The Neurotologist’s Secret Search: How I Found the Lost Jyotirlinga of Assam

 

By Dr. Parth Sarthi Deb

In 2010, I moved to Guwahati with a prestigious appointment letter in my hand. I was to serve as the Director of Neurotology at the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC), a position I would hold for the next eight years.

To my colleagues and the medical fraternity, this was a clear, professional career move. I was there to treat the nerves of the human body. But in the silence of my heart, I knew the motivation was different. The medical appointment was merely the vehicle; the destination was spiritual.

I hadn't just come to Assam to be a doctor. I had come to find the nerve center of the earth. I was looking for the lost Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga.

The Spark: A Question from a TV Show

The seed of this quest sprouted violently in April 2011. I was sitting in my room in Guwahati, watching an episode of Om Namah Shivay on Sahara One. The episode narrated the ancient legend of Bhimasura—the son of Kumbhakarna—who imprisoned King Priyadharman of Kamrupa (ancient Assam).

As the story unfolded on the screen, a logical question struck me with the force of a revelation: > If the scriptures and the legend explicitly mention the King of Kamrupa, why is the famous Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga located near Pune in Maharashtra?

That one question transformed my weekends from leisure time into a detective investigation.

The Clue on the Hill

On my way to the airport that very Sunday, I stopped at Lankeshwar Dham, a Shiva temple perched on a hill near Guwahati University. I decided to take a chance. I asked the priest casually, "Where is Bhimashankar Dham?"

To my surprise, he didn't look confused. He stood up and pointed down the hill, towards the backside of Deepor Beel. He told me a story revealed to him in meditation forty years prior—a story of a King of Kamrup, a devotee of Ram, and a battle where Lord Vishnu appeared to slay the demon.

I knew then that I was on the right track.

The Jungle Discovery

On May 22, 2011, after navigating vague directions and muddy paths off National Highway 37, I found an arch leading into a remote jungle. Locals called the deity "Pachdhara Dimbeshwar Swamy."

It was raw, natural, and overwhelmingly powerful. There was no gold-plated temple, only the ruins of ancient structures and bamboo groves serving as the Lord’s matted hair (Jata). A hill stream bathed the Shiva Linga naturally.

For years, this became my secret pilgrimage. Every third Sunday, on my return to Hyderabad, I would visit this sacred spot, convinced I had found the lost Jyotirlinga.

The Final Revelation

But the divine has a way of peeling back layers of truth only when the seeker is ready. The final piece of the puzzle didn't come from a jungle trek, but from an email.

On February 27, 2016, a reader named Sri Pankaj Das responded to my online writings. He wrote words that shattered my assumptions:

"You have been nearing but missing thinly so long... The Bhimeswar worshipped at Pamohi is the Sub-Linga. Kindly come a few kilometers away towards Basistha Ashram, to Panchakanya Dham, and you would know the complete truth."

He revealed that the actual Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga was located on the Kshobhak Hill, and that a great sage, Sri Sri Bhrigu Giri Maharaj, had already re-established this truth decades ago.

From Seeker to Author

My journey from a curious doctor to a devotee of the City of First Light has been a long one. It taught me that sometimes, we think we are making career moves, but we are actually being moved by destiny.

I have documented this entire journey, along with the profound revelations of the Sage who woke the sleeping gods, in my new upcoming book, "Bhimashankar of Pragjyotishpur: The Divine Mission of Bhrigu Giri Maharaj."

It is the story of a truth that was waiting in the hills of Assam for centuries. And it is my humble offering to the land that called me home.