Agnigarh is the site of the fortress which was built by Banasura

Banasura

Bana , in Hindu mythology, was a thousand-armed asura and son of Bali. Banasura was a powerful and terrible asura. All people, even the king of earth and Devas of heaven, were afraid of him. Bana was a follower of Siva. Banasura ruled in present-day central Assam with his capital at Sonitpur ,...

 to keep his daughter Usha in isolation. The name itself is derived from the words 'Agni

Agni

Agni is a Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods...

' (meaning fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

) and 'garh' (meaning fortress or wall) in Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

.

Mythology

Legend

Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

 has it that this fortress was surrounded by fire at all times so that nobody could go in or out of the perimeter without permission. Usha fell in love with Aniruddha

Aniruddha

Aniruddha , meaning "uncontrolled" or "without obstacles", was the son of Pradyumna and the grandson of Krishna. He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he may be a jana avatar. The four important Vishnu extensions are Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and...

 in her dreams not knowing who he was. Her companion Chitralekha identified him by painting his portrait from Usha's description.

Current state

Present day Agnigadh is a hill on the banks of the Brahmaputra which is one of the big tourist attractions in Tezpur

Tezpur

Tezpur is a city and the administrative headquarters and municipal board of Sonitpur district in the state of Assam in northeastern India. Tezpur is an ancient city on the banks of the river Brahmaputra and is the largest of the north bank towns with a population exceeding 100,000...

. There is a circular stairway leading up to the crest of the hill where there are now sculptures depicting Usha's abduction of Aniruddha

Aniruddha

Aniruddha , meaning "uncontrolled" or "without obstacles", was the son of Pradyumna and the grandson of Krishna. He is said to have been very much like his grandfather, to the extent that he may be a jana avatar. The four important Vishnu extensions are Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna, and...

, the grandson of Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 and the ensuing battle by Krishna

Krishna

Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 to free them. There is also a viewing platform with the scenery around the river banks as well as the town centre and the Kolia Bhomora Setu

Kolia Bhomora Setu

Kolia Bhomora Setu is a pre-stressed concrete road bridge over the Brahmaputra River near Tezpur in Assam . It is named after the Ahom General Kalia Bhomora Phukan.This bridge connects Sonitpur on the north bank with Nagaon District on the south bank....

bridge across the Brahmaputra.