Avadhà «ta (IAST ', written as à ¤ à ¤µà ¤§à ¥Âà ¤¤) is a Sanskrit term from the root 'to shake' (see V. S. Apte and Monier-Williams) that, among its many uses, in some Indian religions indicates a type of mystic or saint who is beyond egoic-consciousness, duality and common worldly concerns and acts without consideration for standard social etiquette. Avadhà «ta is a Jivanmukta who gives his insight to others and teaches them about his realisation of the true nature of the ultimate reality (Brahman 'à ¤¬à ¥Âà ¤°à ¤¹à ¥Âà ¤®' - not to be confused with Brahmin) and self (ÃÂtman) and takes the role of a guru to show the path of moksha to others. Some Avadhà «ta also achieve the title of Paramahamsa.
Similar figures (colloquially called 'mad/crazy monks') are also known in Buddhist traditions, such as the medieval Zen monk Ikkyà «, and the 20th-century Tibetan tulku Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In Tibetan Buddhism the equivalent type is called a nyönpa ().
Feuerstein frames how the term avadhà «ta came to be associated with the mad or eccentric holiness or 'crazy wisdom' of some antinomian paramahamsa who were often 'skyclad' or 'naked' (Sanskrit: digambara):
Sarat Chandra Das et al. equate Chöd practitioners () as a type of avadhà «ta:
The rites of Chöd differ between lineages but essentially there is an offering of their body as food, a blessing to demons and other entities to whom this kind of offering may be of benefit, in a feast called the ganachakra. This sÃÂdhanà(practice) is common to another denizen of the charnel ground, DattÃÂtreya the avadhà «ta, to whom has been attributed the nondualist medieval song, the Avadhà «ta GëtÃÂ. DattÃÂtreya was a founding guru () of the Aghori according to Barrett:
John Woodroffe, in his translation of the Mahanirvana tantra from the original Sanskrit into English under the pen name "Arthur Avalon", may be the introduction of the archetype of "avadhà «ta" to the English-reading public, as none of the avadhà «ta upanishads were translated amongst the collections of minor upanishads such as the Thirty Minor Upanishads. The MahÃÂnirvÃÂá¹Âa tantra is an example of a nondualist tantra, and the translation of this work had a profound impact on the Indologists of the early-to mid-20th century. The work mentions four kinds of avadhà «ta.
The Brahmanirvantantra describes how to identify the avadhuts of the following types:
The Natha Sampradaya is a form of avadhà «ta panthan. In this sampradaya, Guru and yoga are of extreme importance. The important book for the Nath is the Avadhuta Gita. Gorakshanath is considered the topmost form of the avadhuta-state.