• Lalit Sonowal

Assam is a land of diverse religions, beliefs and cults. Mahapurushiya Bhagawati Dharma or Neo-Vaisnavism which is the major religion of Assam today developed only in the early part of the sixteenth century as a response to the Indian Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement started by Srimanta Sankardeva popularly known as Neo-Vaisnavite movement has a great importance regarding the formation of Assamese culture. Neo-Vaisnavism had its impact on the status of women and also in the material life of the people. The time of Srimanta Sankaradeva’s advent was a horrible time. Women had no honor in those days. A woman could be taken by the Bhogi (a man selected for sacrifice before the deity) at any time. That situation arose from the Tantriks. Making woman the object of enjoyment in the name of the Sahajiya path of the Tantrik cult gave rise to adultery among some people. Srimanta Sankaradeva redeemed woman from that degraded state and elevated her to equal status with man in the performance of the religion of devotion. In this paper I will try to find out the status given by the Bhakti Reformers and how far the women of Assam influenced by them.

Keywords: religion, beliefs, cults, bhakti movement, neo-vaisnavism, bhogi, reformers,

"Neo-Vaisnavism and the Status of women in Assam", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.648-651, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907M84.pdf

"Neo-Vaisnavism and the Status of women in Assam", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp648-651, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907M84.pdf