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Satras ((アッサム語:সত্ৰ)) are institutional centers that are unique and special to the Ekasarana tradition. Numbering in the hundreds, these centers are generally independent of each other and under the control of individual ''adhikaras'' (or ''satradhikars''), though they can be grouped into four different ''Sanghatis'' (orders). These centers, in the minimum, maintain a prayer house (Namghar), initiate lay people into the Ekasarana tradition and include them as disciples of the Satra from whom taxes and other religious duties are extracted. The mushrooming of Satras in the 17th century and patronage extended to them by first the Koch kingdom and later the Ahom kingdom was crucial in the spread the Ekasarana religion. Many of the larger Satras house hundreds of celibate and non-celibate ''bhakats'' (monks), hold vast lands and are repositories of religious and cultural relics and artifacts. The Satras extend control over their lay disciples via village Namghars. Satras in which the principal preceptors lived, or which preserve some of their relics are also called ''thaan''s. The satras are established by Assamese Vaishnavite monasteries for religious practices at the initiative of the Ahom Kings of Assam in the middle of the 17th century to propagate neo Vaishnavism. Sankaradeva is said to have established his first Satra at Bardowa, his birthplace, and then in different places of Assam. In the 20th century the authority and orthodoxy of the Satras was challenged by reform movements, most notable under the Sankar Sangha. The Satras coordinate some of their activities via the Asam Satra Mahasabha, an umbrella organization of all the Satras. According to the Mahasabha's count there are, respectively, 898 and 16 Satras in Assam and West Bengal. ==Structures== The Satra is generally a four-sided enclosed area with four gateways (''karapat''). Centrally placed in this enclosure is a rectangular prayer-hall (''Namghar'' or ''kirtanghar'') at the aligned in the east-west direction. On its eastern side there is an additional independent structure called the ''Manikut'' (jewel-house), the ''sanctum santorum'', in which the ''asana'', a wooden tetradehral structure with four carved lions), is placed containing the main object of worship (usually a copy of the Bhagavat Purana in manuscript or an idol). The namghar is surrounded by four straight rows of huts, called ''hati'', in which monks (''bhakats'') reside. The ''adhikara'' and other high officers of the Satra reside in the eastern ''hatis''. All structures were originally temporary, made with wood, bamboo and covered over with thatch; brick and mortar found use after the 18th century. Monks, called ''bhakats'', live in satras under a ''satradhikar'' or ''Mahanta''. In some orders of the religion, the ''bhakats'' are celibate (''kewalia bhakat''). The satras are not merely religious institutions but play cultural and historical roles in society. A dance form that was initiated by Srimanta Sankardeva and later developed within the sattras, and thus called ''Sattriya'', is one of the eight classical dance forms in India. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Satra (Ekasarana Dharma)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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