VAISHNOV DEVI IS MAHA KALI, MAHA LAKSHMI, MAHA SARASWATI

VAISHNOV DEVI  IS  MAHA KALI, MAHA LAKSHMI, MAHA SARASWATI

The cult of the Mother Goddess is as old as humanity. The worship of the Mother Goddess is an integral part of the Sanskrit civilization of India and the broad structure of temple worship which evolved through the Indian history. A striking uniformity exists between the forms of worship in the temples of Jammu and Kashmir and temples in India. It appears that the historical sequence which marked the evolution of temple worship in Jammu and Kashmir is identical to the historical sequence of the temple worship in India. The worship of the Mother, in the form of Bhavani, is the basic ground-work of the Hindu temple worship in India. It is definitely the most ancient form of worship in Jammu and Kashmir as well.

 Vaishnov Devi, the shrine built by nature, is one among the most popular religious shrines of India. Vaishnov  Devi  in  Jammu  has  been  designated  as  the Elder Sister among  the  six  other  Devi shrines in a fairly  narrow  belt  of  the Siwailiks between the Yumuna and Chenab rivers. Vaishnov Devi has become much more popular than the other Six Sisters  ---Mansa Devi, Chintipumi Devi, Naini Devi, Jvala ji (Jvalamukhi), Kangra (Kangrevali Devi or Vajreshvari) and Chamunda.

There is lack of exact chronological evidences in history as to when the Vaishnov Devi shrine, came into existence. It is an ancient shrine whose reference is found in the Vedas and ancient scriptures. Like other highly venerated shrines of India, Vaishnov Devi shrine is an ancient one, whose antiquity is pre-Mahabharatan. Lord Krishna is believed to have advised Arjuna to go up in the hills of ‘Jambu’ and seek the blessings of Vaishnov Devi before taking up arms in the battle field. 'Jambu' is identified with present day Jammu. Arjuna, while worshipping Vaishnov Devi, calls her the highest Yogin who is free from decrepitude and decay, who is the Mother of the 'Vedas and the science of Vedanta' and who is giver of 'victory and personification of victory' itself. The shrine of Vaishnov Devi has a long traditional, spiritual and religious history as a long surviving institution of nearly 1,000 years.

 The shrine of  Vaishnov Devi  is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess and it lies nestled in a natural cave located in the Trikuta Mountains towering above Katra, about 50 km. from Jammu, at an altitude of 5,200 feet and a distance of approximately 12 km.   from Katra, the base camp of the shrine. The connection  with the Vaishnov Devi  shrine is often indicated  by its  setting among snow  capped  mountains,  particularly  among  the  three peaks  of  Trikuta mountain. Enroute, the pilgrims cross Ban Ganga, Charan Paduka, Adhkwari and Sanji Chhat before one reaches the holy cave temple. The entire pilgrimage from Jammu to Katra and then to gufa of Vaishno Devi shrine is famous for its natural beauty. Devotees cover the journey from Katra to gufa of Vaishno Devi shrine, usually on foot. About the natural beauty of entire place, it is said that all over the world, there has been no more beautiful a place than the journey from Katra to the gufa of Vaishno Devi. Earlier, there had been only one tunnel, which had been created by nature, which led into the shrine. This tunnel was used for both entering the holy shrine and for coming out of it. Second tunnel was opened for devotees in the year 1977 and the third tunnel in the year 1998.

The mythological journey that the pilgrims take up the mountain follows the footsteps of Vaishnov Devi as she fled up the mountain from the home of the Vaishnavite Brahmin, Shridhar, in Katra. Using her special powers, she had helped provide the food for a Bhandara, or feast for mendicants, which she had advised Shridhar would bring him the boon of sons. However, also coming to the feast was Bhairava Nath, the chief disciple of Guru Gorakha Nath, adept of the Shakta sect, who had to be included in the broad invitation. He decided to test the power of Vaishnovi by asking her to serve meat and wine to him, but Vaishnovi told him it was not allowed in a Vaishnava vegetarian household. When she sensed that Bhairava had "evil intentions" towards her, she fled up the mountain. But Bhairava, as he now is called, followed her. The first spot that marks her route is the Bal Ganga, where she struck a rock to bring forth a stream, for the monkeys who were now accompanying her, to drink. Further up the mountain she entered a first cave where she remained for "a full nine months, as a child in the womb of her mother." Through his occult powers, Bhairava could see her going up the Trikuta Mountain and he followed her. When Bhairava entered the cave, she struck an opening at the other end of the cave with her trident and went on up the mountain to another cave. When Bhairava began to enter the next cave, Langur Vir (Hanuman) attempted to restrain him but was unsuccessful. Therefore, Vaishnov Devi assumed the form of Maha Kali and cut off the head of Bhairava. She did this with such force that his head was flung up the mountainside. As the head of Bhairava flew up the mountain, its voice recognized her and said, "Oh mother, I was not familiar with this form of your holiness. I have met my fate at your sacred hands ….. but if you don't pardon me, coming generations will hate my name." In response the Devi granted him her own temple, located at the spot where his head had landed, but she stipulated that pilgrims could only go to his temple after visiting her shrine.

