Wakshing month refers to traditional lunar Manipuri calendar month that falls in paus-magh according to Bengali calendar.Ng Niranjan Singh, who is associated with the protection of the holy shrine as the vice-president of protection committee, said the Manipuris call this holy shrine as Khwairakpa Erel Khubam while others refer to it as Narayan Dahar tirtha. Its location is about a distance of 12 km from Lakhipur ferry-ghat towards the eastern direction through the upstream of river Barak. It takes a little more than one hour by speed boat from Fulertal ferry-ghat. One can also reach the shrine through water ways from Jirimukh through Jiri river via Barak which is only 8 km.Speaking about the history of the shrine, Ng Niranjan Singh said from time immemorial, Manipuris have been worshipping God and Goddess outside homes in forested areas which they call Umanglai (Umang means forest and lai stands for God or Goddess). There are a number of such holy places in Barak Valley. Khwairakpa, according to him, was a great warrior of Manipuri kingdom during the reign of King Chaurjit, grandson of Rajashree Bhaigachandra, in the early part of 19th century. It was during this period that Manipur was under Burmese rule and the Manipuris were forced to flee in different directions to save themselves from inhumane tortures by the Burmese army. Khwairakpa, the chief-in-command of Khwai army division of Manipur army also fled along with a small band of associates through Tongjei Maril, the present Cachar road, and took shelter at the place where the shrine stands. He established a temple on the top of the island and started worshipping supreme God in order to inspire the scattered Manipuris in wilderness to reunite and fight against the Burmese army to regain the lost kingdom. The holy shrine was dedicated by the Manipuris in the name of this great warrior who infused the sense of nationalism and patriotism in their minds.Ng Niranjan Singh, pointed out during the reign of King Pamheiba, also known as Garibniwaj of Manipur kingdom in the middle of 18th century, the majority of Manipuris were converted into Vaishnavism. But, they continued to maintain their age old traditional faith, rites and rituals. This tradition can be found in every Manipuri house, worshipping Yumlai. Yum means house and lai stands for God. Though the Brahmins act as priests on religious ceremonies, the traditional faith of worshipping God or Goddess by maibas and maibis is still prevalent. In worshipping God at Khwairakpa Erel or Narayan Dahar, Manipuris engage both maibas (male) and maibis (female) as priests without showing any disrespect to Brahmins or Hindu faith, Ng Niranjan Singh said.

Manipuris living in the eastern part of Barak Valley bordering Manipur worship their supreme God Lainingthou Apanba on the second Sunday of wakshing month every year at Narayan Dahar, located at the top of a small island in the upper stream of Barak river

Khwairakpa established a temple on the top of the island and started worshipping supreme God in order to inspire the scattered Manipuris in wilderness to reunite and fight against the Burmese army to regain the lost kingdom

Speaking about the historical perspective of the shrine, Niranjan Singh said during the reign of king Chaurjit from 1803 to 1819, the Manipur kingdom was in turmoil due to internal conflict with his brother Marjit for kingship. As a result, the neighbouring ruler of Burma Bagidau got the opportunity to interfere in the affairs of Manipur. Ultimately, in 1819 the Burmese could capture whole of Manipur and ruled over it for 7 years beginning from 1819. This period of 7 years is remembered as a black chapter in the history of Manipur by the Manipuris.During this devastating period, king Chaurjit and his brother Marjit along with prince Gambhir Singh, the great grandson of king Bhaigachandra and cousin of Chaurjit and Marjit left Manipur and took shelter in the Cachari kingdom in 1819. King Krishna Chandra was the ruler of Cachari kingdom at that time. Rani Induprava, the Manipuri princess, was married to Krishna Chandra. Chaurjit, Marjit and Gambhir Singh took advantage of this relationship and tried to find a foothold in the Cachari kingdom. But, their sole objective was reunite their armies against the Burmese in order to regain the lost kingdom. The Manipuri army reunited under the command of Gambhir Singh in the Cachari kingdom with British help and defeated the Burmese and regained the lost kingdom.This led to the signing of the famous Yandaboo treaty in 1826. The Burmese were defeated by a dedicated brigade of 500 guerrillas under the command of Gambhir Singh. As stated earlier, the shrine at Khwairakpa Erel or Narayan Dahar was set up by the great warrior Khwairakpa during the darkest period of Manipuri history who happened to hide in this small island along river Barak while fleeing from Manipur with a small contingent of army. It is said that he started worshipping the supreme God Lainingthou Apanba to gather strength and courage to fight against the enemy and free his motherland.In order to protect this historical and religious shrine from the vagaries of nature, a protection committee was formed to look after its proper maintenance. The founder president of this committee was Irom Bipin Bihari and Thuirem Kalachand Singh was the secretary. Relevant to say, the original shrine was located at a small rocky island in the middle of Barak, in course of time, a substantial part of the island stands broken due to heavy floods caused by the sloughing of Barak during the period 1985-1990. Only one fourth of the island exists. So, the committee took the decision to shift the shrine to the northern bank near the island. A temple along with a community hall was constructed for the convenience of the visitors and pilgrims.Niranjan Singh said there are a number of historical and religious places in this valley which lie uncared and unattended. Khwairakpa Erel, he pointed out, is one such important site on the only rocky island. Thousands of pilgrims visit this holy place not only from Barak Valley and Assam but also Manipur, Tripura and even Bangladesh. Cruising through boats are the only means of conveyance to reach the destination. The holy shrine can well be compared with the Umananda temple of a rocky defile on Brahmaputra near Guwahati.

Jyotilal Chowdhury