ALLAHABAD: Juna Akhara, one of the oldest and largest of the country's 13 akharas, will ordain 221 Dalit women as ' sanyasins' (ascetics) and 300 Dalit men as ' sanyasis' during Kumbh-2019. Of these, five women will be made ' mahamandaleshwar ' before Mauni Amavasya.Scores of Dalits, including 500 women ' sanyasins', across the country are already members of the Juna Akhara. Besides, the akhara also boasts of eight Dalit seers, including three women, who have already been ordained as ' mahamandaleshwars'. In April, the akhara had made Kanhaiya alias Shivanand Giri its first Dalit ' sanyasi'. Now, it will elevate him as ' mahamandaleshwar' during next year's Kumbh."The akhara, which has around 75 lakh members across the country, will ordain 221 Dalit women as ' sanyasins' during the upcoming Kumbh . Of these, five would be made ' mahamandaleshwar' (considered to be a high position in akhara tradition) before Mauni Amavasya," said Mahant Hari Giri, chief patron of Juna Akhara."In the coronation ceremony, the members will shave off their hair and accept ' diksha' amid chanting of Vedic mantras by the head of the akhara. The ' sanyasi' will thereafter perform their own ' pind daan' (a ritual done after the death of a person), signifying that they are now beyond worldly desires. Each one of them will be then handed over a ' dand' (a ritualistic decorative stick)," he said, adding that a similar ceremony would be held for ' mahamandaleshwars'."At a time when politicians have divided society on the lines of caste and community to be used as vote-bank, the akhara wants to highlight that not birth but deed decides a person's caste," the mahant said.

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