("ten names")The 10 divisions of the Sanyasis, an ascetic order allegedly created by the great philosopher Shankaracharya and whose members are Shiva worshipers, are known as the Sanyasis.
Each of these 10 divisions has its own name, which an ascetic adopts as a surname following his introduction into the division.
Giri ("mountain"), Parvata ("mountain"), Sagara ("ocean"), Saraswati (the goddess of learning), Bharati ("India"), Puri ("city"), Aranya ("forest"), Vana ("forest"), Tirtha ("crossing-place"), and Ashrama ("hermitage") are the 10 names.
Despite the fact that all ten divisions are Dashanami Sanyasis, internal status disparities exist because to the distinction between three ascetic classes: Dandi, Paramahamsa, and Naga.
The Dandi Sanyasis, called after the staff (danda) they must constantly carry, have the deepest link to classical Sanskrit (holy language) learning, the harshest ascetic practices, and the most conservative societal beliefs.
Dandi Sanyasis often pursue monastic initiation only after completing the other three phases of life (ashramas), therefore conforming to the idealized pattern in dharma literature, or religious responsibility scriptures.
Before becoming ascetics, nearly all Dandis were brahmins (priests), and almost all Dandis are members of the Dashanami divisions that would only initiate brahmins—the Saraswati, Ashrama, Tirtha, and certain portions of the Bharati divisions.
Members of all four ancient social classes will be admitted to the remaining Dashanami divisions: brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras.
Members of the first three divisions are referred to as "twiceborn" because they are qualified for the teenage religious initiation known as "second birth," while shudras are referred to as Naga, or militant ascetics.
Thus, despite ascetics' purported loss of identity after publicly "renouncing" the world, one can observe how a person's former worldly standing continues to impact them.
Anandawara, Bhogawara, Bhuriwara, and Kitawara are the four largest organizational groupings that include these 10 divisions.
Each of these groupings contains two or three of the 10 Dashanami orders, and each is focused on one of Shankaracharya's four holy centers (maths).
Each of these four groups is linked to one of the four Vedas, India's earliest holy writings, a distinct geographical region, a different "great utterance" (mahavakya), and a different ascetic trait.
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