in bits and pieces
Came across this incredible image in a book called ‘Bonfire of Kashmiriyat: Deconstructing the accession’ (2006) by Sandeep Bamzai ( It’s a nifty book to check out if you are into getting the initial timeline, dates, events right). My first thoughts were Henri Cartier Bresson and the people looking at the hair. But the book doesn’t credit any photographer and just explains it as ‘A huge crowd listens to Shiekh Abdullah’.
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The famous Cartier Bresson:
There’s an old Qurratulain Hyder short story having a minor character of a tribal woman whose most precious piece of jewellery was ‘tooria’ – a necklace of coins embellished with the image of Queen Victoria.
And I thought nothing could top that. Then I came across something bizarrely interesting in Walter Rooper Lawrence’s Valley of Kashmir. Visiting Kashmir in 1889 as the Land settlement officer, he noticed that –
“An interesting fact about the Hindus of Kashmir is that they worship the likeness of Her Majesty the Queen Empress. This prevails not only among the Pandits of the city, but also among the village Hindus. It appears to be their custom to regard as divine the sovereign de facto, but in the case of the emperor Aurangzeb they made an exception, and his likeness was never worshiped, for he was a persecutor of the Hindus.”
I tried imagining how that photograph or an etching (or a coin) would have sat in the dark thokur kuth, God room, of the Pandit. It wasn’t hard to imagine. Kashmiris were apparently quite happy with the coming of British. After the incompetence of Chak regulars, indifference of Mughal lords, the barbarity of Pathans and in-humaneness of Sikhs, the Queen must have appeared like a Goddess to put an end to all their sorrows. With the coming of British came the post service, the telegraph, the education system, the hospitals, the canals, etc. And it was all done in the name of the Queen. Francis Younghusband writes how easily he found hospitality in the remote North just because of the good work done under Queen Victoria’s name. With the British came the British sense of fair-play. It is said that around that time a distressed poor Kashmiri could often be heard saying (often half-meant threats) that he would take his case to the Queen herself and that she shall dispense justice. Talk about Mata ka Darbar. (Isn’t it interesting that only Mata Ranis hold darbars?)
Decades later, Tagore wasn’t the only one singing odes to British Empire. During World War 2, owing to the lack of enthusiasm among Kashmir Muslims for joining the British Army and to counter the German propaganda that fighting Germany meant going to war against the Ottoman Caliphate since the Turkish forces had joined hands with Germany, Mahjoor, the Kashmiri Bard, was assigned the task of writing a moving qaseeda for the British Empire. Mahjoor came up with Jung-e-German which became a rage in Kashmir (I wonder if Jum’German finds its origins in the popularity of this qaseeda). Mahjoor wrote:
When the liberal, benign and unassuming
British came to aid governance
Our destiny woke up from sleep
Long live our Gracious Emperor!King of England who rules the world,
Grant him power and pageantry
May his kingdom be blessed
Long live our Gracious Emperor!
The poem also praised the Dogra ruler. He went on to write two more panegyrics praising Maharaja Pratap Singh and his successor, Maharaja Hari Singh. It is safe to assume Mahjoor the nationalist hadn’t yet been born, in fact may be that concept hadn’t yet taken seed in the Kashmiri mind. Interestingly enough Mahjoor never got any benefit for writing the poem. He was told that since he hadn’t brought in any volunteers personally, he wasn’t entitled to any special benefits.
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Information about Mahjoor and the lines from Jung-e-German comes from Trilokinath Raina’s work on the poet.
Image: A rare image of Queen Victoria laughing. Found it in The People’s Almanac presents The Book of Lists (Bantam Edition, 1978) by David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace.
Near Ramboh village in Baramulla District, three miles from Tangmarg, on way to Gulmarg, the shrine of Baba Reshi is situated at about 7,000 ft. The tomb (Ziarat) is of an ascetic actually named Baba Payamuddin (Pam Din) and to whom the Chak Dynasty Rulers of Kashmir paid courtesy visits during the Mughal period.
