Dashanami Sampradaya

Dashanami Sanyasi (IAST Daśanāmi Saṃpradāya "Tradition of Ten Names") is a Hindu monastic tradition of "single-staff renunciation" (ēkadaṇḍisannyāsi) generally associated with the Advaita Vedanta tradition.The disciples of Adi Shankaracharya are also called "Dash Nam Sanyasi" as the Title is further divided into ten groups viz. Giri, Puri, Bharti, Ban, Aranya, Sagar, Aashram, Saraswati, Tirth, and Parwat. These all dashnam Sanyasi are associated with four Math in four corners of India, established by Adi Shankaracharya. Initially all the disciples were Sanyasins who embraced sanyas either after marriage or without getting married.

Single-staff renunciates are distinct in their practices from Shaiva trishuldhari or "trident-wielding renunciates" and Vaishnava traditions of Tridandi sannyāsis.

In the 8th century a section of the ( Ēkadaṇḍisannyāsins ) were organized by Adi Shankara into four maṭhas. However, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Shankara maṭhas remained nominal. Any Hindu, irrespective of class, caste, age or gender can seek sannyāsa as an Ēkadaṇḍi renunciate in the Dasanāmi tradition.

ēkadandis were already known during what is sometimes referred to as "Golden Age of Hinduism" (ca. 320-650 CE)

The "Golden Age of Hinduism" (ca. 320-650 CE) flourished during the Gupta Empire (320 to 550 CE) until the fall of the Harsha (606 to 647 CE). During this period, power was centralized, along with a growth of long distance trade, standardization of legal procedures, and a general spread of literacy.Mahayana Buddhism flourished, but orthodox Shrauta Hinduism was rejuvenated by the patronage of the Gupta dynasty. The position of the Brahmans was reinforced and the first Hindu temples emerged during the late Gupta age. The Mahābhārata, which probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century), already mentions "ēkadaṇḍi" and "tridaṇḍi".

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