Assam:The Land of Krishna

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Assam's connection to Krishna goes back to Mahabharat times when the

Lord himself came to Pragjyotishpur, as Assam was known then, in

order to marry the beautiful princess Rukmini of Sadiya in the State.

It is also in the Assamese city of Sonitpur or Tezpur as it is known

now, where Lord Krishna's grandson Aniruddha married his wife

Princess Usha, daughter of King Banasura. The historical legend of

Aniruddha and Usha is known throughout India for its elements of

adventure and romance.

 

In ancient times, Sonitpur's princess Usha saw a handsome prince in

her dreams and fell in love with him. Upon seeing her friend lost in

brooding, Usha's clever friend Chitralekha decided to use her

advanced knowledge and powers to track down the prince of Usha's

dreams. When she heard Usha's description of the exquisite beauty of

her dream prince, Chitralekha at once realized that Usha could be

talking about none other than the men of the Yadava clan, Lord

Krishna's family. She immediately drew a number of portraits to help

Usha identify which one of the Yadava princes she was pining for.

Upon discovering that it was none other than Krishna's grandson,

Aniruddha, Chitralekha secretly had him kidnapped and brought to the

princess' palace. When he saw the beauty and pure character of his

kidnapper, Aniruddha gladly gave his assent and married Usha

according to Gandharva rites without the knowledge of king Banasura.

When Banasura learnt of the clandestine romance, he was enraged and

imprisoned Aniruddha in the dungeons.

 

Naturally Lord Krishna was forced to come to Sonitpur to rescue his

grandson and consequently a fierce battle ensued. Ultimately Banasura

was defeated and the lovers were united forever under the watchful

eye and auspicious blessings of Lord Krishna. To this day the ruins

of Agnigarh, where this immortal romance blossomed, still bear mute

testimony to this beautiful event in Assamese history.

 

The art and culture of Assam also contains numerous references to the

Lord. Oja-Pali is a very old performing art form of Assam, which

combines narrative singing with dancing and dramatic interludes .The

music of Oja pali has a raga system of clearly classical orientation,

and a strong emphasis on Krishna Bhakti. Srimanta Shankardeva,

Assam's great poet was extremely devoted to Krishna and wrote many

verses in homage to his glory. He was also the creator of new

Vaishnava musical forms of which the most remarkable is a classical

genre with a distinctive system of ragas and talas. Assamese theater

genres such as the Ankiya-Bhaona, involve the performance of Krishna-

centric plays composed by Sankaradeva or Madhavadeva, in the

classical Sanskrit drama tradition.

 

Assam is also famous for its Ankia-Nat, a Krishna drama, that

originated in the wake of neo-Vaishnavite movement in the 16th

century in Assam. This operatic one-act play depicting the Krishna

legend in all its splendour is structurally a beautiful synthesis of

classical and folk traditions of the region.

 

To this day Assamese folk dances such as Rakhal Lila depict the dance

of the gopis who played with Shri Krishna during his childhood and

youth. They are performed with great devotional abandon during Holi

and the Spring festivals. Clearly Assam has retained its connection

to Lord Krishna through its varied and rich artistic traditions.