Satra (Ekasarana Dharma)

Satras () are institutional centers associated with the Ekasarana tradition of Vaishnavism, largely found in the Indian state of Assam and neighboring regions. Numbering in the hundreds, these centers are generally independent of each other and under the control of individual "adhikaras" (or "satradhikars"), though they can be grouped into four different "Sanghatis" (orders).
These centers, in the minimum, maintain a prayer house ("Namghar", or "Kirtan-ghar"), initiate lay people into the Ekasarana tradition and include them as disciples of the Satra from whom taxes and other religious duties are extracted. Although the culture of setting up religious institutions like Satras started in Sadiya, the Neo-Vaishnavite satra culture started in the 16th century. They grew rapidly in the 17th century and patronage extended to them by first the Koch kingdom and later the Ahom kingdom was crucial in the spread the Ekasarana religion. Many of the larger Satras house hundreds of celibate and non-celibate "bhakats" (monks), hold vast lands and are repositories of religious and cultural relics and artifacts. The Satras extend control over their lay disciples via village Namghars. Satras in which the principal preceptors lived, or which preserve some of their relics are also called "thaan"s.
Another satra was established by a king named Samudrapal at a place known as Yogihati in the same period(1232 AD) as evident from a stone inscription found in Ambari. The neo-Vaishnavite satras were established by Assamese Vaishnavite monasteries for religious practices at the initiative of the Ahom Kings of Assam in the middle of the 17th century to propagate neo Vaishnavism. Sankaradeva is said to have established his first Satra at Bardowa, his birthplace, and then in different places of Assam.
In the 20th century the authority and orthodoxy of the Satras was challenged by reform movements, most notable under the Sankar Sangha. The Satras coordinate some of their activities via the Asam Satra Mahasabha, an umbrella organization of all the Satras. According to the Mahasabha's count on its website there is altogether a total of 862 Satras including the satras present in both the states of Assam and West Bengal.
Structures.
The Satra is generally a four-sided enclosed area with four gateways ("karapat"). Centrally placed in this enclosure is a rectangular prayer-hall ("Namghar" or "kirtanghar") at the aligned in the east-west direction. On its eastern side there is an additional independent structure called the "Manikut" (jewel-house), the "sanctum santorum", in which the "asana", a wooden tetradehral structure with four carved lions), is placed containing the main object of worship (usually a copy of the Bhagavat Purana in manuscript or an idol). The namghar is surrounded by four straight rows of huts, called "hati", in which monks ("bhakats") reside. The "adhikara" and other high officers of the Satra reside in the eastern "hatis".
All structures were originally temporary, made with wood, bamboo and covered over with thatch; brick and mortar found use after the 18th century.
Monks, called "bhakats", live in satras under a "satradhikar" or "Mahanta". In some orders of the religion, the "bhakats" are celibate ("kewalia bhakat"). The satras are not merely religious institutions but play cultural and historical roles in society. A dance form that was initiated by Srimanta Sankardeva and later developed within the sattras, and thus called "Sattriya", is one of the eight classical dance forms in India.
Origin and evolution.
The name "satra" originates in the Bhagavata Purana in Sanskrit ("sattra"), and is used in the sense of an assembly of devotees. During Sankardev's lifetime, the devotees assembled in the open, under trees. Though temporary prayer houses were built, the tradition of devotees living in the premises did not happen during Sankardev's lifetime. The first mention of the "hati" is found in the context of the Patbausi Satra of Damodardev. Madhavdev built the Barpeta Satra, and laid down the system of daily prayer service and initiated the system of religious tithes. Vamsigopaldev was instrumental in establishing Satras in eastern Assam. Though the Ahom kingdom initially resisted the ingress of religious preceptors it finally endorsed the Satras enabling them to establish themselves on sound economics, make themselves attractive to the lay people and spread the Ekasarana religion. Soon Majuli, in eastern Assam, became a center of Satra tradition and authority.
Cultural programmes.
Some of the cultural programmes, which are held in Sattras: