EMERGENCE OF THE NEO

VAISHNAVAITE CULTURE IN
THE BRAHMAPUTRA BASIN

Presenter- Ahan Barbora

Anirudha Chakraborty
Pranjeet Sonowal
Rohit Sharma
Hem Akshay das
Institution- Cotton College
Introduction
• SRIMANTA SANKARADEVA ,Born September 1449.
• To Kusumvara, a Siromani Bhuyan and Satyasandha in Alipukhuri, a
small village near Bardowa in Nagaon district in Central Assam.
• Sankaradeva was born into a family practising Shakti.
• Ancestors entered Assam as emissaries from Dharmanarayana of
Gaur to the Kamata King Durlabhnarayana .
• He lost his parents at the age of 12 , brought up by his grandmother
Kherhuti.
• He was sent to the Tol of Mahendra Kandali, to study the Vedas, the
Upanishads, The Ramayana, The Maha Bharata, The Puranas, The
Samhitas, The Tantras, Grammar, Lexicon and The Kavyas.
Continued….
• The Vaishnavite Movement and Bhakti Movement had started
flourishing in India at the time Sankaradeva was born.
• At the time he had left his Guru the “Neo Vaishnavite Movement”
had unfolded across India and being someone who had been a
witness to the mindless sacrifices in the Shakti culture, Sankaradeva
was piece of this movement.
• After being free from his worldy obligations and an outline of his work
secure in his mind he was ready to journey out into the world.
A Painting of Srimata Sankardeva

Image source – www.wordpress.com

The Vaishnava Movement
• The Vaishnava Movement started sweeping india in the mid-15th
century when Assam was ruled by a multitude of heterogenous
entities.
• In Vaishnavaite tradition, Vishnu is the supreme god, worshipped
either directly or in one of his ten avatars principally- Rama, Krishna,
Narayana, or Vasudeva.
• At this time Bhakti Movement also flourished across India with
numerous religious leaders appearing on the horizon, bearing the
message of Bhakti.
• In such times, Sankardeva was born.
The Neo Vaishnavite Movement Unfolds…
• In 1481, a 32 year old Sankaradeva along with 17 others set off on a
12 year long pilgrimage.
• They visited places connected with Rama and Krishna, Puri was of
special interest to them.
• He surrendered to the concepts of Sadhana and Bhakti that
resonated with the Neo Vaishnavaite Movement. He composed his
first devotional song in Assamese – Brajabuli, during this pilgrimage.
• When he returned his outlook had broadened and he was ready to
propagate his faith. But, his kin insisted on him marrying a second
time and he did so.
Continued….
• He however declined the duties of “Siromani” and had a “Hari-Griha”
built away from the householders.
• Once settled in Bardowa he organized a “Dol Jatra” and a “Chihna
yatra”.
• Sometime after his return from the pilgrimage he was gifted the
Bhagwat Geeta and he immersed himself in the work and translated
it into simple Assamese.
• After a period of time the Kacharis attacked the Bhuyans and they
were forced to flee and settle at Dhuahat.
• Here they were forced to pay obeisance to the Ahom King.
Continued….
• After a ruse engineered by the Brahmins led to the death of his son in
law he knew it was time to move again.
• In 1546, they set sail for Koch Behar. They set up a Satra at Pat Bausi
after alighting at Palengdi Bari.
• At first Naranarayan did not take kindly to Sankaradeva but he was
later won over by his scholarly prowers.
• Chilarai had a xatra built at Bheladenga, which would later have to be
shifted to Madhupur. He even developed kinship with the saint by
marrying into his family.
Continued….
• Around 1550, the saint left on his second pilgrimage accompanied by
120 devotees. This one was a short sojourn of six months.
• This was his most creative period and these last 18-20 years of his life
he spent in the soltitude that he had desired all his life.
• At 119 years of age, his religion firmly in place and his life’s work
done. He set sail from Pat Bausi to Bheladenga .
• After a short stay he finally left for his heavenly abode on Thursday,
21 September 1568.
His faith-
• Social reform was his main agenda, it was means for the people to
climb out of the abyss they had let themselves fall into.
• He knew his faith needed to be liberal, practical, universal and
accessible.
• It had to appeal to the people and one had to create the ways and
means to carry it to the people.
• He knew that to change the ideology of the people from the “sakta
tantricism” to the monotheism of his Vaishnava faith he had to
showcase what was virtuous and not decry what was evil or what was
not.
Continued…
• For his faith to be successful he had to deal with aberrations firmly
and it had to administered with kindness at the same time.
• It was based on “eka sarana nama dharma”.
• He chose Sravana and Kirtana as the two modes of worship of the
lord.
• His religion was democratic in nature and open to all.
• He forbade the worship of other Gods and Goddesses.
• His worship was austere and it did not indulge in idolatry.
Continued…
• Sankaradeva’s “eka sarana naam dharma” was also known as
“Mahapurushiya Dharma”.
• Bolstered by the success of his Chihna Yatra he declared himself a
preacher and established Naam Ghars.
• He translated other religious and historic texts into Assamese, wrote
devotional songs and created music and drama as means of reaching
out to the people.
Naam Ghar
• Is a large prayer hall , built in traditional style.
• Sanctum sanctorum is known as Monikut.
• In place of an idol, Bhagawata or the Gunamala is kept there.
Sometimes, the Kirtana Ghosha, Dasham Adi and the Naam Ghosha
is also placed there.
• More than prayer hall, it is a confluence where various social disputes
and development issues troubling the community are discussed and
resolved.
• In a way this kind of conflict management formed a precursor to the
Panchayati Raj prevalent today.
Xatra
• Is an expanded version of the Naam Ghar.
• The word Xatra is used to denote something which does not stray far
from its roots.
• It is somekind of a monastery. Where monks reside and recite and listen
to praise of god. managed by a Xatradhikar.
• They are also a repository of ancient texts, Auniati Xatra is a case in point.
• Over 900 xatras in Assam but that does not necessarily mean that the
Vasihnavaite culture has proliferated on the ground.
• In Majuli, out of 65 only 31 xatras remain. The land area has decreased
from 1250 sq.km. to 650 sq.km.
Left- Dakhinpat Satra, Majuli & Right- Kamalabari Satra, Majuli

