Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In a bid to glorify the classical status accorded to the Assamese language, the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra Society on Tuesday formally handed over a collection of five ancient sanchipat manuscripts to the Rashtrapati Bhavan library in New Delhi for preservation and display.
A solemn ceremony was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the Secretary of Kalakshetra Society, Sudarshan Thakur, officially handed over the invaluable sanchipat manuscripts to the Secretary of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Dipti Umashankar, in the presence of senior officials from Assam Bhavan, New Delhi, and representatives from the Assam Government and the Government of India.
It may be mentioned that under the guidance and patronage of Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and on the instructions of Chief Secretary Ravi Kota, the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra Society coordinated with various xatras (Vaishnavite monasteries) across Assam to collect these sanchipat manuscripts.
The presented sanchipat manuscripts will now add grandeur to the Rashtrapati Bhavan library. The manuscripts handed over to the library include ‘Kirtan Ghoxa’, composed by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev, contributed by the Xatradhikar of Shri Shri Dakshinpat Satra, Majuli, Shri Shri Nanigopal Dev Goswami; ‘Adi Dasham’, Srimanta Sankardev’s poetic translation based on the tenth skandha of the Bhagavata Purana, contributed by the Xatradhikar of Shri Shri Narua Kuji Satra (Vaikunthapur Than), Morigaon, Shri Shri Nityananda Dev Goswami; ‘Nam Ghoxa’, composed by Mahapurush Shri Shri Madhabdev, contributed by the Xatradhikar of Shri Shri Uttar Kamalabari Satra, Majuli, Shri Shri Janardan Dev Goswami; and ‘Bhakti Ratnavali’, a Sanskrit work by the Vishnupuri monks, translated into Assamese by Mahapurush Shri Shri Madhabdev, contributed by the Satradhikar of Shri Shri Kamalabari Satra, Titabor, Shri Shri Bhavakanta Dev Goswami.
Moreover, a sanchipat manuscript of ‘Geet Govinda’, originally composed in Sanskrit by Jayadeva and translated into Assamese by poet Kabiraj Chakravarti in the royal court of Swargadeo Rudra Singha, donated by Suren Phukan of Jorhat to the archives of Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, has also been presented to Rashtrapati Bhavan library for its preservation and display.
The Secretary of Kalakshetra Society expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the revered xatradhikars and other individuals involved in the preservation and exhibition of these classical Assamese manuscripts. “It is hoped that through this significant step, the rich heritage of the Assamese language will gain a new momentum,” Thakur said on the occasion.
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