Vaishnavism is the philosophy which believes in the supreme head of Lord Vishnu and this philosophy has always held a strong hold over north eastern states of India. Damodardev belonged to that lineage.
Profile
Damodardev was born in 1488 in a village called Nalaca which is present day Nagaon in Assam.He was the third and youngest son of Satananda and Sushila, a Brahmin couple. Damodardev and his brothers were tutored under Kalpacandra of Navadwip. They learnt the Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, Vedas, Sanskrit, Grammar and many other religious texts. Nalaca was close Bardowa which was the native of Sankardev another great saint of Assam. Damodardev’s father was a friend of Sankardev and Sankardev guided Damodardev in his spiritual journey and is considered to be the Guru of Damodardev.There were invasions in his village so they moved to Manikuta and later with his father settled in Chandravatipura.Damordev was a saint whose had risen in death. He left his mortal body in 1598. Though not much is known about his life, his worksare well known. He is believed to have cured many people of their diseases. Histhithi, Memorial Day, is celebrated and is even a state holiday in Assam, which indicates people’s love for the saint.
Philosophy Propounded
The philosophy propagated by Damodardev was Vaishnavism which was one of the major denominations of Hinduism. As an off shoot of this, is the Ekasarana Dharma which was propagated by Sankardeva. Damodardev spread this Ekasarana Dharma by building Satras and inviting people to stay there.
Work Done to Spread the Philosophy
The biggest contribution to Ekarasana Dharma by Damodardev is the building of satras. Satras are places where people can congregate for prayer and it should house at least a temple. The satras evolved to be centres that housed aspirants and devotees. Such satras were first built by Damodardev. Damodardevbuilt many of these and the most famous one was the PatbaushiDamodarDevSatra. The customs and rituals followed here are a little different from the ones followed at the satras built by Sankardev and Madhavdev, another preceptor. Shiva Singha, the Ahom king built a magnificent temple around the foot print stone of Damodardev in 1746. Damodardev was a prominent saint of the Bhakti Movement in Assam and was as famous as Guru Nanak, Namdev, Alwars,Nayanars were, in other parts of the country.
