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Assamese literature
An overview and historical perspective Linking into broader Indian canvas
Prologue
Assam, the eastern most part of India was differently called in different historical
periods. The name Assam is comparatively a new one. In the epic age it was known as
Pragiyotishpura and Kamarupa. References of Pragiyotishpura are found in many
places of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, Harivamsa, Visnupurana, Brahmand-
apurana, Raghuvasma, etc. In the Allahabad Inscription of Samudragupta of the 5th
century A.D. the name Kamrupa is found. These references indicate that this country
had a link with the rest of the sub-continent. The names found in some early
inscriptions also indicate that the Mahakavyas and Puranas made their way into this
part very early. Moreover the language and the script of the inscriptions are vey strong
evidents to prove the existence and use of the Sanskrit language and of the local
variation of the Brahmi script. The Nagajari-khanikar gaon inscription and same
inscriptions recently found in the Dhansiri valley tract clearly date back the use of the
above mentioned language and script to second century A.D. Kanaklal Barua comes
to a logical conclusion that the Alpines, an Aryan language-speaking race entered this
region approximately 400 B.C., and they were responsible to bring with them the pre-
vedic Aryan language which was rich in vocabulary to give the benefit to the earlier
inhabitants who were supposed to be the speakers of different small branches of the
dialects of Tibeto-Burmese origin or the Chino-Tibetan origin, or Kuki-chin or Bhot-
chin origin and were quite not being able to follow the tonal distinctions of the
dialects other than that of their own, to create a lingua-franca for their common use. In
this way a common language, based on the syntax-system of certain Tibeto-Burmese
dialects and with the rich vocabulary of the pre-vedic Aryan language, came into
being. Most of the original inhabitants of this region were of the Indo-Mongoloid
origin from the ethnic point of identity. The description of the soldiers of Ghatokosha,
the king of Pragjyotishpura, who fought for the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war, as
found in the Mahabharata, is itself an indicator of this ethnic identity.
All these data prove that though a large number of the population of Assam are not of
Nordic or Alpine origin, yet their language is a branch of the Indo-Aryan speech and
the script is of the Brahmi origin. The first reference of the language of Kamarupa is
found in the note of the Chinese pilgrim Hicuen Tsang who in the 7th century A.D.
came to Kamarupa at the invitation of the king Kumar Bhaskara Varman. He noted
that the language of Kamarupa slightly differed from that of the language of middle
India. This note points out that in the 7th century A.D. this language came into being
with its primary distinctivenesses. In the map of the Indo-Aryan language, the
Assamese language forms and occupies its eastern-most part. So, from the points of
view of the language and script, Assamese is a strong branch of the Indo-Aryan
language.
In the Kalika Purana of 10th century and in the Yogini Tantra of 16th century, the
territorial jurisdiction of Kamarupa is clearly demarcated by saying that "From the
mountain of Kancana in Nepal up to the confluence of the Brahmaputra, from the
Karatoya to Dikkaravasini, in the north the mount Kanja, in the west the Karotoya, in
the east the Diksu, in the south the confluence of Laksa with the Brahmaputra". It

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indicates that a great portion of north Bengal and Bihar was also included in the
ancient kingdom of Kamarupa. But later on it broken into different kingdoms.
The name Assam came to its existence and use after the Ahoms in 1228 invaded and
ruled the country for long six hundred years. Till 16th century there were three
principal kingdoms in this region, namely, Assam, Kamarupa and Kamata with Behar
(Cooch Behar); but the language spoken by the people of these three kingdoms was
one. After the Ahom kings expanded their kingdom up to Manah the whole region
came to be known as Assam, and the people and their speech to be known as
Asamiya. It was the Britishers who had transformed these words to Assam and
Assamese as such.
