Ascetic Games

by Dhirendra K Jha

  In the world of nagas, the guillotine falls suddenly. There is no notice period, no right of appeal, no trade union representation, no industrial tribunal and no compensation. Incidents similar to the one narrated by Shivraj Giri seem to reflect the everyday ups and downs of nagas eager to acquire wealth and power by marketing their spiritual prowess; at most they appear to be periodic adjustments in a world insulated by a facade of spirituality. Though such ups and downs have not been unknown to ascetics, their occurrence has increased considerably since the Hindu ascetic world’s exposure to the dazzles of politics and business. The new circumstances have caused a quantum leap in the materialistic aspirations of these ascetics, likening their world to the world outside, of grihasthas.

  II

  Shivraj Giri believed that Lord Shiva had intervened to save him. He left the hospital without protest and made his way to the temple again. The sun had risen by then, and he could see a group of beggars rummaging through whatever the rival nagas had left behind at his dhooni. The entire incident had left him so disgusted that he looked the other way. ‘I didn’t want to think about the previous night or of those who were involved in the attack. I knew that most of the attackers belonged to Juna and Awahan akharas. I could even have filed a complaint against them. But what was the point?’ he said and fell silent.

  Shivraj Giri had formally renounced the world in his late twenties. He had, however, started working as a wage labourer for ashrams and akharas when he was quite young. He became shri digambar, meaning sky-clad or naked, the term used in Dasanami akharas for a naga—during the 1992 Kumbh Mela at Ujjain. ‘It happened few months before the demolition of Babri masjid,’ he recalled. He was twenty-nine then. His reasons for choosing this way of life are no different from those narrated frequently by ascetics at places like Haridwar, Varanasi or Allahabad: he had always leaned this way, ever since his childhood he had been attracted to religion and spirituality, temples used to entice him rather than schools, and so on.

  A naga is usually reluctant to talk about his personal life, particularly about his time before becoming an ascetic. The reluctance emanates from the belief that at the time of initiation into an ascetic sect, a naga ‘dies’ with respect to his previous social identity. Therefore life before his initiation, at least theoretically, becomes meaningless to him. Now his lifestyle, ritual practices and belief systems emphasise separation and detachment from the material world, and his religious activities and aspirations are directed towards spiritual transcendence and union with God.

  But Shivraj Giri had no qualms in talking about his former life. He grew up in extreme poverty and worked for sustenance even as a child. He was named Shamsher Bahadur and was born in 1963 (although, his date of birth is recorded as 1 May 1967 in his official papers) in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, and was the eldest of three siblings. His father, Ramashankar Ram, was a landless labourer. It was always difficult for his mother, Ramrati Devi, to run the household on the meagre and irregular wages his father earned by working in the fields of upper-caste landholders. They lived in a hut built on a small piece of land reclaimed from the bed of a local river.

  Despite the grim living conditions, his father wanted him to study and sent him to school, but Shamsher was an unwilling student and soon dropped out. ‘When I was ten, a relative who had helped us build our home on the reclaimed land, took me to Banaras,’ he recounted. ‘Thereafter, I started working in ashrams and akharas.’ Over the years, after serving for meagre wages in these religious establishments at Varanasi, a major hub of Dasanami akharas, he finally decided to become a sanyasi, and then, a naga.

  On the face of it, the life of a sanyasi may appear to be inherently insecure: living solely on the infrequent and unreliable generosity of others. Yet Shamsher saw this differently. Despite the apparent rigours and deprivations of an ascetic life, it also offered certain compensations. Being attached to an akhara would definitely provide, for instance, a form of financial security that was not available to Shamsher otherwise. So, he, a wage-earner in the akhara so far, decided he would rather be a master than a servant, that is, instead of selling his labour to the representatives of God, Shamsher chose to sell it directly to him.

  Shamsher chose his preceptor carefully; the ability of a newly initiated sanyasi or a naga to grow within the akhara’s hierarchy depends greatly on the status of his preceptor in the akhara. Shri Digambar Omkar Giri, the naga who ordained Shamsher to asceticism at the 1992 Ujjain Kumbh and gave him the name of Shivraj Giri, was no ordinary ascetic. He was the shri mahant of his marhi in Awahan akhara. Immediately after his formal initiation, Shivraj Giri shifted to Haridwar from Varanasi with his guru.

