VAISHNO DEVI- THE ABODE OF TRISHAKTI

The holy shrine of Vaishno Devi, bring back the memories for many. The number of pilgrims increment by many folds every year. "Jai Mata Di", chants one hears during the course of the journey. Pilgrimage to this holy place is made as an act of devotion, seeking blessings, miracles, as an act of asking absolution to free oneself from the strain of all the sinful acts and wrong doing. Witnessing the devotion of the pilgrims during the trek up the hill infuses a strange energy in the bones.  Vaishno Devi is the second most visited shrine in India after the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. According to legend there was a time when demons, commonly known as asuras were wrecking havoc in the world and while mother goddess was engrossed in taking the field amongst them, her three manifestations namely Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati united and their powers cumulated which lead to a bright Tejas, from which a beautiful young girl emerged. She was named “Vaishnavi” and she descended on earth with an aim to uphold Dharma. Lord Rama asked her to set her ashram at the foot of Trikuta Hills. Eventually the word of her ashram spread like wild fire and people swarmed in masses to her ashram. A tantrik called Gorakh Nath was inquisitive to dig a little deeper into the story and spirituality of Vaishnavi. He sent his disciple, “Bhairon Nath” and instructed him to keep a strict eye on her and trace every move of her. Eventually he felt in love with her and started exasperating her for marriage. One such day, Bhairon Nath tried to take hold of Vaishnavi, but somehow she managed to escape and she ran away into the mountains. On the way up the mountains, Vaishnavi took several halts at Banganga, Charan Paduka and Adhkwari. But bhairon followed her up there also and infuriated with all this, she tries to bring this harassment to an end. She beheaded Bhairon and after his death his soul realized his preposterousness and asked the goddess for forgiveness. The goddess forgave him and granted a wish that whoever visits her shrine will have to take a darshan of Bhairon also, so as to complete his pilgrimage. She took the form of a five and a half feet rock, with three heads on top. Vaishno devi is situated at an altitude of 5,200 feet above the sea level. There is a belief that mata herself calls for darshan. Not even a single soul under heaven can visit the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi without her will irrespective of the status and position of the person. The four objectives of human life as laid by our traditions are: Dharama (righteousness), Arth (material pursuits), Kaam (inclination towards one’s work) and Moksh (enlightenment). In order to achieve all of the above mention objectives, a person is required to visit the holy temple of Vaishno Devi atleast once in their lifetime. This temple is a synthesis of the ideals of dharma, values and beliefs.  The cave temple is at a distance of 61km from Jammu. The trail to the bhawan of mata is spotted with Banganga, Charan Paduka, Adkuwari and Himkoti where mata Vaishnavi was believed to take refuge. From the base camp of Katra, the journey up to the Bhavan is approximately 14.5km. People from all over the globe visit this sacred Bhawan andVaishno Devi is the pride of Jammu. Our land Jammu is known as the city of temples and our land is blessed by the deities. It is a proud feeling for the residents to live in Jammu where traditions and customs are still preserved and where spiritual sanctity is given utmost importance.  Lets celebrate this proud moment with a loud uproar: “JAI MATA DI”.