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Akhara or Akhada (: अखाड़ा, : Akhāṛā) is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists or a monastery for religious renunciates in Guru–shishya tradition. Akharas and Kumbh Mela What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith, by Editors of Hinduism Today, Hinduism Today Magazine Editors. Published by Himalayan Academy Publications, 2007. . 243-244. For example, in the context of the Dashanami Sampradaya sect, the word denotes both martial arts and religious monastic aspects of the trident-wielding martial regiment of the renouncing .

Etymology
The term akhara, is a gender-egalitarian term, which means the circle or more precisely the spiritual core, Carnival of the Soul At India's Maha Kumbh Mela, News Week, Tahir Shah, 3 May 2013 congregation or league,Three it is similar to the Greek-origin word academy and the English word school, can be used to mean both a physical institution or a group of them which share a common lineage or are under a single leadership, such as the school of monastic thought or the school of martial arts. Unlike the in which students live and study at the home of a , members of an akhara although train under a guru but they do not live a domestic life. Some strictly practice (celibacy) and others may require complete renunciation of worldly life. For example, wrestlers are expected to live a pure life while living at akhara with other fellow wrestlers, refraining from sex and owning few material possessions.

In some languages such as the word is officially transcribed as akhada, by way of rendering the flapped sound as a d. The Haryanvi and dialects shorten this to khada (खाड़ा).

History
Foundation dates of martial akharas
Sir Jadunath Sarkar documented the founding date of various akharas based on a 19the century manuscript provided to him by the Nirvani Akhara of Dashanami Sampradaya.

  • martial akharas: Dashanami Sampradaya has 10 akharas, 6 of which are ancient akharas. The manuscript cited by Sarkar details the genealogy of head of 6 akharas. According to this manuscript, the six military akharas were founded in the following years, Dashanami military kharas had prohibition against eating meat or taking of narcotics:David N. Lorenzen, 2006, Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History, Yoda Press, p.51-65.
  • 547 CE, Avahan Akhara
  • 646 CE, Atal Akhara
  • 749 CE, Nirvani Akhara
  • 904 CE, Niranjani Akhara
  • 1146 CE, Juna Akhara which was originally called "Bhairavi Akhara"
  • 1856 CE, Anand Akhara

  • akharas: Followers of Vaishnavism are also called or Vairagi. Among the Bairagi, those who became part of the military akharas were organised in the 7 akharas founding dates of most of which are unclear. Each of the akhara accepted members from all 4 sects of Vaishnavism. Bairagi military akharas generally did not follow the prohibition against eating meat or taking of narcotics. Vaishnavism has following four major sects and 7 martial akharas:
    • subsects or paramparas
      • Sri founded by Ramananda
      • Brahma founded by Madhava
      • Rudra founded by Vishnusuvamin
      • Sanakadi founded by Nimbarka
    • Martial akharas - total 7:
  • : Armed martial akharas were first likely formed by the Dadupantji guru Jait Sahib (1693–1734 CE) when he recruited armed Naga sadhus. In 1733, Dadupanthis were tax-paying farmers in and martial naga sadhus used employed to enforce the payment of taxes. In 1793, Dadupanthis and Jaipur State had an agreement under which Dadhupanthis provided 5000 armed soldier sadhus to defend the Jaipur State. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Dadupanthis acted as auxiliaries who assisted the East India Company forces.

Historical timeline
In its earliest usage, akhara referred to training halls for professional fighters. Govind Sadashiv Ghurye translates the term as "military regiment". Ancient use of the word can be found in the (c. 400 BCE text describing 900 BCE era) epic which mentions 's Akhara at . Legendary figures like and are credited as the founders of the early martial akhara in certain regions of India.

Svinth (2002) traces press ups and squats used by South Asian wrestlers to the pre-classical era. Many of the popular sports mentioned in the and the epics have their origins in military training, such as boxing ( ), wrestling ( maladwandwa), chariot-racing ( rathachalan), horse-riding ( aswa-rohana) and archery ( dhanurvidya).

(2025). 9780755451623, Robert Frederick Ltd..

