The Name “Nāth”

The use of the name “Nāth” (Skt. nātha) to denote an order of human ascetics is relatively recent, 

dating to approximately the 18th century (SidPad.5.43; *Ādeśapadavyākhyāfolio 17, recto line 1; 

folio 18, recto line 8). Before this time the members of the various ascetic lineages that were to 

become the Nāth Sampradāya were known as yogīs (as they still are in the name of the modern 

“Nāth” organization, the above-mentioned Yogi Mahasabha). Householder “Nāths” were also known 

thus, and it was not until the 20th century that they began to refer to themselves as Nāths, in a bid 

to elevate their status and escape the pejorative connotations of the name yogī/jogī, which had 

come to be associated with low-status castes and mendicant orders (Gold, 1992, 51). This has happened only in Rajasthan; elsewhere householder “Nāths” are still for the most part known as yogīs or jogīs.

Nine Naths

First in most of the lists of nine Nāths is Ādinātha (“First Nāth”), who is identified with  Śiva. While the Nāth tradition is and always has been predominantly Śaiva, recent centuries have seen an increased emphasis on this aspect of their identity. Nāths depicted in medieval miniatures do not sport the archetypally Śaiva rudrākṣ aseed necklaces and tripuṇḍraash forehead markings that are commonplace today. Gorakṣ anāth nowadays is often identified with Śiva, supplanting Ādinātha. A popular Hindi Nāth → mantrais oṃśiv gorakṣ . There is a great deal of variety in the number and names of the members of the many lists of the Nāths after Ādinātha.