Samnyasa

Samnyasa, or sannyasa, is the Hindu practice and life stage of renunciation, devoted to spiritual pursuit and liberation (moksha). The term comes from Sanskrit, commonly interpreted as renunciation or the act of taking up a renounced order. In traditional Hindu ethics, life is divided into four ashramas: Brahmacharya (student), Grihastha (householder), Vanaprastha (retired/forest dweller), and Sannyasa (renunciate). Sannyasa represents complete withdrawal from worldly duties, possessions, and social obligations to focus on self-realization, study of scripture, meditation, and devotion.

Initiation into sannyasa, or diksha, is a key feature and is typically performed by a guru. The ceremony signals a commitment to a renounced lifestyle, often accompanied by adopting saffron or ochre robes, and taking vows such as non-attachment, truthfulness, celibacy, non-violence, and reliance on alms. Sannyasis may lead a wandering mendicant life or join monastic lineages and matha (monastic centers). Traditions differ in emphasis and practice; some renunciants live strictly with minimal possessions, while others participate in organized order life under a guru or lineage.

Various lineages and orders articulate sannyasa differently. Notable examples include the Dashanami Sampradaya, established by Adi Shankaracharya, and other Vaishnava or Shaiva renunciate paths. Despite differences, the core aim across traditions is the cultivation of detachment and spiritual discipline to attain liberation.

In Hindu thought, sannyasa is viewed as a high and final stage of life, chosen by those who seek release from the cycle of birth and death rather than social or familial advancement.