Down
The Memory Lane - 105
The
memories of Vittal Bhairav Temple
May 2012
I
was really shocked to learn that this historic
religious shrine has been demolished and the
entire area (land) attached with the temple
taken under possession by a person hailing from
Pampore in connivance with the Dharmarth Trust
and local administration. Now, where can I find
Vittal Bhairav temple of Rainawari, Motiyar? My
childhood memories are associated with the
Bhairav temple.
By
G L Jalali
A
fortnight back, I received a telephone call from
a young Kashmiri Pandit who informed me that
Vittal Bhairav temple has been completely
vandalised by some anti-national elements. The
informant was once my neighbour in Rainawari.
The news was very shocking for me, indeed. I
have no words to express my anguish over the
vandalization of this centuries old temple
dedicated to Vittal Bhairav. The temple was
situated on the bank of a canal that served as a
waterway between Rainawari and Shalteng in our
childhood days. One could travel in a rented
Shikara (a special type of boat) right from
Rainawari to any part of the down town. Those
were the days when a horse drawn tonga was the
only means of transport in the city whose
population did not exceed four or five
lakhs.
The
Hindu-dominated Rainawari locality is on the
suburb of Srinagar city. It is about 4
kilometers from the historic Lal Chowk, the hub
of business activities once called Chotta
Bengal, by Walter Lawrence. Rainawari has its
own natural beauty. It is flanked by the
world-famous Dal Lake and Hari Parbat hillock.
In our childhood days the canal flowed through
the middle. We had at least seventeen temples in
Rainawari. Almost all of them were managed by
local managing committees. The Dharmarth Trust
that managed big temples in the city had no role
in managing Rainawari temples. The members of
Motiyar (also called Panditpora) looked after
the up-keep of the Vittal temple to the entire
satisfaction of the Pandit community. The temple
was visited by a large number of Kashmiri
Pandits every day.
The
temple commanded landscape beauty. Imagine a
tall leafy centuries old mulberry trees and
scores of poplar trees whose leaves rustled in
the morning breeze and a dip in the
crystal-clear water of the running canal in the
scorching heat of the summer sun, lady devotees
singing "Lelas" in praise of the
deity. That is the picture of my Vittal Bhairav
temple in my youthful days.
It
was, no doubt, a dream like experience
intoxicated with religious fervour generated
partly by the locale of "Vittal Bhairav's"
cosy abode in Motiyar. Referring to innumerable
temples in the valley, Walter R Lawrence,
remarks. "There is hardly a river, spring,
or hill side in Kashmir that is not holy to the
Hindus, and it would require endless space if I
were to attempt to give a list of places famous
and dear to Hindus. (The valley of Kashmir, page
297)
According
to the Hindu mythology, the city of Srinagar was
the abode of Hindu deities & Gods who would
spend their time in Saadhana. It is said that
Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati had great
fascination for the valley. They resided &
visited various places in the valley. Their
favourite haunt was the Mount Kailash. Lord
Brahma had deployed eight Bhairavas to guard the
city to ensure tranquility which was essential
for the attainment of spiritual perfection.
These eight Bhairvas were named as Bhatukeshvara
Bhairva, Amareshvara Bhairava, Mangalaraja
Bhairva, Hatakeshvara Bhairva, Puranaraja
Bhairava and Vaitala Bhairava. Of these
Bhairavas, Vitalraja Bhairava occupied a prime
place in galaxy of eight Bhairavas. He is
considered
very close to Lord Shiva.
In
my birth burg there is another temple dedicated
to Vittal Bhairva. It is in close proximity of
the temple at Motiyar. People called it
Bodi-Vittal because of a spacious area attached
to the temple. It did not attract as many
worshippers as Motiyar Vittal Bhairav temple
attracted. Long back, Bodi Vittal Bhairav temple
was looked after local Muslims, but just two
decades earlier the mass migration of Kashmiri
Pandits a local committee, headed by Late Dr
Shambu Nath Kalpushu looked after the temple. It
was completely renovated and
a new Dharamshalla was constructed close to the temple.
Vittal
Bhairav temple of Motiyar is a historical
shrine. It
is said that during the Afghan rule in Kashmir,
Motiyar temple was the only Hindu temple where
Kashmiri Pandits were allowed to pay obeisance
and perform their religious rituals. A huge ghat
is attached to the temple. In the morning hours
we would see devotees performing their rituals
on the ghat doing their Sandhya upasna and
taking their morning bath amidst Chanting of
Mantras in praise of Lord Shiva Vittal Bhairva.
I
remember that my mother would attend the temple
twice a week -Tuesday and Saturday to worship
the deity. Sometimes I would accompany her to
this temple where she would do her Puja at least
for two hours. She would often relate me some
interesting stories about the deity. My mother
would say that the
great mystic (Yogi) saint Swami Jeewan
Sahib, whose shrine is hardly three hundred
meters away from this Bhariva temple would
attend the temple every day and perform his
morning Sandhya Upasna every day in this
historic temple in Rainawari.
