|| II. Madhavadeva ||

Madhavadeva is the chief disciple and apostolic successor of Srimanta Sankaradeva. It is after Sankara had met Madhava at Majuli that the Vaishnava movement in Assam gathered full momentum.

After Sankaradeva, the next outstanding figure in Assamese literature is Madhavadeva (1489-1596) who was, in many respects, complementary to his Guru. Like his Guru, Madhavadeva too was a prolific writer. He wrote a number of books in different literary forms and completed the religious exegesis of the Bhakti cult.

• Contents

  • The Servitor of His Guru..
  • The Literary Output of Madhavadeva
  • Nama Ghosa - The Book of the Names Divine
    • The Nām Ghosā - A Synopsis
    • Excerpts from the Nām Ghosā : The Beginning
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Ninda
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Atma-Upadesa
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Namanvaya
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Nam-Anjaniya
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Namaskar
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Sarana
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Bhajana
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Upadesa
    • Excerpts from the Nam Ghosa : Vastu Prakas
    • The sources of the Nam Ghosa
  • The Bhakti Ratnavali of Madhavadeva
  • The Lyrical Effusion of Madhavadeva
  • The List of Madhavadeva's Works
  • Madhavadeva : Biography [1]
  • Madhavadeva : Biography [2]
  • Madhavadeva : Biography [3]
  • Madhavadeva : Biography [4] : Madhavadeva’s Great Debate with Sankaradeva
  • The Guru Bhatima of Madhavadeva

Nām Ghosā and Ratnāvali of Madhavadeva alongwith Kirttana and Dasama of Sankaradeva are the four great works that are still worshipped all over Assam upto Kochbehar. As the Gitā is said to be the very heart of Krsna, so the Nām Ghosā is considered as the heart of Madhavadeva, and it occupies the same position in Assamese social life and literature as the Gitā does in the Indian

The Nām Ghosā is the epitome of Srimanta Sankaradeva's creed and tenets. It appears to be the last work of Madhavadeva, the Saint's foremost disciple, written about 1568-1596. Also referred to as the Hājāri Ghosā (meaning 1000 couplets) or simply the Ghosā, it is one of the four sacred texts (cāri puthi) of Assam Vaisnavism.