[Advaita-l] Requirements for a Sanyasi from Adi Shankara

[subhanu saxena]

Praveen Kumar wrote:
 
"I understand Adi Shankara outlined the desired characteristics of a sanyasi
and those who adorn the Amanyapeeta that he established.Can anybody throw
more light on those please?"

Namaste
 
I took the liberty of forwarding your question to Swami Yogananda Saraswati who is closely associated to the Sringeri Matha, and I received the following reply below which I hope is helpful.
I have also included the link to the work Swamiji mentions, pAramahamsya-mImAmsA. I had posted a loose translation of the first few chapters of this work a few years ago on the Satchidanandendra list and I can send this to you direct if you email me privately. There are extensive references in this work to how sannyasa is described in the brahma sutram, jAbAla Sruti which is quoted by Suresvara and Shankara (with the key line yad ahareva virajet tadahareva pravrajet),the bhashya texts, esp Brihadaranyaka, the Vartika of Suresvara, Gita, as well as various Smritis and Puranas.
 
Regards
Subhanu
 
Response from Swami Yogananda Saraswati below:
 
As you might know, the required qualifications for sannyasa are 
cittashuddhi, viveka, vairAgya and shatsampatti (shama, dama, uparati, 
titikshA, shraddhA and samAdhAna), obtained by the practice of karmayoga 
or nishkAma-karma. By giving up karma-phala, rAga and dvesha fade away, 
as well as bhoktritva, and one becomes fit to give up all karmas and 
kartritva through knowledge.
 
Apart from the Upanishads, the 2nd (55 to 71) and 12th (13 to 20) 
chapters of Bh.-Gita give the characteristics of a sannyAsi.
 
Shankara's upadesha-pañcakam, yati-pañcakam and dhanyAshTakam speak of 
sannyAsa too, and another work entitled mahAnushAsanam, which is 
attributed to him, speaks of the rules to be followed by mathAdhipatis. 
Among the 28 shlokas which constitute that work, the following two are 
often quoted by the Shringeri Jagadgurus :
 
shucir-jitendriyo veda-vedANgAdi-vishAradaH |
yogajñaH sarvashAstrANAm sa mad-AsthAnam-ApnuyAt ||
 
"He who is pure, a master of his senses, proficient in the Vedas and 
Vedangas, etc.,
a knower of yoga and all shastras, can attain my rank."
 
ukta-lakshaNa-sampannaH syAc cen mat-pIThabhAg bhavet |
anyathArUDha-pITho'pi nigrahArho manIshiNAm ||
 
"If one is endowed with the aforesaid characteristics,
he becomes entitled to my Seat.
Otherwise, even one who has ascended the Seat
may be restrained by the wise."
 
The complete maThAmnAya-stotra is to be found in the following work :
The dashanAmI-sannyAsis
The Integration of Ascetic Lineages into an Order
by Matthew Clark
BRILL, LEIDEN - BOSTON, 2006
 
In addition, the work pAramahamsya-mImAmsA, which you might know, by 
Swami Saccidanandendra Sarasvati, contains a lot of details on sannyAsa.
 [link: http://www.adhyatmaprakasha.org/Books/sanskrit/s27/s27.djvu?djvuopts&zoom=page you will need to download djvu reader]

Hope this will be useful to the person who was asking about sannyAsa and 
the AmnAya-pIThas.
 
nArAyaNa-smaraNam,
 
Swamiji