Raghunath Thakur
India, a land of Gods and Goddesses, was once called ‘Soney Ki Chiriya’. It was spiritually, morally, educationally and financially high and perhaps number one in entire world in all spheres. But the foreign invaders, who ruled it for centuries, destroyed its culture and downgraded its status, tore every leaf from its pious books and made its condition miserable. J&K is a land of Rishis, Munis, Peers & Faqirs and abundant in shrines. There are many Hindu Shakti Shrines/Devsthans in Uttarakhand in which Jammu province is included.
The pious land of Jammu is also called Dev Bhoomi, means land of Devi/ Devtas along with Dev Bhoomi of Himachal Pradesh. There is not a place in this hilly terrain / region where a Shrine or a Tirathsthan is not located. Every community has its own Kuldevta/Kul Devi. Worshipping them, holding congregations, to celebrate religious functions like Mundan ceremonies, annual Baradari functions in their pious premises and getting their blessings is a part of our culture. In fact, the people cannot live without the spiritual power. These shrines are solace for them. The people of this region are very religious and have great faith and belief in the God/ Goddess/ Kuldevtas/ Kuldevis, that is why these deities selected this pious land suitable for their worship and having large number of devotees.
One of the oldest cultures of our Hindu community is performing pilgrimages, the purpose of which is to go nearer to Almighty because in normal life one remains attached to daily needs for his existence. It is very difficult for him to fulfill requirements of life and to worship the God/Goddess at the same time. So, the culture of performing Yatras came into existence centuries earlier because in these days one remains away from business/ household affairs and worries and get a chance to come closer to the God/ Goddesses to worship them. Mostly, the people used to go to hilly areas which lack human inhabitation to concentrate on God- goddess and perform his religious obligation.
But unfortunately, this culture of performing Yatra with this objective has vanished with passage of time and change of the mindset of the huma-being. Now this event has turned to be a time for enjoyment instead of worshiping/remembering the Almighty.
There are innumerable Hindu Shrines in Jammu and Kashmir. Prominent among them are Kheer Bhawani in Gandarbal, Amarnath in Pahalgam, Vaishno Devi in Katra, Budha Amarnath in District Poonch, Sukrala Devi in Udhampur, Bawe Wali Mata in Jammu, Sarthal Devi in Kishtwar, Machail Mata in Padder. Out of these shrines, two shrines are known to be miraculous because of special type of Darshans performed there. At Amarnath Shrine, dedicated to Bhagwan Shiv, devotees perform Darshan of naturally formed ice Shiv lingams.
Devotees from all over the world know this fact and perform Darshans of these natural Ice Shivlingams during Yatra days. In Machail Mata Mandir, dedicated to Goddess Chandi, at Padder, Kishtwar, for some moments the devotees perform miraculous Darshans of lightning Jyots in adjoining mountains in the evening/ night hours, Chhaters decorated/offered in the temple, especially over natural Pindi, are observed moving naturally very slowly or moving. One can also see movement in one or more beads of hanging Nath, Kangan and Panjabikan/ Ghungrooons etc on some occasions.
There is one more miraculous shrine which is still unknown to devotees of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the whole country/world, namely the Shrine of Shri Trisandhaya Mata, which is located at a height of 2,9oo meters (approximately) from sea level near famous Brahma Parvat known as the abode of Lord Brahma, at village Anant Nallah of Tehsil Dachhan, District Kishtwar. It is in the form of holy water stream (Ganga Mata). It flows about 2-3 Km away from Holy Hudh Mata Shrine. On some occasions, water in this Holy stream flows miraculously thrice a day from top of a hill and stops naturally. It is not a regular flowing Nadi like other streams and mostly remains dry. ‘Trisandhaya’ means three times worship as per Hindu philosophy i.e. early Morning, Noon and Evening prayers. The volume of water in the stream is so much that a water mill can function easily.
There is neither any lake nor any pond on top of the hill where from the water can flow or spill out. After 1-2 hours of flow, the water starts receding from bottom of the stream (Nadi) towards upper reach. One can see water coming from the upper reach but from bottom/ lower side, it starts decreasing. Thereafter not a single drop of water is seen in the Nadi and it becomes dry. Usually, Pilgrims feel themselves lucky enough to have Darshan and a bath in this pious water. Whosoever performs Shri Hudh Mata Yatra, has to take a bath in the pious waters of Trisandhaya Nadi necessarily, otherwise his Yatra is considered incomplete.
A collective and social Yatra to shrines of Shri Hudh Mata and Trisandhaya Mata started in 983 by a religious personality of the area namely Mahatma Dina Nath Tirathwasi. The Yatra is managed by the Shri Hudh Mata Trisandhaya Yatra Managing Committee Dachhan Kishtwar, registered by Government.
Annual Shri Hudh Mata Trisandhaya Yatra starts with Trishul Yatra from Panch Narayan Mandir Dharalan Nagri on 1st/2nd Tithi of Ashar Shukla Paksh and after night halts at Jammu and Kishtwar, it reaches Radha Krishan Mandir Sounder Dachhan where it merges with pious mace/Chhari of Shri Hudh Mata. On 4th day the Yatra proceeds towards Dilgooth, Gowkoot and Kaikooth and reaches Bhawan on Ashtami, where a Hawan for world peace and well-being of humanity is performed. After Puran Ahuti, Yatris proceed towards Trisandhaya Mata (Nadi) to have a pious bath in it and then further proceed towards Doodh Ganga and Braham Sarovar, located at foot-hills of Brahma Parvat. After paying obeisance, having Darshan of naturally formed Shivlingams at Hudh Mata shrine, getting blessings from Mata, having a bath in pious Trisandhaya Nadi and Braham Sarovar and sight-seeing of other scenic tourist spots, Yatris return back to their homes on Navami. Any devotee from outside Kishtwari wishing to perform this Yatra, should reach Kishtwar on 3rd or 4th Ashar Shukla Paksh.
This year Trishul Yatra started from Panch Narayan Mandir Dharalan Nagri Kathua on July 11, 2021. After its merger with Mace/Chhari of Shri Hudh Mata, the Yatra proceeded further, reached Bhawan on July 17.
If the Government is really sincere in promoting the tourism in the Union territory of J&K and enlarging tourist circuit in the District Kishtwar, it should accelerate the speed of construction of Dangdhuru Dachhan road which will bring these virgin shrines on the religious tourist map of the Union territory/country besides exploring the tourist potentiality of the area for which the Union territory and the Central Governments are striving hard. If this miraculous shrine comes to limelight, there will be great rush of tourists including pilgrim tourists to this area like that of Shri Amarnath shrine and Machail Mata Shrine. The fate of poor people will certainly change and decrease the unemployment problem in the area. For the present motorable road from Suid/ Panjdhara upto Aanant Nallah village and from there bridal road upto Bhawan-Brahamsarovar is need of the hour. The Government should take special attention towards the issue.