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In general, the impact of any temple or religious site is studied only in the sense of religiousness or spiritualism. But when I observed the various occasions of the Devalaya during the last four years and interacted with a large number of devotees and visitors in the vicinity of Billeswar Devalaya, I came to know that they are impacted by the Devalaya in different modes. Some people prosper in their profession, some of them get relief from the prolonged anxiety, some of them could restore their relationship with their spouses, many of the unmarried girls could tie the nuptial knots, many married women were blessed with children, some of them could rescue themselves from fatal diseases and so on. The examples of such impact extracted from the consistent fieldworks during the pursuance of the study.

An incident that illustrates the social impact of the Devalaya was informed by Shri Prabodh Chandra Das, S/O Bapiram Das, of Jagara village. In 07-03-2016, a tortoise was found in the pond of a resident of Jagara. Some gluttonous people were in the opinion of feasting on the tortoise meat. But majority of the people believed that the finding of a tortoise may be a blessed circumstance. So they decided to offer the tortoise to the Billeswar Devalaya. The people released the tortoise into the Dewan Pukhuri.

1 Social Control

The Devalaya since the time of the early medieval rulers was understood as a vital spot of political power. Devalaya has proved to be an institution of enduring importance, as a symbol of authority and political power in the society. The Devalaya is designed in such a way as to symbolize power or authority, drawing upon cosmic symbolism, and equating the king or monarch with the deity and the temple as cosmos or territory. The creation of the ruler鈥檚 image as a protector, controller of his domain and also the royal upholder of dharma was similarly reinforced by the image of the god as the protector and upholder of Dharma. Temple is a monument which stands as the most powerful expression of the political authority of its royal patron. They built up this political imagery and consolidated their power thereby they transcended micro level monarchical systems and integrating the whole of Belsor region into a cohesive politico -cultural region with a religious view.

Management bodies of Billeswar Devalaya were accustomed to resolve the disputes emerged from the dereliction of duties assigned to the paiks. Whenever they were charged with misconduct, moral turpitude, detrimental acts to the religious or social status of the Devalaya, the paiks were summoned by the authorities to the Mels and these were resolved by the Melkis. Interestingly, some of the paiks were engaged with summoning the litigants to the Mel. The Supa where they lived is known as Matapara Supa. (Datta: 1959: 57)

2 Religiousness

The Billeswar Devalaya is a nerve centre of religiousness for the entire Hindu people belonging to Nalbari district. It is the most ancient Hindu shrine for centuries in Nalbari district linked with the historicity of ancient Assam. The study about the religiousness of the Devalaya essentially propels to have a glimpse of all the religious establishments in district and extract a summary of the entire Assam at least in regard of historicity. 

Here is given a catalogue of the Hindu religious establishments other than the Billeswar Devalaya. These are: 

Balilecha Kali Mandir,
Thetha Gosair Than,
Sri Sri Jaypal Devalaya,
Jagannath Devalaya,
Doulashal Mandir,
Basudev Devalaya,
Sripur Devalaya,
Maharudra Pith Devalaya,
Nalbari Hari Mandir,
Bagheswari Than,
Jaypal Than,
Buragosair Than,
Kalia Gosair Than,
Bhangura Gosair Than,
Shyamrai Mandir,
Gopal-Jagannath Than,
Durga Aru Kali Mandir,
Helacha Manasha Mandir,
Kulbil Shiva Devalaya,
Dhamdhama Than,
Barbari Than,
Phular Tal Shiv Mandir,
Boudhya Mandir,
Haldhibari Satra,
Agnisala Satra,
Ananta Gosair Satra,
Jagra Satra,
Rampur Satra,
Kaihati Satra,
Kulbil Satra,
Nakhara Satra,
Khutiya Satra,
Charabari Satra,
Damodardham Satra,
Sandheli Satra,
Khatabari Satra,
Pakowa Satsangi Math,
Satsangi Alaga Satra,
Naptipara Satra,
Bihampur Satra,
Balilecha Satra,
Nalbari Satra,
Marowa Satsangi Satra,
Khudra Makhibaha Satsangi Satra,
Balikuriya Satra etc.

