[Advaita-l] Sanyasins

[Venkata sriram P]

In rg veda, the word *vAtarashana kEsha* (10.136.2) word denoted malIna-vastra-dhara tapasvins.  So, the sanyAsa dharma was anAdi which was mentioned in our shruti,smriti & purANAs.   Study of all the sanyAsa upanishads would also reinforce this fact that yati parampara existed even prior to acharya sankara.  
However, in what form and whether there was yOga paTTa or not we don't know becauseSankara Bhagavatpada was the trendsetter in muttamnAya anushAsana and dasanamisampradAya.  
As per nArada parivrAjaka & bhikshu upanishad, shvEtakEtu, rubhu, nidAgha, jaDabharata,durvAsa, saMvartaka, sanatsujAta, vaidEha, vaTasiddha, shuka, vAmadEva, dattAtrEya, raivataka, gOrakSa, harItaka were paramahamsAs; and gautama, bhAradwAja, yAjnavalkya, vashishta were kutichakAs. 
However, the most prominent yati sampradAya which is anAdi and and vibrant even today is the dattAtrEya sampradAya which is known for it's *avadhUta parampara*.
Jagatguru dattAtrEya was born to Atri and Anasuya.  He remained as a brahmachAri and is a trilOka sanchAri. In Kali Yuga, He took 16 avatArAs to bless His devotees. The speciality of the datta avatara unlike other avataras is that there is noavatAra parisamApti for Him.  
He roams like a mad man, naked (sometimes with a loin cloth to save His lajjatva), with dust and mud all over His body and sometimes seen with sandal paste and bhasma smeared all over His body.  He is sometimes seen among the group of drunkards and sometimes among the group of mad men; He is sometimes seenalone performing the haTa yOga with utmost ease; He is sometimes seenimmersed in nAda yOga; He is sometimes seen as a young lad and sometimes asas an old man; He is sometimes seen as an outcast with 4 dogs behind and quiteoften seen as an hardcore vaidika brAhmaNa doing the swAdhyAya of the shAstrAs.

regs,sriram