Besides the Kamakhya temple (8kms from railway
station), Navagraha temple (3kms from railway station),
Umananda temple
at Peacock island in
Guwahati, there are numerous ancient shrines in Assam, the most important of which are:
Aswaklanta
Aswaklanta on the north bank of the Brahmaputra
river where the third Pandava,
Arjuna, is believed to have watered his horse while covering the length
and breadth of Bharat for the performance of the Aswamedha Yajnya. The
temple was built by the Ahom
King Shiva Singha in the early half of 18th century
Vasistha
Vasistha where the great sage of that name and the author of the Epic
Ramayana, is said to have regained his
physical body after it had been destroyed by a curse laid by King Nimi
(Kaliha Purana ). Basistha
Muni Temple alias Basistha Ashram is situated on Sadhya Chal Hill about
12km from Guwahati
in a picturesque background with three mountain streams Sandhya, Lalita
and Kanta flowing nearby.
It is believed that a bath in these streams increases the life span of a
person. The grave of Basistha muni is within the temple, where the mortal
in his stone form rests in peace.
Viswanath Temple
Viswanath temple in the district (Darrang), called
second Kasi (Benares) or Gupta-Kasi (hidden Kasi). This temple is also
said to have been installed by King Bana .
Siva Temple, Sibsagar
Siva
Temple at Sibsagar town, district headquarters of Sibsagar district, is
situated by the side of a splendid tank which is about half a mile
in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth. The temple stands
between two smaller temples, Devi-doul and Vishnu-doul (doul-temple).
Maha-Bhairava Temple, Tezpur
Maha- Bhairav temple at Tezpur believed to have been built
by prehistoric monarch Bana who is said to have first introduced the cult
of the Phallus and the worship of Siva to Assam. A fair is held here during
Sivaratri. Tezpur is 196 km from Guwahati.
Neghriting Devalaya
Neghriting Devalaya is also a Siva temple. In architectural
beauty it surpasses all the temples in Assam. It is situated at a distance
of 17 and 14 miles respectively from the towns of Jorhat and Golaghat.
There are four smaller temples in the four corners of the base of the
main temple .
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