WORKS OF SANKARDEW AND MADHAWDEW

Mahapurusism is happily supported by a vast and strong Mahapurusiya literature in Assamese and Sanskrit, unparalleled in India, potent and creative enough and losing little of its vitality in the course of the last half millennium since its inception. This great literature, also styled as Neo-Vaisnvite Asamiya literature, really inaugurated a new era into the social and political, cultural and religious life of the State, the like of which is hardly to be seen. One can only feel the change as in breathing in a new celestial atmosphere, but can scarcely describe it. Asam after Mahapurusism is, as England after Christianity, a cosmos after chaos, a beautiful creation with no more of any unstable equilibrium. Its social and cultural structure is as permanent as the rock on which it is founded. Sankardew provided the alpha and omega of it.

Snakardew himself is the Phoebus in the Solar System of the Neo-Vaisnavite renaissance of Asam in all the various fields of activity inclusive of the literary. The interesting poem "Karatala kamala kamaladala nayana" written without any vowel, except of course 'a', is attributed to the first year of Sankardew's school-life, and perhaps also of his teens, and may be dated 1462. It is a splendid description of Krsna who exhibits lotuses in his hands, feet and eyes etc. Hariscandra Upakhyan Kavya is known to be his first regular Kavya "planting the four boundary pillars for Vaisnavas". It is said to have been written not long after leaving his school and may be dated 1467. Cihna yatra, an One-Act Opera, using the stage with scenes as is done today, was Sankardew's next literary adventure distinctly assigned to 1468. Unfortunately this literary piece is not preserved to us, but his contemporary biographers like Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya and Ramcaran Thakur give us vivid and life-like description of this one-Act play with its tremendous effect on the thousands of audience. Uddhawa Sambad, a small epic of 177 verses in all, may also be assigned to 1468, as it was almost simultaneous work with Cihna Yatra, having been written to initiate the first batch of his disciples.

Rukmini Haran Kavya appears to be the next work which Sankardew wrote. It affords a solitary instance of Sankardew ever introducing himself as "Kavi Sankar" which shows that he was yet a novice as a religious reformer and also probably a poet probationer. But these two of his earlier kavyas enjoy tremendous popularity despite or perhaps because of it. Bhakti-Pradip (Garuda Puran), one copy of which was presented to Bhavananda Saud alias Narayan Thakur, one of the first and foremost disciples of Sankardew, must also be another early work. Whether the word 'Kavya' is attached or not, all the words, without exception, deal with supremacy of Love and self-surrender for the One, discarding other gods and goddesses. Odesa Varnan is also quoted as one of the early works of Sankardew, although it is now thrown in the appendices of the Kirttan-Ghosa. It was a verse-rendering of the Brahama Puran which was most probably done after Sankardew's twelve-year's tour all over India. It is stated that when later Sankardew did not approve and would rather destroy it, Madhawdew requested him to add two more poems on the glorification of Nam and preserve Odesa Varnan in the appendix as has been done now. These may cover all the works of Sankardew written before his happy historic meeting with Madhawdew.

After careful consideration and though, we feel that "Prathamate karilanta kirttanara chanda" stated by Daityari Thakur and since oft quoted, may not be taken literally to mean that the Kirttan-Ghosa was anything like a maiden voyage of Sankardew in the ocean of literature, which it cannot afford to be. K.G. is actually and anthology of more than two dozen epics of various magnitudes, by Sankardew himself, beginning with Caturvimsati Awatar and really completed by Sri Ksrnar Vaikuntha Prayan followed by appendices including Odesa Varnan. In the New Light on History of Asamiya Literature (pp.183-84), we have assigned our reasons for thinking that the compositing of K.G. probably commenced some time in the last decade of the fifteenth century, not long after Sankardew's historic meeting with Madhawdew at Dhuyahat (Belguri) in Upper Asam, which is definitely a grand landmark in Asam's history.