Born around 1411, he is said to have died around 1480. This Reshi, a highborn son of a nobleman but turned ascetic after observing hardworking ants too closely one day, was a disciple of Baba Zainuddin Rishi (born Ziya Singh or Jaya Singh, some say) of Aishmuqam who was one of the principal disciples of Sheikh Nur-ud-din (Nund Rishi) – the first of the Reshis; the disciples, his four Jewels: ‘Buma’ Baba Bamuddin Rishi, ‘Nasar’ Baba Nasruddin Rishi, ‘Zaina’ Baba Zainuddin Rishi and ‘Latif ‘ Baba Latifuddin Rishi.
In his later years, on the direction of Zainuddin Rishi, Baba Payamuddin moved to village Ramboh, and like others of the order, performed miracles, helped the common people and spread the name. Baba Reshi famously built a daan, a fire place at this place. People came from far and wide to plaster this daan, to offer sacrifices. They still do. All to have their wishes granted.
In the 90s, this place also faced fire.
On way to Gulmarg, I had no idea we were going to make a stopover here. So it came as a pleasant surprise. After visiting the house that wasn’t there anymore, it came as a pleasant surprise from my parents. My mother couldn’t stop gushing about the place. I guess she has inherited the devotion to this place from her mother who must have been here often thanks to Nana’s job at Gulmarg.
Inside the shrine, in the center of the hall, there is some wonderful woodwork around the tomb of the saint. As I walked around the tomb, circling it, appreciating the art, ‘Is it walnut wood?’, noticing something strange, I came to a sudden embarrassing halt. There was something wrong with the place where I stood. One look around and I realized that I had been circling in the outer circle and had unwittingly walked into the women section. There were women sitting all around. The right side of the hall seemed women only. Women praying, crying. Baba Reshi is famous for granting ‘child wish’. According to an old tradition of this place, the children thus born, taking a vow of celibacy is attached to the shrine for life and at any given time forty such saints (Reshis) are supposed to serve the shrine.
I traced back my steps and this time started to walk the other side. My mother took up a corner and did her own bit of praying and crying. I walked into the inner circle, taking a closer look at the tomb, ‘Is it a tomb?’, again I realized something wrong. This time it was the direction. Circling, left to right, I found myself facing a teenage boy coming from the other direction. The boy, praying under his breadth, was cleaning the woodwork using his fingers, measuring the woodwork inch by inch, picking up pecks of dust. An old practice, I have seen Pandits do it at the new shrines of old saints, at Jammu.
After spending some more time inside the shrine, as I started to step outside, I noticed an attendant at the door was handing out something wrapped in Newspaper to the people walking out of the shrine. Prashad? Prasadam? Something sweet? Something to eat?Tabarruk? I too streached my arm for the handout. Walking a distance outside, I opened the paper packet. Inside I found broken down stones and rocks. Others found ash, dust and soot.
Later someone told me a funny little anecdote. A couple of years ago, a small group of Pandit families had come to visit the shine on the urs, death anniversary, of the saint. A group of separatists was also present. After the common prayers, the separatists raised their hands and asked the saint to grant their wish, ‘Kashmir bane Pakistan, Let Kashmir be Pakistan’. The crowd said, ‘Ameen, Amen’. The Pandits shaking their sideways, under their breath added, ‘Zah ti ne, Zah ti ne, never, never’
“Today is Neerzala kah,” my father shouted into the mobile handset.
At the other end, my grandfather replied, “I just had a watermelon! Ha!”
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Ekadashi, every eleventh of lunar month, is meant for fasting but on Nirjala Ekadashi or the ‘waterless’ eleventh lunar day, falling in the month of Jyestha(may-June), a day associated with Vishnu, even water is not consumed. And water is offered in charity.
