Ashrama Dashanami

One of the ten divisions of the Dashanami
Sanyasis, renunciant ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of Shiva. The Dashanamis
were supposedly established by the ninthcentury philosopher Shankaracharya in an
effort to create a corps of learned men who
could help to revitalize Hindu life. Each of
the divisions is designated by a different
name—in this case, ashrama (“hermitage”).
Upon initiation, new members are given
this name as a surname to their new
ascetic names, thus allowing for immediate
group identification.
Aside from their individual identity,
these ten “named” divisions are divided
into four larger organizational groups.
Each group has its headquarters in one of
the four monastic centers (maths) supposedly established by Shankaracharya,
as well as other particular religious associations. The Ashrama Dashanamis belong
to the Kitawara group, which is affiliated
with the Sharada Math in the city of
Dwaraka, located near the Arabian Sea.
The Ashrama division is considered
an elite group because it is one of the few
that will initiate only brahmins (the
other such divisions are the Saraswati
Dashanamis, Tirtha Dashanamis, and
part of the Bharati Dashanamis.)