Vidyapatis dramas, the Assamese poet being much junior in age to his Maithili contemporary. Thus in Assam as in Europe motives of religion led to the birth of the drama Sankar Deva was himself a master of music and of the histrionic art, and like the great Shakespeare, took part in ie actia of his own dramas.
The volume Ankiya Bara-nat is a collection of twelve dramas written by Sankar Deva and Madhava Deva, viz, Kalia-daman, Patniprasad, Rasa-krida, Rukmini-haran, Sriram-vijay, Parijat-haran, Arjun-bhanjan, Chordhara Jhumura, Bhumi-lutuwa, Pimpara-guchua, Bhojan-vyavahara and Sri-krishna-janma. The language of these dramas presents a curious mixture of Maithili and Assamese. Songs are closely interspersed, and the original Sanskrit texts on which a particular scene is based are inserted in apposite places with simple renderings in Maithili-Assamese. The Sutradhar introduces the main theme of the drama, as well as the scenes and characters as they come along. The illusion is maintained by the preponderance of music, the archaic ring of the diction and the sacred character of the subjects treated.
The popularity of the Vaisnava dramas has continued till this day. They are popularly known as Bhawna and are acted in the nam-ghar or houses of public gathering attached to every Assamese Hindu village. The anniversaries of the saints and the major tithi of the year are occasions when these plays are enacted in the public halls without the aid of a stage or scenes, They are also performed on secular occa- sions which necessitate a large congregation of individuals, such as marriages and sraddha, in temporary sheds erected for the purpose close to the residences of the families who perform the ceremonies. The Ahom monarchs honoured distinguished visitors to their courts by inviting them to the performance of Bhawanas arranged for that sole purpose. A stranger paying even a flying visit to any Assamese village will hear the music of drums indicating that rehearsals are
