Assam Vaishnavism: ItsTwentieth Century Voice-Lakshminath Bezbaroa

Lakshminath Bezbaroa (1864-1938), the most illustrious amongst the literateurs of the twentieth century Assam is the maker of an epoch in modern Assamese literature. He is novelist, dramatist, poet, short-story writer, folklorist, hagiologist , writer of humorous and philosophical essays, all rolled into one. Yet even after acknowledging his impressive versatility, it can be asserted that in the history of Assamese society Bezbaroa is to be esteemed most of all as an exponent and expositor of the Vaishnava faith and philosophy of Srimanta Sankaradeva and of that saint’s precious contributions to the culture of Assam. The Bhakti Movement of medieval India was founded in Assam by Sankaradeva and his disciple Madhavadeva and since then it has been getting deeply entrenched in the Assamese society. This living fith was in need of a defender to vindicate itself in the changed situations of the twentieth century, while attempting to rise up to this task, Bezbaroa not only achieved his purpose, but also successfully instilled into the minds of the Assamese people the full sense of appreciation oftheir greater religious and cultural hero. Bezbaroa worked throughout his whole life to reinvigorate the messge of Sankafadeva in accordance with the needs of the present day society. By means of his philosophical and theological writings included in the Tattva-Katha, Sri-Krishna-Katha, Sri-Bhagavat Katha. The Religion of Love and Devotion and the biographics of Sankaradeva and Madhavadeva) and his various residential addresses at different literary and analyed the principles and ideals of the new-Vaishnava fiath of Sankaradeva. Along with this, he establishes the fact that an integral interrelationship glowingly exists between Sankaradeva’s ideas and the splendidly rich Indian philosophical concepts. In this book an attempt has been made to assess Bezbaroa as a spokesman of the Assam Vaishnavism. Simultanesusly some aspects of Bezbaroa’s life particularly those happenings which shaped his mental make up as a writer have been brought to focus.