About
This is a very famous temple situated at ‘Hajo’
(Assam), on a hill known as Manikoota Hill, which at a distance of about 30 kilometers
in West of Guwahati. One of the most popular temples of Assam- Kamakhya is also
situated near Hayagriva Temple.
The main temple is
segregated into three parts-first one is basement which is termed as
Garbhagriha, the central part where the temple shrine is fixed and the top of
the temple is Sikhara. The top most part(Sikhara) has a paramedical plane face
which continues right up to an apex point. Garbhagriha which is the basement is
constructed by different types of the bricks and has an area of about 14 square
feet. In the temple premise, basically there are two stone screens which were cut
into the shape of a beautiful Lotus, which is lied on the either side of the
anteroom for the ventilation purpose. Walls of the temple are engraved into
big-size sculptured figures which are carved on the upper exterior walls of the
temple. Pre-dominantly, these historic figures represent the Ten Avatars and ‘Buddha’
was depicted as the ninth ‘Avataar’. Left Nine figures are of mysterious
characters, out of which most figures are of males however each figure is
inscribed with a trident (Trishula) in either of the hands.
How to reach:
By
air: Guwahati is the nearest airport to reach ‘Hayagriva Temple’
By
rail: Visitors can reach Hayagriva Temple by railways and the nearest railway
station is at Guwahati.
By road: We can also reach Hayagriva Temple by
hiring a bus, a cab or a taxi which are available from various cities and the towns
of India.
History
‘Hayagriva’
Temple is one of the historic temples in Assam .The archaic building was
demolished by Kalapahar. Therefore, in 1543, the building of the temple was
rebuilt by Koch king Raghudeva Narayana. Hindu Mythology says that the story is
associated with the two demons, Madhu & Kaitabha, who had stolen the
Vedas from Lord Brahma at the time of the creation of the universe. Displeased by
the demons act, upset Lord Brahma went to Lord Vishnu. And by the time he
reached at Lord Vishnu’s abode, Lord Brahma found him sleeping. He then awoke
Lord Vishnu and asked for his help to get back the Vedas from the demons. After
that, Lord Vishnu incarnated himself in the form of ‘Hayagriva’ and had a fight
with the demons. At the end, He killed the demons and handed over the Vedas
back to Lord Brahma.
This
antediluvians shrine is dedicated to
one of the manifestations (Avataar) of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu was in the form
of a human being in that reincarnation with the head of a horse. ‘Haya’ means
horse and ‘Griva means neck in Sanskrit language, therefore the temple is
called as Hayagriva Temple. The temple is also famous as a historic pilgrimage
destination of Buddhist Lamas and Bhutiyas who basically follow Buddhism.
People of Buddhist community believe that Lord Buddha had left his holy body
and had attained Moksha/ Nirvaan at this holy place.