Ashwaklanta Temple

History

Assam Tourism’s North Guwahati section in official publications groups Ashwaklanta with Dirgheswari, Doul Govinda and other riverside temples that mark the former capital landscape of Kamrup, emphasising stone and brick craft from the Ahom period.

Stories

Where Krishna's horse grew tired

Assam Tourism records a legend that the temple got its name because Krishna's horse grew tired here, while he was on his way to defeat the demon king Narakasura. The name Ashwaklanta carries that meaning of a tired horse.

The Kamrup district page adds that some people think the horse was attacked near the temple, and that the name should then be Aswakranta, not Aswaklanta. So the spelling and the story both vary, and the account is a matter of belief.

An Ahom king's temple on the Brahmaputra bank

The Kamrup district page says the temple was built by the Ahom king Siva Singha in 1720, on the bank of the Brahmaputra at North Guwahati. It consists of two large temples, and a stone inscription is set on the body of the temple.

Inside are images of Janardana and Anantasai Vishnu, the latter described as a fine specimen of eleventh-century art. The page also notes that a sacrificial kunda once stood near the temple but was eroded away by the river.

Good to know

Listed on assamtourism.gov.in/Temple.php as Aswaklanta Temple

North Guwahati riverside Krishna–Vishnu shrine on the Brahmaputra

Often combined with Dirgheswari and Guwahati city temples

Getting there

From Guwahati cross the Brahmaputra to North Guwahati (Amingaon / north bank roads). Nearest airport: LGBI Guwahati. Nearest rail: Guwahati station (~20 km per state publications).