When the 8th-century philosopher Adi Shankaracharya (788–820 CE) founded the Dashanami Sampradaya, he divided the ascetics into two categories: Shastradhari (: शास्त्रधारी, lit. scripture-bearers) intelligentsia and Astradhari (: अस्त्रधारी, lit. weapon-bearers) warriors. Shankaracharya established Naga sadhus as an astradhari armed order. He also popularised the during the reign of of .

(2025). 9788173871344, Indus Publishing. .
, p.26

In 904 CE and 1146 CE, and Juna Akhara were founded respectively.

In 1567 CE, (Giris) and (Puris) battled each other as detailed in the , both are 2 of the 10 orders of Dashanami Akhara. Puris were outnumbered by 200 to 500 by Jogis, asked his soldiers to smear ash and join Puris to help them, this led to the victory of Puris,

In 1657/1672 CE, against Aurangzeb's persecution of Non-Muslims.

In 1664 CE, Dashanami Akhara possibly battled .

In 1690 CE and 1760 CE, Akharas of Saivites and Vaishnava sects fought each other at Nashik mela (60,000 died) and Haridwar mela (1,800 died).

In 1770-1820 CE, during Sannyasi rebellion against Company rule in India, Akharas played a key role specially the Dashanami akhara.

In 1780 CE, the East India Company administration establish the sequence of order of procession for royal bathing by the akharas at to eliminate disputes.

In 2018, the was established by the hijra(transgender) community. It is under the Juna Akhada (Shri Panchdashnaam Juna Akhada).

Today, akhara may be used for religious purposes or for the teaching of and martial arts. Some of the noted Akhara organisations include Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (All India Akhara Council), , and Shri Dattatreya Akhara.

Akharas within Guru–Shishya traditional Sampradaya-Paramparas
is a particular system of belief and within it a particular 's lineage is called . There are 3 distinct belief-system Sampradayas (Vaishnava, Shaivite and Dashanami sampradaya), each of which follows one of 3 types of Guru–shishya parampara lineage (Deva, and parampara), each sampradaya-parampara may have several akharas of shastradhari (intellectuals) or astradhari (warriors), and larger akharas may have own one or more permanent .

( : सम्प्रदाय ) translated as ‘tradition’, 'spiritual lineage' or a ‘religious system’. It relates to a succession of masters and disciples, which serves as a spiritual channel, and provides a delicate network of relationships that lends stability to a religious identity. Sampradaya is a body of practice, views and attitudes, which are transmitted, redefined and reviewed by each successive generation of followers. A particular lineage is called . By receiving into the guru–shishya traditional parampara of a living guru, one belongs to its proper sampradaya. One cannot become a member by , as is the case with , a seminal, or hereditary, . In the traditional residential form of education, the shishya remains with his or her guru as a family member and gets the education as a true learner.A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Srimad Bhagavatam 7.12.1, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1976, In some traditions there is never more than one active master at the same time in the same guruparamaparya (lineage).Padoux, André. "The Tantric Guru" in David Gordon White (ed.) 2000. Tantra in Practice, p. 44. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press

Sampradaya: three sampradayas are Vaishnava, Shavite and Advait
:* Vaishnava sampradaya: has 4 major Guru–shishya traditional paramparas
:** parampara of guru ,
:** Madhva Sampradaya parampara of guru ,
:** parampara of guru /
:** Kumara sampradaya parampara of guru

:*Shaivite sampradaya: has 6 major Guru–shishya traditional paramparas
:**Nandinatha Sampradaya parampara of guru (now known as Siddha Sampradaya of )
:** Mathew Chandrankunnel (2008) "Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics" P. 720 parampara of guru Meykandar (now known as Saiva Adheenams of in )
:** Adinath Sampradaya parampara of guru and (now known as of ) Nisargathatta maharaj
:** (also known as Ragasya Sampradaya and Trayambaka Sampradaya)P. N. K. Bamzai (1994) "Culture and Political History of Kashmir"V. N. Drabu (1990) "Śaivāgamas: A Study in the Socio-economic Ideas and Institutions of Kashmir (200 B.C. to A.D. 700) Indus Publishing parampara of guru and who follow Lakshmanjo Academy
:** parampara
:** parampara

