The Bhagavat of Sankardev is the Assamese adaptation of the Bhagavata Purana made by Srimanta Sankardev in 15th-16th century in the regions that form present-day Assam and Cooch Behar. Though the major portions of the work was transcreated by Sankardev, a few other writers from that period contributed to the remaining sections.
This book is revered and forms the central religious text for the followers of Sankardev (Ekasarana Dharma). The text is not a literal translation from the original Sanskrit into the vernacular but it is an adaptation to the local milieu in language and content.
Srimanta Sankardev transcreated the different sections of the original Bhagavata Purana at different times of his life. They are:[1]
From among these sections, Book X, locally called the daxama, is particularly popular among the Mahapuruxiya dharma works, next only to kirtan ghoxa.[6] Sankardev's translations of Book IX are believed to be lost.
The other transcreators are:
The original, which was written in Sanskrit was rendered into Assamese words and idioms of the time by Sankardev, but it was not a verbatim translation. He intentionally left out some sections and summarized or elaborated others, to fit the situation in Assam. He replaced the name of the tribes and flowers by those found in Assam, for instance, thus specifically targeting the local populace. More significantly, whereas the original texts mention varnashrama but he mentions new social order. Some of the more abstruse philosophical parts were summarized and rendered so that the common people in Assam could understand them.[7]
