Hajo

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Hajo
Native name
Hajo Town
Entrance Madhab mandir.jpg
Entrance of Hayagriva Madhab mandir
LocationHajo, Assam, India
Nearest city Guwahati
Coordinates 26°14′55″N91°31′32″E / 26.24861°N 91.52556°E / 26.24861; 91.52556
Built10th–18th century CE
Architectural style(s)Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim
Governing body Archaeological Survey of India
India Assam relief map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Hajo
India relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Hajo (India)

Hajo is a historic town set in the hills northwest of Guwahati, Assam, India. It is a meeting point of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims due to the various pilgrimage sites on the different hills of Hajo. To the Hindus, the Manikut Parbat of Hajo is the site of the 10th-century temple ruins and the 11th- to 16th-century temples complex for Vaishnavism as well as shrines of Shaivism and Shaktism. To the Buddhists, particularly from Bhutan and Tibet, Assam is where the Buddha died and the Hayagriva temple in Hajo is a part of the sacred geography of the Buddha. To the regional Muslims, the Mughal era Poa-Mecca shrine on another hill of Hajo has the tomb of Giyasuddin Aulia built in the 17th century. [1] [2]

Contents

Hajo is one of the important historical and archaeological sites in northeast India as it preserves the history, inscriptions and architecture in a range of temples and monuments over about 1200 years. [1] [2] It is also a site known for its tradition of preserving rare species of tortoises, with Hindus believing that they are a form of Kurma avatar of Vishnu. [3]

Location

Hajo is on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest from the city of Guwahati in the Kamrup district of Assam, India.

Etymology

Hajo word is derived from Boro word 'Hajw' (Bodo : हाजो) which means Hill. [4] It is named after Koch Hajo, a Koch tribal chief of the early 16th century. [5]

Monuments

Hayagriva Madhava Temple, Hajo hy'gr'iir` maadhb mndir', haajo.jpg
Hayagriva Madhava Temple, Hajo

Ancient to 16th century

The Fakuwa Dol near the Madhava temple. maadhr` maadhr` ,hy'gr'iir` maadhr` mndir'.jpg
The Fakuwa Dol near the Madhava temple.

The rows of elephants at the plinth of the Hayagriva Mahadeva temple are likely the oldest part here, about 10th century. They are fine specimens of Assamese art. The Hayagriva temple is a Nagara architecture temple, with a mandapa, antarala and garbhagriya. It has artwork from Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism. [1]

17th century

Hajo Barmaqam Powa Makkah Hajo Powa Mecca.jpg
Hajo Barmaqam Powa Makkah

Cultural relation with Bhutan

A large number of Bhutias used to visit Hajo as devotees. The Bhutias perform the ritual as their own faith, but not allowed to enter the main place of worship. The belief among the Bhutias that the image of Hayagtiva-Madhava was earlier in a monastery in Lhasa from where a Brahmin brought it to Hajo. [10]

Others

There is a big pond known as Madhab Pukhuri near the temple. Doul, Bihu and Janmastami festivals are celebrated every year in the temple. Sayani, the first wife of Kalia Bhomora Borphukan of the Ahom kingdom donated a plot of land and other gifts to the Hayagriva Madhava temple during the reign of Ahom king Kamaleswar Singha.[ citation needed ]

Politics

Hajo is part of Gauhati (Lok Sabha constituency). [11] BJP's Suman Haripriya is the current MLA of Hajo (Vidhan Sabha constituency).

See also

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References

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  3. D Sarkar et al (2019), Community ponds: a tool for conservation, Herpetology Notes, volume 12, pp. 631-636
  4. Nath, D (January 1989). History of the Koch Kingdom, C. 1515-1615. ISBN   9788170991090.
  5. "They ruled for only eight years and soon the rude tribes specially the Koches who had a number of chiefs, at first independent, but who gradually united under the authority of one of themselves named Hajo"( Nath 1989 :17)
  6. Talukder, Y. C. (1959). "The Buddhist Pillar of Hajo". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 22: 473–476. JSTOR   44304343.
  7. Kosambi, D.D.; Gopal, L.; Singh, J.P.; Ahmed, N.; Malik, D. (1977). D. D. Kosambi Commemoration Volume 1997. Banaras Hindu University. pp. 235–236.
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  9. I. Chatterjee (2017), Response to Philippe Ramirez, European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, Vol 49, South Asia Institute Heidelberg Germany, p. 115
  10. Das, Smriti (1998). Assam Bhutan relations with special reference to duars from 1681 to 1949 (PhD). Guwahati University. pp. 64–65. hdl:10603/67909.
  11. "List of Parliamentary & Assembly Constituencies" (PDF). Assam. Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2008.