Yajur Veda · Shukla Yajur Veda (Sannyasa Upanishad group) · 4 mantras
Paramahamsa Upanishad
Paramahaṁsopaniṣad
Central theme: Marks of the Paramahamsa — the highest-stage renunciate who has dropped staff, kamandalu, sacred thread and even the will to renounce
A foundational Sannyasa Upanishad describing the four progressive stages of the renouncer (kutichaka → bahudaka → hamsa → paramahamsa) and the unique outward marks of the paramahamsa — no staff (danda), no water-pot (kamandalu), no shikha, no yajnopavita, no clothing prescriptions, only the recognition "aham brahmasmi." His begging-bowl is his belly, his clothing is the four directions (digambara), his meditation is the seamless flow of the Self thinking the Self. Quoted by Sri Ramakrishna and by every later Sannyasa Paddhati for the dictum that the paramahamsa has no external dharma left because he has become dharma itself.
Paramahamsa Upanishad 1
न दण्डं न शिखां न यज्ञोपवीतं न च कन्थां धारयेत् । शीतोष्णसुखदुःखमानावमानांश्च त्यक्त्वा
Na daṇḍaṁ na śikhāṁ na yajñopavītaṁ na ca kanthāṁ dhārayet, śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-mānāvamānāṁś ca tyaktvā
He should bear no staff, no tuft, no sacred thread, no patched garment — having abandoned cold and heat, pleasure and pain, honour and dishonour.
The highest renunciation is the renunciation even of the marks of renunciation.