The Dasanam/Samnyas/S: the Integration of Ascetic Lineages Into an Order
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The Dasanam/Samnyas/s: The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order Matthew James Clark This thesis is submitted for the degree of Ph.D. The candidate was registered at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London ProQuest Number: 10673232 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673232 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the history and practices of the DasanamT-SamnyasTs, one of the largest sects of Indian renunciates, founded, according to tradition, by the famous a d va /ta philosopher Sahkaracarya, who may have lived in the eighth century CE. It is argued that it is highly improbable that Sahkaracarya founded either the sect or the four (or five) main DasanamT monasteries, which are the seats of reigning Sankaracaryas. The locus of identity for the DasanamTs (meaning 'ten names’) lies in several short texts, known as mathamnaya- s, which were most probably produced around the time the DaSanamTs became organised as an order, in the late sixteenth or seventeenth century. The political and religious circumstances of the time provide an adequate—though not definitive—context for the production of a distinct Hindu identity for the sect. The process of forming an identity integrated several lineages of ascetics, some of which had no previous connection to each other. There are two main branches of the order: one being what might be called the Brahmanical monastic a d va ita tradition, extensively promoted for the first time by the early Vijayanagara rulers in the fourteenth century; the other being the military branch of /7aga-s, who have a non-orthodox, semi-Tantric background, and who were particularly conspicuous when they served in the standing armies of various north Indian regents during the eighteenth century. Initiation procedures illustrate the merging of the two branches. The contribution of this thesis to the study of religions is to provide, for the first time, an account of the history of the DasanamTs that is an alternative to that espoused by the orthodox tradition, and to illustrate the various and complex roles that sam nyasF s have played—and continue to play— in Indian religious history. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my unreserved thanks to the individuals and organisations who have assisted the production of this thesis, both financially and intellectually. My mother, Mrs Eileen Clark, magnanimously financed my M.A. and the first year of my Ph.D., while the A.H.R.B. generously provided a grant for three years, including a field-trip to India in 2002 to collect material. Their efficiency and committment to academic research deserves the highest commendation. I would also like to thank the Jordan Fund for financing an essential visit to the Kumbha Mela in 2001. I also have a deep debt of gratitude to the teachers and supervisors who have contributed my academic development over the years. In particular, I would like to thank Daud Ali, George Botterill, Amrik Khalsi, Julia Leslie, Alexander Piatigorsky, Lucy Rosenstein, Peter Smith, Rupert Snell, Renate Sohnen-Thieme, and Cyril Williams. I would also like to thank all those sam nyasF^ in India who gave of their time, knowledge and experience, providing information essential to this thesis. Particular mention should be made of SvamT Divya Caitanya (of the Sff RajarajeSvara Matha in Banaras), Brahmacarya Uttamananda (of the Kailas Asram at Rsikes), the s a d ftu s of the Handiya Baba Yogalaya (at Triveni Band, Allahabad), Jamuna Giri (for supplying me with several DasanamT texts), and most importantly Ram Puri of the Juna akhada, whose humour, hospitality, extensive knowledge of Indian traditions, and willingness to share his insights into the history and practices of the DasanamTs, has been an invaluable source of information and i nsp iration: Om Namo Narayana, ABBREVIATIONS used in the thesis (see the Bibliography for the editions of texts) ADh Apastambha-dharmasutra (see Olivelle 1999) ARE Annua/ Reports on /nd/an Epigraphy ARMAD Annual Report ofth& Mysore Archaeological Department ARSIE Annual Report on South-fndian Epigraphy AS I Archaeological Survey o f India AV Atharva-veda (see Griffith 1985) b. bom BG Bhagavad-grta BSB Brahma-sutra-bhasya (of Sankara) BDh Baudhayana-dharmasutra (see Olivelle 1999) a circa CSV Cfdvi/asa-dah/caravifasa-vfjaya (see Antarkar 1973) d. died EC Eplgraphla Carnatlca El Eplgraphla Indlca f l floruit GDh Gautama-dharmasutra (see Olivelle 