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{{short description|Renounce worldly life, monastic spiritual pursuit in Hinduism}}
{{redirect|Sanyasi|the films|Sanyasi (1945 film)|and|Sanyasi (1975 film)}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:Photograph of a Sanyasi ascetic, albumen print, by Captain W.W. Hooper & Surgeon G. Western, Hyderabad, ca.1865.jpg|thumb|Photograph of a Sanyasi ascetic, albumen print, by Captain W.W. Hooper & Surgeon G. Western, Hyderabad, ca.1865]]
{{Hinduism}}
'''''Sannyasa''''' ({{langx|sa|संन्यास|saṃnyāsa}}), sometimes spelled '''''sanyasa''''', is the fourth stage within the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] system of four life stages known as ''[[ashrama (stage)|ashrama]]s'', the first three being ''[[brahmacharya]]'' (celibate student), ''[[Gṛhastha|grihastha]]'' (householder) and ''[[Vānaprastha|vanaprastha]]'' (forest dweller, retired).<ref name="rks"/> ''Sannyasa'' is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young ''brahmachari''s have the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits.

''Sannyasa'', a form of [[asceticism]] marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is characterized by a state of disinterest in and detachment from material life, with the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits.<ref>S. Radhakrishnan (1922), The Hindu Dharma, International Journal of Ethics, 33(1): 1-22</ref><ref>DP Bhawuk (2011), The Paths of Bondage and Liberation, in Spirituality and Indian Psychology, Springer, {{ISBN|978-1-4419-8109-7}}, pages 93-110</ref> An individual in Sanyasa is known as a ''sannyasi'' (male) or ''sannyasini'' (female) in [[Hinduism]].{{refn|group=note|An alternative term for either is sannyasin.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alessandro Monti|title=Hindu Masculinities Across the Ages: Updating the Past|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OlvXAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=L'Harmattan Italia|isbn=978-88-88684-03-1|pages=41, 101–111|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-date=1 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301011822/https://books.google.com/books?id=OlvXAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Sannyasa shares similarities with the [[Sadhu]] and Sadhvi traditions of [[Jain monasticism]], and the sannyasi and sannyasini share similarity with the [[bhikkhu]]s and [[bhikkhunī|bhikkhunis]] of [[Buddhism]].<ref>Harvey J. Sindima (2009), Introduction to Religious Studies, University Press of America, {{ISBN|978-0761847618}}, pages 93-94, 99-100</ref>

''Sannyasa'' has historically been a stage of renunciation, [[ahimsa]] (non-violence), a peaceful and simple life and spiritual pursuit in Indian traditions. However, this has not always been the case. After the invasions and establishment of Muslim rule in India, from the 12th century through the [[British Raj]], parts of the [[Shaivism|Shaiva]] ([[Gossain]]) and [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] ([[Bairagi (Ascetics)|Bairagi]]) ascetics metamorphosed into a military order, where they developed martial arts, created military strategies, and engaged in [[guerrilla warfare]].<ref name=david/> These warrior ''sanyasi'' (ascetics) played an important role in helping European [[colonialism|colonial powers]] establish themselves in the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name=pinch/>

==Etymology and synonyms==
''{{IAST|Saṃnyāsa}}'' in [[Sanskrit]] nyasa means purification, sannyasa means "Purification of Everything".<ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html saMnyAsa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820092052/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html |date=20 August 2016 }} Monier-Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref> It is a composite word of [[copulative a|{{IAST|saṃ-}}]] which means "together, all", ''ni-'' which means "down" and ''{{IAST|āsa}}''  from the root ''{{IAST|as}}'', meaning "to throw" or "to put".<ref name=asmw/> A literal translation of Sannyāsa is thus "to put down everything, all of it". Sannyasa is sometimes spelled as ''Sanyasa''.<ref name=asmw>Angus Stevenson and Maurice Wait (2011), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, {{ISBN|978-019-9601080}}, page 1275</ref>

The term ''Saṃnyasa'' makes appearance in the [[Samhita]]s, [[Aranyaka]]s and [[Brahmana]]s, the earliest layers of [[Vedas|Vedic literature]] (2nd millennium BCE), but it is rare.<ref name=olivelleshs265/> It is not found in ancient Buddhist or Jaina vocabularies, and only appears in Hindu texts of the 1st millennium BCE, in the context of those who have given up ritual activity and taken up non-ritualistic spiritual pursuits discussed in the [[Upanishads]].<ref name=olivelleshs265/> The term ''Sannyasa'' evolves into a rite of renunciation in ancient [[Sutra]] texts, and thereafter became a recognized, well discussed stage of life (Ashrama) by about the 3rd and 4th century CE.<ref name=olivelleshs265/>

