The term akhara carries multiple meanings: it can refer to a sect, a group, a type of subunit, a military community, a gymnasium, or a place for training. Over time, shifting historical circumstances added further nuances to the word.

As early as the beginning of the first millennium CE, armed ascetic sects emerged in India to protect trade caravans, pilgrimage routes, and religious sites. Over the centuries, these groups evolved into organized monastic orders, each capable of fielding its own armed forces.

These units were based in monasteries known as maṭhas or akharas. Over time, maṭha came to denote religious and spiritual centers, whereas akhara referred both to the training grounds and headquarters of armed ascetic groups and to the groups themselves.

Over time, the term akhara also came to designate warrior communities that, like self-defense units, united urban and rural populations through shared military training. The grounds where such training took place likewise became known as akharas. A typical akhara featured a small temple and an earthen embankment used for wrestling matches. When ascetics established an akhara, the temple often housed the tomb of one of their gurus.

Each akhara operated under its own Guru and instructors. However, when regular armed forces emerged, the akharas maintained their independent existence. There was no overlap between the traditional training conducted in the akharas and the military drills of the regular armies. This disconnect was inevitable, given that these new forces arose during the age of firearms and were trained by European mercenaries.

In the 20th century, akhara were primarily associations of traditional kushti wrestlers. However, some akhara also focused on strength training, gymnastics, acrobatics, and other physical disciplines. Those dedicated to martial arts had largely disappeared by the 1900s, or had shifted their focus to sport-oriented practices involving traditional weapons, adapted for physical culture and recreational training.