(“stick”) In Hindu tradition, it is a sign of authority.
On the one hand, this stick symbolized royal power and was visible as a scepter or mace, but it was also symbolic of the king's responsibility to preserve social order by punishing evildoers.
In old Indian conceptions of monarchy, the king's job and responsibility was to govern by punishment (dandaniti), since regular social life would be impossible without it.
The staff may be a sign of austere authority in a different setting.
The ascetics with the greatest position among the Dashanami Sanyasis, a group of ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of the deity Shiva, wear a staff as a symbol of their power and are known as Dandi Sanyasis.
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