What Does Kutichaka Mean?
Kutichaka derived from the Sanskrit words 'Kuti'- House, and Itcha-Wish translates to as “one who appreciates the opportunity to remain at the house”.
What Are The Other Major Groups Of Hindu Ascetics?
The Kutichaka is one among the four major categories Hindu Ascetics.
The Kutichaka is the least revered of the four, with the others being Bahudaka, Hamsa, and Paramahamsa (in order of increasing reverence).
What Characteristics Uniquely Identify A Kutichaka Hindu Ascetic?
The Kutichaka is an ascetic who lives in a dwelling (kuti) built by himself or his sons and begs his sons and relatives for sustenance.
Kutichaka Sadhus is also the name used to refer to sadhus that constantly reside in a hut.
Their principal responsibility is to educate their pupils. As a result, they must always reside in the Kuti or hut.
In Hindu Ascetism, How Does One Progress Higher From Kutichaka?
Sharp and sharper non-attachment are the two types of renunciation that Hindu Ascetics work towards.
The former results in the renunciation necessary for the condition of the kutichaka, which when matured evolves the sannyasin into the condition of the pramahamsa, which is the true path to direct self-realization.
NOTE: The foundation for these four types of Hindu Ascetics and their Hindu Ascetism was their livelihood, which was much less significant for ascetic identity than sectarianism or organizational affiliation in practice.
Origin And Antiquity Of Kutichaka Hindu Ascetism.
The Bhagavata Purana (V, 3-6) provides some information on Risabha, including his ancestry. He was Merudevi and Nabhi's son.
For a while, he was married, and one of his sons was the illustrious Bharata.
After a while, he appears to have developed a desire for an austere lifestyle since he is characterized as acting insanely and remaining completely nude.
The Bhagavata Purana (II, 7, 10) also claims that he underwent direct asceticism initiation as a Paramahamsa, the greatest level of asceticism.
In the same Purana, he is shown as a Vishnu's incarnation.
If the legend surrounding Risabhas Paramahamsa's initiation is true, it would prove that the ascetic Paramahamsa order has existed for a very long period.
If a generation only lasted twenty years, Rishbha would have been alive about 900 B.C.
This would imply that the Kutichaka, Bahudaka, Hamsa, and Paramahamsa, the four main ascetic groups, existed even at the period of the earliest Upanisads.
The names of these ascetic orders may be found in the Mahabharata, the Bhiksu, and the Narada-parivrajaka 28 as well as in the extremely late Upanisads (Anusasana, 141.89).
But the Paramahamsa order and several of its well-known members are eferenced in the Jabala Upanishad, which, while later than the Bhiksu, is unmistakably pre-Christian.
References And Further Reading
- Ghurye, G. S. “Ascetic Origins.” Sociological Bulletin 1, no. 2 (1952): 162–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42864485.
- Khatiwada, S.P., 2013. Concept of Sadhus in Nepalese Society. Researcher: A Research Journal of Culture and Society, 1(2), pp.81-103.
- The Jivanmukti-viveka: Or, The Path to Liberation in this Life. Tookaram Tatya, FTS, 1897.
- Ṭhākura, Bhaktivinoda, and Bhakti Vilās Tirtha. Jaiva Dharma. Sri Gaudiya Math, 1994.
- Neufeldt, Ronald W., ed. Karma and rebirth: Post classical developments. State University of New York Press, 1986.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.