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There is a rock on the top of a hillock called Haldar, over-looking the Manasbal lake towards its north-east. From underneat this rock a little water is ozing out. Every year on the Nirjala Ekadashi day a fair is held here. The pilgrims sing in chorus:
‘Balabhadra haldaro palah talah poni trav‘
(O Balabhadra Haldara (Krishna’s elder brother) allow water to flow out from this rock!)
then suddenly water flows out in a large volume from underneath of this rock which suffices for the bathing of the pilgrims assembled.
At this spot there was a stone image of cow from whose four Udders water used to come out in drops. It is said that about one hundred years ago this image was removed by Zamidars of the neighboring villages and buried somewhere under the rocky earth nearby.
– Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh by Desh Bandhu
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Cartoon is by my friend Sandeep Bhat.
Gangabal yatra to commence after 100 yrs
After a gap of nearly a century, the pilgrimage to the Harmukh-Gangbal shrine situated at an altitude of 12000 feet is all set to begin from Srinagar on Monday. A batch of over 40 Kashmiri pandits on Sunday left for the yatra to the sacred lake in Kangan belt.
– PTI (found via a ‘feel good’ news snippet in today’s Hindustan Times )
Gangabal lake, located at the feet of majestic Harmukh mountain (16832 feet, making it second highest in the valley) is about 3.5 Kms long, half a Km. wide and more than 80 meters deep at the center. Some people believe it to be the source of Sy’endh river (not to be confused with Sindhu (Indus) River )
According to a Zee News report:
Gangbal is situated in the hills of Harmukh range in north east of Kashmir valley, at a height of 12000 feet on the Ganderbal-Sonamarg road. Gangbal is also called Harmukut Ganga and is believed that this place is pious as Haridwar where pilgrims perform prayers and immerse ashes of the dead. The last village Wusan is about 20 kms from Srinagar.
Ramradhan is the first pilgrimage centre about 5 kms from Wusan. Then the journey begins to Yamhear which is about 6-kms away. It is a steep ladder-like path and perhaps that is why it is called Yamhear (Lord Yama’s ladder).
The route is dotted with several other lakes and temples. There is the black water lake known as Bramsaar, Sukhnag, a hot water lake, and Dukhnag where pilgrims take holy dip.
The return journey is from a different route via Narannag on the banks of a rivulet called Krenk nadi where beautiful temples are located.
Larakota* king Laltaditya Muktapida had expanded and beautified the Jyestha and Bhutesha temples at Narannag.
An annual festival will also take place at Gangbal on the occasion of Ganga ashtami, a spokesman said.
* That should be Karkota dynasty (8th century AD).
Here’s something about ‘Gangbal-Harmukh’ pilgrimage I dug up from history:
“About forty miles from Srinagar, and lying at the foot of the great peak Haramokh, is the remarkable Gangabal Lake. It is reached by a steep pull of 4000 feet from the Sind valley. By the side of the path rushes a clear, ice – cold stream. From the top of the rise are superb views precipitously down to the Wangat valley leading up from the Sind and beyond it to a jagged range of spires and pinnacles. The path then leads over rolling downs, covered in summer with ranunculus and primulas, to a chain of torquoise and ice-green lakes, above which grimly towers the massive Haramokh six thousand feet above the water, and giving birth to voluminous glistening glaciers which roll down to the water’s edge.
It is a silent, solitary, and impressive spot, and is held in some reverence by the Hindus.”
– from ‘Kashmir’ by Sir Francis Younghusband (1911)
A lot more about the belief of Kashmiri Pandits with regard to Gangbal Lake can be found in the marvelous book called “The Valley of Kashmir” (1895) written by Walter Rooper Lawrence.
“Gang Ashtmi, the eighth day of the waxing moon of Bhadron. is the day when Hindus take the bones [astarak) of their dead to the lake beneath Haramukh and perform the sharadli service for the departed.
Bhadron/Bhadon usually means somewhere between August-September.
A few pages later, Walter Lawrence adds:
“To Ganga-Bal the Hindus resort after the death of a parent, and fling the knuckle-bones which the funeral pyre has spared into the deep waters. The road is difficult, as early snow sometimes overtakes the pilgrims, and delicate women and children often perish from exposure.”