:* (also known as Ekadandis, currently known as Dashanami Sampradaya): After the decline of Buddhism, a section of the Ekadandis were organised by in the 8th century in India to be associated with four s paramparas to provide a base for the growth of Hinduism. Dashanami Sampradaya, "Tradition of Ten Names", is a monastic tradition of Ekadandi sannyasins (wandering renunciates carrying a single staff) Journal of the Oriental Institute (pp 301), by Oriental Institute (Vadodara, India) Indian Sadhus by Govind Sadashiv Ghurye Advaitic Concept of Jīvanmukti by Lalit Kishore Lal Srivastava generally associated with the tradition.
:** Bhogavala parampara of guru Padmapāda at ( in Odisha)
:** Bhūrivala parampara of guru Sureśvara at Sringeri Śārada Pīṭhaṃ (in Karnataka)
:** Kitavala parampara of guru Hastāmalakācārya at (Dwaraka in Gujrat)
:** Nandavala parampara of guru at ( in Uttrakhand)

Paramparās: 3 types (Daiva, Rishi and Manav)
: Daiva-paramparā
:* Nārāyaṇa
:*
:* Padmabhuva ()
: Ṛiṣhi-paramparā
:*
:* Śakti
:* Parāśara
:* Vyāsa
:* Śuka
: Mānava-paramparā
:* Gauḍapāda
:* Govinda bhagavatpāda
:* Śankara bhagavatpāda, and then Shankara's four disciples
:** Padmapāda
:** Hastāmalaka
:** Toṭaka
:** Vārtikakāra (Sureśvara) and others

Two types of Akhara: Shashtradhari and Astradhari
When the 8th-century philosopher Adi Shankaracharya founded the Dashanami Sampradaya, he divided the ascetics into two categories:
  • Shastradhari (: शास्त्रधारी, lit. scripture-bearers) intelligentsia.
  • Astradhari (: अस्त्रधारी, lit. weapon-bearers) warriors. This refers to the Naga sadhus (a sub-set of Dashanami Sampradaya), an armed order created by Shankaracharya to act as a Hindu army. These weapon-bearing used to serve as a militia and thus were divided into akhara or regiments. Akharas' act of self-defence of turning into armed monasteries of mystics,
    (1992). 9780141927756, Penguin Books Limited. .
    (2025). 9780823931798, The Rosen Publishing Group. .
    also led to the unintended consequence of their sectarian fights among themselves turning into violent armed clashes at with disastrous consequence including numerous deaths,
    (1996). 9780812215854, University of Pennsylvania Press.
    (2025). 9780199741588, Oxford University Press. .
    (2025). 9788121501651, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. .
    which diminished only after the East India Company administration limited the warrior role of akharas.
    (2008). 9780195338942, OUP USA. .
    , pp=57-58.     Presently, Naga sadhu still carry weapons, but they rarely practice any form of fighting aside from wrestling.

Astra Martial Arts Akhara
Astra (Hindi: अस्त्र), the weapons or martial arts have a long tradition in India. The oldest recorded organised unarmed fighting art in South Asia is or combat-wrestling, codified into four forms and pre-dating the . Stories describing report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches where he used knee strikes to the chest, punches to the head, hair pulling, and strangleholds. Based on such accounts, Svinth (2002) traces press ups and squats used by South Asian wrestlers to the pre-classical era.

In modern usage, akhara most often denotes a wrestling ground and is typically associated with . For wrestlers, the akhara serves as a training school and an arena in which to compete against each other. The akhara used by wrestlers still have dirt floors to which water, red ochre, buttermilk and oil are added. Aside from wrestling, other fighting systems are also taught and practiced in akhara, which are commonly named after their founder. Indian martial artists may still practice in regional versions of traditional akhara today, but these are often replaced with modern training studios outside .