Sanyasis are also known as Bhiksu, Pravrajita/Pravrajitā,<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=pravrajitA&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 pravrajitA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701085156/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=pravrajitA&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 |date=1 July 2017 }} Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany</ref> Yati,<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=yatin&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 yatin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701071814/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=yatin&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0 |date=1 July 2017 }} Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany</ref> [[Sramana]] and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts.<ref name=olivelleshs265>Patrick Olivelle (1981), Contributions to the Semantic History of Saṃnyāsa, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 101, No. 3, pages 265-274</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Raja Ravi Varma - Sankaracharya.jpg|thumb|[[Adi Shankara]], founder of [[Advaita Vedanta]], with disciples, by [[Raja Ravi Varma]] (1904)]]
Jamison and [[Michael Witzel|Witzel]] state<ref name=jamwitz>Jamison and Witzel (1992), [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vedica.pdf Vedic Hinduism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413055150/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vedica.pdf |date=13 April 2018 }}, Harvard University Archives, page 47</ref> early Vedic texts make no mention of ''Sannyasa'', or ''Ashrama system'', unlike the concepts of [[Brahmacharya|Brahmacharin]] and [[Grihastha]] which they do mention.<ref>JF Sprockhoff (1981), Aranyaka und Vanaprastha in der vedischen Literatur, Neue Erwägungen zu einer alten Legende und ihren Problemen. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens und Archiv für Indische Philosophie Wien, 25, pages 19-90</ref> Instead, [[Rigveda|Rig Veda]] uses the term ''Antigriha'' (अन्तिगृह) in hymn 10.95.4, as still a part of the extended family, where older people lived in ancient India, with an outwardly role.<ref name=jamwitz/> It is in later Vedic era and over time, that ''Sannyasa'' and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. A three-stage Ashrama concept, along with [[Vanaprastha]], emerged about or after 7th Century BC, when sages such as [[Yajnavalkya|Yājñavalkya]] left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their ''Pravrajika'' (wanderer) lifestyle.<ref>JF Sprockhoff (1976), Sanyāsa, Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus I: Untersuchungen über die Sannyåsa-Upaninshads, Wiesbaden, {{oclc|644380709}}</ref> The explicit use of the four-stage Ashrama concept appeared a few centuries later.<ref name=jamwitz/><ref>[[Patrick Olivelle]] (1976), Vasudevåśrama Yatidharmaprakåśa: a treatise on world renunciation, Brill Netherlands, {{oclc|4113269}}</ref>

However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC mentions ''[[Rishi|Muni]]'' (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy men), with characteristics that mirror those found in later ''Sannyasins'' and ''Sannyasinis''. For example, the [[Rigveda|Rig Veda]], in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions Munis as those with ''Kesin'' (केशिन्, long haired) and ''Mala'' clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron), engaged in the affairs of ''Mananat'' (mind, meditation).<ref name=gsg>GS Ghurye (1952), Ascetic Origins, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 162-184;<br />For Sanskrit original: [http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.१३६ Rigveda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114081219/http://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A6:_%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%82_%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A6.%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%A9%E0%A5%AC |date=14 January 2015 }} Wikisource;<br />For English translation: [https://archive.org/stream/hymnsrigveda00unkngoog#page/n588/mode/2up Kesins] Rig Veda, Hymn CXXXVI, Ralph Griffith (Translator)</ref> The Rigveda, however, refers to these people as ''Muni'' and ''Vati'' (वति, monks who beg).

{{blockquote|
<nowiki>केश्यग्निं केशी विषं केशी बिभर्ति रोदसी । केशी विश्वं स्वर्दृशे केशीदं ज्योतिरुच्यते ॥१॥

मुनयो वातरशनाः पिशङ्गा वसते मला । वातस्यानु ध्राजिं यन्ति यद्देवासो अविक्षत ॥२॥</nowiki>

He with the long loose locks (of hair) supports Agni, and moisture, heaven, and earth; He is all sky to look upon: he with long hair is called this light. The '''Munis''', girdled with the wind, wear garments of soil hue; They, following the wind's swift course, go where the Gods have gone before.|Rig Veda|Hymn 10.CXXXVI.1-2<ref name=gsg/>}}

These ''Munis'', their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of [[Brahmacharya]] (bachelor student). One class of ''Munis'' were associated with Rudra.<ref>[[Arthur Llewellyn Basham]], ''The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism'', {{oclc|19066012}}, {{ISBN|978-0807073001}}</ref> Another were ''Vratyas''.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