There
is story about Swami Jeewan Sahib. Legend says
that Jeewan Sahib worked as domestic servant in
the house of a Hindu family of Rainawari. It
resembles the story of another mystic Meesha
Sahib of Karapora Khushki of Rainawari locality.
He, like Swami Jeewan Sahib worked as a domestic
servant in the house of Krishna Kar, a Tehsildar
of Kamraj district during Afghan rule. The owner
of the house, where Jeewan Sahib worked as
domestic servant was a Tehsildar by profession.
He would start working in the kitchen
early in the morning. He would silently do
"Upasna" in the kitchen and made the
kitchen room his abode. Nobody knew about
Swami's spiritual perfection. One night the wife
of Tehsildar looked into the kitchen room. She
was astonished to see the room glittering with
dazzling light. She informed her husband who
also saw the dazzling light coming out of the
kitchen room where Swami Jeewan Sahib was
performing his Upasana. The fame of Jeewan Sahib
spread far and wide. Even the Afghan ruler came
to know about the spiritual powers of the Pandit
saint. Jeewan Sahib passed the last years of his
life at Gousein Nar village in Pulwama Tehsil of
Kashmir province.
It
is said that he was born in Rainawari. He was,
in fact, an outstanding saint of the 18th
century. He was gifted with tremendous spiritual
powers. In 1779 he shifted from Rainawari to
Gousein Nar in Loduv. The ruler of Kashmir had
allotted him a "Jaggir" of 80 kanals
of land at Gousein Nar. It is said that Jeewan
Sahib attained the spiritual perfection through
his Upasana at Vittal Bhairva temple. I can well
recollect that in our childhood days some of us
would take our mid-day bath in the canal close
to the shrine. We would usually go in for the
bath in July, which is the hottest month in
valley. We would sit on the ghat and finish our
home-task assigned by our teacher. People
(devotees) would make the special offerings of
yellow boiled rice with cooked goat liver, dried
fish and sometimes cheese and potato to the
deity on particular occasion. Even my mother
would make such offering once a year. Children
sitting on the ghat would also partake the
yellow boiled rice and cooked goat liver as
"Prasad". One could not feel beneath
ones dignity to ask for his or her share of
Prasad. When any lady was seen coming to make
any special offer to the deity, small children
either sitting on the ghat or taking bath in the
canal (Mar) would
scramble & solicit for their share of
Prasad (Naveed) from the lady.
Piles
of fruit & boiled yellow rice were seen
lying in front a centuries old mulberry tree
which symbolised the presence of Vittal Bhairva.
Apart from this sacred tree, the idol of the
deity was placed there for the devotees to
worship. We were told by our elders that on a
particular day the deity made his physical
presence to satisfy the urge of his devotees.
Many
tales and legends of this deity are galore,
lending credence to the sanctity and curative
capabilities associated with the very shrine. A
story goes that once a small child in our
Mohalla was taken ill seriously. Despite the
best medical treatment given to the diseased boy
by his parents, the ailment did not show any
abatement. His condition was deteriorating day
by day. Since their residence was very close to
this Bhairav Mandir, they gave some offerings in
the form of yellow rice & cheese to the
deity at the behest of a devotee of Bhairav
Sahib. The ailing child recovered fully within a
week of offering "Prasad" to the
deity.
In
my childhood days local Muslims held this shrine
in high esteem. They would never defecate or
urinate either in the premises of the temple or
in the very direction of this historic Bhairava
temple. Some old Muslims living around the
shrine had firm faith in the physical presence
of Vittal Bhairav at this place that is why they
desisted from making any encroachment on the
land attached to this historic temple.
I
have a faint impression of my mother, who along
with two or three ladies, would invariably take
a holy dip in the canal running close to this
historic Bhairava temple on the day of
Chandanshashti. On this day no man was allowed
to enter the temple. The celebrations were meant
for only women. I would, as a child, accompany
my mother who used to observe complete fast on
this day. Chandanshashti is the Karvachowth
of Kashmiri Pandit ladies.
Chandansashti
is observed during two different periods in
India. Some communities in western part of India
observe it during the waxing phase of the moon
in the month of Vaishakha Kashmiri Pandit ladies
observe this ritual in the dark fortnight of
Bhadun month". Pandit ladies break the fast
when the moon rises during midnight. It is meant
for the long life and prosperity of their
husbands. I remember that my mother would
perform "Puja" on this occasion on the
canal ghat. After finishing this religious
ritual, she would distribute fruit among
children. So, on this day there was great rush
of ladies in the temple .
In
mid fifties a Sadhu from Tamil Nadu, Swami Kand
Swami came from Tamil Nadu and made the temple
his permanent abode. I remember we would often
like to talk to the soft spoken Swami who could
speak Kashmiri language fluently. Humorous by
temperament, polite in his dealings with the
public, Swami Kand Swami who was also called
Kartikanand, was a very popular saint among the
locals. One thing went to the credit of the
Tamil Nadu Saint -he took great care of the
temple and tried hard to develop it. It was on
his initiative that another temple dedicated to
goddess Parvati was constructed and the Pratima
(idol) of goddess was brought from South India
& installed in the newly constructed temple.
