Sri Sri Auniati Satra is a satra or monastery located in the Majuli river island in Assam, India, that adheres to the Brahma Sanghati of the Ekasarana Dharma, a socio-religious and cultural movement initiated by Srimanta Sankaradeva. It is one of the four "raj satras" or royal satras associated with the Ahom dynasty. It is the first satra patronised by the kingdom. It is usually believed that this satra was established in the year 1653 CE, with the initiative of Ahom king Jayadhwaj Singha, the first head monk or satradhikar being Sri Sri Niranjana Deva Goswami, even though different opinions exist.
The monks of the satra are udaseen Vaishnavas, meaning, they are celibate and avoid every worldly affair to focus entirely on Krishna, who is the supreme deity in Ekasarana Dharma and considered to be Param Brahma, the ultimate reality. Out of the sari bostu, or the four objects of prime importance in Ekasarana, namely Deva, Naam, Guru and Bhokot, Deva is given the most importance. Krishna is worshipped as Govinda in this satra.https://auniati.org/about.php Monks are trained in the thoughts of Sankaradeva and other preceptors, as well as Satriya life, theatrical performance called bhaonas, playing instruments like khol and taal and Sattriya dance. Many festivals, like Paal Naam, Ras Lila, Janmashtami, tithis of Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva, Bihu etc. are celebrated in this satra.
Etymology The name "auniati" is traditionally believed to have come from the words "auni", which is a variety of betel and "ati", which means a place with high altitude. It was built at an elevated place where the auni variety of betel used to grow, giving the satra its name. Kavichandra Dvij, in his "Keshava Charita Pada", writes:
"Aunipan ek brikhyot asil Tar xomipot zotu xotro xazisil Etekexe auni asi nam xotro kohe Dokhyine Dihing nodi mohabege bohe"
(There was an auni betel tree Near that a satra was built Therefore, it is named Auni Asi Satra In its south, the river Dihing flows fast)
History The exact year in which the satra was established is a matter of debate. The most commonly accepted theory places the origin of the satra in 1653 CE. This was the time when the area was under Ahom rule, with Sutamla as the king. The establishment of the satra was a part of his bid to provide patronage to the Hindu faith, whereby he asked the pathak of the Kurubahi Satra to set this new satra up. After the establishment of the satra, he adopted the Vaishnava faith and received the name Jayadhwaja Singha from the first satradikar of the Auniati Satra. However, other historians believe that the satra was actually established at the behest of Sutamla's predecessor king Sutingpha in the year 1644 CE.Sarma, Tirthanath. (1975) Auniati Satrar Buronji. (In Assamese). Majuli: Auniati Satra. Yet another opinion is that Jayadhwaj Singha got it established as a "raj satra" in 1656, donating land and paiks or labour. The Satsari Assam Buronji states that the foundational pillar of the home of the Gosain was laid in 1656 CE. Auniati was the first satra to be patronised by the Ahom kingdom.
The Sri Sri Auniati Satra is associated with the Brahma Sanghati, one of the four orders of Ekasarana satras. It is the most tolerant of Brahminical practices out of the four, and has historically been headed by Brahmin monks. This sanghati has historically maintained ties with the Koch and Ahom monarchy. The founder of this sanghati, Sri Sri Damodaradeva, had initiated Koch king Naranarayana into the Ekasarana fold.Shin, Jae-Eun (2017), "Transition of Satra from a Venue of Bhakti Movement to the Orthodox Brahmanical Institution", in Ota, Nobuhiro (ed.), Clustering and Connections in Pre-Modern South Asian Society, Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, pp. 248 On the other hand, the first satradhikar of the Auniati Satra, Sri Sri Niranjana Deva Goswami had initiated the Ahom king Jayadhwaj Singha into the Vaishnava fold, effectively Sanskritising the dynasty. While the Ahoms, who migrated from southeastern China had their own religion, they began adopting Hindu ways since the time of Suhungmung, particularly Brahminical Shakta ways, often persecuting Ekasarana monks. Despite this, the Ahom dynasty's formal adoption of Hinduism only took place with Jayadhwaja Singha's initiation into the Vaishnava fold under the Sri Sri Auniati Satra. The Auniati Satra became one of the four "raj satras" or royal satras, the others being Dakhinpat, Garamur and Kuruwabahi. The Ahom kings considered Auniati to be of the highest position among the various satras. After the initiation of Jayadhwaja Singha, the Ahom kings largely spared the Vaishnavas of the Brahma Sanghati from persecution, but continued to persecute the monks of the satras of the other sanghatis. An exception occurred during the reign of Gadadhara Singha, when the Brahma Sanghati satras were also persecuted. During this persecution, the Ahom Buranji records that the second satradhikar of Auniati, Keshavadeva Goswami, escaped with silver and gold and entered a Chutia village at Taimung.