==Lifestyle and goals==
[[File:Sunrise, Dinajpur, Bangladesh.jpg|thumb|A Hindu monk walking during sunrise in a mango garden in Dinajpur, Bangladesh]]
[[File:People of Varanasi 006.jpg|thumb|A Hindu Sannyasi. In ancient and medieval literature, they are usually associated with forests and remote hermitages in their spiritual, literary and philosophical pursuits.]]
[[Hinduism]] has no formal demands nor requirements on the lifestyle or spiritual discipline, method or deity a Sanyasin or Sanyasini must pursue – it is left to the choice and preferences of the individual.<ref name=mk>M Khandelwal (2003), Women in Ochre Robes: Gendering Hindu Renunciation, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791459225}}, pages 24-29</ref> This freedom has led to diversity and significant differences in the lifestyle and goals of those who adopt Sannyasa. There are, however, some common themes. A person in ''Sannyasa'' lives a simple life, typically detached, itinerant, drifting from place to place, with no material possessions or emotional attachments. They may have a walking stick, a book, a container or vessel for food and drink, often wearing yellow, [[Saffron (color)|saffron]], orange, [[ochre]] or soil colored clothes. They may have long hair and appear disheveled, and are usually vegetarians.<ref name=mk/> Some minor [[Upanishads]] as well as monastic orders consider women, children, students, fallen men (those with a criminal record) and others as not qualified to become ''Sannyasa''; while other texts place no restrictions.<ref>In practice, women for example, entered Sannyasa in enough numbers that Chanakya's [[Arthashastra]] in 3rd century BC, mentions women ascetics (प्रव्रजिता, ''pravrajitā'') in several chapters; see for example, R. Shamasastry (Translator) [https://archive.org/stream/Arthasastra_English_Translation/Arthashastra_of_Chanakya_-_English#page/n159/mode/2up Chapter 23] page 160; also page 551</ref> The dress, the equipage and lifestyle varies between groups. For example, Sannyasa Upanishad in verses 2.23 to 2.29, identifies six lifestyles for six types of renunciates.<ref name=aar>A. A. Ramanathan, [http://merki.lv/vedas/Upanishadas/Sannyasa%20Upanishad%20_eng_.pdf Sannyasa Upanishad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701143338/http://merki.lv/vedas/Upanishadas/Sannyasa%20Upanishad%20_eng_.pdf |date=1 July 2017 }} The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai, verses 2.23 - 2.29</ref> One of them is described as living with the following possessions,<ref name=mdh2>Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, {{ISBN|978-9042015104}}, page 97</ref>

{{Blockquote|
Pot, drinking cup and flask – the three supports, a pair of shoes,<br />
a patched robe giving protection – in heat and cold, a loin cloth,<br />
bathing drawers and straining cloth, triple staff and coverlet.
|Sannyasa Upanishad|1.4<ref name=mdh2/>}}

Those who enter Sannyasa may choose whether they join a group (similar to Christian [[mendicant orders]]). Some are [[anchorite]]s, homeless mendicants preferring solitude and seclusion in remote parts, without affiliation.<ref name=ht1/> Others are [[Cenobitic monasticism|cenobites]], living and traveling with kindred fellow-Sannyasi in the pursuit of their spiritual journey, sometimes in [[Ashram]]as or [[Matha]]/Sangha (a [[Hermitage (religious retreat)|Hermitage]], the practice of seclusion known generally as [[monasticism]]).<ref name=ht1>SS Subramuniyaswami, {{Google books|9XC9bwMMPcwC|The Two Paths of Dharma|page=102}}, in What Is Hinduism? (Editors of Hinduism Today), Jan-Mar 2006, {{ISBN|978-1934145005}}, page 102</ref>

Most Hindu ascetics adopt [[celibacy]] when they begin Sannyasa. However, there are exceptions, such as the Saiva Tantra school of asceticism where ritual sex is considered part of liberation process.<ref name=gavin>[[Gavin Flood]] (2005), The Ascetic Self: Subjectivity, Memory and Tradition, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521604017}}, Chapter 4 with pages 105-107 in particular</ref> Sex is viewed by them as a transcendence from a personal, intimate act to something impersonal and ascetic.<ref name=gavin/>

===The goal===
The goal of the Hindu Sannyasin is [[moksha]] (liberation).<ref>A Bhattacharya (2009), Applied Ethics, Center for Applied Ethics and Philosophy, Hokkaido University, {{ISBN|978-4990404611}}, pages 63-64</ref><ref>Andrew Fort and Patricia Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-2706-4}}</ref> The idea of what that means varies from tradition to tradition.

{{Blockquote|
Who am I, and in what really do I consist? What is this cage of suffering?|Jayakhya [[Samhita]]|Verse 5.7<ref name=gavin/>}}

For the [[Bhakti]] (devotion) traditions, liberation consists of being an eternal servant to the Divine and release from [[Saṃsāra]] (rebirth in future life);<ref>NE Thomas (1988), Liberation for Life: A Hindu Liberation Philosophy, [[Missiology: An International Review]], 16(2): 149-162</ref> for [[Yoga]] traditions, liberation is the experience of the highest [[Moksha#S.C4.81mkhya.2C Yoga and mok.E1.B9.A3a|Samādhi]] (deep awareness in this life);<ref>Knut Jacobsen (2011), in Jessica Frazier (Editor), The Bloomsbury companion to Hindu studies, Bloomsbury Academic, {{ISBN|978-1472511515}}, pages 74-83</ref> and for the [[Advaita]] tradition, liberation is [[Moksha#Vedanta and mok.E1.B9.A3a|jivanmukti]] – the awareness of the Supreme Reality ([[Brahman]]) and Self-realization in this life.<ref>Klaus Klostermaier (1985), Mokṣa and Critical Theory, Philosophy East and West, 35(1): 61-71</ref><ref>Andrew Fort (1998), Jivanmukti in Transformation, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|0-7914-3904-6}}</ref> Sannyasa is a means and an end in itself. It is a means to decreasing and then ultimately ending all ties of any kind. It is a means to the soul and meaning, but not ego nor personalities. Sannyasa does not abandon the society, it abandons the ritual mores of the social world and one's attachment to all its other manifestations.<ref>Lynn Denton (2004), Female Ascetics in Hinduism, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791461808}}, page 100</ref> The end is a liberated, content, free and blissful existence.<ref>M Khandelwal (2003), Women in Ochre Robes: Gendering Hindu Renunciation, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791459225}}, pages 34-40, 173</ref><ref>P Van der Veer (1987), Taming the ascetic: Devotionalism in a Hindu monastic order, Man, 22(4): 680-695</ref>

