Puri Dashanami

One of the ten divisions of the
Dashanami Sanyasis, ascetics who are
devotees (bhakta) of Shiva. The
Dashanamis were supposedly established by the ninth century 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, puri (“city”). Upon
initiation, new members are given this
name as their new surname, thus allowing for immediate group identification.
Aside from their individual identity,
these ten “named” divisions are also
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 Puri
Dashanamis belong to the Kitawara
group, which is affiliated with the
Shringeri Math in the southern Indian
town of Shringeri.