācārya. the “ten names,” but members of the Agni akhāṛā take one of the four following names: Svarūpa, Prakāśa, Ānanda, or Caitanya. These are what are The RāmānandīAkhār ạ̄ s known as brahmacārī (orthodox under- going religious studentship and chastity) names, The Rāmānandī Sampradāy has both lay and which are the same four names given to members sādhu communities, the latter comprising rasiks, of the other main wing of the saṃ nyāsīs, the tyāgīs, and nāgās, and is one of the four Vaisṇ ̣ava daṇḍīs. Sampradāyas (catuḥ sampradāyas), the constitu- The saṃ nyāsī akhāṛās, to which nāgās belong, tion of which has changed twice during the last function independently from other saṃ nyāsī four centuries. Thecatuh ̣ sampradāyas, which organizations, those pertaining to the other meet at kumbh melās, have an administrative branches of the Daśanāmī order, comprising body, the Akhil Bharatiya , which oversees daṇḍīs and paramahaṃ sas. Daṇḍīs are orthodox 412 sub-branches (known as khālsās). Brahmans and carry a stick (daṇḍa). They fre- The traditional dates (based on theAgastya- quent their own matḥ s and āśrams and have no saṃ hitā) of → Rāmānanda are 1299–1410, but it organizational connection to the akhāṛās. Their seems more probable that Rāmānanda flourished link to the akhāṛās is only in respect to their com- in the 15th century. While some sources maintain mon belief in the foundation of their order that Rāmānanda came to northern India from by Śaṅkarācārya (→ Śaṅkara). Paramahaṃ sas are the south (where he had been a disciple of affiliated with one or another of the akhāṛās but Rāghavānanda), Rāmānandīs claim that Prayag usually live independently in their own matḥ s. was his place of birth. The of the The Daśanāmīsam ̣ nyāsī order claims descent texts attributed to Rāmānanda indicates a North from the philosopher Śaṅkarācārya ( fl. c. 700 Indian provenance. “Rāmānandī” as a term of CE), through four disciples who, according to tra- self-designation was first used around 1730. dition, were established in four monasteries The Rāmānandīs, whose main deities are ( pīthạ s) at four places in India (in the north, → Rām, Sītā (see → Draupadī and Sītā), and south, east, and west); the five incumbent Hanumān, appear to have organized their mili- śaṅkarācāryas – two in the south – claim descent tary branches between 1650 and 1720. There is a from these disciples. However, the tradition of the reference from 1734 at Galta (near Jaipur) to founding of four monasteries most probably dates seven branches of the Rāmānandī Sampradāy, from no earlier than the late 16th century. which seems to indicate the extant organization of The founding of the Daśanāmīakhār ̣ās is diffi- seven Rāmānandī akhāṛās. It is most probable cult to discern. According to traditions among the that the catuḥ sampradāyas were organized into Daśanāmīs – one of which is recorded in an influ- systems of dvārs, anīs, and akhāṛās in two stages ential account by J. Sarkar (1958), which has been during four successive conferences, at reiterated with anomalies in several subsequent (c. 1713), Brahmapuri (near Jaipur; c. 1726), publications – the firstakhār ̣ā to be founded was Jaipur (1734), and Galta (1756). It was Bālānand Āvāhan in 547 CE, followed by Ataḷ (646 CE), who in the mid-18th century organized the army 16 Akhāṛās of nāgās (the rāmḍāl) for service to Mādhav The three Rāmānandīanī s collectively have Siṃ h, regent of Jaipur. Among the Rāmānandīs, eight akhāṛās among them: two for the Digambar 52 dvārs (doors/gates) – which are essentially lin- anī (Rām Digambar, Śyām Digambar), three for eages – are assigned to places throughout India the Nirvāṇī anī (Nirvāṇī, Khākī, Nirālambī), and and mirror the 52 maṛhīs of the Daśanāmī three for the Nirmohī anī (Nirmohī, Mahānirvāṇī, saṃ nyāsīs. Santosī).