("Ultimate
Hamsa") A Hindu ascetic is one of four categories.
The four categories were determined by their ostensible
means of subsistence, which has shown to be much less essential for ascetic
identity than sectarian or organizational allegiance in reality.
The Paramahamsa is the most revered of the four, with
Kutichaka, Bahudaka, and Hamsa following in sequence of increasing prominence.
Paramahamsas have no permanent residence and are always seen
in a deserted area.
They are supposed to have transcended all concerns of
religious obligation (dharma), purity, and impurity (ashaucha), to have
destroyed all ties with the world, and to be constantly absorbed in
contemplation of the Supreme Brahman.
The Dashanami Sanyasis, austere worshippers (bhakta) of the
deity Shiva, have a more specific definition for the term paramahamsa.
Their organization is organized into 10 parts, each with its
own name.
The term "paramahamsa" refers to an ascetic who is
a member of one of the three twice-born (dvija) varnas—that is, a brahmin,
kshatriya, or vaishya, the three social groupings with greater symbolic
status—and has been initiated as a Sanyasi in one of the six divisions that
allow non-brahmins.
The Naga or battling ascetics, who would initiate shudras,
have a greater rank in these divisions than the Paramahamsas, while the Dandis,
who are generally brahmins, have a lesser standing.