  A marhi, literally ‘small hut’,2 apart from deciding the lineage of a naga, acts as the basic administrative unit in a Dasanami akhara. The term marhi may have been derived from the term ‘matha’, a religious institution run by a guru, and it is believed that there were originally a total of fifty-two marhis before the six Dasanami akharas—Juna, Niranjani, Mahanirvani, Atal, Anand and Awahan—were formed.3 The seventh akhara, Agni, is different from the other Dasanami akharas not only because none of its members are nagas but also because it has no marhi-based lineages.

  There is, however, some inconsistency in the available literature about the identity of individual marhis and their significance. Lineages of this kind—in which mythology and history get intertwined—are notoriously complex, not only because of the problems inherent in historical sources but also because lineages tend to subdivide over time and also, in some cases, amalgamate.4

  As they exist today, these marhis are grouped under either four or eight categories, depending on the akhara. These divisions are called dawa, meaning claim, a term derived from the voting procedures within the akhara. Thus, whereas marhis represent lineages, dawas—or a set of marhis—are units of administration that, at least theoretically, run the akhara collectively. The reorganisation of marhis into dawas, which is peculiar to the Shaiva akhara organisation, was done at a later stage.5 The Mahanirvani akhara consists of eight dawas, while other Dasanami akharas have four dawas.

  The dawas facilitate elections. They are like wards in a city, which have only an administrative function and an imaginary and arbitrary boundary, while the marhis are like mohallas, or localities, which have definitive interactional social boundaries.6 Earlier, dawas used to be organised only for the purpose of elections, nowadays they have become permanent functional units, and are named after the most important marhi in the group.

  Within akharas, marhis are usually referred to by number, for example, as the chaar marhi or the terah marhi. A naga in the akhara is recognised by this number, which denotes the lineage of that ascetic as well as the dawa or the set of marhis he belongs to.

  In case of Awahan akhara, there are four sets of marhis—terah, chaudah, solah and chaar. While terah and chaudah marhis are dominated by Giris, solah marhi is dominated by Puris and chaar has Bharatis, Saraswatis, Vans and Aranyas in large numbers. Omkar Giri belonged to chaudah marhi, and so did Shivraj Giri, by virtue of being his disciple.

  Each of the four sets of marhis in this akhara elects a representative, called shri mahant. The group of four shri mahants collectively make decisions for their akhara.

  In practice, however, there is further grouping and the more powerful group runs the show. Usually, in Awahan akhara, chaar and chaudah marhis decide as a group, while terah and solah go together. Both groups compete against the other. Moreover, a shri mahant requires money and muscle power to succeed in his role. Also, though a shri mahant is elected for a period of six years, in reality, he continues to influence the functioning of the akhara even after he gives up the post.

  Omkar Giri, who became the shri mahant of chaudah marhi in 1992, continued to exercise his influence in the functioning of his marhi—and thereby over Awahan akhara—till as late as 2004, when he was eclipsed by Madhusudan Giri, the newly elected shri mahant of the rival terah marhi.

  ‘Immediately after
becoming shri mahant of terah marhi, Madhusudan Giri started persecuting the influential nagas of chaudah marhi,’ Shivraj Giri said. ‘The harassment by the new dispensation forced many nagas to leave the akhara while a number of others compromised. My guru refused to submit to Madhusudan Giri and, therefore, he was ostracised several times on flimsy grounds. At the time of his death in 2006, he was living as an ostracised man.’

  For Shivraj Giri, too, trouble started building up as soon as Madhusudhan took over. For some time, he tried to placate the new ruler, but soon, he realised that no matter what he did and how he changed himself, he would not be able to win the confidence of the shri mahant of terah marhi. ‘Unless you submit to the politics in the akhara—and by submit I mean become a sycophant—you have no future there,’ he said. ‘Even submission is not enough if you belong to a rival camp because once the regime changes you get marked out and you become the target of attack by the new shri mahant and his henchmen.’

