By Rupak G. Duarah
Deopani is one of the most beautiful places in the Karbi Anglong district located under the Bokajan civil sub-division. The place is famous for discovering some archaeological monuments which were supposed to be constructed during the eighth or ninth century at the time of Diglek Verma, one of the powerful rulers of the ancient dynasty of Assam. Moreover, the place is also famous for its beautiful shrine which is known as ‘Deopani Durga Mandir’ or ‘Deopani Than’.
The temple ‘Deopani Durga Mandir’ is a Hindu Sakta Temple of Goddess Durga situated at Borsewaguri village of Deopani beside National Highway 39. It is 26 km away from Bokajan town and 45 km from Golaghat. Road communication is very good for devotees around the week. According to the history of the temple, the idol of the temple was discovered along with some other archaeological monuments at Deopani during the time of excavation. Later on, the temple was established at the same place where the idol was discovered. Every year, Durga Puja is celebrated in the temple with great pomp and joy in presence of thousands of devotees across the state.
We, along with our family members went to the temple during the Durga Puja vacation this year. Though that day was rainy, the temple was packed up with hundreds of devotees from different parts of Assam and abroad. The area of the temple is very large and devotees may roam freely inside it and enjoy the spiritual atmosphere of this holy shrine without any disturbance or noise.
Devotees believe, if they tie up a red ribbon at the banyan tree of the temple with pure heart and soul, their wish or desire may surely be fulfilled by the grace of Goddess Durga. As such, every devotee ties up a red ribbon in the banyan tree for which the lower part of the tree is covered with thousands of red ribbons and looks like a galaxy of red color from the far side.
At present, the temple is managed by a Trust and no doubt, their management is very well and good. The systematic way of offering puja, lighting ‘bonti’ etc. in the temple is praiseworthy. Moreover, the clean and cold water of the deep well of the temple may surely quench the thirst of devotees instead of commercial mineral water bottles. The temple campus is clean and polluted free where no plastic materials or garbage are seen lying inside it. Surprisingly, monkeys, who are available in almost all temples of Assam, are not seen in the Deopani Durga Mandir for which devotees may freely offer their puja in front of the idol without any fear, hesitation, or disturbance.
With cheerful minds and happy hearts, we returned from the natural eco-friendly environment of Deopani Durga Mandir in the afternoon. No doubt, the visit to the temple gave us one of the perfect solaces from bustling city life. (The author can be reached at rintu.duarah@gmail.com)
