Parvata 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 ninth century
philosopher Shankaracharya, in an
effort 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,
parvata (“mountain”). 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.
The Parvata Dashanamis belong to the
Anandawara group, which is affiliated
with the Jyotir math in the Himalayan
town of Joshimath.