Agni Akhara

The name of a particular subgroup of
the Naga class of the Dashanami
Sanyasis, a particular type of renunciant
ascetic. The Dashanami Nagas are devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva, organized into different akharas or
regiments on the model of an army.
Until the beginning of the nineteenth
century, the Nagas’ primary occupation
was as mercenary soldiers, although
they also had substantial trading interests; both of these occupations have
largely disappeared in contemporary
times. The Agni akhara is a subunit of
the Juna akhara, one of the largest and
oldest of the Naga akharas.
The Agni akhara’s membership is
very different from that of the other
established akharas. Whereas the other
Naga Sanyasi akharas will accept men
from all levels of society—in some cases
even the lowest status group, the shudras—the Agni akhara admits only
unmarried brahmins who have been
lifelong celibates. Perhaps as a consequence of their more exclusive membership criteria, the Agni akhara is the only
Dashanami Naga akhara that has no
naked (naga) ascetics. All of its members
remain fully clothed during the procession for their bath at the Kumbha Mela.
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Agni Akhara
Depiction of the god Agni. Agni is identified with
fire and is believed to be present in all fires,
along with lightning and the sun.
The Agni akhara was first established in
Benares, and this remains their most
important site. All of the akharas have
particular features that define their
organizational identity, including
specific patron deities; the Agni akhara’s
patron deity is the goddess Gayatri,
considered the embodiment of the
Gayatri Mantra.