Dangal
While akhara is a place where practicing martial artists lodge and train under a martial art guru, akhara is also usually an for the dangal organised among the competing sports person.Rudraneil Sengupta, 2016, Enter the Dangal: Travels through India's Wrestling Landscape, chapter 1 and 2. While living at akhara, practice celibacy, stay smoke free and alcohol free and they eat nutrition tradition diet usually rich in milk, , dried nuts and roti. Dangal is Hindi language word which means or competition in akhara, sometimes called "Chhinj" in Punjabi. meaning of Dangal , HindiMeaningInd.in. Sparring is a form of common to many which may vary in its precise form, but it is relatively 'free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to make injuries unlikely.

Langot
(लंगोट) or langota (लंगोटा), also (कौपिनम) or kaupina (कौपिन), is a traditional style of Indian for men, worn as in dangal held in akharas. It is now mainly used by men when exercising and other intense physical games especially wrestling, to prevent and .
(2025). 9780980376104, YATAN Ayurvedics. .

Langota, mostly worn by wrestlers, is a undergarment which covers the and . A kaupina, mostly worn by ascetics or by older men in many parts of India, is a similar but unsewn garment that does not cover the buttocks and instead it passes between the buttocks.

Major Martial Arts Akharas
The major traditional Indian-origin martial arts akhara, mostly focused on and , by state include:

Shashtra Monastic Akhara
(Sanskrit and Hindi: शास्त्र) means treatise, scriptures or the school of thoughts based on those. There has been a long monastic tradition of obtaining "Shashtra Vidhya" (knowledge of Sashtras) in various schools of thoughts in , where disciples could learn one or more of the following in a monastic setting: , , (architecture), Vaimānika Shāstra (ancient aerospace technology), Jyotiḥśāstra (astrology), (fortune telling), (medicine), (arts and craft), (dance, drama and performing arts), Art and Culture: Painting and Perspective, Volume 2, Ahsan Jan Qaisar, Som Prakash Verma.2002 , (Higher scholar), (knowledge of bliss), and so on.

Organisation of Monastic Akhara
According to some texts, an akhara is governed by the sacred body of five Sri Pancha and organised into 52 or Marhi (Hindi: मढ़ी). Many assume 52 Marhi to refer to 52 lineages but they refer to 52 Desas (countries). These 52 Marhis are divided into 8 Davas corresponding to 8 directions. The maths are permanent centres of monastic practice with physical structures, led by a mahant or spiritual leader. Though not all akharas follow this structure, mainly due to the insufficient size. For example, smaller akhara, some as small as having only one marhi, may be set up either as a subsidiary affiliate to a larger and more established older akhara group or occasionally an independent akhara due to the disagreements over succession. Akharas can march as subsidiary akhara under the current preferential order of sequence in the Shahi Snan during Kumbh Mela or they are given the last place if their claim for the independent akhara is approved by the authorities.

Sri Pancha
According to the texts, the top administrative body of each of the akhara is the Sri Pancha (sacred body of five), representing , , , and . It is elected by consensus from among the of or Marhi (Sanskrit: मठ and Hindi: मढ़ी ) that make up an akhara on every and the body holds its post for 4 years. It is a concept similar to centuries-old Indian republican consensual elective system of (at an individual village level) and (grouping of the related villages within a union).

Among the five elected Sri Pancha of the akhara, they hold the following positions in the decreasing order of seniority, all of which can be considered in their own right:

  • Acharya Mahamandaleshwara, the Great leader and Teacher of the spiritual order of the God
  • Mahamandaleshwara, the senior divisional leader of the spiritual order of the God
  • Mandaleshwara, the divisional leader of the spiritual order of the God
  • Sri Mahant, the senior spiritual leader
  • , the spiritual leader or master. Each (marhi) within the akhara is governed by a

Sampradaya-based Classification of Akharas
At highest level, akhara are classified into one of the four different (philosophical denominations) based on their traditional systems: Akharas At Simhastha Kumbha Mela Ujjain, 17-Jan-201 Each sampradaya has several (lineages), each started by a based on the guru-shishya tradition. The subsidiary status is as per the traditional Shahi Snan preferential sequence of procession, though time to time several subsidiary akharas have unsuccessfully tried with authorities to have this sequence altered as the number of their followers grew.South

Initially there were only 4 akharas based on the sampradaya (sect), which have split into subsidiary akharas due to differences in the leadership and expansion in the followership. In January 2019, there were 13 akharas that are allowed to participate in Prayagraj Kumbh Mela and they have formed the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad with 2 representatives from each of the 13 akharas to manage the akhara-related affairs across all kumb melas and across the nations. Akharas and their history, Amarujala, 18 Jan 2019.

