# Damodardev

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{{Short description|Indian Ekasarana preceptor (1488–1598)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Damodardev
| native_name      = 
| image            = Damordadeva Ata.png
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = Sri Sri Damordadeva Ata
| pseudonym        = 
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = January 1488
| birth_place      = Nalaca, Nagaon<ref>{{harv|Neog|1980|p=128}}</ref>
| death_date       = {{Death year and age|1598|1488}}
| death_place      = Vaikunthapur Sattra
| resting_place    = 
| occupation       = [Ekasarana preceptor](/source/Ekasarana)
| language         = Assamese, [Sanskrit](/source/Sanskrit)
| nationality      = 
| citizenship      = 
| education        = 
| alma_mater       = 
| period           = medieval period
| genre            = 
| subject          = 
| movement         = |
| spouse           = 
| partner          = 
| children         = 
| relatives        = 
| awards           = 
| signature        = 
| signature_alt    = 
| website          = 
| portaldisp       = 
| ethnicity        = 
| influences       = 
| influenced       = 
}}

'''Damodardev'''  (1488–1598) was a sixteenth-century [Ekasarana](/source/Ekasarana) preceptor from present-day [Nagaon](/source/Nagaon) in the Indian state of [Assam](/source/Assam). Damodardev was a follower of [Sankardev](/source/Sankardev)'s [Ekasarana Dharma](/source/Ekasarana_Dharma) order.<ref>"(At Patbausi) Damodara was attracted towards Sankara's ''bhakti'' movement with its musical charm, and he was soon found joining the Vaishnava Order." {{harvcol|Neog|1980|p=129}}</ref> He started his own order after the death of Sankardev that came to be called the [Brahma sanghati](/source/Ekasarana_Dharma), which admitted Brahmanical rituals and greater adherence to the [caste system](/source/caste_system_in_India) alongside the namadharma of Sankardev.<ref>"This sect admitted brahmanical rites together with general devotional practices and took a rigid view of caste distinction. Some of Brahma satras like the Dakhinpat satra went so far as to administer tantric diksa (initiation)."{{harvcol|Shin|2017|p=248}}</ref> He was succeeded by [Bhattadeva](/source/Bhattadeva).<ref>{{cite book |title=Medieval bhakti movements in India:Śrī Caitanya quincentenary commemoration volume |last=Chaitanya, Bhattacharyya |first=Narendra Nath |year=1989 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |page=274 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Damodardev was born in the [state](/source/States_and_union_territories_of_India) of [Assam](/source/Assam) in a village called Nalaca, in present-day [Nagaon](/source/Nagaon), in 1488. He was the third and youngest son of Sushila and Satananda, a Brahmin couple.<ref>{{harvcol|Neog|1980|p=128}}</ref>  Nalaca was close to [Bordowa Than](/source/Bordowa_Than), [Sankardev](/source/Sankardev)'s native place, and Satananda was Sankardev's friend.<ref>{{harvcol|Neog|1980|p=128}}</ref> Damodardev and his family moved from [Ahom kingdom](/source/Ahom_kingdom) territory after Sankardev moved from Dhuwahat to [Barpeta](/source/Barpeta) in 1546 and settled, after some wandering close to Patbausi, or Chandravatipura<ref>{{cite book |title=Among the Luminaries in Assam: A Study of Assamese Biography |last=Sarma |first=Anjali |year=1990 |publisher=Mittal Publications |page=62 }}</ref> near Sankardev's ''sattra''.<ref>{{harvcol|Neog|1980|pp=128–129}}</ref> Damodardev received his education along with his two brothers under Kalpacandra{{fact|date=April 2026}} of [Navadwip](/source/Nabadwip) in [Bengal](/source/Bengal), where they studied detailed grammar, derivations and usage of words, four [Veda](/source/Veda)s, fourteen scriptures, the [Bhagavad Gita](/source/Bhagavad_Gita), the [Bhagavata Purana](/source/Bhagavata_Purana), and other religious books.

==Time with Sankardev and Sattra==
Early biographers of Damodardev are unanimous that he was inspired and influenced by [Sankardev](/source/Sankardev) in his religious practice and he began proselytising in Barpeta.<ref>"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." {{harv|Sarma|1966|p=72}}</ref> After meeting Damodardev, Sankardev asked him to recite Bhagavata in his sattra, for which Damodardev 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](/source/Durgabar_Kayastha)
* [Bhusana Dvija](/source/Bhusana_Dvija)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book
  | last = Neog
  | first = Maheshwar
  |author-link=Maheswar Neog
  | title = Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Assam
  | publisher = Motilal Banarasidass
  | year = 1980
  | location = Delhi
  }}
*{{cite book
  | last = Sarma
  | first = S N
  | title = The Neo-Vaisnavite Movement and the Satra Institution of Assam
  | publisher = Gauhati University
  | year = 1966
  }}
* {{Citation|last=Shin|first=Jae-Eun|contribution=Transition of Satra from a Venue of Bhakti Movement to the Orthodox Brahmanical Institution|year=2017|title=Clustering and Connections in Pre-Modern South Asian Society|editor-last=Ota|editor-first=Nobuhiro|pages= 237-257|place=Tokyo|publisher=Tokyo University of Foreign Studies}}
{{refend}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damodardev}}
Category:16th-century Hindu religious leaders
Category:16th-century Indian scholars
Category:1483 births
Category:1598 deaths
Category:Ekasarana Dharma
Category:People from Nagaon district
Category:Scholars from Assam
Category:Followers of the Mahapurushia cult

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Damodardev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damodardev) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damodardev?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.