===The behaviors and characteristics===
The behavioral state of a person in ''Sannyasa'' is described by many ancient and medieval era Indian texts. Bhagavad Gita discusses it in many verses, for example:<ref name=jeaneane/>

{{Blockquote|
ज्ञेयः स नित्य'''संन्यासी''' यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ् क्षति <nowiki>। निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते ॥५-३॥</nowiki>

He is known as a permanent '''Sannyasin''' who does not hate, does not desire, is without dualities (opposites). Truly, Mahabaho ([[Arjuna]]), he is liberated from bondage.|[[Bhagavad Gita]]|Hymn 5.3<ref name=jeaneane>English Translation 1: Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita: A Text and Commentary for Students, Sussex Academic Press, {{ISBN|978-1845193461}}, page 93;<br />English Translation 2: Edwin Arnold, [[s:The Bhagavad Gita (Arnold translation)/Chapter 5|Bhagavad Gita]] Chapter 5, Wikisource</ref>}}

Other behavioral characteristics, in addition to renunciation, during Sannyasa include: [[ahimsa]] (non-violence), [[akrodha]] (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures), [[asteya]] (non-stealing), [[aparigraha]] (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and [[shaucha]] (purity of body, speech and mind).<ref name=mdh>Mariasusai Dhavamony (2002), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Theological Soundings and Perspectives, {{ISBN|978-9042015104}}, page 96-97, 111-114</ref><ref>Barbara Powell (2010), Windows into the Infinite: A Guide to the Hindu Scriptures, Asian Humanities Press, {{ISBN|978-0875730714}}, pages 292-297</ref> Some Hindu monastic orders require the above behavior in form of a vow, before a renunciate can enter the order.<ref name=mdh/> Tiwari notes that these virtues are not unique to ''Sannyasa'', and other than renunciation, all of these virtues are revered in ancient texts for all four ''[[Ashrama (stage)]]'' of human life.<ref>KN Tiwari (2009), Comparative Religion, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120802933}}, pages 33-35</ref>

Baudhayana [[Dharmasutra|Dharmasūtra]], completed by about 7th century BC, states the following behavioral vows for a person in ''Sannyasa''<ref name=mmbd2>[[Max Muller]] (Translator), [https://archive.org/stream/pt2sacredlawsof14bhuoft#page/278/mode/2up Baudhayana Dharmasūtra Prasna II, Adhyaya 10, Kandika 18], The [[Sacred Books of the East]], Vol. XIV, Oxford University Press, pages 279-281</ref>

{{Blockquote|
These are the vows a Sannyasi must keep –

Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, abstention from sex, liberality (kindness, gentleness) are the major vows. There are five minor vows: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating. He should beg (for food) without annoying others, any food he gets he must compassionately share a portion with other living beings, sprinkling the remainder with water he should eat it as if it were a medicine.
|[[Baudhayana]]|Dharmasūtra, II.10.18.1-10<ref name=mmbd2/>}}

===Types===
Ashrama Upanishad identified various types of Sannyasi renouncers based on their different goals:<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8uneM7q1cC&pg=PA98|title=The Samnyasa Upanisads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation|date=13 February 1992|pages=98–99|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195361377|access-date=18 September 2014|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227024530/https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8uneM7q1cC&pg=PA98|url-status=live}}</ref> Kutichaka – seeking atmospheric world; Bahudaka – seeking heavenly world; Hamsa – seeking penance world; [[Paramahamsa]] – seeking truth world; and Turiyatitas and Avadhutas seeking liberation in this life.

In some texts, such as Sannyasa Upanishad,<ref name=aar/> these were classified by the symbolic items the Sannyasins carried and their lifestyle. For example, Kutichaka sannyasis carried triple staffs, Hamsa sannyasis carried single staffs, while Paramahamsas went without them. This method of classification based on emblematic items became controversial, as anti-thematic to the idea of renunciation. Later texts, such as Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad stated that all renunciation is one, but people enter the state of Sannyasa for different reasons – for detachment and getting away from their routine meaningless world, to seek knowledge and meaning in life, to honor rites of Sannyasa they have undertaken, and because he already has liberating knowledge.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8uneM7q1cC&pg=PA99|title=The Samnyasa Upanisads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation|date=13 February 1992|page=99|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195361377|access-date=18 September 2014|archive-date=27 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227024531/https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8uneM7q1cC&pg=PA99|url-status=live}}</ref>

;Other classifications
There were many groups of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Sannyasis co-existing in pre-Maurya Empire era, each classified by their attributes, such as:<ref>MM Singh (1967), {{Google books|O-00Ip4W1BUC|Life in North-Eastern India in Pre-Mauryan Times}}, Motilal Banarsidass, pages 131-139</ref> Achelakas ([[Śvetāmbara]] Jainas without clothes), Ajivika, Aviruddhaka, Devadhammika, Eka-satakas (Śvetāmbara Jainas with 1 cloth), Gotamaka, Jatilaka, Magandika, Mundasavaka, Nigrantha (Śvetāmbara Jainas), Paribbajaka, Tedandikas, Titthiya, Santrottar (Śvetāmbara Jainas with 2 or more clothes) and others.

