Anandawara

One of the four major groups of the
Dashanami Sanyasis, renunciant
ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of
the god Shiva; the other three divisions
are Kitawara, Bhuriwara, and
Bhogawara. Each of these groups has its
headquarters in one of the four monastic
centers (maths) supposedly established
by the philosopher Shankaracharya.
Each group also has particular religious
associations: with one of the four Vedas,
with a particular quarter of the Indian
subcontinent, with one of the “great
utterances” (mahavakyas) expressing
ultimate truth, with a specific ascetic
quality, and with several of the ten
Dashanami divisions.
The Anandawara group is affiliated
with the Jyotir Math in the Himalayan
town of Joshimath and is thus connected
with the northern quarter of India. Their
Veda is the Atharva Veda, their
mahavakya is Ayamatma Brahman
(“This Self is Brahman”), and their
ascetic quality is to be satisfied with
whatever food they get without begging,
since they are not attached to worldly
pleasures. The particular Dashanami
divisions associated with this group are
Giri, Parvata, and Sagara.