Swami, meaning master or lord, particularly master of oneself, is conferred upon formal initiation into sannyasa, the stage of renunciation that traditionally completes the four-stage Hindu life scheme, the ashramas, marking a decisive break with household life, family ties and personal property in pursuit of moksha, liberation. The title is used most extensively within the Dashanami Sampradaya, the order of ten renunciate lineages traditionally organized by the philosopher Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth or ninth century CE, each lineage identified by a distinct suffix, such as Saraswati, Bharati or Puri, appended after the personal name a sannyasi receives upon initiation, though the title swami is also used more broadly across other Hindu renunciate orders and devotional traditions not specifically part of the Dashanami structure.
A swami's formal initiation is conferred by an already-initiated guru within a recognized lineage, typically preceded by a period as a brahmachari, celibate student, and involves symbolic rites marking the renunciate's death to ordinary social identity, including, in some traditions, a formal funeral rite performed for the initiate's prior worldly self before the new monastic name and status are conferred, a striking ritual emphasis on renunciation as a genuine death and rebirth rather than merely a change in occupation or lifestyle.