̣ The akhāṛās’ banners all display the sun Rāmānandī tyāgīs (renunciates), who are the (sūrya), an emblem of Visṇ ̣u. largest subsection of the Rāmānandīs, have a life- style and appearance that are almost identical to those of Daśanāmī nāgās. Rāmānandī tyāgīs The Dādūpanth Akhārạ̄ are also referred to as vairāgīs (or bairāgis; with- out passion). While the tyāgīs are Rāmānandī The Dādūpanth also has an akhāṛā, which joins ascetics, it is the Rāmānandī nāgās who are the (Rāmānandī) Nirmohī anī for bathing at soldiers, who carry weapons, and who are given kumbh melās. Toward the end of Akbar’s money by tyāgī mahants at melās to protect the reign, Dādū (1544–1604), a cotton cleaner from order. Technically, only the nāgās are said to be in Ahmadabad who was a nirguṇī bhakt (see the akhāṛā. Unlike the tyāgīs, Rāmānandī nāgās → nirguṇa and saguṇa), organized a new sect of wear stitched cloth and do not wear jatạ̄ . Rām devotees, the Dādūpanth, which comprises A Rāmānandī disciple (who usually receives virakts (ascetics), vastradhārīs (householders), the surname “Dās” during initiation) wishing to and nāgās (khākī [ash-clad] virakts). Dādūpanthī enter an akhāṛā has to pass through seven stages nāgās had a prominent role in the armies of vari- before he becomes a Vaisṇ ̣ava nāgā (also known ous regents, particularly of Jodhpur and Jaipur, in as nāgā atīt): the 18th and 19th centuries. They were employed as mercenaries from 1799 to 1938. (1) yātrī (collects nīm [neem, bot. Azadirachta Dādūpanthī nāgās claim that they are descended indica] sticks for his superiors and wanders alone from Sundardās, an early disciple of Dādū, and or with the jamāt [fighting unit]); thus from the late 16th or early 17th century. (2) chorā (serves, draws water, and makes Although the genealogy of the Dādūpanthī nāgās leaf-plates); may have begun in the mid-17th century, at the (3) bandagīdar (looks after stores, serves earliest, firm records are only available from the food, and cleans nāgā atīt’s utensils); second half of the 18th century. Thenāgā s were (4) huṛdaṅg (cooks, offers food to the deity, officially constituted inakhār ̣ās in 1756, but may calls “Harihar” [i.e Visṇ u-Śiva],̣ carries the insig- have previously fought alongside Rāmānandīs. nia and flag of theakhār ̣ā, and learns weaponry); The organization of thenāgā s into 11 akhāṛās, (5) murethiyạ (worships the deities, supervises which are subsumed within seven jamāts, is sevaks [servants], calls “jay” [“victory”], and has attributed to Kevalrām and Hṛdayrām. Nearly all mastered weapons): of the nāgās were of Rājpūt descent. By the late (6) nāgā (administers the akhāṛā, worships 18th century, the armed jamāts were numerically the deity, protects the order’s property, leads the and politically dominant in the Dādūpanth. jamāt, and prepares for the kumbh melā); and (7) atīt (decides important issues and guides nāgās). Sikh-AffiliatedAkhār ạ̄ s

This process of becoming anāgā takes 12 years, The Sikh-affiliatedakhār ̣ās, the Baṛā Udāsī, Chotạ̄ after which he may vote in the akhārạ̄ , as a mem- Udāsī, and Nirmal, revere and recite daily the ber of the pañc (the organizational body). Vaisṇ avạ Gurū Granth Sāhib, the Sikh text that occupies a nāgās are organized in four divisions (selīs), central place in all Sikh gurdvārās. Also of impor- according to where they were initiated: Haridvārī tance to the Udāsīs are the Udāsī Bodh, composed (at Haridwar), Ujjainīya (at ), Sāgarīya in Braj in 1858 (but written in Gurmukhi), (at Sagar, near Calcutta), and Basantīya and the Mātrā (measure/discipline; attributed to (at other places). The most important center for Srī Cand), besides which they have their own ver- Rāmānandī nāgās is the Hanumāngarhị Temple in sion of the Gurbilās (early biography/hagiogra- Ayodhya. phy of Gurū Gobind Singh) and Janamsākhīs Akhāṛās 17 (biographies/hagiographies of Gurū Nānak). Like ary centers (bhaksīṣ es).