Tirubhava: Remembering Srimanta Sankardev

Heramba Nath

(herambanath2222@gmail.com)

When the date of 25 August arrives each year, Assam does not treat it as an ordinary day. It is a day on which the collective heart of the land turns towards the memory of one of its greatest sons, Srimanta Sankardev. This date marks his Tirubhava Tithi, the day when the saint, reformer, and cultural architect departed from the mortal realm, leaving behind not emptiness but a civilisation steeped in faith, art, and humanity. His death anniversary is not observed in silence alone but in song, prayer, drama, and community gatherings that reflect the very fabric he wove during his lifetime. In commemorating 25 August, Assamese society is reminded not only of a saint’s passing but also of the timeless continuity of his presence, felt in every Namghar, echoed in every Borgeet, and living in every act of shared devotion.

The story of Sankardev’s life is well known yet endlessly meaningful. Born in the fifteenth century at Alipukhuri near Bordowa, he grew into a personality whose vision could not be confined to the categories of saint or poet or reformer alone. He was all of these and more. His Ekasarana Nama Dharma provided a path of devotion that was at once simple and profound—complete surrender to a single, compassionate God through chanting His name. In doing so, he dissolved barriers of caste and status, offering the possibility of divine connection to every human being irrespective of birth or privilege. In a society fractured by hierarchy and ritual rigidity, this was not only a spiritual revolution but also a social one. He transformed the landscape of Assam by showing that devotion could be lived through community, equality, and art, rather than through exclusivity and ritual.

His contribution to Assamese literature stands as one of the greatest achievements of his life. By composing the Kirtan Ghoxa, Borgeets, and his Ankiya Naats, he not only enriched the Assamese tongue with beauty and rhythm but also gave it stature as a literary language. Through his pen, Assamese became a medium capable of expressing the highest truths of devotion and philosophy. His works also helped standardise and unify the language, enabling it to bind communities together in a shared linguistic identity. At a time when Sanskrit held prestige and the vernaculars were often undervalued, Sankardev’s choice to write in Assamese gave dignity to the mother tongue of his people and ensured that his message reached every villager, farmer, artisan, and child.

Equally important was his vision of education. Sankardev understood that knowledge should not be the privilege of a few but the inheritance of all. Through his dramas, songs, and performances, he transformed learning into a living, collective experience. The Bhaonas he staged were not simply entertainment but schools of ethics, philosophy, and devotion. In them, children and adults alike absorbed moral lessons, language, and cultural values in a way that was engaging and memorable. In creating the Satras and Namghars, he also created centres of informal education, where the recitation of texts, the learning of music, and the practice of drama shaped generations of Assamese society. His method ensured that education was never dry instruction but always lived experience, blending art with knowledge and beauty with truth.

His death on 25 August is therefore not remembered as the end of a saintly life but as the flowering of a legacy that has never ceased to guide. The Tirubhava Tithi is observed with rituals that are strikingly consistent with the spirit of his own teachings. Communities gather in Namghars and Satras, reciting from the Kirtan Ghoxa, singing Borgeets, staging Bhaonas, and sharing Prasanga. These are not spectacles to be consumed but shared acts of devotion, where art and worship merge into one. The sound of the khol and taal resonates as if to announce that the saint still walks among his people, not in body but in the living pulse of culture. The very fact that centuries after his passing, communities still gather in this manner testifies to the depth of his influence and the vitality of the institutions he created.

The observance of his Tirubhava Tithi on 25 August is also an act of historical remembrance. In societies that often lose themselves in the rush of modernity, memory becomes fragile. Festivals turn commercial, dates blur, and traditions fade. To hold firmly to 25 August as Sankardev’s death anniversary is therefore to make a conscious effort at safeguarding truth. It is to affirm that the legacy of such a towering figure must never be diluted by uncertainty. For when a people lose precision in memory, they risk losing the substance of their identity. Honouring 25 August is, in this sense, an act of cultural self-preservation.

