Kumbh, Naga Sadhus and the Hindu ascetic warrior tradition

Known for their extreme asceticism and stringent spiritual practices, the Naga sadhus live a life of sacrifice, penance.

The Kumbh Mela, a grand spectacle, is hailed as the most populous religious pilgrimage in the world. It magnetizes tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims, devotees of all Dharmic faiths, tourists, and a global media contingent. Beyond its spiritual magnificence, the Kumbh is renowned for the Shahi Snan of the Hindu Naga ascetic warriors, a sight that leaves one in awe.

The Kumbh Mela is not just an event; it’s a living testament to Hindu spirituality, cultural heritage, legends, and lore. This sacred gathering occurs every 12 years and rotates among four holy sites in India: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. The next Kumbh Mela, scheduled for 2025, will commence in Prayagraj on Makar Sankranti on January 14 and conclude on Maha Shivratri on February 26. This upcoming Kumbh, particularly significant due to the rare Maha Kumbh occurring every 144 years, is a historical marvel.

The Kumbh Mela is intricately linked to the legend of Samudra Manthan, the churning of the ocean. According to the legend, a pot (kumbh) containing the nectar of immortality emerged during the Manthan. A few drops of this nectar fell at four locations, including Prayagraj, which is significant as the confluence of the three rivers—Ganga, Yamuna, and now dried-up Saraswati, known as Triveni Sangam.

The earliest reference to Kumbh or Kumbh-like pilgrimage, according to the official website of the Mela, can be found in the Rigveda, the earliest texts of the Hindus composed around 1,500 BCE or earlier. Among other texts, The Vishnu Purana provides a detailed account of the Manthan. One of the first references to the Mela in its nascent phase is found during the Maurya period (4th century BCE).

At the heart of the Kumbh Mela is the ritual bathing, a practice deeply rooted in Hindu spirituality. Hindus believe in the purifying power of their sacred rivers, a belief that transcends cultures. The purifying bath (snana) at the Prayagraj Triveni Sangam is believed to cleanse one from bad Karma and pave the way for Moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth—fostering a deep spiritual connection. According to the Hindu faith, Moksha is one of the four Purusharthas—the goal of human life. Dharma (righteousness), Artha (material prosperity), and Kama (worldly pleasures) are the other three.

Of all the snanas, the Shahi Snana—the Royal Bathing—is the most significant. These snanas start as a grand procession led by Naga sadhus, the Hindu ascetic warrior saints. These sadhus from various ascetic orders participate in ceremonial fights to showcase their martial skills and win the right to the first bath in the holy river Ganga ji.

The tradition of ascetic warriors is widely known across cultures. The Knights Templars of Medieval Europe and the Sohei Buddhist monks of Japan are examples of this tradition. The Nath-Naga sadhus and the Khalsa Panth are examples of India’s ascetic warrior tradition.

Dharma is the core of the Hindu faith. Dharma is the universal truth that connects the individual to the rest of cosmology. The goal of Dharma is to secure the good of all beings. What comes from love for all beings is Dharma. This love is the criterion for judging Dharma from aDharma (the opposite of Dharma).

Dharma, for Hindus, is worth upholding at all costs. In the Mahabharata, the great epic, Bhagwan Krishna tells Arjun that “Whenever there is decay in Dharma, O Bharata, And there is an exaltation of aDharma, then I Myself come forth” (The Bhagavad Gita, 4.7).

For Hindus, protection for Dharma or resistance against aDharma falls into two categories—intellectual and martial. From time to time, Hindu society has produced intellectual giants Yaskacharya, Adi Shankara, Maharishi Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, etc., who took it upon themselves to mount an intellectual defence of Dharma when needed. Similarly, Hindu ascetic warriors such as Naths, Nagas, Dashnamis, Khalsa, etc., have risen in defence of Dharma whenever Hindus needed a martial response.

