A Study of Śrīmanata Śaṅkaradeva’s Neo-Vaiṣṇavism from Sociological Perspective

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines Śrīmanata Śaṅkaradeva’s Neo-Vaiṣṇavism from a sociological perspective, focusing on its role in shaping religious practice, social relations, and Assamese cultural identity. Emerging in medieval Assam, the movement offered a devotional path centered on ‘Bhakti’ to Kṛşņna and expressed through accessible forms of worship, including congregational singing, drama, and storytelling. It also developed enduring institutions—particularly the Than and Nāmaghar—that served as centers of religious instruction, community life, and cultural transmission.
The study explores how Neo-Vaiṣṇavism challenged aspects of ritual complexity and religious exclusivity by emphasizing devotion, ethical conduct, and collective participation. It considers the movement’s influence on social cohesion and cultural integration, while also recognizing the ways caste, gender, and institutional authority shaped participation and belonging. By situating Śaṅkaradeva’s teachings within their historical and social context, the study argues that Neo-Vaiṣṇavism was not only a religious reform movement but also a significant force in the formation of Assamese society and identity. It concludes that its institutions and cultural practices continue to provide important frameworks for community life in Assam. One of the most significant socio-cultural and religious revivals in Northeast
India's history was the Neo-Vaiṣṇavite movement in Assam in the fifteenth century, led by the polymath Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva. Although the movement has historically been seen through a hagiographic or theological lens, this paper uses a sociological framework to examine it as a conscious attempt at social engineering. This study examines how Śaṅkaradeva questioned strict caste hierarchies, incorporated various ethnic and tribal groups and promoted a democratic identity by examining the structural and functional elements of indigenous institutions such as the Nāmghar, Thans and Kirtanghars. The study makes the case, using an analytical and historical approach that Neo-Vaiṣṇavism served as a catalyst for social change by substituting an egalitarian framework known as Eka-Śaraṇa-Nāma-Dharma for esoteric ritualism and animal sacrifice. The study comes to the conclusion that the movement's focus on moral behaviour, group involvement and cultural synthesis served as the cornerstone of contemporary Assamese society and provided a strong example of social cohesiveness that endures even now, five centuries later.