Hayagriva-Madhava Mandir of Hazo
10th Feb 2011
The Hayagriva-Madhava temple on the Manikuta hill is one of the few most popular Vaishnava Tirthas of Assam. It is known that the temple was constructed by the King Raghu deva Narayan in 1583. According to some other historians, king of Pala dynasty constructed it in 6th century. Hayagriva Madhava temple is one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots in Assam situated in the town of Hajo, around 30 kms to the west of Guwahati.
Hayagriv-Madhava is the God with head of a horse as an incarnation of God Vishnu to kill as Asura or Demon with the head of a horse named Hayasura. One another story suggests that the supreme Lord Vishnu was born in this Hayagriva form to kill two Asuras ‘Madhu’ and ‘Kaitava’. According to Kalika Purana, a famous sage named Ourba established this temple.
There are two versions of analysis about the origin and nature of architecture and sculpture of the Hayagriva-Madhava temple. The Buddhist believes that original temple is a Buddhist one and the sculptures there are of Buddha and his disciples. On the other hand according to the Hindu version, the temple is of Jagannatha Vishnu’s incarnations.
The entire Hayagriva Madhava Temple is divided into three parts - the basement, the center and the Sikhara. The Sikhara has a pyramid like structure, which continues right up to an apex point. This entire structure rests over enormous brick pillars and is considered as an addition to the original structure of the temple, possibly constructed by the Koch king of the 15th era, King Naranarayan. There is a huge entrance hall made of bricks and measuring about 40 feet by 20 feet. A flight of stone steps leads you into the 14 sq ft Garbhagriha, which contains image of the residing deity and its podium.
The shrines in the main temple are of the Hayagriva or Burha madhava, on his left side of the second Madhava or Vishnnu. There is Garuda a symbol of Vaisnava culture. The other shrines are of Chalanta Madhava, Govinda Madhava and Basudeva. There is a big pond known as Madhab Pukhuri near the temple. Doul, Bihu and Janmastami festivals are celebrated every year in the temple. Moreover, this temple preaches both Hinduism and Buddhism, which attract Buddhist Monks from far-flung places.
