Dhekiakhowa Bornaamghar(

Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...

: ''ঢেকীয়াখোৱা বৰনামঘৰ'') is a naamghar in

Jorhat district Jorhat (pron: ˈʤɔ:(r)ˌhɑ:t) is an administrative district of the Indian state of Assam situated in the central part of the Brahmaputra Valley. The district is bounded by Majuli on north, Nagaland state on the south, Charaideo on the east and ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, that was established by saint-reformer

Madhavdeva Madhavdev (1489–1596) (Pron: ˈʃrɪ ˈʃrɪ ˈmɑ:dəbˌdeɪv) is an important preceptor of the Ekasarana Dharma known for his loyalty to his guru, Srimanta Sankardev as well as his artistic brilliance. Initially a sakta worshipper, he wa ...

. In 1528 (1450 Saka), Madhavdeva kindled an earthen lamp there, which according to the naamghar's managing committee has been burning continuously since then, being refueled with mustard oil by the priests. It is located at Dhekiakhowa village of

, 15 km towards the east of

Jorhat Jorhat ( ) is one of the important cities and a growing urban centre in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and "Sowkihat" which existed on the opposite ...

city 3.5 km away from

National Highway 37 The following highways are numbered 37: Australia * Newcastle Inner City Bypass * Nubeena Road (TAS) Canada * Alberta Highway 37 * British Columbia Highway 37 * Winnipeg Route 37 * Ontario Highway 37 * Saskatchewan Highway 37 * Yukon Highway 3 ...

. It is called a Bornaamghar because of its historical association and large campus. The naamghar is situated in a complex of facilities spread over 13

bigha The bigha (also formerly beegah) is a traditional unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in India (including Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat ...

s of land. The naamghar and other facilities are maintained by a managing committee with donations from devotees. Besides the maintenance of the complex, the managing committee sponsors various social and cultural programs. There is an anecdote after the name of Dhekiakhowa Naamghar. Guru

after taking up the duty of reforming people and spreading the Ekasarana Naam Dharma came to stay in this small village. He took shelter for the night at the hut of an old woman, who served him rice with Dhekia Saak (

Fiddlehead Fern Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the sea ...

), a very common wild vegetable. The old woman was very embarrassed to have served the Saint guru like this but he was immensely pleased by the dinner. So he started a naamghar there and given the responsibility of kindling the earthen lamp to the old woman. The naamghar was later known as Dhekiakhowa Naamghar. A lot of visitors and devotees gather in the naamghar everyday, especially during the sacred month of Bhado (August–September), for this month being the Death Anniversaries of both the gurus

Srimanta Sankardeva Srimanta Sankardev( শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱ )(; ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of im ...

and

Legend

There are many stories associated with this Bornamghar. It is said that the main pillar of the namghar is made of a Sal tree. One night one of the bhakats (monk) of the namghar saw in his dream that the river near the Bornamghar (known as Dhekiakhowa jaan) is flowing in opposite direction and is carrying a Sal tree mean to be for the construction of the Bornamghar. Next day when people saw that dream to be true, they made the main pillars of the Bornamghar from the tree.

Festivals

Several festivals and sessions of special worship, besides the daily worships, are celebrated every year in certain months. These festivities are attended by lakhs of devotees: # Paal Naam (পাল নাম) – a month-long festival of worship in the month of Bhada (ভাদ) from mid-August to mid-September # Srimanta Sankardeva birth anniversary during the month of Aahin(আহিন) from mid-September to mid-October # Madhavdeva birth anniversary during the month of Jeth(জেঠ) from 15 May to 15 June #

Bhaona Bhaona ( as, ভাওনা) is a traditional form of entertainment, with religious messages, prevalent is Assam, India. It is a creation of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva, written in the early sixteenth century. He created the form to convey ...

(ভাওনা) Mohotsav in the month of Chot ( চ'ত) or Chaitra from 15 March to 15 April # Raas lila (ৰাস লীলা) in the month of November

Gallery

File:Gateway of Dhekiakhowa Bornamghar.jpg, Gateway of Dhekiakhowa Bornamghar File:SRI SRI DHEKIAKHOWA BORNAMGHAR OLD TURON , 2015(17).jpg, Sri Sri Dhkiakhowa Bornamghar old turon

References

External links

Official website

"Vaishnavite flame creates record for burning bright for 484 years"
''Times of India'' article Hindu temples in Assam Ekasarana Dharma Jorhat district 15th-century Hindu temples {{Assam-geo-stub