It is believed that after killing Bhairava Nath, Vaishnovi took the form of a rock and went into eternal meditation. She appeared in Shridhar’s dream and showed him the route of the Holy Cave. Shridhar accordingly reached the holy cave temple and started regular Puja of Vaishnov Devi at the gufa. Later, he was blessed with four sons.

The entrance to the cave is called Bhavan. At the mouth of the original tunnel to the holy cave is the symbol of Ganesha, on the left hand side of the rock face.  Adjacent to it is the symbols of Surya Dev and Chandra Dev. While crawling into the holy cave through the natural tunnel one crosses over the Dhadh of Bhairo Nath who was beheaded by the Goddess at the entry point to the holy cave.  The Dhadh is 14 feet long.  After this is the symbol of Hanuman called Langur Vir.  The pilgrims have to wade through water beyond the Langur Vir point.  23 feet beyond Langur Vir, on the left upper hand side, on the roof of the cave are the innumerable heads of Shesh Nag. Immediately, below Shesh Nag is the Havan Kund of Devi.  Adjacent to it are the symbols of Shankh, Chakra, Gada and Padam.  Higher up, almost touching the ceiling of the cave are the symbols of the five Pandavas, the Sapt Rishis, the thein of the divine cow, Kamdhenu, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Parvati.  3 feet further ahead, on an elevation is Khamba that was gripped by the devotee Prahlad.  Diagonally below this, at the water level is the Yantra with innumerable mystical signs and symbols inscribed on it.  22 feet beyond this point is located the Sher Ka Panja symbolizing the lion, which is the mount of Vaishnov Devi.  The distance from the entry point to the Sher Ka Panja is 59 feet.  Thirteen feet beyond this, immediately above, is located the symbol of the primary hood of Shesh Nag which appears to be bearing the weight of the roof of the cave at that point. 

The length of the cave up to the primary hood of Shesh Nag is 70 feet. Six feet further ahead, on the left hand side, are the symbols of Shankar and Gouri. 13 feet beyond the symbols of Shankar and Gouri are located the holiest of the holy Pindies of Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi, and Maha Saraswati. Within the temple is the deity in the form of a five and half feet tall rock with three Pindies or heads. The three manifestations of the Goddesses are represented in ‘Pindi’ (Rock) form and are located at the end of a 98 feet long cave. The worship of the Goddess is formalized through Aarti and chanting of various Mantras by the Pujaris. Aarti is performed twice a day, once at sunrise and again at sunset.  To the right of the holy Pindies on the upper side again are the symbols of Ganesh, Surya Dev, Chandra Dev and Goddess Annapurna.  Slightly behind the holy Pindies, on the right hand side is the symbol of the seated Sinh Raj.  A little ahead of it is seen the full hand of the Goddess in the Vard Hast mode granting boons to the world.

Invariably the Goddess  is  riding  on  her  vahana  (vehicle),  dressed  in  red  wedding  attire, with  all  her jewellery. The image illustrates a benign Goddess virgin, auspiciously dressed as a bride. She wears the victory  Mangala garland and  in her eight  arms  she  holds several weapons  symbolic  of  Vishnu  and Shiva . Also  included  are  the  accompanying  attendants of Hanuman, the Langur Vir  carrying a red  flag with Garuda on it, and Bala Bhairava (a child Bhairava), carrying a severed head . Immediately opposite the holy Pindies is the natural symbol of Lord Pashupati Nath.