==Literature==
[[Image:Swami Vivekananda 1896.jpg|thumb|[[Swami Vivekananda]] (1894) was a sannyasi.]]
The [[Dharmaśāstra#Principal Root Texts|Dharmasūtra]]s and [[Dharmaśāstra#The Dharma.C5.9B.C4.81stras|Dharmaśāstra]]s, composed about mid 1st millennium BC and later, place increasing emphasis on all four stages of ''Ashrama system'' including ''Sannyasa''.<ref name=bhold/> The [[Baudhayana]] Dharmasūtra, in verses 2.11.9 to 2.11.12, describes the four Ashramas as "a fourfold division of [[Dharma]]".<ref name=bhold>Barbara Holdrege (2004), Dharma, in The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, {{ISBN|0 41521527-7}}, page 231</ref> The newer Dharmaśāstra vary widely in their discussion of ''Ashrama'' system .<ref name=paol/>

The [[Dharmasutra|Dharmasūtra]]s and [[Dharmaśāstras]] give a number of detailed but widely divergent guidelines on renunciation. In all cases, Sannyasa was never mandatory and was one of the choices before an individual. Only a small percentage chose this path. Olivelle<ref name=paol>Patrick Olivelle (1993), The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195344783}}</ref> posits that the older Dharmasūtras present the ''Ashramas'' including ''Sannyasa'' as four alternative ways of life and options available, but not as sequential stage that any individual must follow.<ref name=bhold/> Olivelle also states that ''Sannyasa'' along with the Ashrama system gained mainstream scholarly acceptance about 2nd century BC.<ref>Patrick Olivelle (1993), The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195344783}}, page 94</ref>

Ancient and medieval era texts of Hinduism consider ''Grihastha'' (householder) stage as the most important of all stages in sociological context, as human beings in this stage not only pursue a virtuous life, they produce food and wealth that sustains people in other stages of life, as well as the offspring that continues mankind.<ref name=rks>RK Sharma (1999), Indian Society, Institutions and Change, {{ISBN|978-8171566655}}, page 28</ref><ref>Alban Widgery (1930), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2377977 The Principles of Hindu Ethics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003160324/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2377977 |date=3 October 2022 }}, International Journal of Ethics, 40(2): 232-245</ref> However, an individual had the choice to renounce any time he or she wanted, including straight after student life.<ref name=wih>What is Hinduism? (Editors of Hinduism Today), {{Google books|9XC9bwMMPcwC|Two noble paths of Dharma|page=101}}, Family Life and Monastic Life, Chapter 10 with page 101 in particular</ref>

===When can a person renounce?===
Baudhayana Dharmasūtra,<ref name=mmbd/> in verse II.10.17.2 states that anyone who has finished [[Brahmacharya]] (student) life stage may become ascetic immediately, in II.10.17.3 that any childless couple may enter Sannyasa anytime they wish, while verse II.10.17.4 states that a widower may choose Sannyasa if desired, but in general, states verse II.10.17.5, Sannyasa is suited after the completion of age 70 and after one's children have been firmly settled.<ref name=mmbd>[[Max Muller]] (Translator), [https://archive.org/stream/pt2sacredlawsof14bhuoft#page/272/mode/2up Baudhayana Dharmasūtra Prasna II, Adhyaya 10, Kandika 17], The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIV, Oxford University Press</ref> Other texts suggest the age of 75.<ref>Dharm Bhawuk (2011), Spirituality and Indian Psychology: Lessons from the Bhagavad-Gita, Springer Science, {{ISBN|978-1441981097}}, page 66</ref>

The ''{{IAST|Vasiṣṭha}}'' and ''Āpastamba Dharmasūtra''s, and the later ''{{IAST|[[Manusmṛti]]}}'' describe the ''āśrama''s as sequential stages which would allow one to pass from Vedic studentship to householder to forest-dwelling hermit to renouncer.<ref>See {{harv|Olivelle|1993|pp=84–106}} discussion of the development of the ''āśrama'' system in "Renouncer and Renunciation in the ''Dharmaśāstras''."</ref> However, these texts differ with each other. [[Yājñavalkya Smṛti]], for example, differs from Manusmṛti and states in verse 3.56 that one may skip [[Vanaprastha]] (forest dwelling, retired) stage and go straight from the ''Grihastha'' (householder) stage to ''Sannyasa''.

