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Srimanta Sankardev and his Schools of Sattriya Dance and Sankari Music Guptajit Pathak Assistant Professor, Department of History Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Gitanagar, Guwahati- 781 021 Dist. Kamrup (Assam) E-mail ID : guptajitpathak@yahoo.com Mobile : +91-99548-85175 & Ph. D. Research Scholar Department of Women’s Studies Magadh University Boodh Gaya, Bihar, India Introduction: The great Vaishnavite saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev in unison was a scholar, play writer, social and religious reformer is a huge figure in the cultural and religious history of Assam. He created a new form of classical dance– a beautiful classic dance of Assam known as Sattriya dance. The great saint created this dance as an accessory to the Ankiya Naat (a form of Assamese one-act plays), which were generally performed in the Sattras. It is either known as Sankari dance or Sattriya Dance. In fact the ‘Sankari Dance’ is more suitable one. However, it is popular as Sattriya Dance outside the state. The organizers who popularized the dance outside the boundary of the state officially used the name ‘Sattriya Dance’ and some of them were uninterested to bring into play the name ‘Sankari Dance’. And in due course of time, some Sattra in Assam developed eccentricity. They find it hard to respect the principles and works of the great saint. They are keen on idol worship and worship of five divinities as well. Components of the Sattriya Dance: Sattriya Dance is one amongst the eight major classical Indian dance traditions. It worth mentioning here that the other seven classical dances of India are– Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Mohini Attam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathak and Manipuri. The other traditions dances have been revived in the recent past. But, Sattriya Dance has stated a living tradition since its conception by the Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardev in the 15th century. The distinctiveness of Satriya dance is underlined by the supremacy of Aharya and Vasik types of acting in it. The artists who perform the dance transmit their messages through speeches and external material like masks, costumes etc. in Sattriya dance. On the other hand, the other classical dances of India are distinguished by Sattvic type of acting. Sattriya dances are noticeably different from other dances like Odissi, Kathak, Bharatnatyam etc. Some of the outstanding features of these dances are trembling, perspiration, fainting, shedding tear, broken voice, etc. which is not observed on our Sattriya Dance. The Sattriya dance has seven vital components that are known as Dhemali. These are– Bar Dhemali, Ghosha Dhemali, Deva Dhemali, Raga Dhemali, Nati Dhemali, Ram Dhemali and Na Dhemali. Again all Dhemali has five components each. These are– Jorani, Dhumahi, Maan, Sanchar and Khandi. However Chahini is performed ahead of to the performance of any Dhemali. It is mainly a recital of the khol (drum) that was invented by Srimanta Sankardeva. It is the first component of Ganika.