Goddess of all things in Kaziranga forests

Guwahati, Jun 3 (UNI) Guess, what do forest guards and poachers have in common at the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Asom? Astounding as it may sound, Goddess Kako is worshipped both by forest sentinels and poachers with equal reverence at this world heritage site, which, ironically, has scripted a good conservation history of the endangered one-horned rhinos.

More than 300 years ago, legends say, Prince Godapani of the Tungkhugia Ahom clan encamped at the Kaziranga forests when the king of Ahom kingdom, Sulikphaa Lora Roja, launched a campaign to inflict wounds on all Ahom princes eligible for the throne.

As the tired prince laid down to rest beneath a tree in the forest, a fruit fell on him. Enraged, he threw away a locket of Goddess Kako, which he wore for protection, contending that the locket no longer guarded him from evil. Minutes later, the king's men nabbed him.

The prince, also known as Godadhar Singha, might have established the rule of the Tungkhugia clan of Ahom kings that ruled this kingdom till its climactic end, but the reverence to Goddess Kako and her eclectic powers still persist in and around the park.

A senior forest official told UNI, even though the reverence to the Goddess was more orthodox till the late eighties, it was still prevalent now.

Poachers trespassing into the park offer ceremonial prayers, generally at the Deopani, Numaligarh and Kaziranga shrines of the Goddess.

In all the 125 forest camps of the KNP, regular prayers are offered to Goddess Kako, synonymous with Hindu Goddess Durga, which boosts the morale of the sentinels to protect and preserve the heritage site, rangers say.

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