There are various clans of Yogis in Nepal. Although the term yogi also means sanyasi in Sanskrit (which refers to the one who has given up all his possessions and dedicated himself to the path of achieving Nirvana), Yogi is also used as the last name by those whose ancestors were once sanyasis but then took family life.. According to one of the Yogis, initially their ancestor was a Bramhin in Kumaun/Garwal (in present day India but once a Nepali territory) where he gave up all his possessions to become a sanyasi and traveled to Nepal. Once he reached Dang, Nepal he got married to a local girl and their descendants became a Yogi clan of Nepal. This is the history of only one of the Yogi clans of Nepal and that of the rest of the Yogis is still undocumented.

-- AashishJha - 12 Jan 2008