What would you picture when you see an army of 300 architects working on one single project? Yes! True! An amazing wonder of a Construction that will surely be a breathtaking spectacle to your eyes! This wonder of a project is located in the tinsel town of Tengapani at the State of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Better known to the locals, a population of the Legendary Tai-Khamti Tribal people of North East India, as the ‘Kongmu-kham’ that we would prefer to call as the ‘Golden Pagoda Temple’.
The Golden Pagoda is located at Tengapani (also known as Chongkham), a town of an irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty,inspiring pagodas,temples and a robust cuisine.The vast expanse of Chongkham-Namsai area have a lush green forest, rich and colorful flora and fauna,exotic orchids and is criss-crossed by dozens of rivers and rivulets and tributaries of Lohit river. Chongkham is bounded in the north by the commanding snow ranges of the last fringes of ‘Himalayan Hump’ and the descending misty mountains of Patkai range to its east while its South and West opens and stretches upto the Brahmaputra valley in Assam. The Patkai range has numerous passes through which the Ahoms poured into Assam from Burma and established Ahom rule in Assam which lasted upto 600 years.The Ahoms were followed by Tai Khamtis centuries later who again established their dominance in Sadiya and Tengapani area. Sprawling tea plantations, picture book landscapes, winding lanes, trekking and holiday facilities make Chongkham a unique experience. Chongkham is essentially a tea town.
Kongmu-kham or the Golden Pagoda is a temple complex spread over 20 hectares of land built in a Burmese architectural design with a beautiful garden around it. The temple complex has a shrine hall which has a huge Buddha statue in meditating pose inside it. The shrine hall has four entrances on east,north,west and south directions. Main entrance to the hall faces north. The Buddha image inside faces north. The main entrance to the Golden Pagoda complex faces east, the direction that Buddha achieved Enlightenment. The Buddha statue was donated by Ven Prakhu Pabhavana, Chief monk of Wat Aranjikavas temple of Thailand.Each of the four entrances of the shrine hall is guarded by a pair of mythical lions. On four corners of the outer base of the main shrine are a bell, Vasundri or the witness to the offerings made in the temple, a monk and four deities. A pond near the entrance gate and a Ashoka pillar on the eastern side of the main shrine are some of the main features of the Golden Pagoda complex. The Golden Pagoda complex houses a spacious shrine hall, a meditation hall, a multipurpose hall, a guest house, a library, a monastery to accommodate around 100 Bhikkhus and living quarter for the monks.
A head start from the National Park of Dibru-Saikhowa at Tinsukia and an hour long drive across majestic tea gardens crossing the town of Doom Dooma will lead you to this grandeur of a place, a memoir that will surely fit this quote into it perfectly:
“It is better to travel well than to arrive” ~ Gautam Buddha
Jungleideas welcomes you to India’s North East to witness your one stop destination for Spiritual Tourism – the Golden Pagoda Temple, Tengapani, the State of Arunachal Pradesh, Incredible India!
