Dwara

(“door” or “gateway”) Among the
Bairagis, renunciant ascetics who are
devotees (bhakta) of the god Vishnu,
the word dwara is used to denote a
branch or subsect of a particular order.
Each dwara is named after its ascetic
founder, who was himself usually a
noted disciple of the larger order’s
founder. For example, the Nimbarki
ascetics are one of the four established orders among the militant
Vaishnava ascetics known as the
chatuh-sampradayi Nagas, along with
the Ramanandis, the Vishnuswamis,
and the Madhva Gaudiya (Brahma sampraday) ascetics. The Nimbarkis themselves are divided into nine dwaras, or
subsects, each named after the dwara’s
founder. The division of ascetics by
means of dwaras is another means of
subdividing ascetic orders, and creating
even more sharply defined ascetic identities and loyalties.
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Dwara
Dvarapala, or gatekeeper, statue at the entrance of
the Brhadeshvar Temple in Thanjavur. These statues
depict minor deities that protect the space inside.