To hear his preaching

Kamal Baruah

(The writer can be reached at kamalbaruah@yahoo.com)

The road goes on endlessly while I was anticipating braking and acceleration at the curve without increasing g-force and finally, I stopped at the end of a Tinali as I didn't know where to turn my steering wheel. As I pressed the power window switch for the front door glass, a wildly enthusiastic boy appeared. He even hired an electric rickshaw to go along with the idea of a guide for us. It's customary to offer 'Tulsijaalmalas' (holy basil leaves) and Rajnigandha at the incarnation of Lord Vishnu temple and we were motivated to carry for prayers from his roadside shop. His first sermon for Tulsi prayers is for offering 

There is a sanctity to wash one's leg and hands before entering a temple and a pond adjacent to the temple premise made another wonder, while we saw turtles floating in the water. We were feeding a packet of food for fun to see turtles very near to us. Black soft-shell turtles are enlisted as extinct in the wild but Hajo rekindles hopes for conservation. The story of turtles dates back to the period of Ahom Kingdom for revere turtles as a religious practice of donating it.

The straight stairs towards the Monikut Hills looked mesmerizing and the red painting wall symbolizes its divine power but we were tired over climbing hundreds of steep stairs. Ghee in diyas is lightened at the side to emit divine powers for happiness. I had no idea how embarrassed I was when the priest wanted the name of my Gotra. It referred to the lineage segments of the priests that trace our derivation from ancient seers. I was awestruck by such clans of the Brahmins of our origin. It's the Kashyap rishi (hermit), I later come to know.

The pujari (priest) left us at Lakhi Mandir after a Dakshina – a respect for the pundits' spiritual expertise offered. Another priest guided us to the main temple, where four main pillars put strength to the entire stone structure of the Hayagriva Madhava. The temple was held sacred by followers of both Hinduism and Buddhism. Tibetans believe this place where the Buddha attained nirvana after death - passing away from earthly life.

The main deity is the five forms of Vishnu flanked by Jagannath and Garuda to the right and Radha Govinda and Vasudeva to the left. There is no concrete evidence left for being a Buddhist linkage other than a statue of Lord Buddha on the outer wall. The entire structure was perhaps altered later. Animal figures of elephants and horses are similar to the Buddhist caves of Ellora. We performed temple rituals including puja at darshan in a fairly short period.

The origin of the worship to this temple dates back to 2000 BCE. It may have been constructed in the 6th century during Pala Dynasty but the present structure was built by the Koch King Raghudeva Narayan in 1583. Another structure 'Doul Griha' has been built by the Ahom King Pramata Singha in 1750, where the traditional 'Bulbul Fights' (nightingale) was held during Magh Bihu. A Shiv temple called Kedareswara was built by another Ahom King Rajeswar Singha in 1753 on the adjoining hills of Madanchala.

People of Hajo socialize together and worship for three different religions. Besides Hindus and Buddhists at Hayagriva, Powa Mecca at Garurachal Hills is the Islamic sacred site. It's a famous tomb of Iranian Pir Giasuddin Auliya, who was preaching for 20 long years. A mosque was also built by Sujauddin Mohammed Shah in 1657 during the reign of the Shahjahan. Muslims celebrate the Uruch festival on Maghi Purnima, where Hindu pilgrims also visit the shrine.

While returning, a dilapidated board of 'Bhimar Charia' (Bheems's Bowl) at Gokarna Hills was caught our attention. It's a huge stone basin mentioned in many ancient religious texts. It didn't seem pretty logical even the caretaker, who sells booklets, tried to convince its historiographical significance. Bhutanese and Tibetan texts believe this pot is where Death Demons boiled the damned sinners.

Climbing to the shrines is worth it as we witnessed pilgrimage of different faith and worship. We saw a group of boys walking towards a mosque along the side of the temple. It's a place where three religions meet – Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism. A large number of Bhutanese visit this temple every year during the winter season as they believe that this temple contains the relic of Lord Buddha.

I listened to the pujari with an air of wondering astonishment but I found no historical facts around the site from Incredible India. Assam was a centre of Buddhism many years ago. The founder of Tibetan Buddhism Padmasambhava (Vajrayana) died in Hajo. Another leader of Mahayana Buddhism Nagarjuna erected a Caitya (memorial) around the 1st to 2nd century, which is converted later into a Hindu temple around the 3rd or 4th century. However, King Bhaskarvarman travelled with Buddhist scholar Hiuen Tsang to the court of King Harsha in Kanauj to attend a large Buddhist conference.

Buddhism in ancient Assam is known from artefacts and archaeological findings but word of mouth has also glorified its royal past. Changing trends in religious influences during the rules of Ahom and Koch and its social metamorphosis might have changed its glory. Yet people wish to keep the blessing Buddha facing the entrance of their home. So do I.