And earlier in his chapter about ‘Reptiles’ of the valley, he writes about a curious Kashmiri belief :
“It is universally said that no poisonous snakes exist in parts of the valley from which the peak of Haramak can be seen.”
It was believed so – universally – in Kashmir.
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Zaan’e w’ale kar zaanee yaar, Harmukh Vi’chu Deedar
Pard’e Zaal Aaz dard-e-naar, Harmukh Vi’chu Deedar
“Seeker of Truth Know the Truth, Turn to Harmukh and See
Burn the veil, today, on pain of fire, Turn to Harmukh and See”
– a line from a song by Shamas-Faqir (1843 – 1906), a Kashmiri Sufi poet whose actual name was Mohammad Siddiq Bhatt.
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To know some more about Gangbal-Harmukh read this article by Prof. C. L. Sadhu
Why do stories connected with various Shiva pilgrimage sites in Kashmir (even Jammu) almost always have gujjars in them?
Gangbal – Harmukh has a tale known as Hurmukh’uuk Gosoni or ‘Saint of Harmukh‘.
According to the tale:
A Sadhu, for twelve long years, and in vain, to have the darshan of Lord Shiva, tried to reach the summit of the Harmukh. Then one day he saw a gujjar coming down the summit and as the gujjar got near him, the Sadhu asked him what all did he saw up there. The gujjar told him that up-there somewhere his goat strayed , got lost (they always do) and while searching for it, up there, he saw, a man and a woman, a couple milking a cow and drinking that milk in a human skull. The kindly couple offered some milk to him too, which he of course refused to drink, but then when as couple were leaving, while departing, they rubbed some of that milk on his forehead. While the gujjar was concluding his account of the strange meeting, as his last gesture, with his forefinger, he pointed out the spot on his forehead where the couple had applied milk. Just then, the Sadhu, in a flash, eagerly and in mad joy, started to lick the gujjar’s forehead and with each lick Sadhu’s body, starting toe first, began to disappear – like someone running an eraser over it. According to the tale of Hurmukh’uuk Gosoni or ‘Saint of Harmukh‘, the Sadhu, that hermit, got instant Nirvana and disappeared from the face of this earth and the gujjar was left rubbing his forehead in utter surprise and in some warm pain.
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The centenary postal stamp released on July 3, 1998 by Government of India in honor of Kashmiri saint Bub ‘father’ Bhagwaan ‘God’ Jadadguru ‘World Teacher’ Gopinath Ji (3rd July, 1898 – 28th May 1968).
[Official web site: bhagavaangopinathji.org ]
Photographs of Bhagwaan Gopinath Ji Ashram situated at Kharyar near Habba Kadal, Srinagar, Kashmir. (Dated June, 2008)
A recently re-built ashram of Bhagwaan Gopinath Ji in the premises of the Durga Mandir at Kharyar.
A Kashmiri Pandit family has donated its house to be used as an ashram.
I was told that a Haenz Bai, a Muslim fisher woman, started to take care of the ashram when the situation was really bad in Kashmir.
An old desolate looking house to the left on entering the ashram.The house right in front of it is used as a guest house for pandits families who might want to stay at the ashram for a couple of days.
View of the opposite bank of Jhelum as seen from the ashram.
Habba Kadal as seen from the ashram.
Boats on river Jhelum near the ghat next to the ashram.
Houses (mostly pandit) right next to the ghat.
The central hall on the first floor of the ashram housing the statue of Bhagwaan Gopinath Ji.
The original marble statue of saint was installed in June, 1972. Similar statues are now placed in the ashrams located at Jammu (Udaiwala Road, Bohri) and Delhi (Opp. D-43, Pamposh Enclave, G.K-I).
View in front of the statue
View from the left window of the hall on the first floor of the ashram.
