Remembering Somyar Mandir and Yarbal on Somavati Amavasya!

 

            The New Moon day is referred to as Amavasya or Amavas (in Kashmiri) or Amavasai (in Tamil) in the Hindu calendar and the one that falls on a Monday is of great significance and is called Somvati Amavasya and in Kashmiri Sumri Amavas. Today is one such day. This year, it holds a special significance because Shani Jayanti and Vat Savitri Vrat will also be observed on the same day. Several Hindus keep a day-long vrat; perform puja of their Ishta Devta or Ishta Devi or Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu. Moreover, it is an ideal day for paying obeisance to the departed souls. Kashmiri Hindus would take early morning dip in Holy Vitasta usually at Somyar Ghat, those who were residing in nearby areas.

            According to Hindu tradition, the devotees offer water to Sun God and prayers to Lord Shiva and His family. Many Hindus perform Shradha rituals in order to appease the ancestors. The devotees perform Hawan, Yajna, Tarpan and Pind daan on this auspicious day. Some devotees also organise Gayatri Mantra Jaap for their ancestors. It is also said that on this day, devotees should plant saplings and trees.                    

        The Hindu worship enshrines a process in which the human form is lifted by its inner soul to merge with the absolute. In their temples the Hindus worship the divine as it unfolds before them. The Sanskrit religious culture; “recognizes the essential unity between the universal and the existential.” In Bhairava Stotra, Abhinavgupta says; “Having become one with thee, I adore you in the heart of my hearts. You are the first cause, the projection, sustenance and dissolution of the universe and the protector of the destitute. Everything is pervaded by you; you are one with the self, one and only one without the beginning and the end.” The communion of the Atman and  Parmatman fills the Hindu temples with its effulgence and voice of a million hymns. For ages, on the banks of Vitasta and Ganga, Krishna, Kaviri and Brahmputra, the Hindu temples have resounded with the voice of a million hymns amidst the din of conches and bells.

            The civilization unity of the Hindus in India is symbolized by its collective consciousness of their spiritual heritage. Kashmir has for centuries been a part of the civilization unity of the Hindus in India. The remains of the ancient temples in stone are a mute testimony to the continuity of the history of the Hindus in Kashmir. Centuries of oppression and persecution have left their mark on the Hindu heritage of Kashmir. The whole architecture of the Hindu temples is that of the abode of the Parmatman. Inside the temples the devotee part takes the spirit of the divine. Rising above themselves and reposed in the lap of the Mother, they merge in the music of celestial song; “Gouri (m) Amba (m) Amburu Hakshi (m) Ahmide.”

          The Somyar Mandir, situated on the banks of Vitasta at Habakadal in Srinagar, is no longer thronged by the Hindu devotees on Somavati Amavasaya, who is languishing in exile, hundreds of miles away. Somyar stands desolate in silence. The voice of a million hymns that filled its portals is also sunk in silence!

(Kashmir—Hindu Shrines by Chaman Lal Gadoo)