Volume : VIII, Issue : V, May - 2019

Bilweswar Devalaya: A Repository of the Extinct Culture

Sri Rajesh Kakati

Abstract :

Bilweswar Devalaya is a temple originally of Shaivite cult located at village Belsor which is in the close proximity to village Bilweswar under Paschim Nalbari Revenue Circle of Nalbari district in Assam bears the traits of ancient to modern ways of lives, religiousness, rituals, traditions and mores. Though the time substitutes the elements of aged traditions of the society to welcome new; however, the establishments of the society erected by the people of that time endorse continuation of the traditions encompassing many things with the timeless value. Bilweswar Devalaya is one of such establishments that exemplifies this fact being the repository of extinct culture. Tradition and religiousness are fused by any religious site or establishment. Traditions in oriental society are made out of religiousness of the people forming to be religious culture. The Devalaya fosters this culture since the time of its erection before approximately fifteen hundred years ago by the patronage of King Nagakhya. Owing to a legend of ‘grey colored cow’ of Late Rup Narayan Dev–a ahmin of the locality, the shrine of Lord Shiva was started to be worshipped. Various royal dynasties extended support for the maintenance of the temple and for its repair in subsequent times. Ahom kingdom glorified the Durga Puja out of all others and the Devalaya began to receive recognition as one of the important Shakti Pith(s) of Assam. The Devalaya was also to be influenced by Vaishnavism through the Koch Kingdom. The religious events held by the Devalaya are the ultimate sources of inspiring the artisans and the artists along of a oad locality along with the others hired from outside on specific occasions. These have made paved the way for earning livelihood for the folk artists and for the entertainment of the local folk people. The engagement of Pykes for the conduct of Bilweswar Devalaya functions has made a remarkable feature of it. So, the Devalaya is known for equal participation and public benevolence for centuries due to which thousands of people gather themselves on various occasions. Durga Puja gets its prominence having a great fusion of pan–Indian and localized color beside its ancient practice of animal sacrifices and offerings. Through the observance of various religious events and daily activities, the Devalaya is fostering the elements of culture which are on the verge of extinction. So the Devalaya may be described as the perfect repository of the ancient traditions which are aggressed by science and technology. It is the confluence of past and present flowing through the people of varied age. Data are collected from both the sources–primary and secondary. Objective of the Paper: To justify the Bilweswar Devalaya as a repository of extinct culture and to find out the ways by which its legacy of aged traditional culture is being prevented and continued. In this paper an attempt has been made to highlight the religious culture those are on the edge of extinction and how these are being prevented from extinction against the aggression of many factors imported by the globalization. Methodology of the Paper: Data are collected from both primary and secondary sources. Explorative method is used for writing the paper. Field survey i.e. participation in the occasions, random interaction with the common people, group discussion with the members of the committee etc. and personal interviews are undertaken for reaching at the ground reality of the Devalaya. Both the qualitative and quantitative elements are kept in consideration in prepå the paper

Article: Download PDF    DOI : https://www.doi.org/10.36106/paripex  

Cite This Article:

BILWESWAR DEVALAYA: A REPOSITORY OF THE EXTINCT CULTURE, Sri Rajesh Kakati PARIPEX‾INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH : Volume-8 | Issue-5 | May-2019

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