Part-I
Though the emergence of the Assamese language is traced back in the 7th century
A.D., no literary evidence till the time of the ‘Charyyapadas’, the Buddhist songs,
supposed to be composed within a time-frame of four hundred years, i.e. from 8th
century A.D. to 12th century A.D., could be traced till date. Therefore the
Charyyapadas are taken to be the first literary evidence of the Assamese language. Of
course, the Bengali, Oriya and the Maithili languages also claim these songs to be the
earliest specimens of their own languages. Because these four languages including the
Assamese, originated from the Purva-Magadhi Apravramsa, therefore it is very
natural that there would be some common identical characteristics. But from the
phonological and morphological traits registered in these songs, it is clearly evident
that the language of the Charyya are much more close to Assamese than the other
languages. Some significant phonological and morphological traits found in these
songs have come down in unbroken continuity to modern Assamese.
However, from the days of the Charyyapadas, for about last one thousand years till
the modern time, the whole gamut of literature created in Assamese, can be divided
into three broad periods, namely, the early period, Medieval period and the modern
period. In the early period, besides these Charyyapadas, the Krishna-kirtana of Baru
Chandidas and Sunya Purana of Ramai Pandit, these two works are included. The
titles themselves speak that the themes are knitted with the Pan Indian background,
while the treatment has its local characteristics. Of course these works are also
claimed to be specimens of Bengali literature. But gramatical rules and the cultural
backdrops as drawn in the works support the claim of the Assamese language
strongly. Whatever it may be, the main point to look at is that the themes and spirit of
the Sanskrit literature made their way into Assamese during this early period till 12th
century A.D. The names Keshava, Janardana, Mudhava, Samkarsana, Madhusudana
and such other names found in the inscriptions are also strong indicators in this
connection. Of course, in the works mentioned, the influence of the bordering
languages can also be traced easily.
The Assamese literature found its strong footing in the 13th century A.D. under the
patronage of the king Durlabhnarayana of Kamata. During this period Hem Saraswati
authored a little book Prahlad charit. He took the story, as he has stated, from the
Vamana purana but took much liberty with the original Sanskrit work. Another work
he authored is Hara-Gauri sambada, the story of which was also taken from one
purana and also from folk lore. Other two poets Kaviratna saraswati and Rudra

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kandali also received the patronage of Durlabhnarayana and they wrote Jayadratha-
vadha and Satyaki-pravesa respectively. Both these plots were taken from the
Mahabharata.
During this period another king Mahamanikya of the Barahi kingdom patronised
Madhava Kandali to translate the whole of the Sanskrit Ramayana into Assamese, and
Madhava kandali did a splendid work without deviating from the original and also
adding local flavour with commendable ability. Later on Sankaradeva the great saint
poet-artist-philosopher, praised him as a flawless poet of high order.
These works of 13th and 14th centuries make it clear that, (i) Sanskrit language and
literature were very much known to the educated people (even from the names of the
writers Hem Saraswati, Madhava Kandali, Rudra Kandali and Kaviratna Saraswati it
is very much evident). (ii) The Assamese language reached its full grown stage before
this period, otherwise it would not have been possible to translate and recreate these
works, (iii) The Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas became familiar to the
general masses through the translations and (iv) the people of this whole language-
region started sharing the spiritual, moral, social and cultural values that were shared
by the people of the other language-regions of present India. It is also to be noted that
these poets did not make literal translations; rather either they adopted the stories to
tell in their own language and idioms or recreated those stories keeping the general
readers and listeners before their mind. Another important point to be noted is that
king Durlabhanarayan was a Koch king and king Mahamanikya was a Barahi, i.e. a
Kachari king. Both these kings, from the ethnic point of view, were of non-Aryan
origin. The Koches and the Kacharis were the offsprings of the Bodo tribe. It signifies
how in the early period the non-Aryan language-speaking tribes turned to be Indo-
Aryan and Indo-Aryan originated language speakers in this region. The then form of
the present Assamese was their mother tongue. Even the Ahoms who entered this
region in the 13th century A.D., adopted the language of the land, and it was their
name after which the name of the land, the people and the language of the people had
been identified.