̣ According to tradition, six the practice among Daśanāmīs and Rāmānandīs, bhaksīṣ eṣ were gifted by the Sikhgurū s, Hargobind, five mahants preside over the first initiation, Har Rāi, Tegh Bahādur, and Gobind Singh (1666– whereby the initiate gains a new surname, usually 1708), between around 1640 and 1700. The two “Dās” or “Brahm.” The initiate should be detached, most important bhaksīṣ eṣ are those of Bhāī Pherū shunning women, gold, tobacco, and spirits – and Mīān Sāhib. Udāsī institutions, which have a though, as among other renunciate sects, occa- tradition of education, generally function inde- sionally Udāsīs marry and live as householders. pendently and are mostly in the Punjab region, Unlike Khālsā , Udāsīs may shave their though some are in eastern India; they comprise beards and cut their hair. akhāṛās (which are larger institutions), devās The Udāsīs are closer to mainstream Sikh tradi- (smaller institutions), and dharmśālās (rest houses tion than some of the other breakaway Sikh sects for travelers and pilgrims). The head of an institu- of the 17th century, such as Mīnā (founded by tion is referred to as śrī mahant. Pṛthi Cand, 1558–1618), Dhir Maliā (followers of The Baṛā Udāsī Akhāṛā was founded at Prayag Dhir Mal, 1627–1677), and Rām Rāiyā (followers in 1779 by Mahant Pṛtham Dās (1752–1831), with of Har Rāi, 1630–1661, the seventh Sikh guru). whose akhāṛā all four dhūāns are associated (some Distinctive traits of the Udāsīs are their Advaita Udāsī institutions are not directly affiliated with Vedānta (advait brahm) philosophy (through the dhūāns). Some followers of Pṛtham Dās are which they interpret ), keeping a dhūnī, naṅgā (i.e. nāgā); two subsects of naṅgā Udāsīs and practicing Hathạ Yoga (see → Yoga). (the Nirbāṇ and the Nirañjanī) claim origins in The tutelary deity of Udāsīakhār ̣ās is Candra the akhāṛā of Pṛtham Dās. They wearlan ̇gotị̄ and Bhagvān (believed to be an incarnation of → Śiva), besmear themselves with ashes. who was Śrī Cand (b. 1494), the eldest of the two The Chotạ̄ (or Nayā) Udāsī Akhārạ̄ was founded sons of Gurū Nānak (1469–1539). After the death in 1840 by Mahant Santokh Dās and some follow- of Nānak, the leadership of the Sikhs passed to ers of Bhāī Pherū (i.e. Saṅgat Sāhib), a disciple of Gurū Aṅgad (a householder), and not to Gurū Har Rāi. Gurū Gobind Singh is credited in some Nānak’s son Śrī Cand (a bachelor), who, accord- sources with the institution of the Nirmal order, ing to Sikh tradition, founded the Udāsī order. of which the akhāṛā (whose headquarters is in Although Śrī Cand is not recognized within the Kankhal, near Haridwar) was officially founded Sikh gurū paramparā (succession of teachers), in 1862 under the leadership of Mahitab Singh neither is he rejected. However, there is some his- (1811–1871). torical evidence that Śrī Cand and his followers Between the 1790s and 1840s, the Udāsī and may have been rejected from the Sikh order. Nirmal orders received extensive state patronage, According to tradition, Śrī Cand lived past the age and by the end of the 19th century, their establish- of one hundred, into the time of the sixth gurū of ments had increased fivefold, to around 250. In the Sikhs, Gurū Hargobind (1595–1644), which the early 1920s, during the Reform would mean that the Udāsī order was probably Movement, conflict arose between Udāsīs and founded sometime between the end of the 16th Akālī Sikhs (Akālī – or Nihaṅg – Sikhs are a mili- century and the early 17th century. Thegaddi tary sub-branch of the Sikh khālsā), resulting in a (royal seat/sectarian leadership) of the Udāsīs significant loss of influence for Udāsīs; though passed from Śrī Cand to the soldier and house- in recent decades, the Udāsīs have experienced a holder Bābā Gurditā (1613–1638), who had four revival. preaching disciples (masands), each of whom, according to tradition, founded in 1636 a dhūān (dhūnī), which are the four main divisions of the Bibliography Udāsīs, namely, Bābā Hasan (1564–1660), Phūl Sāhib (or Mīān/Mīhān Sāhib), Almast (1553– Alter, J.S., The Wrestler’s Body: Identity and Ideology in 1643), and Gondā/Goindā (or Bhagat Bhagvān); North India, Oxford, 1992. these four leaders are known as the ādi (original) Burghart, R., “Wandering Ascetics of the Ramanandi Sect,” HR 22/4, 1983, 361–390. udāsīs. Clark, M., The Daśanāmī Saṃ nyāsīs: The Integration of According to another account, however, Mīān Ascetic Lineages into an Order, Leiden, 2006. Sāhib and Bhagvat Bhagvān (i.e. Bhagat Gir, who Farquhar, J.N., “The Organisation of the Sannyasis of the was a Daśanāmī) founded not dhūāns but mission- Vedanta,” JRASGBI, 1925, 479–486. 