1999) HDS History of Dharmadastra (see Kane 1977-1990) I. iine MBh Mahabharata MS Manusm rti r. reigned Ram Ram ayana RV Rg-veda(see Griffith 1973) SDV Sahkara-dlg-vtjaya{ see Madhava-Vidyaranya 1986) SV Sam a-veda (see Griffith 1986) UVAT Uttankita Vidya Aranya Trust (1985) VDh Vasistha-dharmasutra (see Olivelle 1999) V. verse YV Yajur-veda (see Griffith 1927) TRANSLITERATION Transliteration of Hindi terms generally follows Parikh (1996); for Sanskrit, Monier Williams (1994 [1899]), with the exceptions: V instread of ‘rf; ‘s’ instead of ‘sh\ Personal, place names and other terms that occur in both Hindi and Sanskrit registers are not always transliterated consistently. For example, places such Allahabad occur in the Hindi register as ‘Prayag’, and in Sanskrit as ‘Prayaga’; 'renunciate' is usually transliterated as samnyasf, as accords with the Hindi register and the Sanskrit nominative singular, in distinction from the common rendering of the Sanskrit, as sam nyasin Names of Indian states (for example, Maharashtra) and well-known cities (for example, Delhi) have been transliterated according to modern English conventions, while smaller places have generally been transliterated according to Hindi conventions. A slightly unusual convention has been utilised in the text of this thesis, of adding a hyphen before the ‘s’ of plural Hindi and Sankrit terms. Although this occasionally results in the ’s' becoming detached from the term, owing to automatic formatting by the computer, an advantage gained is the clearer legibility of diacritical marks. Table of Contents Page INTRODUCTION 0.1 Introduction to the DaSanamT-SamnyasTs .......................................................... 1 0.2 Locating 'the sam nyasP ..................................................................................... 3 0.3 Sources for the thesis .............................. 19 Chapter 1. BRANCHES OF THE DASANAMT ORDER 1.1 The DasanamT sect, as currently constituted, in relation to other sects 25 1.2 Caste .................................................................................................................... 32 1.3 Sub-divisions within the DasanamT order: DandF. ............................................. 34 1.4 Paramahamsa :..................................................................................................... 37 1.5 1 Paramahamsa' and ‘DasanamT ’ as categories ................................................. 39 1.6 /Vaga, ................................................................... 41 Chapter 2. AKHADAS AND DASANAMT FUNCTIONARIES 2.1 The akhada-s ...................................................................................................... 46 2.2 MadhFs and d a va -s ... ................ 54 2.3 Functionaries within the SrT Pafic DaSanaimT akhada organisation ................... 58 2.4 MahamandaleSvaras ............................................................................................ 61 2.5 Sankaracaryas .............................................................................................. 64 Chapter 3. RENUNCIATION, RULES FOR ASCETICS, AND INITIATION 3.1 Renunciation procedures ..................................................................................... 66 3.2 Current initiation procedures: parfc-guru-samskar. ............................................ 71 3.3 Current procedures: v/raja-havan {wdya-samskar) and rtaga initiations 75 Chapter 4. THE INTEGRATION OF VARIOUS LINEAGES: THE MATHAMNAYA-S 4.1 Sankara’s authorship of texts, and his date ........................................................ 81 4.2 Organisational structure, according to the Matham naya-stotra, SrF- mathamnaya-setu and other texts ............................................................. 86 4.3 Gotra, sampradaya, PrahmacarF name, V&da and m ahavakya. ....................... 91 4.4 The p F th as .......................................................................................................... 93 Chapter 5. SANKARA'S HAGIOGRAPHIES AND HIS RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION 5.1 The hagiographies of Sankara ........................................................................... 114 5.2 Sankara’s life in the hagiographies ..................................................................... 116 5.3 Sankara’s religious orientation ............................................................................. 123 5.4 PFthas, mathas and the installation of disciples in the hagiographies 132 5.5 The first references to the ‘ten names’ ..............................................................