The golden period of medieval Assamese literature began with the emergence of
Sankaradeva (1449 A.D. - 1569 A.D.), the great saint-poet, artist-philosopher, a social
reformer and preacher of the neo-Vaishnavite order in the whole region of three
states. He, in his youth studied the Vedas, Upanishadas, Puranas, Philosophy, Poetics,
Yoga, etc. in the Sanskrit ‘Tol’ of Mahendra Kandali and he travelled the North and
the Eastern parts of present day India extensively. His sojourn to the centres of
Vaishnava culture, his profound knowledge of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy, his
deep realisation of the ultimate truth of the life and the universe, his strong faith on
the path of ‘Bhakti’ made his creative genius ignified. He had started sometimes
adopting, sometimes recreating and sometimes translating the stories from the
Bhagavata Purana, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. He had written the
Harichandra Upakhyan Kavya, Rukminitarana Kavya, Kurukshetra Kavya,
Balichalan Kavya. Amrit Manthan Kavya, the stories of Ajamil and Gajendra in the
Kavya form: he had translated with liberty, the Uttara-kanda of the Ramayana and
the 1, 2, 10, 11 and 12 books of the Bhagavata Purana; he had authored books on
‘Bhakti’ like Bhakti Pradip, Anadi Patan, Nimi-Navasiddha Sambad, in poetical
form, authored the most popular book the Kirtana-Ghosha, the principal book, meant
for ‘Prasanga’, a significant order of prayer, composed the Borgits based on Raga and

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the songs of the drama, composed the Gunamala i.e. the theme of the Bhagavata
Purana in brief in poetical form, and he wrote five dramas, the first of its kind in the
Northern Indian languages. He adopted the themes and the stories from the
Mahakavyas and the Bhagavata Purana, but with his creative genius he made his
creations original in character. He was a poet par excellence, he was a composer of
music and dance of Indian system, he was a reliable translator, he was a scholar of
high order, and above all the pioneer of the Bhakti movement in Assam, Kamarupa
and Cooch-Behar.
Sankaradeva in a very big way brought India into Assam and strongly associated
Assam with India. He was followed by his great disciple Madhavadeva (1489-1596).
Besides his other works, the unique contribution of Madhavadeva is the Namghosha
in which the most sweet, powerful and melodious confluence of Philosophy and Rasa
can be found. Sankaradeva emerged and stood as the guiding and inspiring spirit to
see a band of poets and dramatists and composers of songs, making their powerful
entrance into the arena of literature, culture and religion. Ramsaraswati translated and
re-created five books of the Mahabharata with liberty and he on the basis of the
Mahabharata authored a series of kavyas under the name Badha-Kavya. Ananta
Kandali, Sridhar Kandali, Kamsari, Gopalcharan Dwija, Kalapchandra Dwija,
Haridev, Gopal Dev, Narayan Das Thakur, Gopal Misra, Ramcharan Thakur, Govinda
Misra, Purusottam Thakur, Aniruddha Dev, Daiyari Thakur and about not less than
four hundred writers emerged during the period of four hundred years since the
emergence of Sankaradeva till the end of the 18th century. Moreover, Assamese prose
literature also grew up during this period. Bhattadeva wrote the Bhagavata Purana
and the Srimad Bhagavata Geeta in prose in the early 17th century, Raghunath
Mahanta wrote the Ramayana in prose in 17th century and Chakrapani Bairagi told
the biographies of Sankaradeva, Madhavadeva and other Gurus in prose in 17th
century. It may be noted that no prose literature in other Indian languages was created
till then.
It is not that all the writers were of the Vaishnava faith and fold. There were some
writers, though less in number, who wrote for enjoyment and entertainment and also
for imparting knowledge, but not for any religious aim or object. Their writings were
of secular character and some of them were of technical nature. But they were more or
less very close to the great Vaishnava literature in form.
Under the patronage of the Ahom kings the literature of secular and technical nature
made a healthy progress. Moreover, though the Buranji literature, i.e. the chornicles
written in Assamese under the patronage of the Ahom kings and nobles, had nothing
to do with the Indian tradition as such, yet in the narration it is very much evident that
the chronicles as well as the then society were governed by the spiritual, moral, social
and cultural values imbibed from the Indian tradition.
