Sandeep Singh

Lord Shiva has cast his spell on peoplein this country from times immemorial.Representations of the Lord Shiva havebeen traced on the carved seals unearthedat Mohenjo-DDaro, thus making him one ofour oldest gods in the Indian civilization.

Jammu can boast of a number of Lord Shiva caveshrines and one such natural cave is situated in idyllic sur-roundings at Jakhole panchayat of Kathua District. Toreach it we have to break off from the National Highway(Jammu–Pathankot) at Rajbagh (Ujh). A further twelveKm drive ahead to the north eastern side crossing Jasro-ta, Dhanni and Bakhta villages, one reaches village Jak-hole and after that 5 km on foot on a path having panoram-ic view of its surroundings one can reach the 150 years oldfamous natural Shiva cave which is famously known asMahanal. It is about fifty minute’s journey from Lakhan-pur and thirty five minutes journey from Rajbagh to vil-lage Jakhole.

Shiva is associated with truth (satyam), goodness (shiv-am) and beauty (sundaram) and has his mystical abode ina cave at Mahanal. The most distinctive feature about thisabode is that it does not contain a man-made image. Onthe contrary, the sacred image in this cave is svayambhuShiva lingam. So great is the attachment of the devoteesto this natural cave that this sacred place is called as Chot-ta Amarnath (Mini Amarnath) by sages and people alike.

The natural cave of Shiva at Mahanal is rich in legendarylore. According to one such legend approximately 150years back, milk used to ooze from rocks and fall on thenatural Shiva lingam which was noticed by the villagers.They started worshipping the place since then. But one daya woman of nomadic community collected milk from thispious place and used it for its own benefit. Since then milkstopped oozing from the roof of the cave and water start-ed dripping over the lord Shiva‘s sanctum sanctorum.

According to another legend, a sage meditated there formany years. He had prohibited locals from visiting theplace as he wished to meditate in glory of Lord Shiva at asecluded place. However, after many years, a curious ladyof the area went there only to find a human skelton in med-itation posture chanting loudly “Om Namah Shivaye”. Thelady got scared and fainted on noticing a skeleton medi-tating. After sometime, she regained consciousness onlyto find that, the skeleton had turned into a human beingchanting Om Namah Shivaye, which after sometime dis-

appeared and then changed into a Natural Shiva Lingaminside the cave- nearer to the meditation site. Not to bebeaten in their love for the Immortal God (Amarnath) thelocals have named it Chotta Amarnath (Mini Amarnath),due to its resemblance to the famous shrine of the samename in Kashmir.

At Mahanal there is a big cave and inside the cave a nat-ural lingam exists which as per legends dates back to cen-turies. The cave opening is narrow and only one personcan enter the cave at a time to reach the sanctum sancto-rum and have darshans of Lord Shiva. The idols of Ganesh,Nandigan and Kaal -Bhairav at the entrance of Mahanalcave adds to the piousness of the area. Another small cavelies on other side of the main cave where the devotees have

now constructed small temples dedicated to nine goddess-es. A seasonal waterfall lies in between both the caveswhere devotees can be seen bathing before offeringprayers. However in summers, the waterfall dries up anddevotees use water from the resultant water-body (Bowli)that exists near the shrine.

In 1980, an ascetic by the name of Baba Hari Giri Jimade this place his abode and started meditating here andlarge number of locals started visiting him. The place start-ed catching attention during his time. He stayed there forten years and in 1991 he attained Samaadhi.

The devotees from within and other states of the coun-try throng this place throughout the year. However, heavyrush is seen on Ist day of the year, Mondays, Mahashivra-

tri, Naagpanchmi and in the holy month of Shravan whichcoincides with the annual pilgrimage of Shree AmarNathji.Local residents and other devotees organize langars (com-munity kitchens) there every year. Devotees consider it asa very sacred Place of Lord Shiva and where wishes of Pil-grims are fulfilled whoever offers prayers at the shrine.

Road Connectivity, Drinking Water facility and Elec-tricity supply are required to be improved. Efforts need tobe made to bring this holy cave on the religious tourist mapof the state similar to Jasrota Mata Temple at Jasrota,Sukrala Mata Temple at Billawar, Mata Bala Sundri atNagri and Jorian Mata Temple at Bani, so that the inher-ent pilgrim potential of the place is explored and utilizedto the maximum possible extent.

Inside view of the cave.

Aerial view of the cave.

Romesh Mengi

Maha Shivratri, which literallytranslates to “great night ofShiva” is a Hindu festival largelycelebrated in all states of India.The festival is celebrated on thenew moon day in the month ofMaagha according to the Hinducalendar. The day is celebratedto venerate Lord Shiva, animportant deity in Hindu culture.People often fast on the night of Shivratri and sing

hymns and praises in the name of Lord Shiva. Shiva tem-ples across the country are decorated with lights and col-orful decorations and people can be seen offering nightlong prayers to Shiva Lingam. Woodapple leaves, coldwater and milk are offered to the Shiva Lingam on thisday as they are believed to be Lord Shiva’s favorite.

It is believed that the people who fast on this night andoffer prayers to Lord Shiva bring good luck into their life.The most popular Maha Shivratri celebrations take placein Ujjain, believed to be the place of residence of LordShiva. Large processions are carried out throughout thecity, with people thronging the streets to catch a glimpseof the revered idol of Lord Shiva.

There are many mythological legends associated withthis day. According to a popular legend, when a huntercould not find anything to kill for his food in a forest, hewaited on the branch of a Woodapple tree. In order toattract deer, he started throwing the leaves of the tree onthe ground, unaware that there was a Shiva Lingambeneath the tree. Pleased with the Woodapple leaves andthe patience of the hunter, it is believed that Lord Shivaappeared in front of the hunter and blessed him with wis-dom. From that day onwards, the hunter stopped eatingmeat.

According to the Puranas, during the great mythicalchurning of the ocean called Samudra Manthan, a pot ofpoison emerged from the ocean. The gods and thedemons were terrified as it could destroy the entireworld. When they ran to Shiva for help, he in order toprotect the world, drank the deadly poison but held it inhis throat instead of swallowing it. This turned his throatblue, and since then he came to be known as ‘Nilkantha’,the blue-throated one.

It is also believed that Hindu devotees stay awakewhole night to give company to God Shiva, who was notsupposed to fall asleep after drinking the ocean poison(Kalakootam).

Some folklore also consider this to be Shiva’s day asthis was believed to be the answer given by Lord Shivawhen asked about his favorite day by Goddess Parvati.

Devotees believe that Lord Shiva married Devi Parvati

on Shivratri. Thus, the day is the union of Shiva andShakti, the two greatest forces of the Universe.

THE STORY OF KING CHITRABHANUOnce upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku

dynasty, who ruled over the whole of Jambudvipa , wasobserving a fast with his wife, it being the day of MahaShivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to thecourt of the king. The sage asked the king the purpose ofhis observing the fast. King Chitrabhanu explained thathe had a gift of remembering the incidents of his pastbirth, and in his previous life he had been a hunter inVaranasi and his name was Suswara. His only livelihoodwas to kill and sell birds and animals. The day before thenew moon, while roaming through forests in search ofanimals, he saw a deer, but before his arrow flew henoticed the deer’s family and their sadness at its impend-ing death. So he let it live. He had still not caught any-thing when night fell, so he climbed a tree for shelter. Ithappened to be a Bael tree. His canteen leaked water,so he was both hungry and thirsty.

These two torments kept him awake throughout thenight, thinking of his poor wife and children who werestarving and anxiously awaiting his return. To pass thetime, he engaged himself in plucking the Bael leaves anddropping them down onto the ground. The next day hereturned home and bought some food for himself and hisfamily. The moment he was about to break his fast astranger came to him, begging for food. He served thefood first to stranger and only ate afterward. At the timeof his death, he saw two messengers of Lord Shiva, sentto conduct his soul to the abode of Shiva. He learnt thenfor the first time of the great merit he had earned byunconscious worship of Shiva during the night of MahaShivaratri. The messengers told him that there had beena Lingam (a symbol for the worship of Shiva) at the bot-tom of the tree. The leaves he dropped from the Bael treehad fallen into the shape of a Lingam, in imitation ofShiva’s ritual worship. The water from his leaky canteenhad washed the Lingam (also a ritual action), and he hadfasted all day and all night. Thus, he unconsciously hadworshiped Lord Shiva. At the conclusion of the tale theKing said that he had lived in the abode of the Shiva andenjoyed divine bliss for a long time before being rebornas Chitrabhanu. This story is narrated in the GarudaPurana. ‘Shivaratri’ means ‘night of Shiva’. The impor-tant components of this religious festival are rigid fastingfor twenty four hours and sleepless vigil during the night.Every true devotee of Lord Shiva spends the night ofShivaratri in deep meditation, keeping vigil and observ-ing the fast.

The worship of Lord Shiva consists in offering flowers,Bilva leaves and other gifts on the Lingam, which is asymbol of Lord Shiva, and bathing it with milk, curd,ghee, honey, sugar, coconut water, butter, and rose-water.

The day is considered auspicious for women. They fastand pray to the Lord to get blessed with blissful marriedlife, while unmarried woman would pray for an ideal hus-band like Shiva.

All through the day the devotees keep severe fast,

chant the sacred Panchakshara mantra “Om NamahShivaya”, make offerings of flowers and incense to theLord amidst ringing of temple bells. They maintain longvigils during the night, keeping awake to listen to stories,hymns and songs. The fast is broken only the next morn-

ing, after the nightlong worship. In Kashmir, the festivalis held for 15 days. The 13th day is observed as a day offast followed by a family feast. Maha Shivratri a uniquetime to burn your bad Karmas with the blessings ofMahadev Shiva.

SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2016 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/magazine""GGrreeaatt hhoonnoouurr ttoo bbee ............PPaaggee 44 TThhee ‘‘GGoodd-mmaann’’ ooff..........PPaaggee 33

CELEBRATING NIGHT OF SHIVA

The mystical abode of Lord ShivaAt Mahanal there is a big cave and inside the cave a natural lingamexists which as per legends dates back to centuries. The cave openingis narrow and only one person can enter the cave at a time to reach thesanctum sanctorum and have darshans of Lord Shiva.