Atala Akhara

The name of a 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, based on the
model of an army. Until the beginning
of the nineteenth century, the Nagas
were known as mercenary soldiers,
although they also had substantial trading
interests; both of these occupations have
largely disappeared in contemporary
times. The Atala Akhara has traditionally
been considered a subsidiary of the
Mahanirvani akhara, at least for their
marching order in the bathing (snana)
processions for the Kumbha Mela. During
the 1998 Haridwar Kumbha Mela, the
Atala akhara demanded to be separated
from the Mahanirvanis and to be allowed
to march in their own procession; when
this request was turned down, the Atala
akhara boycotted the bathing processions
in protest. The Atala akhara is one of
the seven main Dashanami Naga
akharas, although it is now the smallest
and least important. All of the akharas
have particular features that define their
organizational identity, especially specific
guardian deities; the guardian deity of the
Atala akara is the god Ganesh.