Administrator, Religious Teacher, Preacher and Householder

In Sankaradeva's twentieth year, it so happened that all the Bhuyans approached him and wanted him to lead them all to Tembuāni, the old home of their forefathers. This being agreed upon, all the Bhuyans headed by Sankaradeva went to Tembuāni and arranged to settle in the respective lands of their forefathers as pointed out by one Budhā Khā, and left Āli-pukhuri for good.

Founding of the Prayer-House

Sankaradeva, himself took a kodāli (hoe), it is said, to raise the plinth of a new prayer-house and there came by a four-handed (Caturbhuja) Visnu image under the ground. This image he preserved in his prayer-house and used it as a substitute for the goddesses for the people to worship. Henceforth, Sankaradeva began to devote himself to regular prayers in his prayer-house at Tembuāni, singing the Name of Hari with a large audience.

Celebration of the Dol Festival

In his twenty-first year, Sankaradeva introduced and celebrated the Dol festival for the first time amidst great rejoicings with Nāma-Kirttana.

The Young Leader

Sankaradeva proved to be a very successful and highly popular administrator delivering justice tinged with mercy to one and all and with never an unkind word for anybody. He earned the love and respect of his subjects who, out of their admiration for him, began to address him as Dekāgiri (the Young Leader).

Sankara the Preacher

At the same time, Sankaradeva kept himself engaged in deep studies. Along with his administrative duties, he held discussions on various religious topics daily, specially from the Vaisnavite scriptures, such as the Bhāgavata and many others. A group of learned young men gathered round him and encouraged him to propagate a pure form of Vaisnavism based chiefly on the Bhāgavata.

It is to be noted that his forefathers - all great scholars - were followers of goddess Sakti, but Sankaradeva through his deep studies of the chief scriptures of Hinduism (including the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Purānas), realized that the path of unqualified devotion (Bhakti) to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Being, was the only true path. To establish his new faith of love and devotion, hitherto unknown in Assam and indeed in a nascent stage in the whole of India, he began to compose many scriptures with a view to making the masses aware of the Supreme Truth he had realized.

He started the preaching of religion at Bardowā itself. The composition of the Kirttana also started around this time.

About this time, Sankaradeva made up his mind to devote his life for propagation of Vaisnavism and to render the Sāstras in the language of the common man, and to make over the charge of his dukedom to the two paternal uncles of his father. They in turn thought it time to bind Sankaradeva in matrimony and so his wedding was performed with Suryyavati, daughter of one Harikhā Bhuyān, son of Satānanda.