India’s earliest reference to warrior ascetics is in the sixth century BCE. Linguist Panini mentions ascetics with an iron lance. Buddhists and Jaina texts mention theological debates between leaders of rival groups, occasionally leading to the exchange of blows, especially with the Ajivikas. Belonging to one of the Nastika heterodox Hindu Dharshana (philosophy) schools, Ajivikas had a significant rivalry with Jainism and Buddhism. Mauryan king Ashoka (304-232 BCE) had 18,000 Ajivikas executed. The King, a convert to Buddhism, was enraged about a picture depicting Bhagwan Buddha in a bad light (John S. Strong, The Legends of King Asoka: A Study and Translation of the Asokavadana).

Most Hindu warrior ascetic sampradayas (orders) became prominent during the Islamic invasion of India. They are not part of any existing institutions. The Nath sampradaya traces its origin to the legendary Guru Gorakhnath (protector of cows). Scholars place Guru Gorakhnath in 11/12th century CE. He is considered one of the two notable disciples of Guru Matsyendranath. He is thought to have authored many books, including the Goraksha Samhita, Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati, etc.

Nath Jogis (yogis) actively countered the Sufis, who quietly “worked to proselytize and win converts to Islam” (Hussain Haqqani, Muslim Rage is About Politics, Not Religion, Hudson Institute). They set up their establishments parallel to Sufi deras. They were identified by their kambal (blanket), kundal (a kind of earring), kamandal (stoup), and kada (a bangle of a sort)—similar to that of Khalsa warriors—kesh (hair), kada (a metallic band worn around wrist), kripan (dagger/sword), kaccha (loin cloth).

The great Shankaracharya (?788-820 CE) established the Dashnami order. Dashnamis were a group of sanyasis belonging to ten different orders—Giri, Puri, Bharati, Aranya, Parbat, Ban, Saraswati, Tirtha, Ashrama, and Sagar. These Dashnamis belonged to one of the two groups—Gossains and Nagas. While the Gossains could lead a household, the Nagas remained celibates. Nagas wore no clothes (Ananda Bhattacharya, Dasanami Sanyasis as Ascetics, Baniyas, and Soldier, Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol 93).

Known for their extreme asceticism and stringent spiritual practices, the Naga sadhus live a life of sacrifice, penance, and devotion. They carry Trishul (trident), a Hindu religious symbol and a weapon of traditional war. They smear their bodies with bhasma (ash).

The Dashnamis are fierce fighters. When the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s army attacked the Vishwanath temple of Banaras in 1669 CE, his troops had to face the wrath of the Dashnami Nagas. The sadhus “won the victory in a fight with the Sultan (?Aurangzib) and gained great glory,” writes Jadunath Sarkar (A History of the Dasnami Naga Sannyasis, 1958). “From sunrise to sunset,” Sarkar continues, “the battle raged, and the Dasnamis proved themselves heroes; they preserved the honour of Vishwanath’s seat.”

The Khalsa was another warrior ascetic group during the Islamic period. Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and the last Guru of the Sikhs, founded the Khalsa (1699 CE). The Khalsa Sikhs fought valiantly against the Mughals, most prominently against Aurangzeb. Even after the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa continued its fight under the former Vaishnava bairagi, Banda.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay memorialized the Sanyasi Rebellion against British rule in his famous Bangla novel, Anandmath.

The anti-cow slaughter movement of 1966 was led by the Sadhus, where over 200,000 Hindu priests and ascetics gathered in Delhi in support of framing anti-cow slaughter laws.
In the 1990s, the Sadhus played a vital role in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement to construct a grand temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Bhagwan Ram. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the grand temple of Bhagwan Ram in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.

It is the great Naga sadhus who acquire the centre stage during Kumbh. They descend in droves from their reclusive abodes during Kumbh. Their presence at Kumbh is a reminder that preserving the Sanatan Hindu Dharma has come with consistent resistance against the mlecchas and aDharma. Oftentimes, this resistance has also meant a great deal of sacrifices.

Avatans Kumar is a Chicago-based award-winning columnist.