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Hayagriva Madhava Temple (mandir)

Around 30 km to west of Guwahati, within the city of Hajo, is located some of the sacred pilgrimage spot in Assam - Hayagriva Madhava Temple (mandir). Extremely respected by the Hindus as well as the Buddhists, the temple (mandir) enshrines a picture of Lord Vishnu, which resembles the picture of Lord Jagannath at Puri (Orissa). The temple (mandir) is also thought-about as a significant pilgrimage spot by Buddhist Lamas and Bhutiyas who comply with Buddhism. They believe that Lord Buddha acquired Nirvana or Moksha on this place and that the picture contained in the temple (mandir) is that of the Lord.

Hayagriva Madhava Temple (mandir), positioned on a hill called Manikuta, is dedicated to Lord ishnu. Hayagriva (Vishnu with a horse head) is without doubt one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Legend has it that after, two demons, Madhu and Kaitabha, took away the Vedas from Lord Brahma, while He was on the lotus. Upset and offended by this, Brahma awoke Lord Vishnu whereas He was sleeping and requested for the restoration of the Vedas. It was then that the Lord assumed the form of Hayagriva, went to Rasatala (the place the demons had stored the Vedas), recovered them and gave them again to Brahma.

After recovering the Vedas, Lord Vishnu gone to the north-east nook of the good sea and slept in His Hayagriva form. While he was sleeping, the demons got here back and challenged the Lord to a fight. A big battle commenced and the demons were finally killed by the Lord. In accordance with another legend, Hayagriva was the title of the demon that stole the Vedas from Brahma and was finally killed by Vishnu. Nevertheless, the primary myths discover much more reputation than the latter.

The entire Hayagriva Madhava Temple is split into three components - the basement, the middle and the Sikhara. The Sikhara has a pyramid like construction, which continues right as much as an apex point. This entire structure rests over monumental brick pillars and is taken into account as an addition to the unique structure of the temple (mandir), possibly created by the Koch king of the fifteenth era, King Naranarayan. There's a huge entrance corridor made of bricks and measuring about 40 toes by 20 feet. A flight of stone steps leads you into the 14 sq ft Garbhagriha, which accommodates image of the residing deity and its podium.

The entrance to this holy place is made of four blocks of granite and is about 10 toes excessive and 5 ft wide. This opens into an anteroom, fabricated from stone and about 10 ft by 10 feet. Two stone screens, cut in the form of lotus flowers, lay on both side of the room with apertures for the entry of light and air. The outside of the temple has enormous sculptured figures, representing the 10 Avataras, with Buddha because the ninth. Hayagriva Temple (mandir) was initially demolished by Kalapahar and rebuilt by the Koch King Raghudev in 1543. Simply close to this temple, a smaller temple (mandir) was constructed by the Ahom King Pramatta Singh, where Doul (or Holi) is widely known on a big scale each year.