Image Source- Google Images

Bargeet
• These are devotional songs composed by Madhavadeva and
Sankaradeva.
• Sankaradeva was first inspired to compose these kind of songs when
he went on his first pilgrimage, and experienced the power of
community singing.
• Believed to have composed 240 of these only 35 survive.
• Bargeets are primarily prayer songs sung during prayers at Xatras.
Ankiya Nat or Bhaona
• Started with the Chihna Yatra.
• Sankaradeva has to his credit six plays written between 1518 and 1568.
• Main objective was to evoke a sense of devotional fervour among the
devotees.
• Orchestra providing musical accompaniment wears white shimmering
costumes and is known as Gayan Bayan.
• The actors wear fanciful effigies.
• The narrator or sutradhar strings together all the components.
• Traditionally performed in Naam Ghars or Xatras it is now performed away
from them.
Image- Sutradhar in Bhaona . Bhaona is a traditional form of entertainment written mostly in Brajavali
script and founded in the 16th century with a social message inscribed in it. The staging of different plays
or Ankiya Nat assorted with different characters, vivid costumes and ornaments make Bhaona a completely
different affair from any other traditional entertainment forms. One of the very famous 'Bhaona' written by
Sankardeva is 'Parijat Haran' (stealing of Parijat- Flower).
Image Isource – Google Images
Xatriya Dance
• One of the eight classical dance traditions.
• Characters use dance movements to illustrate various Bhavas and
Rasas.
• The core of this dance is to present mythological teachings to the
people in an enjoyable manner.
• Performed by men and women. Accompanied by Bargeet, Khol, Taal,
Flute, Harmonium and Violin.
• Customes are made of paat with traditional jewellery like Gaamkharu,
Doogdoogi, Lokaparo, Satsori, and Golpota, etc.
• It is handed down orally in the Guru-Shishya parampara.
Sattriya (Assamese: সত্ৰীয়া), or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. It is
a dance-drama performance art with origins in the Krishna-centered Vaishnavism
monasteries of Assam, and attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and
saint named Srimanta Sankardeva .
Image Source- Google images
Vrindavani Vastra
• During Sankaradeva’s visit to Chilarai’s court, he would regale him with
stories of Krishna’s childhood.
• Chilarai wanted some way to experience the stories and to make his wish
come true Sankaradeva gifted the Vrindavani Vastra to him.
• Sankaradeva employed the help of weavers from Tantikuchi to make a forty
yard long tapestry depicting the life of the lord.
• How the vastra disappeared from Koch Behar is not known.
• In 1904 a British army officer led an expedition to Tibet and brought back
several tapestries and donated them to museums. Where they would remain
until 1992 when it was discovered that they were actually Vrindavani Vastras.
• There are only 15 known vastras in the whole wide world.
Vrindavani Vastra is a drape woven by Assamese weavers that illustrates the childhood activities
of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan. The piece of cloth demonstrates the skillful weaving methods
developed during medieval times and such complexity is rarely seen in present-day Assam.
Image Source- Google images
Literary works
• Kirtana Ghosha, Gunamala, Bhagawata I,II,III (Anadi Patana), VI (Ajamil
Upakhyan), VIII (Amrita Manthan & Bali Chalan), X (Adi), XI &XII; six Ankiya
Nats, Patni Prasad, Rukmini Haran, Kaliya Daman Yatra, Keli Gopal, Parijat
Haran& Sri Ram Vijay, Six Bhakti-tatva-kavyas; Nimi-Navasiddha Sangbad,
Bhkati Pradip, Harischandra Upakhyan, Kurukshetra & Ramayan-
Uttarakhanda; Bargeets (35 nos.), Raj Bhatima (2 nos.), Deva Bhatima
including Totaka hymn( 3 nos.) and the Sanskrit treatise Bhakti Ratnakara.
• Total 26 works.
• He wrote in three languages Assamese, Assamese Brajabulio and Sanskrit.
• But since his main objective was to propagate his faith choose Assamese as
the language of his choice.
Bibliography-
• www.google.com
• www.quora.com
• www.wordpress.com