18 Akhāṛās Ghosh, J.M., Sannyasi and Raiders in Bengal, Cal- Period,” in: S. Einoo, ed., Genesis and Development of cutta, 1930. Tantrism, Tokyo, 2009, 41–349. Ghurye, G.S., Indian , Bombay, 1953, 21964. Sarkar, J., A History of the Dasnami Naga Sanyasis, Allaha- Gross, R.L., The Sadhus of India: A Study of Hindu Asceti- bad, 1958(?). cism, Jaipur, 1992. Singh, S., Heterodoxy in the Sikh Tradition, Jalandhar, 1999. Hausner, S.L., Wandering with Sadhus: Ascetics in the Sinha, S., & B. Sarasvati, Ascetics of Kashi: An Anthropo- Hindu Himalayas, Bloomington, 2007. logical Exploration, , 1978. Lorenzen, D.N., “Warrior Ascetics in Indian History,” Thiel-Horstmann, M., “On the Dual Identity of Nāgās,” in: JAOS 98/1, 1978, 61–75. D.L. Eck & F. Mallison, eds., Devotion Divine: Orr, W.G., Armed Religious Ascetics in North India, Traditions from the Regions of India (Studies in Honour Manchester, 1940. of Charlotte Vaudeville), Groningen, 1991, 255–272. Pinch, W.R., Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires, Cam- Winter Jones, J., ed., The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema bridge UK, 2006. (1503–1508), London, 1863. Sanderson, A., “The Śaiva Age: An Explanation of the Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Matthew Clark

Wrestlers

There are many different ways to understand around the world (Alter, 1995, 2004a, 200), how wrestling (pahalvānī, mallayuddha) within a pahalvānī – which is a much more common des- gymnasium (akhārạ̄ ) fits into the large framework ignation than mallayuddha – is defined by the of cultural practices in southern Asia. To appreci- larger social, political, and economic dynamics ate the richness and significance of this way of life, that characterize India today (Alter, 1992a, 1993b, it is useful to comparatively reference the place of 1994a). As a sport, it has been incorporated into the gymnasium in ancient Athens (Sansone, 1988; the infrastructure of national and international Scanlon, 2002; Cohen, 1992) and recognize the competition, albeit with reactions that range from importance of sport, physical development, and enthusiasm to deep ambivalence and resistance. masculinity in the articulation of classical Greek In conjunction with this, akhāṛās have become philosophy (Alter, forthcoming b). Although it is places where masculinity is defined in relation to not usually defined as such in the context of Indic a range of different political projects that cross the civilization – where athleticism has been expressed spectrum from utopian to militantly conservative in ways that are not distinctively sportive – the (Alter, 1994b). Wrestlers from India, whose iden- akhāṛā can be seen as the nexus of key ideas and tity as pahalvāns links them to a distinct way of practices that reflect a broad range of ideas in the life rooted in the akhāṛā, compete with some suc- history of Hinduism. On the one hand, there are cess against international champions in the Asian, obvious, if deceptively simple, parallels between Commonwealth, and Olympic Games. This kind → Hanumān and Heracles as iconic wrestlers who of modern synthesis of masculinity and national- define a particular kind of relationship between ism was most distinctly embodied first in the early mortals and the gods. On the other hand, there are 20th century by Gama, a pahalvān who emerged complex ways in which philosophical develop- from the princely state of Datiya to win in London ments in both places in the ancient world took and become a world champion (Alter, 2000). shape with reference to physical self-development, There is no question that a cultural history of , and the embodiment of masculinity pahalvānī in the akhāṛās of South Asia must be in relation to the control and regulation of sex understood in relation to nationalism, broadly and sexual physiology (Golden & Toohey, 2003; defined. Within the rubric of nationalism, there Halperin, Winkler & Zeitlin, 1990). are also many possible different trajectories of Just as the modern Olympic Games and a spec- meaning, including gender, militant and antico- trum of different articulations of postcolonial lonial agitation, and sectarian and communal nationalism have shaped contemporary sports conflict. The essentializing tendency of militant