Damodardev (1488–1598) was sixteenth century
Ekasarana
''Ekasarana Dharma'' () is a Vaishnavism#Later medieval period, Vaishnavite religion propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva in the 15th-16th century in the Indian state of Assam. It reduced focus on Vedic ritualism and focuses on devotion (''bhak ...
preceptor from Nalaca,
Nagaon
Nagaon is a city and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is situated east of Guwahati. With a population of 1,16,355 as per 2011 census it is an AMRUT City and 4th biggest city ...
. Damodardev was a follower of
Sankardeva's
Ekasarana dharma
''Ekasarana Dharma'' () is a Vaishnavism#Later medieval period, Vaishnavite religion propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva in the 15th-16th century in the Indian state of Assam. It reduced focus on Vedic ritualism and focuses on devotion (''bhak ...
order. He started his own order after the death of Sankardeva that came to be called the
Brahmasamhati, which admitted Brahmanical rituals and greater adherence to the
caste system
A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...
alongside the namadharma of Sankardev. He was succeeded by
Bhattadeva.
Early life
Damodardev was born in a village called Nalaca in (in present-day Nagaon) in the 1488, the third and youngest son of Sushila and Satananda a Brahmin couple. Nalaca was close to
Bordowa than,
Sankardev's native place, and Satananda was Sankardev's friend. Damodardev and his family moved from the
Ahom territories after Sankardev moved from Dhuwahat to
Barpeta in 1546 and settled, after some wandering close to Patbausi, or Chandravatipura near Sankardev's ''sattra''. Damodardev received his education along with his two brothers under Kalpacandra of
Navadwip in Bengal, where they studied detailed grammar, derivations and usage of words, four
Veda
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
s, fourteen scriptures,
Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, ...
,
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...
and other religious books.
Time with Sankardev and Sattra
Early biographers of Damodardev are unanimous that he was inspired and influenced by
Sankardev in his religious practice and he began proselytising in Barpeta.
["Here in Barpeta, the religious life of Damodaradeva began. It has unanimously been admitted by the earlier biographers of Damodaradeva that he was inspired and influenced by that great Kayastha reformer. It was from Sankaradeva that he first received the impetus for adopting the life of a proscelytiser." ] After meeting Damodar, Sankardev asked him to recite Bhagavata in his Sattra for which Damodar replied "Yours is the land where tree of Bhakti can grow", and this marked the beginning of friendship between them. Sankara requested him to initiate Brahmin disciples. Sankardev also initiated Damodardev to the Mahapurushiya cult.
See also
*
Durgabar Kayastha
*
Bhusana Dvija
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Damodardev
16th-century Hindu religious leaders
16th-century Indian scholars
1483 births
1598 deaths
Ekasarana Dharma
People from Nagaon district
Scholars from Assam