The house is used as a living quarter for the security men guarding the ashram. Interestingly the presence of security men here is not overbearing as against the situation at the nearby Ganesh temple of Ganpatyaar
View to the right and from the top floor of the ashram.
Kashmiri Muslim house to the right.
Passage that links the ashram to the main road.
Pierre Sonnerat (1748-1814), a French naturalist and explorer, between 1769 and 1781 traveled deep into southeast Asia and documented the religious practices, sciences, arts (and birds) of the places he visited.
In 1782 the account of his travels was published in two volumes under the title (french) ‘Voyage aux Indes Orientales et a la Chine, fait par ordre du roi, depuis 1774 jusqu’en 1781. Dans lequel on traite des mœurs de la religion, des sciences & des arts des Indiens, des Chinois, des Pégouins & des Madégasses‘ ( Journey to the East Indies and China, Undertaken at the King’s Command, from 1774 until 1781: In Which the Religious Mores, Sciences, and Arts of the Indians, the Chinese, the Pegouins, and the Madegasse are Discussed. )
Volume 1 was completely dedicated to India and Volume 2 covered the far east including China, Burma, Madagascar, the Maldives, Mauritius, Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), Indonesia, and the Philippines.Volume 1 has some wonderful illustrations of Hindu deities (probably based on original bronze works)and Volume 2 had lot of illustrations of ‘new’ birds.
The book is available for free download at Google Books (Vol 1, Vol 2)
A finer and more detailed copy of these books was recently made available at the The World Digital Library – A UN funded project that let’s you browse the various cultures of the entire world, region by region, using many such scholarly old books. [You can check out Pierre Sonnerat’s work here]
As I browsed through the book, looking at masterly work of art, quite a few of the images turned out to be too tricky to identity the god depicted.
A post on my other blog details some of these interesting images and includes a slideshow of rest of the images of Hindu Gods from the old book.
The image on left, depicting an ancient goddess that the book captioned as Mou Devi, proved to be the most difficult and certainly the most interesting illustration of the set. It’s trail, much to my delight, led me to an ancient goddess temple in Kashmir, simply called Zeethyaar – located somewhere between hills of Shankaracharya and Mughal garden of Chasma Shahi. .
As I looked at the image of Mou Devi, I thought maybe it’s the goddess of measles or smallpox. But that’s Sheetala.
The french cation ‘déesse de la Discorde et de la Misere’ translates (thanks to google) as ‘goddess of discord and misery’
Has to be Sheetala of North, Harita/Hariti – ‘the green one’ – the goddess of smallpox from Gandhara art Kushan dynasty, the demon goddess of 500 children who was reformed by Buddha.
Mou Devi, who is this goddess – the one riding a donkey, and carrying a crow banner, the one not particularly ‘beautiful’ ?
Pierre Sonnerat, in his book, (again) mentions Moudevi and ‘Churing of Sea’ and (in this version) how it produced three goddesses – Saraswati (claimed by Brahma), Laxmi (claimed by Vishnu) and Moudevi (unclaimed).
Southey’s Common-place book added that Moudevi is often represented green.
A book called ‘Roles and Rituals for Hindu women’ by Julia Leslie (1992), that in details mentions a goddess named Jyestha, offered final clues.
Jyestha is often in Tamil called Kakkaikkodiyal (crow-bannered) the one who ride a donkey (Khararudha). Crow is the bringer of bad luck and femine. And the goddess often carries a broom.
In some parts of India, particularly North(in south as Mariamman?), she is identified as Sitla or Sheetala (Aha!) who also carries a broom and rides a donkey.
(Julia Leslie wrote her book, ”In none of the images at my disposal is Jyestha shown with a ‘vehicle’ or mount”. 1992, internet was in infancy. )
So who is Jyestha ‘ Elder’ – ‘Misfortune’?
The story , most of them lead to Sagar Manthan or Churning of the Sea. Apparently, she was the second thing that came out of the sea, just after poison, and finds herself unwanted as she is inauspicious. According to another story, she is in fact Mohini, the female seductress form of Vishnu who saves the Amrit (elixir) from Asuras (demons).
