শিৰতে থাপিলোঁ শংকৰ শিৰোমণি
কণ্ঠতে থাপিলোঁ নাম ।
হৃদয়ত থাপিলোঁ দুয়ো জনা গুৰু
যেতিয়াই বিচাৰো পাম।।
Satras are the cultural and spiritual institutions established by Srimanta Sankardev and his disciples to spread neo-vaishnava dharma or Eksaran nam dharma in the 15th century in assam.
The first satra was the Bordowa Satra established by Srimanta Sankardev in Nogaon.
Even after his death the culture of satras was carried on by many other spritual leaders from various places accross assam.
Satras have an eminent role as they are the centres of learning various subjects including nam dharma ,instruments like khol, negera, mridang,tal, satriya nritya, and much more.
Earlier they were the places where Sankardev used to preach Vaishnav dharma and discuss about many other topics with his disciples.
According to historical records, during the ahom kingdom satras had to face a lot of crisis and were destructed by the rulers. The monks were assaulted to stop their devotion but were also enhanced by some kings such as Jayadwaj Singha, Chakradhaja Singha, Udayaditya Singha and Ratnadhwaja Singha.
Dakhinpat satra holds a prominent significance for its contribution to satriya the classical dance form of Assam. The satra was established in the year 1584 by Banamali Dev Goswami an exponent of rasleela which is famously performed by many satras all over assam. The satra is located in the south east corner of Majuli. The main idol worshipped here is lord Jadav Rai . Dakhinpat satra played a vital role in political and administrative affairs during the ahom reign. The satra belongs to the brahma sanghati sect founded by Damodardev and Haridev which believes in Vedic rituals and idol worship.
The monks are called bhakats and live in small houses called bohas. They lead a life of celibacy. The head of the satra is called a Satradhikar(Satra – Adhikar). The current satradhikar of dakhinpat satra is Shri Nonigopal Dev Goswami who is a successor of banamali dev goswami also called deka-adhikar.
The satra is known for its rass festival recollecting the stories of Lord Krsna and brahmaputra Puja held after every 12 years. The satra has a collection of hundreds of manuscripts , paintings and a large number of valuables from the ahom reign such as clothes, spoon , bowls , ornaments, etc depicting their rule.
