Faith often defies logic. The question why mankind turns towards religion and worship has no rational answers. Worship, coupled with faith and belief, help the individual in fulfilling his emotional and religious needs. Almost all religious institutions have some faith and belief associated with them.

There are a number of God and Goddesses in the Hindu belief. There is a presiding deity in almost all spheres of human activity in the Hindu faith. Lord Viswakarma, who occupies an important place in the Hindu pantheon of Gods, is known as the divine engineer. He is regarded as the supreme worker, the very essence of excellence and quality craftsmanship. It is believed that Lord Viswakarma is the designer and builder of all the Gods’ palaces, chariots and weapons. Lord Viswakarma is the presiding deity of all craftsman and engineers.

According to legends, Lord Viswakarma had constructed opulent places spread over the four yugas. In Satya Yuga, he built the Swarga Loke or heaven, the abode of Gods and demi Gods. Viswakarma then built the Sone ki Lanka in the Treta Yuga, the city of Dwarka in Dwapur Yuga and Hastinapur and Indraprastha in the subsequent Yuga.

As a mark of reverence and to seek divine inspiration, Lord Viswakarma is worshipped on September 17 every year on the Kanya Sankranti day of the Hindu almanac.

It is an irony that the God, who is credited with designing and building places, has hardly any temple or permanent idol of his own. Unlike the other Hindu Gods or Goddesses, there are very few permanent places of worship dedicated to the divine engineer.

Like in the rest of the country, even in Assam, permanent idols or temples dedicated to the divine architect are a rarity. A stone carved idol Lord Viswakarma is found in the precincts of the ancient temple of the Mother Goddess Kamakhya, atop the Neelachal hills in Guwahati.

Nothing much is known about the origins of the idol of Lord Viswakarma, which was installed at the front of northern side gate of the Kamakhya temple.

Nor are there any stone inscriptions or any other material which could throw any light on the origins of one of the rare idols of the God of engineering.

Anup Prasad Sarma, who is doing research work on the Kamakhya temple, disclosed that though he is working to unearth its origins, he hasn’t made any significant headway. “According to the prevailing belief, the idol was there since time immemorial. But what I have gathered is that the idol was found in a broken state with the top portion missing in around 1200 BC.”

“According to legends, the idol was installed by Kamadeva as a mark of gratitude to Lord Viswakarma. There is a popular belief that the Kamakhya temple derives its name from Kamadeva who, after being consigned to ashes by Shiva for having interfered with his penance, was brought to life at the Neelachal hills in the Monobhava cave. On the directive from Shiva, it was Kamadeva who persuaded Lord Viswakarma to build a temple for the deity around the reproductive organ of Sati. Impressed with the engineering marvel of Lord Viswakarma in building the Kamakhya temple, Kamadeva installed the idol of the divine craftsman.”

Sarma pointed out that it is not known when the upper portion of the stone idol got damaged. “But it is presumed that puja rituals at the idol were performed from the time of Narakasura. Since then the annual Viswakarma Puja is going on in the Kamakhya temple premises. But, as the statue was in a broken state, the puja rituals were performed near the idol and not before it.”

“It was on a much later date that repair work on the idol was carried out and restored to its present form. Now, with the idol being renovated, the Viswakarma Puja is performed before it.”

It becomes quite difficult to comprehend why the idols of the God of engineering which are worshipped with full religious fervour on September 17 at different business establishments, are discarded like garbage on the streets the very next day. Either the idols should be immersed in water bodies or kept with respect. Abandoning them on the streets after the pujas amounts to disrespecting the divine engineer.

Manish Goswami