Dakhinpat Satra, Majuli

Dakhinpat Satra is one of the famous socio-religious institutions in Majuli which is an island in
Assam. It was formed by a disciple of Vamshigopal. It is an important center of art and culture
exhibiting various forms of sculptures,paintings, dances and it was patronised by the kings of
Ahom dynasty. It is also called the house of dance, as a variety of dance forms have been
contributed by Shri Sankardeva. It was established in the year 1584. The gateway of the Satra is
ornamental and many religious motifs and images of flowers and animals are engraved on it.
The National Festival of Assam, known as Rasleela by the Satras is celebrated every year here.
Thousands of devotees pay visit here during the festival. Banmalidev,the founder of this Satra
was a supporter of Rasleela.The monks who live in Satras are known as bhakats and presently
there are ninety to hundred bhakats.
The institution is under the surveillance of the Satradhikar. The remains and manuscripts of saint
Srimanta Sankardeva have been preserved by the Satradhikars. These Satras follow the
Mahapuruxia Dharma.The idol of Mahaprabhu Jadavarai is worshipped in the Satra.

Dakshinpat Xatra is a well-known Xatra (socio-religious institution) on Majuli island in the
Brahmaputra River, in the Indian state of Assam established by Vamshigopal disciple
Satradhikar Sri Vanamalidev in 1584. He was honoured and treated with much respect by the
reigning Ahom monarch Jayadhvaj Singh who made liberal gifts to the Xatra. An ornate gateway
engraved with religious motifs, animals and flowers forms the entrance while inside similar
sculptures and paintings with divine overtones adorn the walls of the Namghar and heighten the
aesthetic appeal of the sacred precincts where the idol of Mahaprabhu Jadavarai is worshipped.
Dakshinpat Xatra is a treasure house of dances contributed by Shri Sankardeva such as the
Borgeet, Matiakhara, Jumora, Chali, Noyua, Nande Vringee, Sutradhar, Ozapali, Apsara, Satria
Krishna and Dasavater among others while it is also a storehouse of antiques of cultural
importance and an advanced centre for the performing arts.
Due to constant flooding and erosion in Majuli, a new Xatra had been built in Chatai, Jorhat, but
two decades after its completion, the Dakshinpat Xatra has not yet moved to the new location.
Satradhikar and Bhakats
Monks known as bhakats live in Xatras under the supervision of a Satradhikar and Dakshinpat
Xatra currently has about 90 to 100 celibate (udasin) bhakats. Xatra Satradhikars are elected
from other Xatras where marriage is permitted. The chosen young man is brought into the Xatra
as a teenager and trained in the Vaishnava religion, philosophy and life. During the period of
training the young devotee is called "Deka-Adhikar", or young pontiff.
The Satradhikars have taken great pains and precautions to preserve the relics and manuscripts of
the saint Srimanta Sankardeva written on strips of bark from the Sanchi tree (Aquilaria
malaccensis) in his own hand in the humid and semi-tropical climate of Assam.
Raasleela
During Raasleela, several thousand devotees visit the holy Xatra every year with the occasion
now observed as one of the National Festivals of Assam. Xatras are socio-religious institutions in
the Assam region that belong to the Mahapuruxiya Dharma. The Xatras are not merely religious
institutions but play cultural and historical roles in society. A dance form initiated by Srimanta
Sankardeva and later developed within the Xatra is thus called Sattriya and forms one of the
eight classical Indian dance styles.