Description of the Idols

In garbhagṛha of the temple, there are five idols placed in a row with the big stone image of Burā Mādhava or Hayagrīva in the middle, the Dvitīya Mādhava to his left and the Garuḍa in the extreme left; to the right of Hayagrīva there are Calanta Mādhava and Bāsudeva. The main idol Hayagrīva Mādhava or Burā Mādhava is known as Mahāmuni by the Buddhist Lamas. The other images are smaller in size and made of different metals but not of stone as observed by Waddell. The names and arrangement of the idols in the garbhagṛha as found by Waddell at the time of his visit to the temple and present arrangement of the idols are provided in two consecutive tables as follows.

Table 2: Names and arrangement of the idols in the garbhagṛha as found by Waddell

According to Waddell	Positions of the Idols
	1st position	2nd position	3rd position	4th position	5th position
Hindu name of the idols	Hayagrīva	Bāsudeva	Lal Kanaya Bankat Vihāre	Mādhava	Dvitīya Mādhava
Buddhist name of the idols	Sencha Muni	Sakya Thuba	Dorje Dolo	Munir Muni Mahāmuni	Ugyan Guru

Table 3: Names and arrangement of the idols in the garbhagṛha as found today

According to Hindu Priest (interviewed by us)	Positions of the Idols
	1st position	2nd position	3rd position	4th position	5th position
Hindu Name of the idols	Bāsudeva	Calanta Mādhava	Hayagrīva Mādhava	Dvitīya Mādhava	Garuḍa
Buddhist Name of the idols	Sencha Muni	Dorje Champa	Munir Muni Mahāmuni	Ugyan Guru	Gurur Om Poche

Interestingly the name of the idols according to Waddell and the Hindu priests are different. The name Sakya Thuba is not included by the priest’s list while Gurur Om Poche is absent from Waddell’s list. Again, the name Garuḍa was not mentioned by Waddell but he mentioned two separate idols of Hayagrīva as Senchamuni and Mādhava as Mahāmuni.

The present arrangement places the idol of Hayagrīva Mādhava or Mahāmuni in the centre while in Waddell’s description the Hayagrīva or Sencha Muni and Mādhava or Mahāmuni was in the first and fourth position from the left respectively as seen in the above charts. The Hindus today call the main image at the centre with the name of Hayagrīva Mādhava or Viṣṇu. The temple priests say that no change was made in the arrangement of the idols in the temple so far as their knowledge goes and that this has been the arrangement since the past. Hence, it appears that at the time of Waddell’s visit either the arrangement was as he described it and it was changed at a later period.

Giving the description of the Hayagrīva Mādhava image, Dalton says—

“It is, in fact, simply a colossal image of Buddha in stone. Its modern votaries have to conceal mutilation, given it a pair of silver goggleeyes and hooked gilt -silvered nose and the form is concealed from view by cloths and chaplets of flowers.” Once the cloth and flowers are removed there remains no doubt that the image represents the ruler of all, the compassionate Buddha.^[1]

Waddell thinks that the Brāhmaṇas found this image of Buddha here and brought the other four idols from elsewhere and changed it into a Hindu temple.^[2] He further says that—

“The Hindu priests, as a rule, are not very methodical in their bestowal of names upon the images which they have appropriated from Buddhist ruins.”^[3]

But some hold the view that:

“At least from the sixteenth century, the temple has been considered to be one dedicated to Hayagrīva Mādhava.”^[4]

Maheswara Neog vehemently defied the notion that Hayagrīva Mādhava temple was a Buddhist shrine at any time.^[5]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Waddall, L.A: Lamaism, p.311.

[2]:

Waddall, L.A: ibid., p.311.

[3]:

Waddall, L.A: ibid., p.312.

[4]:

Journal of Assam Research Society, Vol. II, pp.92-93.

[5]:

Neog, M: Religions o f the North-east, p.33.