In the sattras, the centres of the Vaishnava religion and culture, reading of the
religious books and to listen are compulsory for the devotees. Moreover, to be a
Satradhikara one had to prove one's ability in writing poetry, songs and plays and
one's command over music, dance and drama. Besides the Ankiyas Nats of
Sankaradeva and the Jhumuas of Madhavadeva, the plays written by the Saradhikars
are to be staged. Moreover, in the villages also the tradition of writing drama to stage
in the Namghars, is being followed even now. The playwrights adopt the themes from

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the Ramayana,the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana and other Puranas. Besides
the dramatic literature, Kavyas, based on the stories of these Maha Kavyas and
Puranas, were composed. As a result, during the period of last four hundred years
after the death of Sankaradeva, Assamese literature has been enriched in a very big
way. It may be also noted that even some Kavyas and plays were written by followers
of other folds too.
Since the days of Sankaradeva till the Nineteenth century, during this span of four
hundred years, Assamese literature of the old school had a speedy and healthy growth.
Kavyas, Mahakavyas, dramas songs, biographies, chronicles, books on technical
subjects had been written in numbers. Even today no survey has been made to have a
complete list of the books lying still in the form of manuscripts. Only a part of the
whole has been collected by the Kamrup Anusandhan Samiti, Department of
Historical and Antiquarian Studies. Assam Museum, the Gauhati University,
Dibrugarh University and Assam Sahitya Sabha. These vast works of letters and other
art forms grew and developed during this period, moulded the individual mind and the
collective mind of the people of Assam to the tune of the Indian spirit and values
generated by the great Sanskrit literature of our past.
Part-II
Modern Assamese literature found its growth and the first phase of development in
the 19th century. The quick and sudden changes and the birth of a new class of
intelligentsia in the 19th century had prepared the background and played significant
roles in this regard. The Assamese intelligentsia came into contact with the western
culture and civilisation during the second half of the century. During the mid 19th
century, Bengal, i.e. Calcutta, was on the crest of the ‘Renaissance’, and the people of
Bengal tried their best from their own points of view for an all round development of
the language, literature and culture and the general conditions of society. The fight of
the Brahmos against the Hindu orthodoxy and for the establishment of a neo-
Hinduism, the attack of the young Bengal group on traditional values, the attempts of
the rising writers in poetry, fiction, drama and in other genres of literature with new
outlook, the infiltration of the western romanticism with a humanistic approach, and
the emergence of the spirit of patriotism, are the most remarkable events in the social,
literary and cultural history of Calcutta during this period. The spirit that was
generated by the Bengal Renaissance made its way to the other parts of India to wake
up the country for a modern era. The western culture, literature and civilisation made
the people aware of the modern life; but at the same time, the strong feeling of
patriotism also started occupying their mind. A spirit of language-based nationalism
grew up in every province of British India. It inspired them to see the past of their
country in glorification. Moreover, in the modern literatures of India since 19th
century till the early part of the 20th century, the co-existence of sub-nationalism and
Indian nationalism made its room without clash or conflict. Therefore a spirit of
Indianness was equally responsible to inspire the writers.
The first half of the 19th century was a painful time for Assam. However, towards the
end of the first half Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Gunabhiram Barua and Hemchandra
Barua emerged as the pioneering writers. They fought with pen for the rehabilitation
of the Assamese language and for the development of modern Assamese literature.
Patriotism was the guiding spirit for them to work. But they were not cut off from the

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Indian heritage and values that they imbibed from their own social, cultural and
literary heritage. The new humanistic approach was there; but at the same time, their
traditional values were also equally active in them.
During the ninth decade, the most remarkable band of the Assamese students went to
Calcutta for higher studies and played the most significant role towards the
development of modern Assamese literature. Lakshminath Bezbarua, Chandrakumar
Agarwala, Hemchandra Goswami, Kenaklal Barua, Padmanath Gohain Barua.
