Magazine1-4 Final.Qxd (Page 2)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
"People tend to .... Page 4 SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2021 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/sunday-magazine Healthy mind nourishes....Page 3 REASI Land of Shiva Shrines Romesh Mengi Parvati the story of his immortality, he left his serpent king, Sheshnag at Anantnag . Shesh Nag came in the human form Cradled in the lap of the Trikuta peaks, in the proximity as Vasudev. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar who of the river Chenab, lies the mystic area of Reasi with the was a saintly person. sacred caves and temples of Lord Shiva. Reasi is famous for As the local belief goes, in the ancient times there was a its striking natural beauty and religious beliefs. Deep inside demon that lived near Karua Jheel and committed atrocities this land, one can find many famous temples, caves which on the people of village Karua. The villagers sought help of make an impact on the visitor, who is left with a sense of Baba Dhansar to get rid of the Demon. It is believed that wonder about the creation of God, enhanced by the effort of Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva man. Reasi district has many historical places that have arrived and helped in killing the Demon. The temple of Baba been beautifully and tastefully crafted and have ever since Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva near Karua Jheel has remained the talk of UT and country. There are several caves become a place of worship. and temples in the district which are dedicated to Lord Shiva and hold importance during the religious Festival Kansi Patta (Gupt Kashi) "Maha Shivratri". Lord Shiva is the Supreme form of the It is situated 10kms away from Reasi. The village is Trinity in oneness. Lord Shiva is the most popular Hindu known for its temple dedicated to the god Shiva . The God. He bestows numerous boons upon his devotees. Some ancient name of the village is Gupt Kashi but as the time of the Caves and temples associated with Lord Shiva present passed the name changed from Gupt Kashi to Kansi in the district are : Patta.Its religious importance is considered similar to that Salal Shiv Cave of Kashi of Varanasi , believed to be the most pious of all Shrine of Baba Dhansar Salal Shiv Cave is an ancient Lord Shiva cave Hindu pilgrimage places.The temple is located on the way to which was discovered in 2012 by some local youths the world famous Shiva Shrine Shiv Khori and close to on the high mountain near Thanpal in Salal area of famous waterfall of Siar Baba. It has the scenic backdrop of dream who told him to come to Gupt Kashi and build a tem- in present form by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. district Reasi. river Chenab and with darshan of Lord Shiva and other ple there .General Zorawar Singh then came to Gupt Kashi As per the local Legend, there was a herdsman grazing The area is tough terrain and nearly 2 hours on foot jour- deities in temple , one gets very good positive vibration and and build Lord Shiva temple there . The priest also said that cows nearby this temple. When cows reached a particular ney along Surman Khad. On one side there is Salal dam and peace of mind.The story behing the place goes like this. the temple has a unique combination of five things which we point , milk began to dribble automatically through their on the other at high mountain this cave.The locals said that Once there was a devil. He worshipped and prayed Lord rarely find together at one place viz banyan tree, peepal tree udders. This was very surprising but herdsman never this cave was inaccessible due to its location but as they used Brahma (the creator) and gained the blessings of Brahma. ,Shiv temple ,cremation ground and pious river Chenab. noticed it. When cows returned to their owners in the to hear some kind of sounds from that area, nobody ever The demon performed penance to Lord Brahma and after Locals come in large number to take holy dip here on evening, many cows did not drip a single dripped and many dared to go that side. A daring youth of the area armed with obtaining boons harassed the virtuous and the learned .The Somvati Amavasya , Shiv Ratri , Baisakhi and others reli- others dropped a tiny quantity of milk. Villagers and land- gun and assisted by 2-3 more youth, managed to reach up to blessing was made according to the devil wish. According to gious days. Locals also perform last rites of their loved ones lords began to blame herdsman for this but he was innocent the cave using ropes and his mountaineering skills. He saw the wish,he asked Brahma to bless him with immortality at this place. in this matter. Now shepherd was vigilant while grazing a Shiva Lingam, stone idols of Shiva family, a statue of Saint along with the wish that he will be killed only in Kashi. with Nandi Parbat Mahadev Cave cows. One day he noticed that milk was pouring on a partic- his long term worship, Brahma was pleased and blessed him ular spot from cow's Udders. Herdsman told the fact to vil- and Hanuman. The cave appears to be almost equal to that This ancient Lord Shiva cave was discovered recently on according to his wish. He became very powerful and strong. lagers. Anxious villagers watched it the next day and decid- of Shiv Khori. After this, the youth returned and told this the high mountain near Shivkhori (Ransoo).The area is The devil then ran away from kashi and settled in a village ed to dig the spot. On an auspicious day and moment, aston- matter to the whole village. The next day, the village tough terrain and nearly one hour foot journey from nearby Reasi which was called GUPT KASHI at that time. ished villagers prayed and started digging the spot. After Sarpanch and some locals started digging track on the rocky Bhamblya village near Kanda. The villagers with their But he was unaware of the original name of the village. He digging villagers saw divine Shiv Linga and its Jalhari. mountain and with in few days they managed to reach there efforts managed to make track up to the cave which is on the was thinking that now no one will kill him in Reasi as he was Seeing this they began to dance and prayed Lord Mahadev and saw the cave. They saw pindis and a big Shiva Lingam. steep rocky mountain. The locals said that this cave was blessed to be killed only in Shiv Bhoomi "KASHI".He start- and named this area as Mahadev. Later on a temple was Pilgrims who visited this cave were astonished to see such a inaccessible due to its location. A ed his evil by troubling locals and the build there and named as Mahadev Mandir Reasi. As per wonderful cave. There are two different routes one via local man namely Swarn Singh Rishis-Munis of Kashi patta and local belief, all this happened on the eve of Baisakhi and Talwara-Siar Baba and Thanpal using boat over Salal dam whose goats got missing and in Reasi. He troubled and destroyed from that time Baisakhi mela is organized in the temple and another one via Reasi-Salal and yet another one via SHIVRATRI SPECIAL search of them the man along with many holy places and started disturb- premises with religious fervor. Bidda-Dhayangarh-dam site. some other locals found this cave Baba Dhansar ing normal life of locals. No one could stop him. He gathered Notwithstanding the blessings of natural beauty, vari- and goats near this cave. He saw a Shiva Lingam, stone idols ous scenic areas of this hilly region are still missing on Out of the many holy places in district Reasi, there exists army and continued his evil deeds. The locals and Rishis of Shiva family, Nag Devta, Kali Mata idol and other idols. tourist map of Jammu and Kashmir due to more than a a famous religious place namely Baba Dhansar in Karua found it difficult to tackle him because he became very pow- The cave appears to be almost equal to that of Shiv decade long phase of militancy and lackluster approach of Village that has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva .Karua vil- erful after Brahma blessing. The saints assembled and Khori.The pilgrims visiting this place were astonished to see Government machinery at the helm of affairs. Nonetheless, lage is situated approximately 10km away from Reasi and 14 evoked LORD SHIVA with their woes and told him the harm such a wonderful cave. This new cave is 3 kms away from Religious tourism too plays an important role in the eco- km from Katra. The village is known for its temple dedicat- caused by the devil. Lord Shiva asked the devil to stop his Ransoo base camp of Shiv khori. The locals also named this nomic development of an area and one can spot number of ed to the Lord Shiva and karua Jheel. From village, one has blatant acts or face death. The devil in return said that he cave as Nandi Parvat Mahadev Gufa as the mountain on towering religious sites here in Reasi apart from scenery to step downhill in around 100 steps. The entire walk is dot- was blessed to be killed only in "KASHI"not in any other which cave was discovered looks like Nandi.