Dakshinpat Satra

Getting there

• By air

  Rowriah Airport at Jorhat is about 7 km from Jorhat city centre. Majuli is reached from Jorhat by ferry or boat.

• By train

  Jorhat Town railway station serves Jorhat, on the Furkating-Jorhat-Mariani branch line.

• By road

  Majuli is about 20 km from Jorhat and is reached by ferry or boat. The bus-and-ferry trip from Nimati Steamer Ghat takes over three hours, with several transfers.

Why devotees come here

Dakhinpat Satra is one of Assam's best known monastic Satras, in the south-east corner of Majuli island. It was founded in 1654, and its main idol is of Jadav Rai. It is one of the Chari-Raj Satras.

Dakhinpat Satra stands in the south-east corner of Majuli, a long river island in the Brahmaputra. Banamali Dev Goswami, a prominent disciple of Vamshigopal, founded it in 1654 with the support of the Ahom King Jayadhwaj Singha. The main idol here is of Jadav Rai, and the Satra is one of the four Chari-Raj Satras, along with Auniati, Garmur and Kuruabahi.

The Satra is known for its annual Rass festival and for Raasleela, which is now recognised as one of Assam's national festivals. Once every twelve years it also holds a Brahmaputra Puja. It keeps many precious artefacts that reflect the socio-religious heritage of the State, among them golden crowns of the Ahom royals and three trunk-loads of golden and copper coins.

The Chief Minister has called the Satra a treasure-trove of artefacts, and has laid the foundation stone of a museum there for the collection. Calls for strong security to protect the artefacts have also been made.

Festivals

• AnnualRass festival

  The Satra holds its annual Rass festival, with Raasleela celebrated as one of Assam's national festivals.

• Every twelve yearsBrahmaputra Puja

  The Satra holds this puja once every twelve years.

Tips for your visit

• A ferry runs between Jorhat and Majuli six times a day.
• Night buses run from Guwahati to Majuli via Lakhimpur.

Questions people ask