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Faith has moved mountains. From a cave shrine tucked away deep
in the the Trikuta Mountains of Kashmir to a bustling
religuous centre, the call of Mata Vaishno Devi has drawn and
converted many a non-believer. Those who come as tourists
leave as staunch followers singing her praises. This is the
ultimate refuge of the helpless. The one place that answers
your prayers. Where all dilemas are resolved. So come with
faith - that's all that is asked of you.
Location:
The holy cave shrine of Vaishno Devi is nestled in a beautiful
recess of the Trikuta Mountains forming a part of the lower
Himalayas. It is located 61 km north of Jammu at a height of
5,200 feet above the sea level in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir. In the cave there are images of three deities viz.
the Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati.
Season:
The shrine is visited all through the year, but the path is
difficult during the winters when the route is often blocked
by snow-fall.
Katra Town, lying in the foot of Trikuta Mountains, 48 kms.
from Jammu, serves as the base camp for visiting the famous
shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, which is approachable on
foot along a 13 kms long well laid footpath. Every year, more
than 4.5 million pilgrims pass through Katra on their way to
the holy shrine.
The cave shrine of Mata Vasihnodeviji or Trikuta Bhagwati
(alt: 5,200 ft.) has been a beacon of faith and fulfilment to
millions of devotees from all over the world. The pilgrimage
to the Shrine holds great significance for the pilgrims.
The Legend of Mata Vaishnodeviji:
Everyday of the year throngs of people surge up the steep
pathways that cut across the Trikuta hillsides for mile after
mile. This show of faith is finely interwoven with the
cultural strands of the Indian subcontinent, and these
pathways have been trod on for many centuries now. Popular
belief holds that anybody who walks the Himalayan trail to the
goddesses's abode to ask for a boon rarely goes back
disappointed. Whatever be it, a new enterprise or a
forthcoming examination, marriage or birth, the devout look up
to the Mata For blessings and guidance. There are many who
journey year after year to pay obeisance regardless of their
faith or belief, creed or class, caste or religion.
The Yatra to the holy shrine is as fascinating as the legend
associated with it. It goes that thousands of years ago, a
comely maiden called "Vaishnavi" have been created by the
three lords attained human form and was a devotee of Lord
Vishnu. Having taken a vow of celibacy, she spent almost all
her life in meditation and prayers. In time she attained
enormous spiritual powers and is believed to have extracted an
assurance from Lord Rama that he will marry her in Kali-Yug if
she persisted in her spiritual quest. This is why she is also
known as Adh Kanwari or the "eternal virgin".
Mata Vaishno Devi established an ashram in the foothills of
the Trikuta Mountain and began to meditate. As predicted by
Lord Rama, her glory started spreading and people began to
flock to her ashram to seek her blessings. As time passed, a
Tantrik called Gorakh Nath (Demo God), who had a vision of the
episode between Lord Rama and Mata Vaishno Devi, became
curious and wanted to know more about her. Accordingly, he
sent his most able disciple `Bhairon Nath' to find out.
Bhairon Nath started observing her secretly and realized that
despite being a `Sadhvi', she always carried a bow and arrows
and was always surrounded by langoor (apes) and a ferocious
looking lion. Bhairon, the demon God took a fancy to her. But
the Mata spurned his advances and fled to the Himalayas to
continue her spiritual quest.
On the way the goddess felt thirsty at Banganga and shot an
arrow into the earth from where water gushed out. Charan
Paduka, which is marked by the imprints of her feet, is the
place where she rested.
The Goddess then meditated in the cave at Adh Kanwari. It took
Bhairon nine months to locate her, which is why the cave is
known as Garbh Joon. When the demon found her, Mata Vaishno
Devi blasted an opening at the other end of the cave with her
trident and fled to the Holy cave at Darbar (temple). However,
Bhairon was persistent and followed her there to harass her.
Then goddess became very angry and assuming the form of Mata
Kali, beheaded Bhairon outside the cave with the aid of the
flying disc gifted to her by Lord Krishna. The severed head of
Bhairon fell at a distant hilltop. In his dying moments,
Bhairon begged and received divine forgiveness from the
goddess. Today, it is believed that the Yatra is not complete
unless the pilgrim has been to Bhairon ka Mandir (2.6 km from
the main sanctum) as well, after the darshan of Shri Mata
Vaishno Devi. |
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