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Sankar Deva The Divinity

On another occasion, the teacher Mahandra Kandali saw a strange phenomenon. One day Sankara was sleeping in the school house hall alone after the class and a large Cobra came and extended its hood over the head of sankara to protect him from the rays of the sun. when the teacher approached, the serpent crept away. This also reminds us of a similar incident which happened in the life of Guru Nanak when he was once sleeping in the field. Mahendra Kandali, from that day, had firm belief in the divinity of the young student and reverently conferred to Sankara the epithet of ‘deva’ which was generally used by the Brahmans. He further asked all the school boys to call him Sankaradeva and exempted him from doing any manual work in the school.

There is another story where Sankaradeva is stated to have brought there heavenly Ganges (Akasi-ganga) by his miraculous power and it remained in the form of a tank situated to the north of the Kirttan-ghar (or Nam-ghar) of Bardowa. Even now the tank is considered as a holy place for bath.

DOMESTIC LIFE

Having acquired a solid knowledge of the essential branches of learning, Sankaradeva, after his return from school began to study more intensively with an unending zeal. When he gave up the Yogic exercises, there seems to have happened some changes in his life. It took a decisive turn for his spiritual development. The Guru acquired the true knowledge and became totally indifferent to the wordly affairs. He used to meditate day and night and repeat the Name of God. His nature had change to such an extent that his grand-mother Khersuti credited him with madness. Accordingly, physicians and village quacks were consulted and some medicines were applied Sankaradeva obliged his old grand-mother by accepting these with a smile. A like incident happened in the life of Guru Nanak too. Meanwhile some relative suggested that in order to change his mind, Sankaradeva should be entrusted with some domestic responsibilities. As such, Siromoni Bhuyanship was given to bhim by his superiors, though Sankaradeva was unwilling to take charge of it. After the demise of Kusuma, the duties of the Siromani Bhuyan were discharged by Jayanta and Madhava Dalai grand-fathers of Sankaradeva. When it was entrusted to the Guru, he with great credit performed his duties as such. His pleasant behaviour and sweet words kept all spell-bound as they came into his contact.

Marriage

The Guru was then twenty one year old. His relatives further made arrangements for his marriage. In order to pease his superiors and relatives. Sankaradeva married Suryavati, daughter of Harivara-giri Kayastha. Sankaradeva had to lead a life of homa holder, but be kept himself engaged in intellectual rather than in worldly affairs.

The Guru conducted with credit his administrative affairs as a Siromani Bhuyan, but suddenly he had bereavement. After about four years of her marriage. Suryavati gave birth to a girl who was named haripriya Monorama (Manu). The little child could hardly complete a year when her mother died. It had a deep effect on the mind of Sankaradeva who had now to take care of the little daughter. The Guru resolved to give up family life and go to pilgrimage to some sacred places of the country. But as he could not live Haripriya, he had to wait for a few years till the girl grew up and attained her ‘marriageable age’. After seven years or more, Haripriya was married to Hari Kayastha, popularly known as Hari-jovai (Hari the son-in-law), who later on was beheaded by the cruel Ahom King. Like the Sikh Gurus, the Assam Vaisnavas had also suffered much persecution and even execution particularly at the hands of some Ahom rulers who were instigated by the Brahmanas.

Sankaradeva, the social reformer…..

However, Sankaradeva was staying at Bardowa. The place, being very near the mighty river Brahamaputra, was very often inundated by floods causing heavy damage to crops. To get rid of this calamity, Sankaradeva constructed a embankment with the help of a pious lady of the Kaivartta community named Sumthira or Radhika. It is said that Sankara was in search of a chaste lady to construct the said embankment. Women of higher caste like that of Brahman Failed to prove their character and at last the Guru found in Sumthira, an outcaste lady, with all the good qualities of pure women possessing chastity. The lady, it is said, could perform some miracles by carrying water in a fishing instrument (pala). The dikewas also constructed accordingly without further erosion. It is known as the ‘Santi-dhar’ (embankment of the Santi) and the course through which water could flow is still known as ‘Santijan’. How far was the story was true is not a matter of our concern: but one point is evident from this that Sankaradeva put a great emphasis on purity of character and inner sanctity without any caste distinction rather than on the then prevailing notions of high birth. The story is to be interpreted in an allegorical sense. By his pure devetion, Sumthira’s husband rose to the positionof a Mahanta (a preacher). Sankaradeva declared that there is no distinction between the dwija (twice-born) and the Sudra in Nam-dharma, and that all are equal in his faith.

Some biographers hold that after his first marriage Sankaradeva constructed the first Nam-ghar (or Kirttan-ghar, i.e., prayer house) at Baradowa with his friend Ramarama and composed and placed the work, ‘Gopi-uddhava-samvada’ in the altar, called simhasana or thapana. This institution (Nam-ghar) became the nucleus of the Vaisnava organisation, which later on spread through the three Assamese States of Asama, Kamarupa and Koc Bihar in the form of regional establishments called Sattra, and numerous village temples known as Nam-ghar. It is said that the Guru arranged the perfomance of his first dramatic representation, called Cihna Yatra during that time. The show is said to have continued for seven days and seven nights, which was highly applauded by one and all. People of all walks of life, it is stated, were astonished at such a wonderful act of Sankaradeva and acknowledged him to be an incarnation of the Divine One Many people pressed him for initiation to the cult and the Master was compelled to do that. The first batch of neophytes comprised to his close friend Ramarama and the school teacher Mahendra Kandali and otjher notable Brahmans. It is further stated in some accounts thjat while doing the earth-work for the plinth of the above mentioned Nam-ghar, which was built on a plot of land of Kusumavara, Sankaradeva found an idol of Visnu and it was placed accordingly in an appropiate corner of the prater house. This, however does not mean that Sankaradeva encouraged idol-worship, because people were initiated before the asana (or Guru-asana) where the holy scripture was placed and not before the idol. Moreover, Sankaradeva fely the necessity of some personal form of God to be perceived by the common laity-at least in the initial stage of bhakta’s (devotee) life. However, it is