Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of
the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the
Karakoram, it lies athwart two other, the Ladakh range and the Zanskar
range. Ladakh lies at altitudes ranging from about 9,000 feet (2750m)
at Kargil to 25,170 feet (7,672m) at Saser Kangri in the Karakoram.
To the west of the city is the much lower hill of Hari Parbat, which is surrounded
by a fort. On this hill is the temple of Sharika Devi, believed to be a form
of Durga Mata or Shakti. 25 kms from Srinagar, past Ganderbal, is the most important
pilgrim place in Kashmir, the only exception being Amarnath cave. This is the
temple and spring of Tulla Mulla, the local name of the Goddess Raginia, believed
to be another form of Durga Mata. The site of the temple predates this millennium.
The temple-spring complex is affectionately known as Kheer Bhavani because of
the thousands of devotees who have offered milk and 'kheer' to the sacred spring,
which magically changes colour, turning black when warning of disaster.
Within Srinagar, on its highest hill is the Shankaracharya temple, nearly one
thousand feet above the city. It is devoted to lord Shiva. The site dates back
to 2500 BC. The philosopher Shankaracharya stayed at this site when he visited
Kashmir ten centuries ago to revive Sanatan Dharma. Before this date, the temple
was known as Gopadri, as an earlier edifice on the same site was built by king
GopadUya in the 6th century. In fact the road below the hill, with residences
of high- ranking State Government officials, is still known as Gupkar road.
Chatti Padshahi Gurudwara, the sixth guru of Sikhism travelled through Kashmir,
stopping to preach occasionally. A gurudwara has been built at the exact site
of each of these halts. The most important one is Chatti Padshahi Gurudwara
near the Kathi Darwaza in Rainawari, Srinagar.
Amongst the temples in the city, the Raghunath Mandir takes pride of the place
being situated right in the heart of the Jammu. It consist of cluster of temples
which makes it the largest temple complex in northern India. The inner sactums
of the temples contain giganatic status of Gods and Goddesses and numerous 'lingams'.
It contains representatives of almost Hindu Pantheon which makes it rare site
to see.
The famous temple of 'Bawey Wali Mata' is in site the Bahu Fort, where every
Tuesday and Sunday pilgrims throng and jostle one another to worship the Goddess.
A little further away on a hill top opposite the Bahu Fort, is a lovely spot
over looking the river Tawi, where a temple dedicated to Mahamaya has been constructed.
It is said that if Bawey Wali Mata is the presiding deity of Jammu, the Dargah
of Peer Budhan Ali Shah (Peer Baba) is the other shrine that protect it people
from mishaps and evil sprits a friend of Guru Gobind Singh, Peer Baba lived
all his life on milk alone and was 500 years old when he died. On Thursdays,
you can find Hindu and Sikh devotees vastly out - numbering their Muslim brethren
at this shrine such is the faith that people have in the Peer Baba. Most VIPs
make it a point to visit this Dargah when they come to Jammu.
The Peer Kho Cave Temple, overlooking the Tawi river, the Panchbakhtar Temple
and the Ranbireshwar Temple are the other well-known Shiv temples in Peer Mitha
is another famous shrine in Jammu. Peer Mitha was a contemporary of Ajaib Dev
and Ghareeb Nath. Both saints were famous for their prophecies and miracles.
'Mitha' means the sweet one for this Peer would accept nothing more than a pinch
of sugar from his devotees. Other significant temples are the Laxmi Narayan
Temple and Panj Mandir in the posh Gandhi Nagar locality of Jammu.
Pilgrim Places, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Reservation
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