Religions de l’antiquité, tr. refondu completé et dévelopé par J.D. Guigniaut [and others] by Georg Friedrich Creuzer, published 1825, (french had a lot to say about Moudevi) also talked about ‘Moudevi’ and gave her alternate name as “Mahadevi and “Bhoudevi”, born of churning of sea, second wife of Vishnu.
But, Julia Leslie, in her book, did not link Moudevi with Jyestha. In fact, the name ‘Moudevi’ is not mentioned. Julia Leslie also mentions Lingapurana according to which Jyestha, the first one born from Sagar Manthan and married off to a hermit who couldn’t control her unreligious beliefs that make her, feel at ease among “the false mendicant (bhksubimba), the naked Jain monk (ksapanka), and the Buddhist (bauddha).”
According to some other traditions, Jyestha was taken-in by Eshwara (Shiva).
As I read about Jyestha and Eshwara, I remembered the Zeethyar temple of Srinagar that I visited in the summer of year 2008. The place, picturesque spot surrounded by hills, has a spring dedicated to Zeestha Devi. here also the story of her origin mentions churning of the sea.
The temple, where meat (particularly goat liver) offerings are still the norm, is situated at the foothills of Zabarwan in the vicinity (a mile) of famous Shankaracharya Hill spot of Shiv temple dedicated to Jyesthesvara. [Connection between two spots discussed in a previous post]
[ Images on the left: 1. An old photograph of Zeethyar showing a pandit standing next to the holy spring. The place now has a small temple in the middle of the spring(image 2), just like the one at Khir Bhawani, but the idol of Zeestha Devi, is certainly of recent date with a modern convention hindu look given to the goddess]
As I tried to look for stories and lores (thursday is her day) linking Smallpox and goddess at Zeethyar temple, the trail instead lead to another Goddess, the one seated at Hari Parbat.
Sir Walter Roper Lawrence (1857-1940), in his book “The Valley of Kashmir” (1895), documented the curious custom of Kashmiri Pundits regarding Smallpox treatment. He wrote:
It is a sad fact that the occurrence of smallpox has become one of the accepted customs of Kashmir, and the Hindus have regular ceremonies which must be observed when the disease attacks their families. When it appears that a child is sick with the smallpox, the first thing to be done is to sew rupees into his headdress. He is then placed in a separate room, and is surrounded by clay toys of horses, elephants, palankins, fans and sugar-cakes, water-chestnuts and shells. Until the pustules are developed the child is kept on rice and curd, and no salt may be given to the child or used by the mother or wet-nurse. A little fish or a piece of meat is always hung up in the sick room chhai ratan*, but while the smallpox lasts no meat may be eaten and no prayers may be repeated in the house. When the disease abates the rupees are taken out of the headdress, and are spent on rice boiled in milk, which is distributed to relations and friends. The room is cleaned and the toys and a plate full of rice are flung into the river. If the smallpox is very severe, Sitla Mata, the smallpox deity, must be propitiated, and offerings of sheep, goats, horses or donkeys, and eyes of gold or silver are made to her priests on Hari-Parbat. Forty days after the smallpox first makes its appearance chat jihun**, rice boiled in milk is again distributed to relations and neighbours.
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*chhai ratan: Sh’ai Ra’tin (act of picking the sick spot) or is that Jaay’e Ratin (to pick a spot)
**chat jihun: Tchath’ji’hun (one who reached forty)
Shoe’til (word usually among Pandits) / Sho’e’tij(word usually among Muslims): Smallpox
Shoe’til ‘musil – the disfiguring marks left by Smallpox
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I was 12 when I got my bout of Chicken pox – Mata, as it is called universally in North. Sure enough, I was confined to a corner of a room, an entire corner, a rare luxury as we only had two rooms for the family of seven. Then on the fortieth day, Khir – rice prepared in sweet milk – was prepared and distributed to the neighbors.