  • A. (Hindi: सन्यासी अखाड़ा) of the followers of . Examples of these akharas include the:
    • Niranjani Akhara and its subsidiary
    • Ananda Akhara
    • Juna Akhara and its subsidiaries
    • Avahan Akhara
    • Agni Akhara.
    • Pari Akhara, an exclusive akhara of female sadahavi (saints), was included in Prayagraj Kumbh for the first time starting from 2013 as a subsidiary akhara of one of the existing akhara.
  • B. , also Bairagi Akhara (Hindi: बैरागी अखाड़ा) of the followers of . Examples of such akharas include the:
    • Mahanirvani Akhara (or simply Nirvani) and its subsidiaries
    • Atal Akhara
    • 11. Digambar akhara
    • 12. akharas.
  • C. Udasi Akhara (Hindi: उदासी अखाड़ा) of the followers of (with practices). Examples of such akharas include the:
    • Nirmal Akhara.
  • D. (Hindi: कल्पवासी अखाड़ा) of the followers of , generally ordinary people who are temporarily living the austere life during the Kumbh Mela to mimic (Sanskrit: वनप्रस्थ) "retiring into a forest" stage of later life. In that sense kalpwasi akhara is a temporary akhara of no fixed ongoing organisation or leadership.

Still-extant Ancient Akharas
The still-extant seven Shastradhari or monastic Hindu akhara founded by the 8th-century philosopher Adi Shankaracharya (also the founder of four Mathas) can be classified, in terms of affiliation and the number of followers, as three major akharas, three minor akharas under major akharas and one smaller akhara under the major akhara:
-
, attached to Juna Akhara
-

The akhara with the most is Juna Akhara, followed by Niranjani Akhara and Mahanirvani Akhara. Among these, today, three are considered major akhara (Juna, Niranjani and Mahanirvani) and three minor akhara (Avahan affiliated with Juna, Ananda affiliated with Niranjani and Atal affiliated with Mahanirvani). The 7th, small (celibate) akhara named Agni is also affiliated with Juna Akhara.

Akharas Today
There are numerous other still-extant akharas, founded by the disciples of the existing akharas, that are usually loosely or directly aligned under one of the existing akhara lineage. The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय अखाड़ा परिषद, transliterated as All India Akhara Council), founded in 1954, Tussle between Akhara members, WebDuniya is the apex organisation of 13 akharas of Sants (saints) and (ascetics) representing the largest followership in . These are entitled to the special privilege of the Shahi Snan at and mela in a pre-determined sequence.

Akharas Sequence At Kumbh Mela's Shahi Snan
The monastic akhara and their Sri Pancha of various sects meet during the . The Naga sadhu and the various akhara traditionally lead and initiate the bathing rituals before the general population steps in. Kumbha Mela Students' Britannica India, by Dale Hoiberg, Indu Ramchandani. Published by Popular Prakashan, 2000. . Page 259-260. Maha Kumbh Mahakumbh: The Greatest Show on Earth, by J.S. Mishra. Published by Har-Anand Publications, 2007. . Page 21.

The order of procession is

  1. Mahanirvani akhara with Atal akhara,
  2. Niranjani akhara with Anand akhara,
  3. Juna akhara with Ahvahan and Agni akhara,
  4. Nirvani akhara,
  5. Digambar akhara,
  6. Nirmohi akhara,
  7. Naya Udasin akhara,
  8. Bada Udasin akhara, and
  9. Nirmal akhara.

See also

Notes
Further reading
Martial arts akhara

Monastic akhara

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