The district is overwhelmed with the religious fervor due to the existence of the above religious establishments. The people of Hindu religion with the beliefs of various cults are living in different places of the district making a social fabric without encountering each other. Amongst all the religious institutions listed above, Billeswar Devalaya has been occupying a unique position since the time immemorial scattering a deep rooted religiousness amongst the people of various walks of life. The traditions of celebrating almost all religious and ritualistic occasions by the Devalaya entice all people of the locality as well as the people of the state without any strategic efforts. The potentiality of attracting people at different times depends upon its legends and legendary happenings. The calendar festivals give opportunities to the people to visit the Devalaya. In general, the pilgrims do not feel any constraints within the campus of the Devalaya on account of its religiousness. In fact, the sense of religiousness overrides the usual obstacles which are common in almost every religious institution. The Devalaya is facilitated with some modern amenities at present times; but these are not sufficient in accordance with the size of pilgrims and visitors.

Religion and magic are two ways of tiding over crises. Primitive man must have had to face the realities of life. He did so with his belief in some superior power, or powers, either by truing to coerce it into service, i.e., by magic, or by praying and offering worship to it, i.e., by the religious approach. Both magic and religions are tools of adaptation, the objective being to help man out of difficult situation and relieves his tensions. (Majumdar et al.:2015:136)

Billeswar Devalaya is ought to be considered as an epicenter of religiousness amongst the people of a vast expanse of locality. It is worthwhile to mention that some villages like Tapa, Bori, Pipalibari, Thutikata etc. are the religiously affected areas by the Devalaya. The above said villages are inhabited mostly by people of Sudra Caste, even by Kaibarta, wherein religious rituals are observed in compatible with the Devalaya. An example may be cited here. As we know that in Assam people celebrate the onset of puberty of their girl child with various rituals. One of these is to bathe the girls ceremoniously. As informed by Shri Udhab Das, S/O Shri Uttam Das, a fish vendor of village Niz Tapa, in the villages mentioned above, this ceremonious bathe is performed only after the daily bath of the Goddess of Billeswar Devalaya.

3 Spirituality

Spirituality means an awareness of the metaphysical ideas, the religiousness and the sublime thoughts. In practice, some activities are included to imply the spirituality like participation in organized religion, contemplation, mediation, prayer, reflection. Ascetic activities for self growth and inclination for the nature are also the elements of spirituality. In short, it is an individual quest for understanding the true meaning of life and the desire to integrate with the transcendent or the sacred. There is no any certainty that the spirituality may grow from ritual observance. With the passage of time, people are taking formal education in an obligatory way to keep pace with the changing world. There is really not any alternative for the formal education. The global perspective has put everyone in a competitive world and made familiarized with the material world. The obsessive attachment with the material world has cut short the relation between the people and the spiritual way of life. Spirituality is not a synonym for the wordreligiousness. But the true religiousness is a way for spirituality. Human activities are indicative of both the objective and subjective thoughts. At the different stages of life, people understand life differently and replicate the thoughts by the help of their activities. Usually, a section of people at their later part of life cease to gain materials and intend to devote for social needs and become psychologically destitute. In such circumstances, the religious institutes greet these people to work in name of god, humanity, public wellness. It is just an aspect of the religious institutes in delivering services for the mankind. Like other religious establishments, the Billeswar Devalaya is also dedicated to the services of the people. As the Devalaya observes almost all religious festivals prescribed by the Hindu religion attaching a hug number of people in many ways-these instill the sense of spirituality irrespective of the stratification of the devotees, pilgrims, visitors and the common people of the locality.

Some people assimilate themselves with the various functions of the Devalaya unconsciously after rendering services for a long period of time in an assetic order and bid farewell to their personal lives. As stated by Shri Tapan Sarma, an interviewed person, we may say about Lt. Pulen Mena, S/O Lt. Kamaleshwar Mena, of Menapara, Belsor, who remained bachelor for life and worked for the Devalaya with complete devotion. His devotional work may be termed as a part of spirituality.

The reverberation of the Mantras in every event taking place inside the Devalaya overwhelms the entire environment of the Devalaya scattering the sense of spirituality to all. In between the caesura of events, I had the opportunity to talk with a former priest of the Devalaya, Shri Kanak Sarma. 

As he was asked about the importance of chanting Mantra with a high pitch-he replied with a definitive statement:

Mananang Bishwavigyanam
Tranang Sanskaro Bandanat
Jatah Karoti Sangsidhye
Mantrah Iti Uchsate Tatah.
(Tantric Literature)

Meaning: Only by mental faculty one can acquire universal knowledge/ Only by the meditative action; salvation from worldly bond can be attained/ Those who chant Mantras with optimum heed; only their mantras reach the zenith of accomplishment.

