Monastic Wanderers

How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the NÄth YogÄs (known also as the YogÄs with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today? This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradÄya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha GorakhnÄth known for his strong link to Haáha Yoga. However rather than to Yoga the history and expansion of the NÄth sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus. Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings worn by the fully initiated YogÄs) which give the sect its unity the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering YogÄs and the monastic settlements. The NÄth monasteries belong to two categories: the paÃcÄyati maáhs collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities which ensure the permanency of the sect and the nÄjÄ maáhs owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple which permits innovative initiatives The book gives a detailed account of two paÃcÄyati monasteries the Kadri Maáh of Mangalore where its headâs enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years and the Caughera Maáh of Dang Valley in Nepal the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms. It then focuses on three nÄjÄ maáhs: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan) Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP). Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism. . Language: English