HAILAKANDI, Oct 15 - In order to attract tourists to Hailakandi, the district administration has decided to develop the infrastructure of Siddheswar Temple (also known as Kapilmunir Ashram) � one of the oldest temples of Barak Valley situated at Badarpurghat of Hailakandi district, 25 km from here.
The Deputy Commissioner of Hailakandi district, Moloy Bora organised a meeting recently to discuss ways of restoring the temple to its pristine glory. It can be mentioned here that the Deputy Commissioner is the president of the temple management committee. He discussed the present state of affairs of the temple vis-a-vis cracks appearing in the walls and water seepage and came up with a comprehensive plan to rebuild the structure through renovation in a big way.
According to the Puranas, King Sagar ruled this land in ancient times. At the same time, a great saint Kapil made his ashram in this place. The King of Gods Indra was the only person who had arranged the �Ashwamedh Yajna� 108 times. No one else had been able to perform this yajna so many times. But king Sagar started to arrange the yajna for the 108th time. Fearing that his record will be shared by another king, Indra stole the ashwa ( horse) and kept it in the ashram of saint Kapil. King Sagar�s son started searching for the horse and found it in this hermitage. They thought that the horse had been stolen by the saint and beat him up. The saint became angry and killed all the king�s sons, 60,000 in number. As a result, the yajna was abandoned. Years later, Bhagirath, a descendant of king Sagar prayed to mother Ganga (Goddess of water, rivers) for passing through this valley to so that his ancestors lives could be restored. The goddess was satisfied and came down to this valley as a river, and passed through this hermitage. An ashrama was made on the bank to commemorate the incident, and this is now known as Kapilmunir Ashram.