  III

  Small wonder that akharas today are run by people who see the business of religion as being about who’s up and who’s down, who’s in and who’s out. In such an environment, as Shivraj Giri remarked, ‘what brings a naga to the top is not his tapas or his superior intellectual ability but, more often, his intense desire for power, his ability to see an opportunity even in a crisis and his promptness in manipulating any crisis for his own benefit.’

  One such crisis erupted in the 1998 Haridwar Kumbh when the holy men of the Dasanami akharas fought an unholy war, when the divisions and petty politics within Juna akhara as well as between Juna and Niranjani akharas came to the fore, when nagas terrorised, looted, fought and burnt things down and turned this town, considered God’s abode by Hindus, into the site of one of the most shocking riots in the recent past.7 Though Awahan akhara was not directly involved, the rioting shook it from within and also sealed the fate of Shivraj Giri.

  It all began near Har-ki-Pauri, on the banks of the Ganga, early on 15 March 1998, just when the shahi snan of Somvati Amavasya, an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar, had begun. A section of Juna nagas vandalised and looted the rath of Madhav Ashram, who is one of the three claimants to the seat of shankaracharya of Jyotish peetha.

  Jyotish peetha in Badrinath–Kedarnath is one of the four great monasteries believed to have been set up by Adi Shankara. For some time, before the Haridwar Kumbh had begun, a fight had been on for the control of Jyotish peetha. Apart from Madhav Ashram, Vasudevanand Saraswati and Swaroopanand Saraswati were the other two claimants. While one section of Juna akhara recognised Madhav Ashram as the shankaracharya, another supported the case of Vasudevanand Saraswati. Swaroopanand Saraswati, who had no backing from Juna and was seen by the VHP as its enemy number one, had developed his own source of strength, independent of the akharas to claim the title—he has a considerable following among the dandi sadhus, who are not directly under the control of the akharas, and he also exercises influence over a good number of nagas in Niranjani akhara.

  Madhav Ashram, who sustained serious injuries in the riots of 1998, alleged that the nagas who attacked him had been sent by his rivals Vasudevanand and Swaroopanand Saraswati, an allegation they refuted. But the attack and Madhav Ashram’s allegations created the initial skirmish among the nagas of Juna akhara. Tempers were, however, temporarily cooled by the prompt intervention of the local administration, and the shahi julus of Juna akhara proceeded for Har-ki-Pauri, where a pitched battle ensued between the nagas of Juna and Niranjani akharas on the timing of the shahi snan.

  For the shahi snan, Awahan and Agni akharas are attached to Juna, Anand is attached to Niranjani and Atal is attached to Mahanirvani. At the Haridwar Kumbh, the time-honoured practice has been that Niranjani akhara bathes first, followed by Juna akhara, accompanied by Awahan and Agni akharas. The joint contingent of Mahanirvani and Atal akharas take the holy dip thereafter. And then comes the turn of Vaishnava and other akharas.

  When Juna reached the ghat, some nagas of Niranjani akhara were still taking bath. Seeing the ghat occupied, Juna akhara’s nagas were enraged and they attacked the nagas of Niranjani akhara.

  ‘Soon, a full-fledged battle began. Swords, spears and tridents were out, and a chaotic violence ensued on the ghat. As all fighting ascetics were naked and smeared in ashes, it was just impossible to identify who belonged to which akhara,’ recalled Shivraj Giri, who, as a naga of Awahan akhara, was part of the larger contingent of Juna. ‘There was so much confusion on the ghat that I did not know what to do. Then, suddenly, the murti standing by my side was hit by a sword. As I bent to help him, I saw another sanyasi running straight towards me with a sword in his hand. Finding no route to escape, I jumped into the Ganga and let myself be carried away by its currents until I was certain I was out of danger.’

  Even after the shahi snan, the nagas of Juna akhara continued to attack ashrams on their way back. Niranjani akhara’s camp became a target of their anger. Many other ashrams were also ransacked, and some of them were even burnt down. By the end of the day, Juna had established its dominance among the Dasanami akharas, particularly over Niranjani akhara.

  But Awahan, too, was affected. The crude display of power by the nagas of Juna rekindled an old debate within Awahan. Madhusudan Giri of terah marhi launched a campaign to separate Awahan from Juna and to have a different time slot for Awahan’s nagas to bathe during Kumbh Melas. Following the madness exhibited by the nagas of Juna, there were many takers in Awahan for his line of argument.

