Sri Surya Pahar: Must Visit Archeological Site In Assam

New Delhi: Sri Surya Pahar is a religious site on the hilltop located in a small district of Goalpara, Assam. The place is regarded as the holy place for three religions that are Jains, Buddhists and Hindus. The region consists of many temples and something interesting is that the history of the site is not clearly known after many studies.

Surya Pahar is one of the archeological sites which is lesser-known by people across the state and the country, but it has greater significance with historical importance. A very limited number of people are aware of the sacred site, located 132 kilometres down the northwest side of Assam's Guwahati.

The Sri Surya Pahar is under the protection of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and the temples are spread over a vast land area surrounded by ponds and greenery. Archeological Museum is also established by the Archeological Survey of India in the region that showcases the unique artifacts such as utensils and sculptural items that are recovered from there at the time of excavations.

On visiting the place people witness numerous shivlingas, carved images of deities, votice stupas and others that are in connection with all the three religions. It is believed that there are a total of 99999 shivlingas scattered in Surya Pahar that are built with big rocks and large boulders. To make a replica of Kashi the Lingas are engraved by Ved Vyasa also known as Krishna Dvaipayana.

Surya Pahar as the name suggests implies its connection with the cult of Surya (Sun) worship. According to the various literary sources, the Sun God has occupied a special and very significant position in the cultural and religious life of the people living in that region.

After various studies, it was found that Surya worship is prevalent in many of the textile pieces of evidence like the Markandaya Purana and Kalika Purana. The houses in the region constructed with unique designs have great archaeological value. The remains of the Jains assigned to the 9th century are also stored in the place in the form of rock carvings and inscriptions. A twelve-armed Vishnu sculpture is found along with several other figures such as Adinath, Adityas which were identified by Archeologists.

Hinduism was practiced in Ancient Assam even before the 4th century CE during the time when it finds a textual mention. The early dynasties of the area were Buddhist religion namely the Varmanas dynasty (350-650 CE), the Palas of Bengal (9000-1100 CE) and the Mlechchha dynasty (655-900 CE). These dynasties ruled from Assam capital Pragjyotishpura for more than 800 years until the 13th century of medieval Ahoms.

Numerous scholars came with the opinion that this site which mainly flourished during the pe-Ahom era was the hub of trade as the place is located near the bank of the River Brahmaputra. At this place travelers and people related to trade connected with each other which resulted in forming a network of different cultures and religious beliefs.

IMAGES OF SURYA PAHAR:

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