Rajanikanta Bordoloi headed the list of those who formed the galaxy of the modern
writers in Assamese. They enriched their minds with new ideas and ideals and
prepared themselves to take their individual and collective programmes for the
development of Assamese language and literature. All through the period,
Lakshminath Bezbaroa (1864-1938), with a towering personality and with command
over all aspects of Assamese literature, old and new, stood as the uncrowned king
over the domain of Assamese language and literature. He was a short-story writer,
dramatist, poet, humourist, belle-letter writer, critic, novelist, biographer, writer of
children literature, folk-lorist and a great patriot. He also studied the Vedas,
Upanishadas and other scriptures and made comparative analysis with that of the
philosophical trait of the religion and literature of Sankaradeva. He also established
himself as the exponent of the religion and philosophy of Sankaradeva. On the other
hand his relationship with the famous Tagore family brought him near the Brahmo
religion. The philosophy of Brahmo religion, excepting its rituals, was identified to a
great extent with the philosophy and religion of Sankaradeva. Western humanism was
tempered with Vaishnavite philosophy in Bezboroa; and this synthesization gave a
distinctive direction to the intellectual life of Assam. He was out and out a preacher of
Assamese nationalism; but at the same time, he did not lose the sight of broader
humanism; and for this, modern Assamese literature cannot be called to carry the
spirit of narrow parochialism. Moreover, Bezboroa and his other colleagues were not
indifferent about the Indian nationalism and the Indianness of the values that they
subscribed.
The romantic ideas and ideals mixed with Assamese nationalism and with Indian view
of life and values upheld a new world of thoughts and imagination before the writers.
Therefore till the World War II, Assamese literature carried this essence in it. During
this period poets of high order like Chandra Kumar Agarwala, Mafizuddin Ahmed
Hazarika, Hiteswar Barbarua, Raghunath Choudhary, Ambikagiri, Durgeswar Sarma,
Jatindranath Duara, Nalinibala Devi, Ratnakanta Borkakoti, Suryyakumar Bhuyan,
Sailadhar Rajkhowa and others came out. In the second
phase we find important
poets like Binandrachandra Barua, Parvatiprasad Barua, Ananda Chandra Barua,
Ganesh Gogoi, Devakanta Barua and others. In the field of short story Bezbarua led a
band of followers later on. Padmanath Gohain Barua
and Rajanikanta Bordoloi
and later on Daivachandra Talukdar and Dandinath Kalita established themselves as
novelists.
The spirit of the age that was generated through the Jonaki, Bijuli and Banhi, was the
guiding force of Assamese literature till the 4th decade of the twentieth century.

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The World War II created a watershed in the socio-cultural and literary life of Assam.
Realism, modernism and socialism started flowing through thin streams to make them
bigger within a period of two decades. Birinchi Kumar Barua, Syed Abdul Malik,
Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, Jogesh Das and others in the field of novel, Hem
Barua, Navakanta Barua and their colleagues in the field of poetry, Jyotiprasad in the
field of drama and music, Lakshmidhar Sarma, Rama Das, Syed Abdul Malik,
Saurabh Chaliha, Mahim Bora. Bhabendranath Saikia and others in the field of short
story have annexed new areas. Of course their works are not alienated from the Pan
Indian background. After independence we find new movements taking place in all
the Indian literatures and these movements are identical in spirit and form to a great
extent.
In the present days Assamese literature has imbibed different views and thoughts,
spirit and forms from the literatures of far away countries too; still it is not cut off
from the Indian scene. The translation projects taken by NBT and Sahitya Akademi
and other non-government farms have made the literatures of Indian language
accessible Assam. In spite of so many divergencies of geography, climate, language,
culture and ethnicity, an Indianness is dominant from within in the life of the people
of India, sometimes despite unawareness of it. In regard to the commonness of Indian
literature Dr. S. Radhakrishnan observes, "There is a unity of outlook as the writers in
different languages derive their inspiration from a common source and face more or
less the same kind of experience, emotional and intellectual". His another observation
that "Indian literature is one written in many languages" can also be cited
simultaneously. Through the Assamese literature of last one thousand years also that
Indian spirit has been flowing without break. From Sankaradeva onward the poets of
different ages have been singing the glory of India. Madhavadevas sings.