Tilinga Mandir

                                                          Bordubi, Tilinga Mandir                                              

                                             

  Tilinga Temple in Tinsukia district has the largest collection of bells in a single place ... Located  in Bordubi, between Tinsukia and the oil town of Duliajan in Upper Assam, the temple has even  found a mention in the Limca Book of World Records for hosting the largest collection of bells in a single place.

                                            

                

This Siva Temple, famous as ‘Tilinga Mandir' nestles at Bordubi, a small town in Tinsukia District of Assam. It is 7 kms from the oil township of Duliajan. Tilinga means "bell" in Assamese and Mandir means "temple". This bell temple is as spiritually and mystically strong as any other temple in Assam. There are hundreds and thousands of bells of all sizes in bronze, brass, copper and aluminum that are tied to the big peepal tree and on its various branches.There are more than a hundred Shiva tridents carelessly speared into the sand here and there. Most of them are packed together in one place, a few feet away from the mystical tree.

   According to Dhananjay Pande, the priest of the Tilinga Mandir, these tridents were left by the ascetic  devotees of Lord Shiva who rest under the tree while on their pilgrimage. As they rested under th  Peepal    tree, they feel a unique spiritual presence and they left their tridents behind as a testamen  to  this  mysterious   encounter.

Long ago, one such ascetic unearthed a naturally formed black rock in the shape of a Shiva linga, nestled among the roots of the tree. When news of the discovery got around, people started coming in to worship the same. The fame of this temple with all its mysterious power spread far and wide when the pilgrims discovered that their wishes and prayers under the tree actually came true. In the beginning, devotees would express their gratitude by returning to hang a bell on the tree after their wishes had been fulfilled. Eventually, however, the custom changed and pilgrims began to tie bells as they said their prayers and made their wishes.

As narrated by the priest, about 65 years ago, on the advice of the village elders, the owner of the land upon which the Peepal tree is located donated the land. Since then hundreds and thousands of devotees have come with hopes, prayers and bells. But even today, the silence and stillness of the magic temple is broken only by the chanting of mantras, fluttering of the birds and the tinkling of the numerous bells that hang from its branches.

No one who has visited the Tilinga Mandir can deny the strong, unique and divine feeling that one experiences. Tilinga Mandir is accessible from Duliajan by bus.