The important addenda of Uttarakanda by Sankardew and Adi Kanda by Madhawdew to the original five cantos of the Ramayana by Madhaw Kandali may be called the first milestone in their literary collaboration. As fully vouchsafed by the biographers, Sankardew actually rendered the Bhagawata into Asamiya poems and songs before Jagadis Misra of Trihut came to sankardew to get his approval and earn consequent merit as a reader of the Bhagwat. Even before he commenced reading the Bhagawat, Jagadis heard the devotees sing the poems and songs of the Bhagawat in the prayer-house of Sankardew. So some epics of K.G. were already composed before sankardew met jagadis and even before he met Madhawdew. All the parts were completed only some time before his great exit, which is proved by the fact that they were scattered throughout Asam before they were collected by Ramcharan Thakur, the nephew of Madhawdew.

Sankardew took the theme of his Rukmini Haran Kavya from Harivamsa and incorporated the Bhagawata into it, and calls it a compound of milk and honey, which is Sankardew's own. His Anadi Patan consisting of 300 verses, is from Bhagawat, Book Three; but he incorporates Baman Puran into it, and calls it again a compound of honey with milk, also Sankardew's own. Brhat Ajamil Upakhyan from Book Six, Bali Chalan from Book Eight of the Bhagawat, by Sankardew consist of 375 and 616 verses respectively, and are shaped by him to suit his own theme. He also rendered Book Ten (Part One), better known as Dasam, Book Eleven in 427 verses as Nimi Nava Siddha Sambad, and Book Twelve as a gist in 539 verses. The remaining parts of the Bhagawat as those of Book Ten, were allowed or ordered by him to be completed by other great Mahapurusiya luminaries like Ananta Kandali. The exquisite, Totay, "Madhu-Danawa", composed ex-tempore in Sanskrit by Sankardew before Maharaj Nara-Narayna, and his grand Gun-Mala written in the exquisite Kusum-Mala metre in 376 verse at the request of the king, his great anthology Bhakti-Ratnakar in Sanskrit, are among the most illustrious works which Sankardew himself penned in verses.

Among his other literary contributions are Sankardew's celebrated Ankas (dramas in One-Act) and his Bar-Gits (noble songs) all in sublime language and Ragas, being conspicuous by the absence of any Raginis whatsoever. China Yatra was followed, not immediately perhaps, by Patni Prasad, which was played at Barpeta in the funeral ceremony of Madhawdew's mother. Then came Parijat Haran, Ram-Vijay, Kaliya Daman, Rukmini Haran, and probably a few more. But we must be warned that like some epics there are some dramas too, distinctly spurious and unfortunately attributed to Sankardew. Bargits by Sankardew, as extant, are comparatively few in number, as Katha-Guru-Carit clearly states how of the original 240 Bargits a good majority was burnt by wild fire that caught the houses.

Madhawdew, almost equally prolific, wrote a similar number of epics, dramas and Bar-Gits. His Bhakti-Ratnawali like his Nam-Malika is a verse-rendering of an illustrious Sanskrit work; but is yet held in very high estimation by the Mahapurusiyas. Nam-Gosa, considered to be Madhawdew's masterpiece, is still mainly translation in a large part of the most celebrated verses of the Gita, Bhagawat and other Sanskrit works; but they are so woven together into his own composition that it makes an amalgam quite his own and a piece of literature as original, so-much-so that the Ghosa occupies a place in the religious Asam analogous to the one occupied by the Gita in the religious India. So the Mahapurusiyas of Asam, who never allow any image in their prayer house, instal either the Ghosa by Madhawdew, or the Krittan by Sankardew, and in default would install either the Ratnawali by the former or Dasam by the latter on the altar. Among his dramas, the most celebrated are Cor-dhara, Pimpara-Gucowa, Bhumi-Lotowa, Bhojan-Vihar, Arjun-Bhanjan (Dadhi-Mathan) etc. Among the suspected dramas are Keli-Gopal and Ras-Jhumura where some foreign matter was probably interpolated if they are not spurious as a whole. Like Ram-Malika, a spurious work attributed to Sankardew, Adi Carit, Amulya Ratna, Gupta-mani are such wicked works that were attributed to Madhawdew, either to make some illegitimate things legitimate or to villify some creeds or personalities. Madhawdew's Bar-Gits are of course considerable in quality and quantity alike. ###