आगमे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Among the Dashanami Sanyasis, or the
ascetic devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shiva, the Dandi Sanyasis are the
most prestigious of the three general
ascetic types; the others being the
Paramahamsa and the Naga Sanyasis.
Dandi Sanyasis take their name from the
staff (danda) that they are given at their
ascetic initiation and that they carry for
the rest of their lives as a sign of ascetic
restraint. The danda is always kept off
the ground to maintain its purity. The
Dandi Sanyasis tend to put the highest
stress on the importance of Sanskrit
(sacred language) learning and uphold
the traditional social and cultural values
it propounds. Of the ten Dashanami
divisions, Dandis tend to belong to
those divisions that will only initiate
brahmins—that is, the Saraswati,
Ashrama, and Tirtha divisions, and also
some sections of the Bharati division. In
many cases, Dandi Sanyasis are initiated
as ascetics only after having completed
the other three stages of life (ashramas), fulfilling the idealized pattern in
the dharma literature, the texts on religious duty. Thus, their ascetic status
does not come only from the strictness
of their ascetic observance, for which
they are rightly famous. It also reflects
the continuing influence of their former
“worldly” status, which was supposedly
left behind upon ascetic initiation, and
their adherence to traditional idealized
cultural patterns. The philosopher
Shankaracharya, traditionally named
as the Dashanami order’s founder, was
himself believed to be a Dandi Sanyasi.
This pattern of leadership still
continues, since even now Dandi
Sanyasis are invariably chosen for the
Shankaracharyas, the religious leaders
who preside over the four monastic centers (maths). These centers supposedly
were established by the philosopher
Shankaracharya, and in many cases
these present leaders have been lifelong
ascetics, as Shankaracharya is believed
to have been. For further information
see Dana Sawyer, “Monastic Structure of
Banarsi Dandi Sadhus,” in Bradley R.
Hertel and Cynthia Ann Humes (eds.),
Living Banaras, 1993.