• Shankara Deva of Assam (late fifteenth century) emphasised devotion to Vishnu, and composed poems and plays in Assamese. He began the practice of setting up Namghars or houses of recitation and prayer, a practice that continues to date.

• He is widely accredited with building on past cultural relics and devising new forms of music (Borgeet), theatrical performance (Ankia Naat, Bhaona), and dance (Sattriya) and literary language (Brajavali).

• Besides, he has left an extensive literary oeuvre of trans-created scriptures (Bhagavat of Shankar deva), poetry and theological works written in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajavali. The Bhagavatic religious movement he started, Ekasarana Dharma and also called Neo-Vaishnavite movement, influenced two medieval kingdoms –Koch and the Ahom kingdoms — and the assembly of devotees he initiated evolved into Sattras over time, which continue to be important socio-religious institutions in Assam and to a lesser extend in North Bengal.