A hamlet in
Rajasthan, a few miles east of the state capital of Jaipur.
Galta is well known for its association with the Bairagi
Naga ascetics, renunciant traders and warriors who were Vishnu worshipers
(bhakta).
According to Bairagi legend, a conference held in Galta in
1756 united the many tribes of Bairagi Naga ascetics into one unified military
formation known as the Ramanadis, or "army of Ram," headed by a
Bairagi named Balanand.
The Ramanandis were divided into three anis or armies by
Balanand: the Digambara Ani, Nirvani Ani, and Nirmohi Ani, which are still the
main Bairagi divisions today.
The Naga class of the Dashanami Sanyasis, a rival group of
renunciant trader-soldiers who were followers of the deity Shiva, had been
attacking the Dashanami Sanyasis, therefore this merger was required, according
to tradition.
The conflict arose at the Kumbha Mela event, purportedly
over who got first place in the bathing (snana) parade, which was a show of
relative prestige.
However, authority and control over a region's resources may
have been an underlying factor.
It's impossible to pinpoint the specific conditions under
which Ram's armies were founded.
Independent sources clearly reveal that throughout the late
eighteenth century, the Bairagis were more cohesively structured, and that some
of these bairagi bands used their mobility, wealth, and strength to engage in
long-distance trading.
The dispersed structure of monastic life, on the other hand,
makes the formation of such an army exceedingly implausible, unless it was the
culmination of a previously established tendency.
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