I remember a grand Hawan was performed in
connection with the installation of the idol in
the temple.
Gone
are the days when Navratra festival that lasted
for one week was celebrated in the temple.
Hundreds of devotees would participate in the
special Puja performed daily all the seven days
both in the evening & morning in the
sprawling premises of Vittal Bhairav temple. The
very environs of the temple reverberated with
the devotional songs and leelas sung by ladies
in melodious tune.
In
fact some sort of "Godly atmosphere"
was created all these Navratra days in the
Pandit Pora locality, the birth place of saint
Jeevan Sahib, scholars like Pandit Shredhar Koul
Dullo, Pandit Sansar Chand Koul Ganhar (known as
Bird Watcher), astrologer Pandit Keshav Nath,
valleys leading journalist and author Pandit
J.N.Ganhar, Dr. Sudharshan Mahaldar (first
medical graduate), Pandit Ram Joo Abhay, Prof
R.K. Zutshi, scout master Pandit Vasdev Koul,
etc.
I
fully remember that a number of Kashmiri Pandits
from Pandit Pora locality would meet thrice a
week in the temple premises and discuss some
religious topics. It was called "Parivachan".
All of them were Shiva Scholars. They would sit
on the canal ghat start their "Parivachan".
I had the occasion to attend this Parivachan and
listen to their discussion. For me the subject
was beyond my comprehension.
"Kashmiri
Shaivism, a house hold religion is based on
strong monistic interpretation of the "Bhairava
Tantras" which were tantras written by the
Kapalikas. There was additionally a revelation
of the Shiv Sutras to Vasugupta. Kashmiri
Shaivism claimed to supersede the dualistic
Shiva Siddhanta. Somananda, the first theologian
of monistic Shaivism was the teacher of
Utpaladeva who was the grand teacher of
Abhinavagupta who in turn was the teacher of
Ksemaraja".
In
my birth burg there was no dearth of
Shiva-philosophers. Shaivism of Kashmir was
developed between 8th and 12th centuries. This
is corroboratively younger philosophy.
"Like Advaitavedanta it is monistic, like
Vaishnavism it is theistic, like yoga it is
practical, like Nayaya it is logical as also
appeasing like Buddhism. Kashmiri Shaivism is,
therefore, idealistic in essence, strongly
advocating a pragmatic approach to life."
Apart
from serving as religious place, Vittal Bhairav
temple premises served as a vibrant centre of
cultural activities. It is pertinent to refer to
the Vittal Bhairava Kala Kendra which
coordinated cultural activities from time to
time.
I
vividly remember that on the eve of every
Janamashtami this cultural body would stage a
series of dramas that heralded 7-day theatre
festival. It would open a window of opportunity
to our talented budding local artists to exhibit
their latent talent with regard to theatre and
its allied activities. Since cinema was still at
the initial stage of popularity in those days,
people had a craze for the stage and liked to
witness dramas on the local stage. It may be
recalled that theatre in ancient Kashmir was at
am advanced stage. One can find scores of
references to it in valley's ancient literature.
Music and theatre (Raga and Nartika) were the
two important components of Hindu culture during
the times of the ancient Hindu rulers, including
Laltaditya and Avanti Verman. It received a
great setback during the Muslim rule, as music
was anathema to these alien-rulers whose
puritanical views on drama music need no
elucidation. I can recall that Vittal Bhairva
Kala Kendra staged successful dramas captioned
Raja Hari Chander,
Drua Bhat, Habba Khatoon etc. These became
boxoffice hits; there was hardly any adult
resident of Pandit Pora who did not witness
these dramas. The proceeds of tickets were used
for the development of the temple.
We
can hardly forget the acting of late Nand Lal
Kachroo, Late Nilkanth Sharma, Late Krishen Lal
Handoo etc. They proved the best stage actors.
When
I recall the memories associated with Vittal
Bhairav temple, I remember the memories
associated with Vittal Bhairav temple I remember
how we used to hold "Shakha" in the
sprawling ground attached with the shrine. I am
reminded of my adolescent days when I was a
zealous RSS activist. We used to have a special
gathering of the RSS participants of the whole
city at the place. It does not mean that the
premises were used for political activities. It
was purely a religo-cultural place for the
Pandits of Rainawari locality.
Alas!
I was really shocked and amazed that this shrine
has been demolished and the entire premises
taken under possession by a Muslim of Pampore in
connivance with the Dharmarth Trust and local
administration. That is the sordid tale of my
"Vittal Bhairav Mandir of Motiyar (Pandit
Pora) Rainawari.
I
was really shocked to learn that this historic
religious shrine has been demolished and the
entire area (land) attached with the temple
taken under possession by a person hailing from
Pampore in connivance with the Dharmarth Trust
and local administration. Now, where can I find
Vittal Bhairav temple of Rainawari, Motiyar? My
childhood memories are associated with the
Bhairav temple.
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