Dirgheswari Temple, North Guwahati

Wikipedia notes that it is not known whether a temple stood at Dirgheswari in ancient or early medieval times, although the rock images on the hill are older than the present shrine. The current brick temple was built on the rocky hilltop under Siva Singha, under the supervision of Tarun Duwarah Barphukan, the Ahom viceroy at Guwahati. A rock inscription at the back entrance names the king and the Barphukan and records the royal order for the temple and the grant of lands to it.

Wikipedia adds that the Ahom king Rajeswar Singha visited the temple during a royal tour in 1756, granted further land and attendants, and presented a silver japi (hat) that is still used to cover the main image. An Assam Tribune report of 2010 attributes the foundation instead to Rudra Singha; the page follows the inscription-based account, which Assam Tourism also gives.

The 'Dirgheswari Ruins' are listed among Assam's state-protected monuments. In 2010 the chief priest complained publicly that the temple, which once received a regular government grant and served daily meals to hundreds of people, was struggling financially. Wikipedia notes that part of the Ahom-era brick wall was later removed when the compound was enlarged to accommodate growing crowds at Durga Puja.

Architecture and sacred features

According to Wikipedia, the inner sanctum (garbhagriha) where the goddess is worshipped lies below ground level in a small cave, beneath the brick temple raised on the hilltop rock. The hill around the shrine is carved with images of deities, including a large Ganesha at the entrance, a pair of footprints believed to be those of the goddess, and a stone that local people call the boat of the apsaras beside a small pond. A small water tank near the temple holds fish and a turtle.