===Who may renounce?===
The [[Jabala Upanishad]] mentions one who gets vairagya of any class or gender can renounce or take sanyasa.<ref>See {{harv|Olivelle|1993|p=111}}, "Renouncer and Renunciation in the ''Dharmaśāstras.''" p. 111</ref> Nevertheless, Dharmaśāstra texts document people of all castes as well as women, entered ''Sannyasa'' in practice.<ref> {{harv|Olivelle|1993|pp=111–115}}, "Renouncer and Renunciation in the ''Dharmaśāstras.''"</ref>

===What happened to renouncers' property and human rights?===
After renouncing the world, the ascetic's financial obligations and property were adjudicated by the state, in the manner of a decedent's estate.<ref>See {{harv|Olivelle|1993|pp=89–91}}, ''{{IAST|Saṃnyāsa Upaniṣads}}''</ref> Viṣṇu Smriti in verse 6.27, for example, states that if a debtor takes ''Sannyasa'', his sons or grandsons should settle his debts.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/institutesvishn00jollgoog#page/n88/mode/2up Law of Debt] Vishnu Smriti, Julius Jolly (Translator), page 45</ref> As to the little property a Sannyasin may collect or possess after renunciation, Book III Chapter XVI of Kautiliya's [[Arthashastra]] states that the property of hermits (vánaprastha), ascetics (yati, sannyasa), and student bachelors (Brahmachári) shall on their death be taken by their ''guru'', disciples, their ''dharmabhratri'' (brother in the monastic order), or classmates in succession.<ref>[[s:Arthashastra/Book III|Arthashastra - CHAPTER XVI: RESUMPTION OF GIFTS, SALE WITHOUT OWNERSHIP AND OWNERSHIP]] Book III, Wikisource</ref>

Although a renouncer's practitioner's obligations and property rights were reassigned, he or she continued to enjoy basic human rights such as the protection from injury by others and the freedom to travel. Likewise, someone practicing Sannyasa was subject to the same laws as common citizens; stealing, harming, or killing a human being by a Sannyasi were all serious crimes in Kautiliya's Arthashastra.<ref>See for example, [[s:Arthashastra/Book IV|Arthasastra - CHAPTER X: Fines in Lieu of Mutilation of Limbs]] Book IV, Wikisource; see also Book IV, Chapter XI which declared murder of an ascetic as a capital crime.</ref>

===Renunciation in daily life===
Later Indian literature debates whether the benefit of renunciation can be achieved (''moksha,'' or liberation) without asceticism in the earlier stages of one's life. For example, [[Bhagavad Gita]], Vidyaranya's ''Jivanmukti Viveka,'' and others believed that various alternate forms of [[yoga]] and the importance of yogic discipline could serve as paths to spirituality, and ultimately ''moksha''.<ref>Andrew O. Fort and Patricia Y. Mumme (1996), Living Liberation in Hindu Thought, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791427057}}, pages 8-12</ref><ref>Gavin Flood (2005), The Ascetic Self: Subjectivity, Memory and Tradition, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0521604017}}, pages 60-74</ref> Over time, four paths to liberating spirituality have emerged in Hinduism: Jñāna yoga, Bhakti yoga, Karma yoga and Rāja yoga.<ref>Thor Johansen (2009), Religion and Spirituality in Psychotherapy: An Individual Psychology Perspective, Springer, {{ISBN|978-0826103857}}, pages 148-154</ref> Acting without greed or craving for results, in Karma yoga for example, is considered a form of detachment in daily life similar to ''Sannyasa''. Sharma<ref name=ash/> states that, "the basic principle of Karma yoga is that it is not what one does, but how one does it that counts and if one has the know-how in this sense, one can become liberated by doing whatever it is one does", and "(one must do) whatever one does without attachment to the results, with efficiency and to the best of one's ability".<ref name=ash>A Sharma (2000), Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195644418}}, pages 24-28</ref>

==Warrior ascetics==
[[File:Basawan. Battle of rival ascetics. Akbarnama, ca. 1590, V&A Museum.jpg|200px|thumb|The [[Mughal Army]] commanded by Akbar attack members of the Sannyasa during the [[Battle of Thanesar (1567)|Battle of Thanesar]], 1567]]
Ascetic life was historically a life of renunciation, non-violence and spiritual pursuit. However, in India, this has not always been the case. For example, after the Mongol and Persian Islamic invasions in the 12th century, and the establishment of [[Delhi Sultanate]], the ensuing Hindu-Muslim conflicts provoked the creation of a military order of Hindu ascetics in India.<ref name=david>David N. Lorenzen (1978), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/600151 Warrior Ascetics in Indian History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105162150/https://www.jstor.org/stable/600151 |date=5 November 2020 }}, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 98(1): 61-75</ref><ref name=pinch>William Pinch (2012), Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-1107406377}}</ref> These warrior ascetics formed paramilitary groups called ‘‘[[Akhara]]s’’ and they invented a range of martial arts.<ref name=david/>