Water gushes out of the base of the holy Pindies and flows out of the holy Cave.  It is known as Charan Ganga and this holy water is collected in small containers by the devotees and taken home. The same water flows to the bathing ghat and the devotees take a bath before they have Darshan of the holy Pindies. Pilgrims from all over the world come to the cave temple to seek the blessings of the Goddess, and crawl through the narrow cave to have Darshan of the holy Pindis. Vaishnov Devi shrine is frequented every year by hundreds and thousands of pilgrims.

Vaishnov Devi is a unique shrine as it is said to have manifested Herself in all her three forms of Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati . It is believed that the Goddess in her manifestation of Maha Kali blesses her devotees by giving them strength, as Maha Lakshmi, she blesses her devotees with wealth and prosperity. As Maha Saraswati she blesses her devotees with high intellect. To lead a full and meaningful life, a balance has to be struck amongst the three. This balance is extremely difficult to achieve. It needs divine blessing and the belief is that it is only at Vaishnov Devi cave temple that such blessings are possible simultaneously from a single source of Shakti. This is what makes the holy shrine of Vaishnov Devi unique in the world.

The original myth of  Vaishnov  Devi is,  of  course,  on the story of  the Devi Mahatyma,  wherein  all the  gods  call  upon  Devi to  kill Mahisha, who is destroying all the sacrifices given to them; and they each give her a weapon with which to do that. They cannot use these weapons themselves  because  the  demon  has  been  given  the  boon,  through austerities,  of  being  killed only by  a  woman.  Destroying many others in the Mahisha army, ultimately cutting off his head, is done by Devi, for all the gods. There are numerous other myths associated with Vaishnov Devi. One of the myths is that of Vaishnov Devi meeting Sri Ram as a child. The popular belief is that Devi was born to a childless couple in South India after several years of penance. The couple while praying to Mother Goddess had promised that they would fulfill all the wishes of the child. A baby girl child was born to the childless couple and she was named Trikuta. From a very young age, Trikuta showed high spiritual inclination and was an ardent devotee of Sri Hari Vishnu. When she reached adulthood, she asked her parents’ permission to meditate by the sea. During this period, Sri Ram was searching for Sita and he reached the seashore where Trikuta was meditating. Vaishnavi told Sri Ram that she had already chosen him as her husband. Sri Ram told her that he was already married and therefore could not marry. Sri Ram could not ignore the austerities undertaken by Trikuta and instructs her to go and dwell in a cave in the Trikuta Mountains and meditate; she will retain the powers she has gained from remaining a virgin, and she will be honoured there. This explains her title, Adikumari, Virgin Forever.

                                                                                                                                          One myth relates the Devi's protection of poor peasants who were exploited by kings and landlords. One version of this type is found in "The Story of Baba Jittoo" (Kaul 1980). In this long and complex myth, a poor peasant devotee of Vaishnov Devi, Jitmal (Jittoo) had a bountiful crop of grain, due to Vaishnov Devi, who had been incarnated as his daughter. The King Vir Singh, upon seeing this abundant crop, demanded half of the harvest instead of the one-fourth as agreed upon, and sent his men to get it. In despair, Jittoo prayed to the Devi, who tells him to leave the world, and dwell with her, and she will deal with the king. Jittoo takes his own life and lied while bleeding on the grain which polluted it. In the conclusion of the myth, King Vir Singh becomes a leper, his property burns, and he and associates go insane. The association with Jittoo is collaborated by another myth which describes the Jhiri Fair (held west of Jammu city). This fair is held at the height of the pilgrimage season to Vaishnov Devi in honour of the "memory of Baba Jittoo, who died 500 years ago fighting feudal tyranny." At the fair, descendants of the thieves who robbed Jittoo of his grain are compelled to furnish free food for a feast. Another story has Vaishnov Devi protecting a king of Jammu, Maharaja Ranjit Dev, who is her devotee at the time of the reign of Aurangzeb in Delhi. The kingdom of Jammu was a very small hill state at the time; hence the Maharaja was frightened when he was called to Lahore by the regional Moghul governor. According to the story, Maharaja Dev pretended to go hunting, but instead went to seek out Vaishnov Devi. He found her "sitting on the top of Trikuta Mount" (Shri Mala Vaishno Devi:83).He asked for her help. When he went to Lahore, and with the help of Vaishnov Devi, the Maharaja was able to survive by cutting a deal with the Moghal governor, Mir Mannu, to keep Jammu from being swallowed up. It is said that, in his gratitude, Ranjit Dev cleaned and established huts and water along the path to Vaishno Devi. Every year he went barefoot to Her gufa.

