TEZPUR, Sept 27 - �Numerous literary creations were made in all branches of literature including prose, poetry, plays, songs, hymns, stories, biographies, grammar and so forth, by Sankardev and his illustrious disciples and for this reason, Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev�s times are regarded as the golden age of Assamese literature, also popularly called �Sankari Renaissance�. But then the history books, outside Assam, do not state anything about this epoch-making �renaissance�, may be due to the geographical seclusion of this part of India, from the mainland or due to the general neglect and apathy of the Indian and international scholars and historians, who concentrated their attention on the Indian mainland up to Bengal only.� This was observed by the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa, while delivering a lecture on �Sankardev in the Koch kingdom� on the occasion of his 567th birth anniversary, organised by the Centre for Assamese Studies, Tezpur University at the Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha auditorium recently.
Throwing light on how Vaishnavism was inculcated and the public amenity work by Koch kingdoms was executed, Rajkhowa also cited the example of �Gohain Komal Ali�, the present NH 52, that was constructed within a year as an engineering marvel. �The king Naranarayan and his brother Chilarai constructed the Kamakhya temple in 1565 whose design is still intact thereby standing proudly on bank of mighty river Brahmaputra. �However, it is most regrettable that the historians and the Government have not recognised their works. Apart from the statues of the two kingly heroes inside the garbha of the Kamakhya temple, nothing has been done in the real sense,� he said.
Describing the unmatched contribution towards the nation building process by Sankardev, he further stated that the �Mahapurush left his mark in the history of mankind as one of the most versatile legendary personalities of all times. He played the role of a saviour of humanity, more particularly, in the eastern parts of India which was known as Asama or Kamrupa or Kamata of the 15th and the 16th centuries.� Rajkhowa observed that Sankardev who faced many obstacles in unifying the disorderly Assamese nation into a disciplined nation through his �Vaishnavism� had to face the challenges of the priestly class in the Koch kingdom also, but he ultimately vanquished them in open debates, in the court of King Naranarayan. �Highly impressed by Sankardev�s depth of knowledge, pristine look and his saintly character, Naranarayan established him by appointing him as the �Gomasta� or administrator of Barpeta region. The king also donated lands to him to establish a satra at Bheladanga, that later came to be known as Madhupur or Bhela-Madhupur at Koch Behar, near his capital. Besides this, Naranarayan issued a declaration permitting the free propagation of his faith and teachings among his subject population.
Referring to scholars like Dr Maheswar Neog�s writing on the great saint he also said, while in the Koch kingdom, for propagating �Ek-saran Naam Dharma or Neo-Vaishnavism�, Sankardev and his close associates produced a large number of literature. Sankardev was the centre as well as ideal of all the literary activities of the age so that period is best described as the age of Sankardev. The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh who is also the author of Sankardeva: His Life, Preachings and Practices and Generalissimo Chilarai and His Times added that while at Koch Behar, every morning, Chilarai used to have the virtuous company of Sankardev and every evening, Naranarayana had serious discourses with him on spiritual matters and the satras. Sankardev praised Chilarai as �parama rasiko guru Raja Sukladvaja, the real preceptor of the rasas�. �Overwhelmed by the Bhakti philosophy, Chilarai with his wives accepted sarana (the initiation) from the saint who was initially hesitant to initiate him, because of the high office held by him,� Rajkhowa said.
