Sankardev

Sankardev
Sankardeva
Imaginary portrait of Srimanta Sankardev by Bishnu Prasad Rabha[1]
Personal
Born1449,
Bordowa, old name is Alipukhuri, Tembuani[2] Nagaon district, Assam, India)
Died7 September 1568[3][4]
Bheladonga
(Today Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India)
ReligionEkasarana Dharma (Vaishnavism)
Parents
  • Kusumbar Siromani Bhuyan[5] (father)
  • Satyasandhya (mother)
Organization
Founder ofEkasarana Dharma
PhilosophyEkasarana
Senior posting
SuccessorMadhavdev
HonorsVenerated as Mahapurusha
Quotation

Do, therefore, regard all and everything as though they were God Himself!? Seek not to know the caste of a Brahmana nor of a Chandala.[9]

Srimanta Sankardev[10] (/ˈsrɪˌmæntəˈsænkərˌdv/, Assamese pronunciation: [sɹimɔntɔ xɔŋkɔɹdew]; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of the Bhakti movement in Assam. He is credited with building on past cultural relics and devising new forms of music (Borgeet), theatrical performance (Ankia Naat, Bhaona), dance (Sattriya), literary language (Brajavali). Besides, he has left a literary oeuvre of trans-created scriptures (Bhagavat of Sankardev), poetry and theological works written in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali. The Bhagavatic religious movement he started, Ekasarana Dharma and also called Neo-Vaishnavite movement,[11] influenced two medieval kingdoms – Koch and the Ahom kingdom – and the assembly of devotees he initiated evolved over time into monastic centers called Sattras, which continue to be important socio-religious institutions in Assam and to a lesser extent in North Bengal.

His literary and artistic contributions are living traditions in Assam today. The religion he preached is practised by a large population, and Sattras (monasteries) that he and his followers established continue to flourish and sustain his legacy.

  1. ^ This portrait, created by Bishnu Rabha in the 20th-century, is generally accepted as the "official" portrait of Sankardev, whose likeness in pictorial form is not available from any extant form A Staff Reporter (14 October 2003). "Portrait of a poet as an artist". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 November 2003. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  2. ^ Bhuyan, Jogendra Nath (1980). মহাপুৰুষ শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱ [Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev] (in Assamese). Guwahati: Jogendra Nath Bhuyan. pp. 18–22.
  3. ^ "His eventful career came to an end on Thursday, the 7th or the 21st Bhadra (September), the 2nd day of the bright half of the lunar month, 1490 Saka/1569 AD; and his last physical remains were consigned to fire on the banks of the small river, Toroca." (Neog 1980:120–121)
  4. ^ Burman (1999, p. 56)
  5. ^ "Golap Saikia, Srimanta Sankardev, the Pioneer of the Socio-Religious Reform Movement of Medieval Assam" (PDF): 44. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "639 Identifier Documentation: aho – ISO 639-3". SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL International. Retrieved 29 June 2019. Ahom [aho]
  7. ^ "Population by Religious Communities". Census India – 2001. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019. Census Data Finder/C Series/Population by Religious Communities
  8. ^ "Population by religion community – 2011". Census of India, 2011. The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. 2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01 MDDS.XLS
  9. ^ "Kirttana Ghosa – Translations". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  10. ^ The name is spelt variously as Sankardev, Sankardeva and Sankaradeva. Further discussion may be seen at relevant talk page.
  11. ^ "Sankardev's Religion – Mahāpurusism". Retrieved 27 October 2012.