Mahabhairab Temple

The history of this temple, which is visited by devotees from all over India,can be traced back to the age of the Puranas. Legend has it that Banasura, the demon king, who had his capital at Tezpur, first introduced the ‘Linga’ worship. Inside the temple of Mahabhairab there is perhaps the largest stone-phallus or Shiva Linga in the entire world, which is said to have been set up by Banasura. The archaeologists however believe that the temple was built sometime during 8th to 10th century AD by the kings of the Salasthamba dynasty. Originally there was a stone temple which is evident from the huge pillars scattered all around the temple. But the original temple was destroyed by the ravages of time. It was however, rebuilt by successive kings and rulers, until it was heavily damaged by the catastrophic earthquake of 1897.

The present structure of the temple was built sometime in the early part of the present century by a devotee and monk Sri Swayambar Bharati, popularly known as Naga Baba. After a few years, another monk Sri Mahadeo Bharati built the “Nat Mandir” close to the temple. After a few years another devotee built the cement-concrete idols of Ganesh and Hanuman as “Dwarpals” in front of the temple. Since then the developmental works of the temple had been somewhat sluggish although not completely stopped.