Associated with Vaishnov Devi is vegetarianism, an attribute that sets her apart from the other Devis in this region. Even though the shrine to Vaishnov Devi relates to a local Goddess, the name carries the advantage of representing the gentle side of Mahadevi, especially the vegetarian aspect of the Goddess. The name Vaishnov refers to Vishnu, which in India commonly means vegetarianism and hence greater ritual purity. Although the other Devi temples no longer practice animal sacrifice, but their ritualistic histories are not as "pure" as that of Vaishnov Devi. Consequently, this Goddess shrine developed a reputation for maintaining a high degree of ritual purity and for a high level of efficaciousness. In  addition,  the  shrine is  regarded  as  unique  because  it contains  "the  holiest of  holy Pindis, manifesting Mala in her three forms of  Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi, and Maha Saraswati". Again, this is not to deny that other shrines may have   certain distinctive characteristics, but the unsurpassed distinction of combining all three manifestations of the Goddess furnishes a strong incentive for pilgrimage to this particular shrine.  Pilgrimage is an important part of the Hindu tradition.  Pilgrimage, in its true tradition, is under taken to meet the Gods, have face-to-face communication with them to attain a deeper state of spirituality and experience a higher vision of truth. In order to seek union with God, the Hindus undertake pilgrimages to the holy Shrines which are scattered all over the Indian Sub-Continent. Indeed, the Hindus have been visiting such places since times immemorial. It is faith, which brings these people back to drink from the springs of Indian spirituality and feel rejuvenated. The concept of pilgrimage goes to the great Indian saint Shankracharya, who in the 8th century AD traveled throughout the great expanse of India, at a time when means of communication were almost non existent, and demonstrated to the Hindus that it was not only possible but also spiritually uplifting.

The development of the shrine began in the year1846 when Maharaja Gulab Singh took Jammu and Kashmir from the British. He established, Dharmarth Trust, and took over several temples and shrines, including Vaishnov Devi. The Trust continued under the descendants of Gulab Singh, who, along with their kingship, retained the position of sole hereditary trustees. At the time of independence, Karan Singh, became responsible for the operation and administration of the shrine. During this time, several physical changes were made to facilitate the arrival and movement of pilgrims. These included improving and changing the approaching road, installing water and food stations along the road, and cutting a new exit into the side of the mountain to allow pilgrims to leave immediately rather than returning through the same tunnel. Traditional Dogra Maharajas' of Jammu and Kashmir provided royal patronage to Dharamarth Trust since its inception. Dogra Maharajas were in control of the trust for performing routine administrative functions by their nominated family priests. This system of the management of the shrine was popularly known as "Baradari System”. In reality the groups of Baradaris, collectively, and privately controlled the major administrative and managerial functions of the trust with the blessings of Maharajas. On 30th August 1986, the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Jagmohan initiated the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act, which was later confirmed by the state legislature. The need to make these changes was cited by Governor Jagmohan because he was appalled at the "material and moral corruption" at the shrine. The Shrine board has stated in its written vision as: "Better management, administration and governance of the Shrine and its endowments beginning from Katra to the holy cave." This act, which changed control of the shrine from the Dharmarth Trust and the hereditary priests to a governing statutory board, resulted into "what appears to be one of the most efficiently run temples in India". 

Religious tourism and the popularity of visits to the shrines of the Seven Sisters have affected the number of pilgrims to all the shrines. The popularity and importance of Vaishno Devi affects, and is affected by, prestigious visitors such as Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Commanders-in-Chief of India. As declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1980), she made the trip to this famous pilgrimage site because "the people want me to go." The number of pilgrims who visited the shrine rose from 13 lakhs in 1986 to 50 lakhs in the year 2000. This figure was expected to cross the 60 lakhs mark by the end of 2005. The collections rose from Rs. 27 crores in the year 1996-97 to Rs.75 crores in 2003-04. According to Board sources, the current annual average income is around Rs 80-90 crores.  The major indication of growing importance of this sacred shrine, is the  increased  number of  pilgrims, especially during  Navratras , who  visit  the cave temple of Vaishnov Devi  regularly. The annual number of pilgrims has more than tripled and has crossed one crore mark, during the last decade. Certainly this growth far exceeds that to the shrines of her Sisters in the same region.