''Nath Siddhas'' of the 12th century AD, may have been the earliest Hindu monks to resort to a military response after the Muslim conquest.<ref>[[Alf Hiltebeitel]], Their name is Legion, in Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226340500}}, page 332-334 and footnote 104 on page 333</ref> Ascetics, by tradition, led a nomadic and unattached lifestyle. As these ascetics dedicated themselves to rebellion, their groups sought stallions, developed techniques for spying and targeting, and they adopted strategies of war against Muslim nobles and the Sultanate state. Many of these groups were devotees of Hindu deity [[Shiva|Mahadeva]], and were called ''Mahants''.<ref name=david/> Other popular names for them was ''Sannyasis'', ''Yogis'', ''Nagas'' (followers of Shiva), ''Bairagis'' (followers of Vishnu) and ''[[Gosains]]'' from the 16th to the 19th centuries; in some cases, these Hindu monks cooperated with Muslim fakirs who were Sufi and also persecuted.<ref name=pinch/>

Warrior monks continued their rebellion through the Mughal Empire, and became a political force during the early years of [[British Raj]] notably the [[Sannyasi rebellion]] (1763-1800). In some cases, these regiments of soldier monks shifted from guerrilla campaigns to war alliances, and these Hindu warrior monks played a key role in helping British establish themselves in India.<ref>P van der Veer (2007), Book Review, The American Historical Review, 112(1): 177-178,{{doi|10.1086/ahr.112.1.177}}</ref> The significance of warrior ascetics rapidly declined with the consolidation of British Raj in late 19th century, and with the rise in non-violence movement by [[Mahatma Gandhi]].<ref name=david/>

Novetzke states that some of these Hindu warrior ascetics were treated as folk heroes, aided by villagers and townspeople, because they targeted figures of political and economic power in a discriminatory state, and some of these warriors paralleled [[Robin Hood]]'s lifestyle.<ref>Christian Novetzke (2011), Religion and Public Memory: A Cultural History of Saint Namdev in India, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0231141857}}, pages 173-175</ref>

==Upanishads==
Sannyasa, or the renunciant way of life, is discussed in various Upanishads.

=== Major Upanishads ===
Among the thirteen major or [[Principal Upanishads]], all from the ancient era, many include sections related to ''Sannyasa''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |title=The Samnyasa Upanisads |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0195070453 |pages=x-xi, 4–9}}</ref> The [[Mundaka Upanishad]] discusses the path of ''Sannyasa'' as a means to attain spiritual knowledge and liberation. It emphasizes the renunciant's simple and austere lifestyle in pursuit of wisdom.<ref name=":0" /> The motivations and state of a ''Sannyasi'' are mentioned in [[Maitrayaniya Upanishad|Maitrāyaṇi Upanishad]], a classical major Upanishad that Robert Hume included among his list of "Thirteen Principal Upanishads" of Hinduism.<ref name=":0">{{citation |last=Hume |first=Robert Ernest |title=The Thirteen Principal Upanishads |url=https://archive.org/details/thirteenprincipa028442mbp |year=1921 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> Maitrāyaṇi starts with the question, "given the nature of life, how is joy possible?" and "how can one achieve [[moksha]] (liberation)?"; in later sections it offers a debate on possible answers and its views on Sannyasa.<ref>Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 327-386</ref>
{{Blockquote|
In this body infected with passions, anger, greed, delusion, fright, despondency, grudge, separation from what is dear and desirable, attachment to what is not desirable, hunger, thirst, old age, death, illness, sorrow and the rest - how can one experience only joy? – Hymn I.3

The drying up of great oceans, the crumbling down of the mountains, the instability of the pole-star, the tearing of the wind-chords, the sinking down, the submergence of the earth, the tumbling down of the gods from their place - in a world in which such things occur, how can one experience only joy ?! – Hymn I.4
|Maitrayaniya Upanishad|Translated by [[Paul Deussen]]<ref>Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 332-333</ref>}}

{{Blockquote|
Dragged away and polluted by the river of the ''[[Guṇa|Gunas]]'' (personality), one becomes rootless, tottering, broken down, greedy, uncomposed and falling in the delusion of I-consciousness, he imagines: "I am this, this is mine" and binds himself, like a bird in the net. – Hymn VI.30

Just as the fire without fuel comes to rest in its place,<br />
so also the passive mind comes to rest in its source;<br />
When it (mind) is infatuated by the objects of sense, he falls away from truth and acts;<br />
Mind alone is the ''[[Saṃsāra|Samsara]]'', one should purify it with diligence;<br />
You are what your mind is, a mystery, a perpetual one;<br />
The mind which is serene, cancels all actions good and bad;<br />
He, who, himself, serene, remains steadfast in himself - he attains imperishable happiness. – Hymn VI.34
|Maitrayaniya Upanishad|Translated by [[Paul Deussen]]<ref>Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 367, 373</ref>}}

