Sankaradeva

Srimanta Sankaradeva was a 16^th century saint- reformist who propagated the ‘eka sharana naam dhrama’, a form of Bhakti. He started a neo-Vaishnavite reformist movement with an objective to bring in an egalitarian society. His teachings focused on chanting and 4 components: god, prayers, devotees and teacher. He is noted for his unique ‘worship through art’ approach i.e. inclusion of borgeet (music), xattriya (dance) and bhauna (theatre). He started establishing Sattras across Assam. Today, these institutions hold political significance.