Logripora - A Shrine of
Magnificiency
by Chander M. Bhat
Hey! Devotees
of Mata Shakti, hold the torch of magnificent faith. Let ye float high, the
unique banner of immortal peace. Wear the unending cover of dispassion towards
Kam, Krodh, Loubh, Moh, and Ahankar and recite the glory of Shiva and
Shakti to bring nectar to the soul besides bliss of santosh to the Atman.
These are the feelings when one descends on the seat of devotion in the hearts
of lands groomed by the Knight of Canals, the Shah Kol. It is pertaining
to the abode of Mata Ragnya at Logripora. Logripora is an ancient village in
Pahalgam Assembly segment enroute Anantnag Pahalgam via Martand. This village
also known as Lokitpur is one km away from shrine place Aishimuqam. Perished
high up on a mountain spur in the shrine of Zain Shah Sahib known among Hindus
as Zanak Rishi, he is the guardian saint of the Lidder Valley and is reputed to
be one of the followers of Shiekh Noor-Ud-Din the chief saint of Kashmir Valley”
writes Parmanand Parashar in his book Kashmir: The Paradise of Asia. Shri Shiri
Ram Bakshi in his book Kashmir through Ages [Volume 3] writes, “There is a
spring and a small hill near Baisaran, passing through the glade. There is a big
rock in the centre of the glade. It is that saint Zain Shah meditated 12 years
on that stone. There was then living a Gujar with his family. He had a
cow from which he gave milk continuously to Zain Shah for 12 years. Once the
wife of the Gujar murmured that during 12 years they would have obtained
12 calves from the cow. The saint heard this and called for the Gujar and
told him to go to the cowshed and call calves by their names from the door.
Thereby 12 calves came out from the shed when the Gujar was busy with
calling the saint left the place. The Gujar searched all sides and found
him on the bank of Lidder at Aishimuqam where his Ziarat is existing.
Close view of the
Temple.
Logripora has the distinction of
being the seat of an ancient shrine of Mata Ragnya dating its history to the era
of Satisar. The surrounding area of village Logripora consists of Sapt
Rishi Springs at a distance of half km on East side, Sweet water spring of
Village Manzgam on West side at a distance of half km. Roza Mubarak of
Saint Zain Shah [Zanak Rishi for Hindus] at Aishimuqam at a distance of one km
on North side and Bodh Rishi, the seat of Bhodhistva, at a distance of
half km on South side. Logripora is at foothills of Shael Dar forest
range abounding in Devdar trees.
Logripora village was home to 42
house holds of Kashmiri Pandits before mass exodus and now only four house holds
have held back. I visited the village on 11th September 2009; one
Shri Jagan Nath Bhat son of Late Shri Mahadev Bhat aged 54 of the same village
accompanied me. We reached this village at about 1100 hours after starting our
journey from Srinagar at about 800 hours.
Scattered idols in the lawns of temple.
Logripora village holds in its
lap the famed Shrine of Ragnya Mata, the incarnation of Shakti. The shrine is
held even today as gospel of peace and pleasure for all ethoses that have
unquestionable faith in the magical prowess of Shiva and Shakti.
Spread over an area of forty
kanals of land, the shrine has five springs representing Panchtatva.
As Panchtatva combine and form a life. Simultaneously water from all the
springs with independent out lets combine to form a brook and passing into a
phase of journey. The philosophy of life as per Sanatan belief applies to the
presence of these springs. Shiva and Shakti being the creators of the Universe
seem to overlook the Panch Nags [five springs] to form a brook of life for its
onward journey.
Five springs exist and dates its
origin to the era of Kashyap. Each spring is with length and breadth of 10 to 12
feet each apart from the bigger one which has dimension of about 12 to 15 feet.
This spring has earned its name as Kali Nag due to its blackish crest.
Two temples stamp at this place. One temple is devoted to Lord Shiva, having a
Shiva Lingam in it and the other one is built magnificently to house a spring
inside the temple. The temple is made of bricks while as the spring is having
its walls made of Devri stones. There is no image or presence of any
visible figure of any god or goddess, which can be directly approached on the
side of morning sun is a window shaped place carved in the wall of spring where
in a monolithic black stone image of Mata Ragnya was placed. This portion of
window type place specially carved for keeping the image of Mata is not
approachable any way except spring water in from of it. The monolithic black
stone image of Mata is said to be some 1000 years old. It is that when Lord
Hanuman brought this image from desecrated Sri Lanka and on his voyage to Ksher
Bhawani, he had a brief stint at this place and thereafter the place was also
known as Ragnya Pora.
Shiv Lingam in open.
The monolithic black stone image
of Mata is not now available there. The image may have either fallen in the
hands of vandalisms or may have felt in the hands of antique smugglers taking
the advantage of the turmoil conditions in the valley. No FIR has ever been
lodged and neither has district administration provided any security cover to
this magnificent place of meditation. There were other pieces of images of
variety of stones and these also missing now. The fencing of the shrine has also
been dismantled in the year 1993. There are many walnut, apricot and Chinar
trees in the forty kanal land of the shrine and these are very much
there.
Another temple in premises of the
shrine one a hillock was devoted to Lord Shiva and a big Shiva lingam is
installed in it. The Shiva lingam is made of hard rock stone on
monolithic base. The temple has remained apparently untouched by hooligans due
to the heavy mass of the lingam.
The shrine place is an ecstatic
mutational place and philosophy of origin of world applies to it as the
combination of Shiva and Shakti as creators of this universe comes to the fore;
from the fact that presence of Shiva and Shakti and representatives of
Panchtatva is what we now call the universe with mother earth and other
celestial bodies making it a body for research and imagination. Swami Nand Bab
and Swami Kashi Bab were perhaps feeling this magnetic gravitation towards this
shrine that they adopted to meditate here for earning moksha from
creators of the universe. The sanctity of this shrine is revered even by Muslims
as they offer first cow milk to the temple spring at the feet of Ragnya before
using it for themselves.
It is held in high esteem by
local devotees particularly and they often quote examples like one dates back to
period not for away from the date of exodus. Smt. Meenawati wife of Late Sh.
Shamboo Nath Bhat age 86 who is still residing in this village disclosed that
the marriage of the daughter of Sh. Mahadev Bhat was fixed and she suddenly fell
ill. She was admitted in a hospital at Anantnag. As the day of nuptial knot was
closing in she was brought back to the village in ill condition to attend
Saat Mainz at Ragnya Pora/Logripora. All of a sudden a saint namely Kashi
Bab appeared there and offered her the sacred water of temple spring, she took
the water and was all right within half an hour.
Shri Sudershan Koul age 70 who is
still residing in the village also quote the example of how all people
(devotees) fell ill when a dispute took place between them on construction of
the roof of the temple. It was only on the advice of a saint that the dispute
was settled and roof of the temple was constructed. Ultimately all were free of
illness.
Shiva and Shakti here created all
alike. Be it Satoguni or Rajoguni or be it occupied with
Tamoguni habit, but pitfalls of attachment and faith must remain when Shiva
is with Shakti and Shakti is incomplete tale without Shiva, who the Tamoguni
was, who has separated Shiva with Shakti and took away the image of Shakti, the
other part of Ardhnareshwar. Attribute intellect to antakarna to
bring back Shakti for Shiva at magnificent spring abode of Shiva and Shakti in
this Ragnya Pora. Should we wait Shiva to come out of meditation and what then?
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