Mahapuruxiya Dharma

Mahapuruxiya Dharma

Ekasarana Dharma (Assamese এক শৰণ ধৰ্ম; literally: the religion of taking shelter in One) is a monotheistic religion founded and propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva in the 15th century. Most of the adherents of this religion today live in the Indian state of Assam. As part of the greater Bhakti movement in other parts of India, it rejected vedic and other esoteric rites of worship, and replaced them by a simple form that required just uttering the name (naam) of God. The simple and accessible religion attracted already Hinduized as well as non-Hindu tribal populations into its egalitarian folds. The new converts were accepted via a system of individual initiation and were given a path to social improvement. Institutions like sattra (monasteries) and village Namghar (prayer houses), had profound influence in the evolution of social makeup of Assam's society. The artistic oeuvres lead to engendering of new forms of literature, music (Borgeets or songs celestials), theater (Ankia Naat) and dance (Sattriya dance).

The central religious text of this religion is Bhagavat of Sankardeva, which was transcreated from the Sanskrit Bhagavata Purana by Srimanta Sankardeva and other religious preceptors. This book is supplemented by the two books of hymns: Kirtan Ghoxa by Sankardeva and Naam Ghoxa by Madhabdev. These books are written in the Assamese language.

The religion is also called Mahapuruxiya because it is based on the worship of the Mahapurux or Mahapurush ("Supreme Being"), an epithet of Lord Vishnu in the Bhagavata and its adherents are often called Mahapuruxia, Sankari, Saraniya etc. In course of time, the epithet 'Mahapurux' came to be (secondarily) applied also to Sankardeva and Madhabdev, the principal preceptors of the cult. Non-adherence to the Hindu varnasrama system and egalitarianism marked its character.

A strictly monotheistic religion, the only form of worship prescribed by this religion is uttering the name of God ("Sravana-Kirttana"), who is worshiped in the form of Krishna or Hari. Thus it is also called ek sarana Hari naam dharma. Though a part of the wider Bhakti movement, it does not worship Radha with Krishna, and it is characterized by the dasya form of worship. Historically, it has been against idol worship, and especially against animal sacrifices common in sakta forms of Hinduism. Noted for its egalitarianism, it posed a serious challenge to Brahminical Hinduism, and converted into its fold, people of all castes, ethnicity and religion (including Islam).