After I read about those Smallpox rituals mentioned by Walter Roper Lawrence, I talked around…but everyone instantaneously only recalled the Khir part. The practice of dead fish or meat being hung in the room, now certainly forgotten. Practice of feeding Shooshnaer (windpipe of sheep or goat), liver and heart of sheep to eagles at Hari Parbat is still acceptable, albeit often debated. However, no one associates the practice and the place with Smallpox – a disease whose governing goddess in her time was all power because of the death and destruction that she could bring, a disease so black that people would curse it upon their enemies.
June, 2008:
Zeestha Devi temple at Zeethyar ( Zeeth’yar/Jaishthethwar Shrine) in interior Srinagar at the foothills of Zabarwan mountain range. Earlier, one had to trek to this far off spot. But, now one can easily drive right up to the steps that lead to it.
Zeestha Devi Temple Spring.
Unlike, Khir Bhawani spring, the water here is stagnant and needs to be cleaned frequently. And unlike Khir Bhawani Shrine and like the Chakrishwar temple atop Hari Parbat, meat -(particularly tcharvan (fried Liver) with Taher(turmeric yellowed rice), can be consumed here.
Zeestha Devi. A lot of pandit families used to take Taher–charvan here. Government, circumventing few rules, on the initiative of a few pandit high officers, has recently built beautiful guesthouses on the slopes surrounding the temple.These guest houses are run by a trust. When I visited the place, it being a hindu, Indian tourist season – Summer, there were also a few non-kashmiri vendors selling Kehwa and frying thin Luchis in oil.
Gods, old and new, under the tree.
Shiv temple at Zeethyar against the back drop of Zabarwan hills.
A dense forest covers the nearby slopes and is home to a number of wild animals. A cousin of mine visited the place in 2001 and witnessed a very funny scene: A BSF guard on duty near the gate was regaining consciousness after having suffered a fear induced fainting attack. Moments ago, he had been approached by a leopard.
This Shiv Ling was earlier located at Ganpatyar temple and was moved to Zeeth Ya’r in around 1988. Most people remember it as Shiv-ling with a crack.
An old habit of picking gor-da’yel (some sort of local citrus fruit) from the wild trees near the entrance to shrine. Gor-da’yel are meant to be consumed after cooking. We took a lot of them and did cook and ate them later.
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All Photographs taken by me in June, 2008.
Kashmir Saivism also known as Trika tradition encompasses four systems of philosophy: the Pratyabhijna system, the Kula system, the Karma system, and the Spanda system.
madhupåne krtabuddhih kaulakathånastajåtisamkocahmatsyasaravakahasto gurugrham åyåti diksito bhattah || 11 ||
ghatagalagalagalasabdair galapura bhairavam piban bhattah
samleksyate pravåhe lulhati ivåmbhobharåt khinnah || 12 ||
nitva nikhilam råtrim ksivo våntå savah svalidhåsyam
abhivadanaparisuddham pråtar bhatto ‘nyabhattesu || 13 ||
Read the PDF
* i would like to point out:“Bhatta” is a term still used by Kashmiris to refer a Kashmiri Pandit.*
This is the Southern India version of the story:
In the course of his travels, Sankara reached Kashmir. Here was a temple dedicated to Sarada (sarasvati), the goddess of learning, which housed the sarvajnapitha, the Throne of Omniscience. It was a tradition for philosophers to visit the place and engage in debate. The victorious one would be allowed to ascend the sarvajnapitha. It is said that no philosopher from the southern region had ever ascended the peetha, till Sankara visited Kashmir and defeated all the others there. He then ascended the sarvajnapitha with the blessings of Goddess Sarada. (A few centuries later, Ramanuja, the teacher of Visisht Advaita, would visit the same sarvajnapitha in search of the Baudhayanavrtti. However, a variant tradition places the sarvajnapitha in the south Indian city of Kancipuram.)
