Kalpvasi, sadhu or naga: who is who at the Kumbh

At the Kumbh, a kalpvasi is a householder who lives by the river for about a month under vows, a sadhu is anyone who has given up home and family for a religious life, and a Naga is an initiated ascetic of an akhara, mostly of the Shaiva akharas. In a crowd they can look alike, but their lives are very different.

Pilgrims, kalpvasis and their priests

Most people at a Kumbh are pilgrims who come to bathe and then go home. The Prayagraj Mela Authority describes the gathering as ascetics, saints, sadhus, sadhvis, kalpvasis and pilgrims from all walks of life, which is a good list to start from.

A kalpvasi stays longer and keeps vows. At Prayagraj, kalpvasis live for about a month in simple tents near the Sangam, usually from Paush Purnima to Magh Purnima. The mela authority’s list of their rules includes rising before sunrise, prayer at the three junctions of the day, satsang, one meal a day and sleeping on the ground, and it says a kalpvasi wears clean white or yellow clothes. Kalpvasis are householders: when the month ends they go back to family life. The official Haridwar Kumbh site also describes kalpvasis who spend the Kumbh period on the banks of the Ganga in a disciplined routine. Our guide to kalpvas explains the month in detail.

Many pilgrims also have a family priest at the tirth. At Prayagraj these are the Prayagwals, or tirth purohits, families who have lived in the city for generations. They settle pilgrims at their camps, perform the rituals for them and keep registers of each family’s visits. Each flies a banner on a tall bamboo pole so that pilgrims can find him on the mela ground.

Photo: Ninara, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sadhu, sannyasi and vairagi

Sadhu is the widest word. Britannica describes a sadhu as a religious ascetic or holy person, a class that includes renunciants of many types. Sadhus generally take vows of poverty and celibacy and live on the charity of householders. Some live in monasteries (mathas) that belong to an order, some wander alone or in small groups, and some live in seclusion.

Each tradition has its own word. In Shaivism the usual term is sannyasi, and in Vaishnavism vairagi, often said bairagi. The name sannyasi is linked especially with the Dashanami order, which tradition traces to Shankara. The Udasin ascetics form a third group: the Prayagraj Mela Authority says the Udaseen akharas regard Chandra Dev, son of the first Sikh guru, as their founder. A woman ascetic is usually called a sadhvi, or a sannyasini if she has taken sannyas.

Not every sadhu belongs to an akhara. Research on Haridwar describes sanyasi, bairagi and Udasi orders alongside independent renouncers. The mela authority also describes the Dandi sannyasis, who carry a wooden staff called the Brahma Danda and whose organisation at the mela is called the Dandi Bada.

Photo: Seba Della y Sole Bossio from Cordoba, Argentina, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Naga sannyasis

A Naga is a particular kind of sannyasi. The Prayagraj Mela Authority says every Naga is attached to an akhara, and Government of India material links them especially with the Shaiva akharas, where they carry traditional weapons such as spears and swords in processions. On Amrit Snan days Naga sannyasis are often at the front of their akhara. In 2025 some rode horses and others walked, with flowers in their matted hair and tridents held high, and some played the damru as they went to the river.

Like other sannyasis, a Naga is initiated by a guru within an akhara; the mela authority says only an akhara’s Mahamandaleshwars may give the guru-mantra to new saints. So you cannot tell a Naga from dress alone. Our page on Naga sadhus covers their history and customs.

Mahant, Mahamandaleshwar and the akhara

An akhara is an organised order of ascetics, not a wrestling ground. The established list in government Kumbh material has 13, in Shaiva, Vaishnava, Udasin and Nirmal groups. The mela authority says Mahamandaleshwars lead the akharas, and that in the processions they ride on decorated chariots with the Shri Mahant, followed by the akhara’s secretaries, Naga sannyasis on horses and the other saints on foot. Titles and duties are not the same in every akhara. The Vaishnava akharas also share a camp at Prayagraj called Khak Chowk, which houses more than a hundred of their mahants and mandaleshwars.

Meeting them with respect

Everyone here is at a religious event, so treat a tent or camp as someone’s home and place of worship. Ask before you photograph a person, and take silence or a shake of the head as a no. Do not assume that everyone in saffron belongs to an akhara, and do not ask which akhara ranks highest. For the orders themselves, read Akharas of Kumbh Mela, and before you take pictures see our note on photographing ascetic traditions with respect.

Plan your trip