Lt Dharmeswar Dev Sarma-who rendered services as a priest in the Devalaya for 56 years continuously. He was said to be spiritually developed Purohit by their community people. There was no instance of him taking lunch in those 56 years. Still he lived till his last phase of life with sound health. His devotion to the Lord Bilweswar was just like a panacea of his ailments.

4 Morales of the Society

Every society is formed with a common purpose which is a universally admitted fact. The common purpose favors each and every individual belonging to the society as they are associated with the norms, traditions and morals. It is the specificity of a normative society which resists the deviated and derogatory activities of the people. The Billeswar Devalaya is such a colossal religious Hindu shrine which works as a vanguard to the humble people of the greater area centering around the village Belsor -the sheltering place of the Devalaya. A popular legend stated beforehand in this thesis demands repetition to convey the morale of the society which is dominated by the Billeswar Devalaya. As per the legend, Lord Maharudra, the chief deity of the Devalaya, moves beyond the boundary riding an ox or horse in white attire, holding a gold stick in His palm, at midnight for chasing away the evil spirits who are responsible for epidemics by beating them. So the people of the greater locality inclusive of all adjoining areas firmly believe that their localities are free from any kind of epidemic. Likewise, due to the existence of centuries old Billeswar Devalaya and its transmitted faiths, beliefs and oral history a set of morale is set in the minds of majority of people of all ages. The said set of morals works very often in various perspectives of people鈥檚 life as a prohibitory gospel of the Shri Shri Maharudra. People are consciously or subconsciously aware about the consequences of wrong doings due to the psychological affiliation to the existence of the Devalaya and the divine observation of Shri Shri Maharudra.

5 Communal Harmony

The festivals held in the Billeswar Devalaya Complex and in its vicinity have gained a spirit of cosmopolitanism which is endorsed by communal harmony. The sacred geography of the Billeswar Devalaya is a habitat for various communities including a Muslims. There is no rigidity of participation in all types of festivals and occasions on communal basis. People from all communities attend and visit the site by mixing with others without any fair psychosis begot by the religious fanaticism or communal discriminations excepting the most prohibited areas, viz. the Garbhgriha, Puja Bedi, Bali Xaal etc. Basically the performing arts of the Devalaya entertain the people of all communities. It is notable to mention that there were traditions like Raiman Gowa OjaPali and Jikir which were performed by the people of Muslim community, though these are in defunct form at present times. These traditions ceased to be performed not due to the indulgence of the Devalaya authority or by the community of devotees which are basically of Hindu community. Rather it is stopped due to the discontinuation by the descendants of the folk artists from the Muslim community, owing to the attitudinal changes and socio-economic reasons. But the spirit is still intact that encourage the people of Muslim community to entertain themselves during the festivals by attending all the folk performing arts during the Devalaya festivals. The communal harmony is being maintained by all concerned with spontaneity though there are some instances of distortion of the harmony by few number miscreants sometimes.

6 Secular Elements

Sri Sri Sri Bilveswara Maharudra temple is a combination of Saiva, Vaisnava and Sakta cults though it is primarily mean for Lord Shiva. Both Hindu and Muslim cultures are also attached to the temple. Once the people from Muslim community like Saona Bokora, Tabiul Khora, and Kola Ali etc., used to beat drums in the Devalaya. There is also Muslim Chara granted to the temple by the Tai-Ahom kings with sufficient land grants. These Deka Gaon Muslims of Sri Sri Sri Bilveswara temple used to sing Oja Pali, Jikir-Jaris and participated in Dholiya-Kaliya alongwith the Hindus also even they once offered Prasada and sacrificed animals to the temple. Muslim were used to get the equal share as like as the Hindu from the offerings of Lord Vishnu. They once played Barkandaz under the Mughals.

7 Religious Pluralism

On the other hand this temple is a symbol of religious tolerance such as the Saiva, the Sakta, and the Vaisnava all meet here for their respective offerings. This harmonious co-existence of various religious sects, castes and creed in the temple bears a specialty in our unity in diversity for concept of greater Assamese Nationalism. In addition, in the temple presently the people make offerings to -Ma-Durga, Lord Vishnu, and celebration of Doul, Bhotheli, Ojapali, Baratarnam and Jethuwanam etc., are also going on with lot many sacrifices including the buffaloes.