Baba Dham/Deopahar Archaeological Site/Deopahar Numaligarh,Assam

The Deopahar archaeological site is a tourist destination in Assam. Deopahar, also called Deoparvat, is situated by the side of the Asean Highway 1(NH -129) in Numaligarh, Golaghat district, Assam, India. Deopahar is a part of the Deopani Reserve Forest. The Deopani Reserve Forest covers a total area of 133.45 hectares and is very rich in flora and fauna. The Deopani Reserve Forest area is an Elephant corridor, and is also famous for the False Hemp Tree, which has been accorded a Heritage tree status. Every year, around the months of October to January, migratory wild giant bees follow migratory routes from the foothills of the Himalayas to come to this particular tree in this forest to build very big beehives. The distance of the Deopahar archaeological site is about 5 km from the Numaligarh Refinery, 61.8 km from Kaziranga National Park, 255 km from Guwahati and approximately 5 km (aerial distance) from the Brahmaputra River.

History

The name Deopahar has many prevailing legends about the origin of the name. The Karbi people who lived by the hill called it Deoparbat or Deopahar. According to ancient scriptures, the hill homed many gods and goddesses and was well known as ‘Haithali parbat’. Inscriptions of the Kamarupi kings were found on an ancient copper plate which suggested it belonged to a place called ‘Joyscandavar in Happaka’. Joyscandavar is believed to have originated from the word Jorasandh located in Numaligarh.

Suhunmung Dihingia Raja (1497-1539) alias Swargadeo Swarganarayan built the fort of Numaligarh in this area under the influence of an evil spirit. Legend has it that Deopahar was named after this evil spirit that appeared on this hill. The intricate architectural style of the Deopahar stone temple is indicative of the fact that it belongs to the period somewhere between 10th and 11th century AD. The Deopahar temple may have been a temple for Lord Shiva. The Shiva Linga from the Temple was shifted, and the Baba Than, Numaligarh temple, adjacent to Deopahar, was established in the 19th century. As per the Satsari Buranji, there was a burial site (Maidam) of a Sutiya king (Khunta raja) adjacent to Deopahar.