Raas Mahotsav

Raas Mahotsav is a three-night Vaishnavite festival held on the full moon of Kartik (Raas Purnima) at the sattras (monastic centres) of Majuli, the river island in the Brahmaputra in upper Assam.

The festival stages episodes from the life of Krishna — particularly his childhood at Vrindavan and the Raas Lila with the gopis — through bhaona theatre, song and masked performance in the open courtyards of Majuli's sattras.

• All-night Bhaona performances in the sattras
• Mask-makers of Samaguri Sattra at work
• Episodes from Krishna's life staged with elaborate costumes
• Brahmaputra ferry crossings to reach Majuli

• Living tradition started by the saint Srimanta Sankardeva
• Set on the world's largest river island
• Rare chance to see Sattriya theatre in its original setting
• Pairs naturally with Majuli's mask-making and pottery villages

Majuli's Raas tradition is rooted in the 15th–16th century Bhakti reform of the Assamese saint Srimanta Sankardeva, who institutionalised the sattras as centres of Vaishnavite religious life and devotional performance. The Raas, in its current form, has been performed continuously on the island for well over 150 years.

Auniati, Garamur, Uttar Kamalabari, Dakhinpat and Samaguri sattras each host their own staging of the Raas with distinct emphases — Auniati on classical Sattriya, Samaguri on mask-based theatre.

• Annual dates: three nights around Raas Purnima (full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik), usually in mid to late November.
• Venues: open courtyards of Majuli's major sattras — Auniati, Garamur, Uttar Kamalabari, Dakhinpat and Samaguri among others.

The performers and devotees are drawn from Majuli's Assamese Vaishnava community, including monks (bhakats) who live in celibate orders within the sattras as well as householder Vaishnavites from the surrounding villages. The Mising and Deori communities also live on the island and participate in the wider festival economy.

Raas Mahotsav is the most important festival in Majuli's religious calendar and one of the principal expressions of Sankardeva's Eka Sarana Naam Dharma — devotional theatre performed as worship rather than entertainment.

• All-night Bhaona performances staging episodes from Krishna's life.
• Mask-making at Samaguri Sattra — large papier-mâché masks used in the performances are crafted on site.
• Devotional Borgeet songs composed by Sankardeva and Madhavadeva.
• Brahmaputra ferry crossings from Nimati Ghat to Kamalabari Ghat.
• Visits to working sattras at Auniati, Garamur, Uttar Kamalabari and Dakhinpat.

• Air: Jorhat Airport (JRH) is the nearest, ~20 km from Nimati Ghat, the gateway to Majuli.
• Rail: Jorhat Town and Mariani are the nearest railheads, with connections to Guwahati and beyond.
• Road & ferry: From Jorhat take a taxi to Nimati Ghat, then a government or private ferry across the Brahmaputra to Kamalabari Ghat on Majuli (about 90 minutes). Ferry timings depend on river conditions in November.

No special permits are required for Majuli or Assam.

November on Majuli is mild and dry, with daytime temperatures around 22–28 °C and cool nights around 12–16 °C. Carry light cottons for the day and a warm layer for after dark on the ferry and at open-air sattra performances.

Majuli's bamboo-and-thatch eco-cottages (Garamur, Kamalabari and Salmora) book up months in advance for Raas. Most properties are small (10–15 rooms); reserve early. Jorhat town has larger hotels if a same-day return is preferred.

• Bhaona is staged after dark in low light; a fast 35 mm or 50 mm lens and a willingness to push ISO will get the cleanest shots.
• Avoid flash inside the sattra namghar; photograph from the edges of the audience.
• Daytime visits to Samaguri Sattra offer excellent natural light for mask-making portraits.

• Salmora village, known for terracotta pottery without a wheel.
• Kamalabari Sattra and its monastic library.
• Mising tribal villages and stilt houses along the river edge.
• Jorhat's tea estates and the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary at Hollongapar.

A curated selection of photographs from Raas Mahotsav. All images are placeholders until license-cleared festival-specific photographs are sourced — see our photography policy.

Raas Mahotsav is a living cultural event hosted by the Assamese Vaishnava community. Please attend as a respectful guest, not a spectator.

• Day 1 — Arrive Jorhat; ferry across to Majuli, the Brahmaputra river island. Evening at Kamalabari Satra.
• Day 2 — Morning at Auniati Satra; evening Raas Leela performance at Uttar Kamalabari Satra.
• Day 3 — Full day across the satras of Majuli for successive Raas enactments; visit Mising and Deori villages.
• Day 4 — Return ferry to Jorhat; drive to Sivasagar for the Ahom monuments — Rang Ghar, Talatal Ghar, Kareng Ghar.
• Day 5 — Morning at a Jorhat tea estate, transfer to Dibrugarh or Jorhat airport for departure.