Dasnami, or the Dashnami, is the ten orders of Shaivite
ascetics, founded by Adi Shankaracharya. Dashanami Shiva sects exist even today
and they are strict followers of the worship of Shiva. Each of the ten orders
in Dasnami is attached to one of the four mutts founded by Adi Shankaracharya –
the four mutts are Badrinath, Puri, Dwaraka and Sringeri.
The ten orders are:
- Aranya,
- Ashrama,
- Bharati
- Giri
- Parvata
- Puri
- Saraswati
- Sagara
- Tirtha and
- Vana.
Mutt heads, Gurus, Swamis or other saints of the orders
incorporate the name of the order in their names. Thus we come across Swamijis
like Paramanand Giri, Veda Narayana Tirtha etc.
Dashnami Saints wear saffron colored dress and they wear
three horizontal lines made with ash – tilak – on forehead and other parts of
the body. They also wear rosary consisting of 108 rudraksha beads. Majority of
the Dashanami saints grow their beards and wear their hair loose or tie in
a topknot.
Naga sadhus are also part of the Dashanami sect.