  Although chaudah marhi, that of Shivraj Giri and his preceptor, remained dominant in the functioning of Awahan akhara for a few more years, its grip started weakening as more and more nagas were influenced by the campaign launched by terah marhi. This reached its peak in 2004, when, during the Kumbh Mela at Ujjain, Awahan, together with Agni, another akhara tied to Juna during the shahi snan, announced their separation and asked the Mela administration to allot a separate time for them to take their holy dip. This move by the two subordinate akharas enraged Juna, which asked the Mela administration not to permit this. Later, Awahan and Agni moved the court, which authorised the Mela officials to take a decision on the matter. The deadlock persisted, and the Ujjain Kumbh Mela ended without the nagas of Awahan akhara taking part in any of the shahi snans. The dispute continued and Awahan akhara boycotted the shahi snans during Nasik Kumbh in 2005 and Allahabad Ardh Kumbh in 2007. Only during Haridwar Kumbh of 2010 did the dispute end, and Awahan and Agni akharas agreed to take part in the shahi snan together with Juna once again.

  The dispute, however, saw a rise in Madhusudan Giri’s stock. In 2004, when Awahan announced its separation from Juna, he became shri mahant of terah marhi and, with the escalating rebellion, he succeeded in establishing his sway over the entire akhara. ‘Madhusudan Giri started canvassing that we should severe ties with Juna. He exploited the general anti-Juna mood in the akhara and became shri mahant and the leader of the most powerful faction in Awahan. Only later did we realise that we had been fooled and been used by him,’ Shivraj Giri said.

  Madhusudan Giri’s rise eclipsed Omkar Giri and that, in turn, marginalised Shivraj Giri. When terah marhi used to dominate the akhara, Shivraj Giri enjoyed a lot of privileges. For three years, between 1995 and 1998, he had even held the coveted post of kothari, or storekeeper, of Awahan akhara, and had, in addition, secured the possession of two of the akhara’s temples, both of which had huge chunks of agricultural lands attached to them. ‘These temples of the akhara I became mathadheesh of in 1996 are located in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district. When I took over, a good portion of the agricultural land of these temples had been encroached by some of the locals. I freed most of the plots and brought them under cultivation. Even after the end of my term as kothari, I held the two temples and continued to work for the akhara,’ Shivraj Giri said.

  But once the regime changed, a difficult period began for him. The situation worsened after the death of his preceptor Omkar Giri. As two of Awahan’s temples were still und
er his control, attempts were made to force him to give them up. The akhara asked for a higher share of revenue from his temples and Shivraj Giri could hardly retain anything from the temples’ earnings. Trying to get into the good books of the new master did not help either, as Madhusudhan Giri could not be swayed.

  Shivraj Giri did what he could to meet the demands of the new lord of Awahan. But the atmosphere was decidely hostile. ‘Four months before the 2010 Kumbh, I was asked to deposit Rs 17,000 with the akhara,’ he said, referring to the money the akharas had levied on him for being the mathadheesh. ‘It was a big amount for me. I, therefore, requested that I be given some extra time so that I could arrange the levy amount. But they refused and threatened me with dire consequences in case I delayed the payment. I then rushed to Gwalior and somehow arranged for the required sum and deposited it with the akhara.’

  Partly in anticipation of uncertainties of this kind, right after Madhusudhan Giri took over, Shivraj Giri started looking for an alternative means of sustenance. The two temples—the only source of income for him—belonged to the akhara, and he was aware that he might not be able to hold on to them for long. ‘I might still have moulded the situation in my favour had I succeeded in obtaining backing from the VHP. The web of network that the VHP has created among the sadhus in Haridwar is so widespread and strong that your life becomes secure once you get a place in it. My guru was one of those who never liked the activities of the VHP, and so I stayed away from it till his death. But later, as I looked for respite from the oppression in the akhara, I sought to build some kind of rapport with the VHP. For the first time in my life, I started attending its meetings. I kept doing so for almost a year, but I just could not manage to get any foothold there because I could never really understand many of the things they said,’ he said.