Umananda Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport is in Borjhar, about 20 km west of the city centre.

• By train

  Guwahati railway station in the Paltan Bazaar area is the busiest station in the city.

On the way

• Both government and private boat ferry services are available at the Kachari Ghat.
• Country boats on the Brahmaputra bank also take visitors across to the island.

Why devotees come here

Umananda Temple is a Shiva temple on Peacock Island, on the banks of the mighty river Brahmaputra, opposite Kachari Ghat in Guwahati, the largest city in Assam. The island is said to be the smallest inhabited riverine island in the world.

Umananda is the presiding deity of this Shiva temple. Legend says Shiva lived on the island in the form of Bhayananda. The hill the temple stands on is called Bhasmacala. One legend says Kamadeva interrupted Shiva's yoga and was burnt to ashes by the fire of Shiva's anger.

The brick temple was built in 1694 by Bar Phukan Garhganya Handique, on the order of Ahom King Gadadhar Singha. The 1897 Assam earthquake broke it down. A rich local merchant later rebuilt it, and he inscribed the interior of the Shiva temple with Vaishnavite slogans. Evidence of an older stone temple from the post-Gupta period can also be seen on the site.

Besides Shiva, idols of ten other Hindu deities sit in the shrines. The main shrine is reached by a flight of steep steps.

Tips for your visit

• The main shrine is up a flight of steep steps.
• Government ferries cost less than private ferries.
• Worship on Amavasya days, especially those falling on a Monday, is believed to bring the highest blessing.

Questions people ask