Culture is the mirror to Society and its people. What people think, how they live, what is their emotional quotient, etc, can be judged by its culture. Culture is not only the storehouse of knowledge, but also its application. The evolution of humans is also a mirror of its cultural transformation too. And every human generation has seen the rise of a special person who had enriched the cultural evolution with their contribution.
Neo-Vaishnavism sprouted in North India around fourteenth and fifteenth century, with Ramanand, Kabir, Ballavacharyya, some of the significant names associated with this. In Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva brought in a wave of Neo-Vaishnavism in the fifteenth and sixteenth century and changed the cultural landscape of the state. Through his contributions to religion, society, literature and arts, he ushered in a new era of cultural revolution in the state.
Assam was divided among various royal kingdoms at the time when Sankardeva was born. The Chutiyas ruled the east, Kacharis the south-east, Kochs on the west, Borbhuyans ruled areas towards the west of Chutiyas, and the Ahoms ruled the Brahmaputra valley. In that era of royal feuds, Sankardeva brought all of them together under a common religion and language and thus contributed in bringing in a unity in the Assamese society.
Sankardeva used the teachings from Bhagwat Purana, Bhagwat Geeta and Padma Purana and spread it across Assam, Kamrup and Cooch Behar. Till then the Assamese society was fragmented along the lines of separate religious practises, separate languages, various tribes and sub-tribes. Sankardeva through his teachings was able to unite all these under a single umbrella and thus unify and strengthen the Assamese social fabric.
In order to permanently codify his teachings, Sankardeva created a religious literature of his own. Apart from translating the first, second, tenth, eleventh and twelfth chapters of the Bhagwat, he also incorporated his own religious teachings into some stories from the Bhagwat and Purana. This led to the creation of the Kirtan Ghosa, which has a considerable influence on the Assamese cultural life. Almost all the religious teachings of Sankardeva – including borgeet – can be found in this Kirtan Ghosa.
Sankardeva created popular religious folk music, dipped in devotional purity, based on Shri Krishna’s life and activities. These borgeet are the cornerstone of our classical music. The depth of its subject, the beauty of its recital, and its tone and portrayal makes it different from other types of folk music. The language here is Brajawali. Though classical music was practised in Kamrup sicne ancient times, but it was the borgeets of Sankardeva that created a new era of classical music. There may be some influence of north Indian, kannaddi or south Indian music in the creations of Sankardeva because of the experience he had during his 12 years of religious pilgrimage. Recited with the use of musical instruments like khul, taal, mridang, etc, the borgeets have a fervent appeal among the people.
Another important contribution of Sankardeva is Ankiya Naat and Bhaona. Based on Sanskrit plays but created with his own style, these plays are a treasure trove of Assamese culture. He developed his first Bhaona just after returning from pilgrimage, which was a dialogue-less play, based on hand gestures. This was the beginning of an era. Soon he wrote many more plays whose creative skills were unique. These Ankiya Naats were different from other Sanskrit plays in various aspects, like the use of geet slokas, imagination of the sutradhars, lyrical dialogues and use of the Brajawali language.
Sankardeva created various plays, like Patniprasad, Kalia-daman, Keli-gopal, Parijat Haran, Rukmini Haran and Ram-bijay, based on the tastes of the people and local needs. The Vaishnavite literature in Assam is based on Shri Krishna and this same aspect can be seen in these plays too. Even in Ram-bijay, while speaking about Ram, Sankardeva has not entirely kept Shri Krishna out of the story. The stories of Patniprasad, Kalia-daman, Keli-gopal and Rukmini Haran have been taken from the tenth chapter of the Bhagawat; Parijat haran’s story from Bishnu Puran and Ram-bijay from Adi Kand of Ramayana.
The Bhaonas too have their own specific specialities. The Bhaonas of Assam have a similarity with South Indian plays, rather than North Indian plays. There are certain similarities with Kathakali of Kerela, Yakshagan of Karnataka and Tamil (Tanjore) Bhagwat Melnatak. For example, in Yakshagan, two persons work behind curtains during the entry of a character and help the audience focus on the character; in Tanjore bhagwat melnatak, the gayan sing entry song as the slokas are recited by the granthik and the actor enters dancing to the tunes of the song. The masks used in Kathakali have a similarity with masks used in Bhaona. Thus, it can be said that Sankardeva had used his experiences of his travels throughout the country to enrich and expand the bhaonas.
In the same way in which Sankardeva had created various plays with dance and music, he had also enriched the society with the establishment of the naamghars. These have played an important role in cultural development in the rural landscape of Assam. It has helped inspire artistic talent among the people. The village youths learn song, dance, and art in these naamghars and provide for pure entertainment for the people. Thus, Srimanta Sankardeva have enriched our Assamese society with his immense contribution in the fields of religion, literature, music, among others.