=== Sannyasa Upanishads ===
Of the 108 [[Upanishad]]s of the [[Muktika]], the largest corpus is dedicated to ''Sannyasa'' and to [[Yoga]], or about 20 each, with some overlap. The renunciation-related texts are called the [[Sannyasa Upanishads]].<ref>Patrick Olivelle (1998), Upaniṣhads. Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199540259}}</ref> These are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
! style="background: orange; color: black"|Veda !! style="background: orange; color: black"|Sannyāsa
|-
|Ṛigveda||[[Nirvana Upanishad|Nirvāṇa]]
|-
|Samaveda ||[[Aruni Upanishad|Āruṇeya]], [[Maitreya Upanishad|Maitreya]], [[Brihat-Sannyasa Upanishad|{{IAST|Sannyāsa}}]], [[Kundika Upanishad|{{IAST|Kuṇḍika}}]]
|-
|Krishna Yajurveda ||[[Brahma Upanishad|{{IAST|Brahma}}]], [[Avadhuta Upanishad|{{IAST|Avadhūta}}]],<ref>Note: This exists in two manuscripts, Brihat and Laghu. {{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195070453| pages=x-xi}}</ref> See [[Kathashruti Upanishad|Kathashruti]]
|-
|Shukla Yajurveda ||[[Jabala Upanishad|Jābāla]], [[Paramahamsa Upanishad|Paramahaṃsa]], [[Advayataraka Upanishad|Advayatāraka]], [[Bhikshuka Upanishad|Bhikṣuka]], [[Turiyatitavadhuta Upanishad|Turīyātīta]], [[Yajnavalkya Upanishad|Yājñavalkya]], [[Shatyayaniya Upanishad|Śāṭyāyani]]
|-
|Atharvaveda|| Ashrama,<ref>Paul Deussen (Translator), Sixty Upanisads of the Veda, Vol 2, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 568, 763-767</ref> [[Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad|Nāradaparivrājaka]] (Parivrāt), [[Paramahamsa Parivrajaka Upanishad|Paramahaṃsa parivrājaka]], [[Parabrahma Upanishad|Parabrahma]]
|}

Six of the Sannyasa Upanishads – Aruni, Kundika, Kathashruti, Paramahamsa, Jabala and Brahma – were composed before the 3rd-century CE, likely in the centuries before or after the start of the common era, states Sprockhoff; the Asrama Upanishad is dated to the 3rd-century, the Naradaparivrajaka and Satyayaniya Upanishads to around the 12th-century, and about ten of the remaining Sannyasa Upanishads are dated to have been composed in the 14th- to 15th-century CE well after the start of Islamic Sultanates period of South Asia in late 12th-century.<ref>{{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195070453| pages=x-xi, 8–18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Joachim F|last=Sprockhoff|year=1976|title=Samnyasa: Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus|publisher=Wiesbaden: Kommissionsverlag Franz Steiner|language=de| isbn=978-3515019057|pages=277–294, 319–377}}</ref>

The oldest Sannyasa Upanishads have a strong [[Advaita Vedanta]] outlook, and these pre-date [[Adi Shankara]].<ref>Stephen H Phillips (1995), Classical Indian Metaphysics, Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0812692983}}, page 332 with note 68</ref> Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism ([[Advaita]]) Vedanta philosophy.<ref>Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791436967}}, pages 62-63</ref> This may be, states [[Patrick Olivelle]], because major Hindu monasteries of early medieval period (1st millennium CE) belonged to the Advaita Vedanta tradition.<ref name=olivelletsu17/> The 12th-century [[Shatyayaniya Upanishad]] is a significant exception, which presents qualified dualistic and [[Vaishnavism]] ([[Vishishtadvaita]] Vedanta) philosophy.<ref name=olivelletsu17>{{cite book|first=Patrick| last=Olivelle|year=1992|title= The Samnyasa Upanisads|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0195070453| pages=17–18}}</ref><ref>Antonio Rigopoulos (1998), Dattatreya: The Immortal Guru, Yogin, and Avatara, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791436967}}, page 81 note 27</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Brahmacharya]]
*[[Grihastha]]
*[[Jangam| Jangam Sannyasi]]
*[[Gymnosophist]]
*[[Monk]]
*[[Neo-sannyas]]
*[[Nun]]
*[[Purvashrama]]
*[[Sanyasa yoga]]
*[[Swami Sharnanandji]]
*[[Vairāgya]]
*[[Vanaprastha]]
*[[Yogi]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

Cited books:
*{{cite book|last1=Olivelle|first1=Patrick|title=The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution|date=1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|oclc=466428084}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://archive.today/20041230163352/http://www.atmajyoti.org/monastic.asp Articles on aspects of Sannyasa, Vairagya, and Brahmacharya] (archived 30 December 2004)
*[http://www.ariseawake.com/poems/TheSongoftheSannyasin.html 'The Song of the Sannyasin', poem by Swami Vivekananda]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301105124/http://www.ariseawake.com/poems/TheSongoftheSannyasin.html |date=1 March 2021 }}.
*[http://www.himalayanacademy.com/media/books/holy-orders-of-sannyas/holy-orders-of-sannyas.pdf Vows of Sannyasa] Saiva Siddhanta – Example covenant between a Hindu Sannyasin and a Hindu Monastic Order (PDF download)

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ashramas]]
[[Category:Hindu asceticism]]
[[Category:Hindu monasticism]]