Dasanami (IAST "Tradition of Ten Names"),śanā also known as the Order of Swamis, is a Hindu monastic tradition of "single-staff renunciation" (ēka daṇḍi saṃnyāsī) generally associated with the four cardinal mathas of the Advaita Vedanta tradition and, according to tradition, organized in its present form by Vedic scholar and teacher Adi Shankaracharya.
A swami, as the monk is called, is a renunciate who seeks to achieve spiritual union with the swa (Self). In formally renouncing the world, he or she generally wears ochre, saffron or orange-colored robes as a symbol of non-attachment to worldly desires, and may choose to roam independently or join an ashram or other spiritual organizations, typically in an ideal of selfless service. Upon initiation, which can only be done by another existing Swami, the renunciate receives a new name (usually ending in ananda, meaning 'supreme bliss') and takes a title which formalizes his connection with one of the ten subdivisions of the Swami Order. A swami's name has a dual significance, representing the attainment of supreme bliss through some divine quality or state (i.e. love, wisdom, service, yoga), and through a harmony with the infinite vastness of nature, expressed in one of the ten subdivision names: Giri (mountain), Puri (tract), Bhāratī (land), Vana (forest), Āraṇya (forest), Sagara (sea), Āśrama (spiritual exertion), Sarasvatī (wisdom of nature), Tīrtha (place of pilgrimage), and Parvata (mountain). A swami is not necessarily a yogi, although many swamis can and do practice yoga as a means of spiritual liberation; experienced swamis may also take disciples.
Daśanāmi Sannyāsins are associated mainly with the four cardinal maṭhas in four corners of India, said to be established by Adi Shankaracharya himself; however, the association of the Dasanāmis with the Shankara maṭhas remained nominal. The early swamis, elevated into the order as disciples of Shankara, were sannyāsins who embraced sannyasa either after marriage or without getting married.
Single-staff renunciates are distinct in their practices from Shaiva trishuladhari or "trident-wielding renunciates" and Vaishnava traditions of Tridandi sannyāsis.
History
Ēkadaṇḍis
Ēkadandis were already known during what is sometimes referred to as "Golden Age of Hinduism" (ca. 320-650 CE)
Golden Age of Hinduism
See also Gupta rule and Gupta and Pallava period
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 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".
Wandering Ēkadaṇḍi ascetics
The Ēkadaṇḍis existed in the Tamil country during the south-Indian Pandyan dynasty (3rd century BCE - 16th century CE) and the South-Indian Pallava dynasty (2nd - 9th centuries CE). Being wandering monastics, they were not settled in the brahmadeyas or settlement areas for Brahmins. There existed tax free bhiksha-bogams for feeding the Ēkadaṇḍi ascetics in the ancient Tamil country.
Ēkadaṇḍis and Tridandis were also active in Eastern India, and appear to have existed there during the North-Indian Gupta Empire (320 to 550 CE ).
According to R. Tirumalai, "There appears to have been no sectarian segregation of the Shaiva (Ēkadaṇḍi) and Srivaishnava (Tridandi Sannyāsins)".
Professor Kiyokazu Okita and Indologist B. N. K. Sharma says, Sannyasis in the lineage of Advaita of Adi Shankara and the Sannyasis in the lineage of Dvaita of Madhvacharya are all Ēkadaṇḍis.
Establishment of the Dasanami Sampradaya
At the beginning of what is referred to as "Late classical Hinduism", which lasted from 650 till 1100 CE, Shankara established the Dasanami Sampradaya.