"This ash-covered sadhu, a member of the Naga sub-sect, holds up his right hand in the abhaya mudra, which expresses ""have no fear"" and grants a blessing. Nudity is the ultimate expression of asceticism, for it represents an absolute renunciation of the material world and its attachments, as well as a complete transcendence of sexuality and the sensual body. Remaining nude or semi-nude in all weather conditions is considered a severe austerity and an emulation of Shiva, who himself is digambara or ""sky clad."" Naked ascetics seem to have been ubiquitous before British rule, but nowadays only fully initiated Shaiva Nagas can go nude and typically only for special occasions.   Both Shaivas and Vaishnavas cover themselves in sacred ashes, or vibhuti, like this Naga Baba. Vibhuti is usually taken from the sadhu's own sacred fire, that of a temple or, most potently, cremation fires. Considered the prasad, or ""food,"" from the god of Fire, the vibhuti represents to the sadhu the conquering of death and the destruction of his karma in the fire of austerity."
{"Image ImageDescription": "This ash-covered sadhu holds up his right hand in what is known in sanskrit as\\nan abhaya mudra  meaning, having no fear belongs to the Naga sub-sect of sadhus, famed for going naked no matter the weather and for possessing a warrior-like mentality. The great Hindu saint and reformer Adi Shankaracharya founded such warrior sub-sects, called akhadas, in order to provide protection for the scholarly sub-sects of sadhus during medieval times.\\nPashupatinath, Kathmandu, Nepal", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2010:10:13 11:53:48", "Image Artist": "Thomas L. kelly", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "\u00a9Thomas L. Kelly", "Image ExifOffset": "712", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0231", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB"}