The relationship between satras of the Brahma sanghati and others has been complex historically. During the reign of Jayadhwaj Singha, the abbot of the Mayamara Satra, one of the primary satras of the Kal Sanghati, had to go into hiding in fear of persecution by the king. It was at the instance of the Auniati abbot that he was brought back.Barpujari, HK (1992). Barpujari, H K (ed.). The Comprehensive History of Assam. Vol. 2. Guwahati: Publication Board Assam. pp. 263. During the reign of Gadadhara Sungha's son, Rudra Singha, satras of the Brahma Sanghati were patronised (Rudra Singha even accepted initiation under the Auniati satradhikar Sri Sri Harideva Goswami), while restrictions were placed on other satras. Non-Brahmin satradhikars were barred from initiating Brahmin disciples by the king. This was done in a meeting where both Brahmin and non-Brahmin mahantas were present, and allegedly, the Brahmin Mahantas sided with the king, infuriating the non-Brahmin Mahantas. During the reign of his son Siva Singha, the stature of Shaktism rose even more. Following astrological advice, Siva Singha offered his throne to his three queens, Phuleswari Devi, Ambika Devi and Sarveswari Devi, with Phuleswari being the chief queen. Phuleswari Devi was a staunch Shakta and tried to make Shaktism the state religion. Once, she invited the adhikars of the major satras to a Durga Puja function and after the event, made the mahantas and gosains of other sanghatis bow their heads before the satradhikars of the Sri Sri Auniati and the Sri Sri Garamura Satra, further infuriating them.Bhuyan, S.K. ed. (1962). Asam Buranji : A history of Assam from the commencement of the Ahom rule to the British occupation in 1826. Guwahati : DHAS. During the Moamaria rebellion against the Ahom monarchy, which took place from 1786 to 1789, the rebels who were associated with the Kal Sanghati burned the royalist satras, including the Auniati Satra.Sharma, Chandan Kumar (1996). "Socio-Economic Structure and Peasant Revolt : The Case of Moamoria Upsurge in the Eighteenth Century Assam". Indian Anthropologist. 26 (2): 33–52. JSTOR 41919803. pp. 47.
Satradhikars The first head monk or satradhikar of this satra was Niranjanadeva Goswami and the current one is Pitambaradeva Goswami. The following is the list of the satradhikars of Auniati Satra:
Sri Sri Niranjana Deva Goswami (1653 to 1658 CE) Sri Sri Keshavadeva Goswami (1658 to 1726 CE) Sri Sri Ramachandradeva Goswami (1726 to 1727 CE) Sri Sri Damodaradeva Goswami (1727 to 1737 CE) Sri Sri Harideva Goswami (1737 to 1760 CE) Sri Sri Pranaharideva Goswami (1760 to 1785 CE) Sri Sri Lakshminathadeva Goswami (1785 to 1804 CE) Sri Sri Padmapanideva Goswami (1718 to 1821 CE) Sri Sri Kusharadeva Goswami (1821 to 1838 CE) Sri Sri Dattadeva Goswami (1838 to 1904 CE) Sri Sri Kamalachandradeva Goswami (1904 to 1922 CE) Sri Sri Leelakantadeva Goswami (1922 to 1926 CE) Sri Sri Hemachandradeva Goswami (1926 to 1983 CE) Sri Sri Vishnuchandradeva Goswami (1983 to 1998 CE) Dr. Sri Sri Pitambaradeva Goswami (1998 CE to present)
Organisation and activities
Deity Being a part of the Ekasarana Dharma, Krishna is worshipped as the supreme deity. Adhering to the Brahma Sanghati, the worship of idols is allowed in this satra, unlike some other sanghatis. The primary deity is worshipped as Govinda, and his idol was brought in from Jagannath Puri in what is now the Indian state of Odisha. In addition, other idols of Krishna are also worshipped, namely, Bansigopala, Madana Mohana and Bhuvana Mohana, who are all worshipped together with Govinda. During the time of Raslila, Govinda is placed in a throne and worshipped.
Monkhood and responsibilities
The overall responsibility of overseeing all the activities of the Satra, like in other satras, rests on the head monk, or the Satradhikar. Following the satradhikar, the next highest position is held by the Deka Adhikar.
Auniati monks are kewoliya, which means they are celibate. They are udaseen Vaishnavas (literally, indifferent), meaning they leave every worldly thought and focus entirely on Krishna. Many join the satra as monks at very young ages. The satra arranges for both their formal (secular) education and training on the thoughts of Sankaradeva, Sattriya or monastic culture and the rules of monkhood. Young monks leave ties with their families, reside in the satra premises and partake in its activities. The monks are dressed very simply in a white cotton dothi and angavastra, they are bare-chested and barefoot. Only the adhikar wears an angavastra decorated with a golden motif. They sometimes wear a mala made of tulsi wood around their necks. They do not have shaved heads, on the contrary they wear long hair, following the example of the founder Sankardev who is represented with long hair. They eat vegetarian food, no alcohol, no tobacco, no drugs. They participate in daily prayers. They live in range of houses known as "Hati".
They are taught the art of Gayan Bayan, which is singing (particularly the works of preceptors such as the borgeets) and playing instruments such as the khol and taal. The style of dance developed in the satras, called Sattriya, is recognised as one of India's eight major classical dance forms by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Government of India and other scholars of Indian culture., Quote: All of the dances considered to be part of the Indian classical canon (Bharata Natyam, Chhau, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Mohiniattam, Odissi, Sattriya, and Yakshagana) trace their roots to religious practices (...) the Indian diaspora has led to the translocation of Hindu dances to Europe, North America and the world." Natua, Apsara, Sutradhar, Ozapali (Panchali and Dulari), Sali, Jumura, Krishna Gopi Nritya, Maati Akhara and Gayan-Bayan are some of the dances practiced in this satra. In addition, theatrical performances called bhaonas are practiced and performed on various occasions.
The laity who wish to associate with the satra but are unable to adopt monkhood in its entirety are initiated into the fold via institutions called xoron and bhojon. Xoron luwa (literally, taking shelter) is the ceremony whereby a member of the laity accepts the Satradhikar as guru, and vows to follow certain principles preached in the Ekasarana dharma, such as devotion to Krishna, forgoing the consumption of alcohol, treating guests at home well etc. Bhojon luwa is a more extensive version of it.
Festivities
Several festivals are organised in the Satra, associated with the Ekasarana faith, such as the anniversaries of preceptors and various occasions marking events in the life of Krishna.
Paal Naam