Agnigarh — Attraction in Assam

Tezpur, an ancient land, brims with mythical stories from a time when Gods used to walk on this earth. A beautiful city, antiquated relics and many a mysteries are still in abundance, only witnesses are the verdant hills, the mighty Brahmaputra and a few submerged monoliths on the river bank. The Great Bana, the asura king, was the son of Bali, a direct descendant of Brahma, the creator of this universe. Empowered with a great boon from Shiva, King Banasura ruled his kingdom with a ruthless hand; his notoriety spread beyond land and heaven, few kings dared to stand before him. Usha, his beautiful daughter, when coming of age, was confined to Agnigarh, the hill fort with a wall of fire around it, to dissuade ineligible suitors; Chitralekha, a young nubile artist with magical power would accompany her in the green abode by the river bank. The princess would dream of a handsome young man and Chitralekha would paint him as the young grandson of Krishna and would fly him to Agnigarh to be with Usha. The angry King captured and imprisoned the young man; Krishna arrived with his huge army and a fierce battle broke up between the Gods and the Asuras, thousand died, the mighty Brahmaputra was flooded with blood, it’s both banks littered with corpses, wounded and the dying (hence the name Tezpur or Sonitpur and the mighty river also became Lohit!). In the end, Krishna persuaded Shiva for a truce, King Banasura was pardoned. Princess Usha and the young man of her dream were married and lived happily ever after at Agnigarh.

If you take a leisurely walk along the tree-lined boulevard of Padum Pukhuri, you will arrive at the old boatyard, now defunct, in good old days, a steamer ride will take you to Silghat, another ancient river port, across the other bank. The road will slowly climb half a kilometer, past Cole Park and the social forestry office, past DonBosco School and district library; a sudden descent will find you in Ganesh Ghat, invariably groups of ardent devotees will be found in front of the temple. A few cemented steps down, beneath the decorated arch of the ghat, you will touch the mighty river. The vast expanse of the river will merge into the horizon, the opposite bank barely visible, a brilliant blue sky with glistening white clouds will bring joy to your heart. A gentle evening breeze blowing across the river will mention your tired sou on the Griubfh, sm the temple bell and the fragrance of incense, will sharpen your senses, a few boats would float gently with an unhurried pace. You can sit down on the cobblestoned steps and listen to the rustling of winds.

The road along the river slowly ambles away behind the Catholic Church and then takes a sharp turn from deputy commissioner’s office towards the river and towards Agnigarh, a lonely stretch with a few visitors. At the base of Agnigarh, a narrow trail hidden under the bushes will lead to an alcove on the river bank, behind Agnigarh, a few submerged huge monoliths, only accessible during winter months, when the water is shallow and the sand dunes cover most of the river beds. I had discovered this beautiful solace, away from prying eyes, while searching for a good fishing spot. You see I love fishing! A baited hook is thrown far in the deep water, your full attention is only on a small float for a sign of a bite. Then strange ethereal feeling envelopes you, you become aware of the gentle breeze, the serene water and the blue heaven above, a deep sense of communion seems to take place between you and nature. -Bimal Kumar D The nicest portrayal of the ancient land Tezpur. Mr. Bimal Kumar D has described the history of...

Agnigarh is mainly a park on a hillock along the banks of river Brahamputra. From the top of this park one can have a grand view of river as well Tezpur city on the other side. However, the park or the hill derives its name due to an interesting mythological story. In ancient times there was a demon king Banasur whose daughter, Usha had seen a beautiful prince in the dream and her friend Chitralekha who was a good artist, made a painting or sketch of that prince who was in fact Anirudha, son of Lord Krishna, a bitter enemy of King Banasur. Usha fell in love with Anirudh and her friend Chitrakala who had immense powers flew and brought the sleeping Anirudha to the palace of Usha. Seeing Usha's beauty he also fell in love and wanted to marry her. Though Lord Krishna agreed for the marriage but Banasur was against that and imprisoned Anirudha. Besides he kept her daughter confined to this fort on a hillock and to avoid any body meeting her daughter surrounded it by putting fire all around by burning logs etc. Fire means AGNI in Sanskrit and so this place became famous as Agnigarh or Fort in Fire. Later, a fight broke out between Lord Krishna and Banasur which continued for very long time and stopped only by the intervention of Lord Brahama and Lord Shiva advising Banasur, his devotee to stop the fight and agree for marriage. Coming back to the park, one has to go up several series of steps through 2 to 3 levels of garden without any railings. The park is well maintained and is visited by people as an excellent picnic spot. The main attraction is a view point structure erected on top of the hillock. In my opinion, senior citizens and people with health issues should avoid the visit to this park. There is a marginal entry fee, and parking is also available. Toilets (rest rooms) are available near the entry gate. Beautiful white stone sculptures of Anirudha and Usha are also installed here in a white stone enclosure on the top level. Just ahead of this park is Chitralekha Udyan also known as Cole Park that we could not visit due to paucity of time. Further ahead, just 1km from Agnigarh, we found bathing ghats and Lord Ganesha temple. The ghats offer a grand view of the massive river. Brahamputra and I recommend people to must visit this place. Lord Ganesha temple has large stone idol of the god and is immensely worshiped by the local...

Agnigarh (Pron:/ægɪˈgɑː/) (Assamese: অগ্নিগড় Ôgnigôr /ɔgnigɔɹ/) is a hillock located in Tezpur, Assam, India.[1] In Hindu mythology, it is the site of the fortress which was built by Banasura to keep his daughter Usha in isolation. The name itself is derived from the words 'Agni' (meaning fire) and 'garh' (meaning fortress or wall) in Sanskrit. Legend has it that this fortress was surrounded by fire at all times so that nobody could go in or out of the perimeter without permission. Usha fell in love with Aniruddha in her dreams, not knowing who he was. Her companion Chitralekha identified him by painting his portrait from Usha's description. Chitralekha Udyan in Tezpur also known as 'Kol Park,' the biggest park in Tezpur, is named after her. Chitralekha was not only an artist but one possed with mystical powers. Anirudddha was Krishna's grandson and Usha, the daughter of an Asura king, therefore was no way any side would consent to their love. She flew one night and brought Aniruddha to Usha's place while he was still sleeping, using her powers. When Aniruddha opened his eyes and saw Usha, he fell in love immediately. However, Banasura was furious on knowing this, and tied him with snakes and imprisoned him. Lord Krishna, however had agreed for their marriage and had wanted for Banasura to consent for the same. Banasura was a great devotee of Lord Shiva, and as a boon had asked him and his entire family to guard the gates of his city, Tezpur. He therefore was not at all scared by Lord Krishna's wrath. A war ensued between the Hari (Lord Krishna and his followers) and the Hars (Lord Shiva and his followers), rivers of blood flowed and the city was named Tezpur (City of Blood). Both sides were nearly wiped out and a final battle followed between Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna, Lord Brahma requested both of them to stop the war by putting him between them. A discussion followed in which Lord Krishna made Lord Shiva see that Banasura was acting wrongly in imprisoning his grandson, and had even disrespected Lord Shiva himself in asking him and his family to be his gate keepers. Lord Shiva agreed, and Banasura was brought. Fearing his life he immediately agreed to the marriage.

Lord Shiva- Lord Krishna War, Sculpture on Agnigarh (Tezpur) The stone sculptures on the Agnigarh hill portray this entire picturesque story of love...