Satra (Ekasarana Dharma)

Satra are institutional centers associated with the Ekasarana tradition of Vaishnavism, largely found in the Indian state of Assam and neighboring regions.

[1][2] Numbering in the hundreds, these centers are generally independent of each other and under the control of individual adhikara (or satradhikar), though they can be grouped into four different Sanghati (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.

[3] Many of the larger Satras house hundreds of celibate and non-celibate bhakat (monks), hold vast lands and are repositories of religious and cultural relics and artifacts.

[4] Another satra was established by king Samudrapal at a place known as Yogihati in the same period (1232 CE) as evident from a stone inscription found in Ambari.

[5] 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[web 1] to propagate neo Vaishnavism.

From the early 20th century, the authority and orthodoxy of the Satras have been challenged by reform movements, most notably under the Sankar Sangha.

[7] All structures were originally temporary, made with wood, bamboo and covered over with thatch; brick and mortar found use after the 18th century.

Though temporary prayer houses were built, the tradition of devotees living in the premises did not happen during Sankardev's lifetime.

[23] 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.

The 17th century saw the rapid growth of the Eksarana Dharma in upper Assam[24] and Majuli became a focal point of Satra tradition and authority.