The Dasanami-Samnyasis: The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order

This book provides an account of the organisation, practices and history of the Dasanami-Samnyasis, one of the largest sects of sadhu-s (‘holy men’) in South Asia. According to tradition, the sect was founded by the legendary south-Indian philosopher Sankaracarya, whose floruit was most probably around 700CE. While the first three chapters of this book examine the sect’s organisation and its various branches, the latter chapters explore its history. This is the first full-length study of the Dasanami-Samnyasis to be published since the 1970s, and will be particularly useful both for students of Hinduism and for readers with a particular interest in the religious history of mediaeval India.