Yet the significance of 25 August goes far deeper than dates and ceremonies. It is a mirror in which Assamese society reflects on what Sankardev stood for and what remains to be lived in his vision. His teachings of inclusivity remain relevant in a world still divided by caste, religion, and class. His insistence that God is accessible without expensive rituals or privileged mediators resonates in an era when religion often succumbs to commercialisation. His use of art—music, drama, poetry—not for entertainment alone but as a vehicle of moral and spiritual truth carries lessons for a time when art is commodified and stripped of its sanctity. His creation of Satras and Namghars as community hubs, not merely religious spaces, demonstrates the possibility of building social harmony around shared values rather than material gain. To remember him on 25 August is therefore to measure how far society has travelled along his path and how far it has strayed.

When one hears the Borgeets on his death anniversary, their melodies carry not only devotion but also a profound humanism. These songs, composed centuries ago, still move hearts because they are not limited by time. They speak of surrender, compassion, and longing for the divine in words that remain fresh across generations. The Bhaonas staged on this day remind us of how Sankardev turned theatre into a school of ethics, a mirror of life, and a bridge to the spiritual. Children participating in these plays or learning to sing the Naam are not only performing but also inheriting. Through such observances, the saint is reborn in each generation, keeping alive the promise that his departure was not an ending but a transition into eternal presence.

For Assam, 25 August is also a reminder of identity in a more political sense. The cultural fabric that Sankardev created gave the people of the land a cohesive sense of belonging. His institutions became rallying points of unity, transcending tribe, caste, and region. In times when the region feels the pressures of migration, modernisation, and cultural erosion, the observance of his Tirubhava Tithi becomes a reaffirmation of rootedness. It reminds the youth that their heritage is not merely folklore but a living current that can guide them through the confusions of modern life. It tells the farmer and the fisher that their labour is not too humble to reach God. It assures the artiste that creativity can be an act of prayer. And it assures the society at large that harmony is possible if grounded in truth.

The philosophical meaning of the Tirubhava Tithi is also worth reflecting upon. In spiritual traditions, the death of a saint is often celebrated as the merging of the individual soul with the eternal. For Sankardev’s followers, 25 August is not a day of mourning but of transcendence. It symbolises the moment when his earthly journey gave way to an immortal presence that continues to guide his disciples. This way of seeing allows his death anniversary to be marked not with grief but with gratitude. The rituals performed are filled with joy, music, and colour because they celebrate continuity, not rupture. In this lies a profound spiritual lesson: that the end of physical life is not an extinction but a transformation into legacy.

Even outside Assam, Srimanta Sankardev’s Tirubhava Tithi has meaning. For India, he stands as a figure who bridged devotion with social reform. While other parts of the country were also witnessing Bhakti movements, Sankardev’s was unique in its integration of art, community institutions, and a distinctly regional expression of universal values. His Borgeets and Ankiya Naats enrich the broader canvas of Indian art. His emphasis on equality and fraternity contributes to the moral foundation of the nation. Remembering him on 25 August is therefore not only a regional observance but also a national act of recognising one of India’s great civilisational builders.

In the modern world, where technology often alienates people from community, where art is commodified, and where religion sometimes fuels division rather than unity, the figure of Sankardev becomes ever more relevant. The 25th of August each year arrives as a moment to pause, reflect, and realign with the values he embodied. It is a reminder that simplicity can be richer than excess, that devotion can be expressed in beauty, that equality is a spiritual truth as much as a social one, and that true culture is inseparable from compassion.

The day ends, but its meaning continues. When the lamps in the Namghar are extinguished after the evening prayers on 25 August, the light does not fade; it continues in the hearts of those who sang, prayed, or listened. Each year that this observance is repeated, it strengthens the chain of memory that links the present to the past and the past to the future. The saint who departed centuries ago remains alive not in stone monuments but in living practices, in songs sung by children, in plays performed by villagers, and in prayers whispered by elders.

Thus, 25 August is not simply a date in the calendar but a cultural heartbeat. It is the day when Assam remembers not only the passing of Srimanta Sankardev but also the gift of his eternal presence. It is the day when a civilisation renews its pledge to remain rooted in truth, art, and compassion. And it is the day when the people are reminded that death does not silence the truly great; it amplifies their voice across the corridors of time. For Srimanta Sankardev, whose legacy is woven into the very soul of Assam, 25 August is not the mark of an ending but the eternal affirmation of his beginning.