Hindu ascetic moved through water, heading for India (5)
I believe the answer is:
swami
'hindu ascetic' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'moved through water heading for india' is the wordplay.
'moved through water' becomes 'swam' (I've seen this before).
'heading for' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'india' is 'i'.
'swam'+'i'='SWAMI'
(Other definitions for swami that I've seen before include "Religious leader" , "Teacher abroad" , "Religious master" , "Hindu holy man" , "How to address Hindu dignitary" .)