Festivals of Kashmiri Pandits
By Dr. S.S. Toshkhani
Let us cast a glance at some of the religious festivals
celebrated by the Kashmiri Hindus. An interesting fact about them needing
investigation is that some of these are celebrated a day ahead of their
celebration by Hindus in other parts of the country. Shivaratri, regarded as the
most important festival of the community, for instance, is celebrated by them on
trayodashi or the thirteenth of the dark half of the month of Phalguna
(February-March) and not on chaturdashi or the fourteenth as in the rest
of the country. The reason for it is that this long drawn festival that is
celebrated for one full fortnight as an elaborate ritual is associated with the
appearance of Bhairava (Shiva) as a jwala-linga or a linga of
flame. Called ‘Herath’ in Kashmiri, a word derived from the Sanskrit
‘Hararatri’ the ‘Night of Hara’ (another name of Shiva), it has
been described as Bhairavotsava in Tantric texts as on this occasion Bhairava
and Bhairavi, His Shakti or cosmic energy, are propitiated through Tantric
worship. According to the legend associated with the origin of the worship, the linga
appeared at pradoshakala or the dusk of early night as a blazing
column of fire and dazzled Vatuka Bhairava and Rama (or Ramana) Bhairava,
Mahadevi’s mind-born sons, who approached it to discover its beginning or end
but miserably failed. Exasperated and terrified they began to sing its praises
and went to Mahadevi, who herself merged with the awe-inspiring jwala-linga. The
Goddess blessed both Vatuka and Ramana that they would be worshipped by human
beings and would receive their share of sacrificial offerings on that day and
those who would worship them would have all their wishes fulfilled. As Vatuka
Bhairava emerged from a pitcher full of water after Mahadevi cast a glance into
it, fully armed with all his weapons (and so did Rama), he is represented by a
pitcher full of water in which walnuts are kept for soaking and worshipped along
with Shiva, Parvati, Kumara, Ganesha, their ganas or attendant deities, yoginis
and kshetrapalas (guardians of the quarters) - all represented by
clay images. The soaked walnuts are later distributed as naivedya. The
ceremony is called’vatuk baru’ in Kashmiri, which means filling the
pitcher of water representing the Vatuka Bhairava with walnuts and worshipping
it.
The Puja comprises elaborate Tantric rituals that involve
observance of a fast during the day and performance of a yaga or fire
sacrifice at night. Choice dishes, mainly of meat and fish but also vegetarian
as an option, are cooked as sacrificial food and partaken of by the worshipper
and his family after being symbolically offered to the whole host of deities and
attendant deities associated with Shivaratri. This is essential for everyone,
the related texts emphasize. Those who do so are supposed to achieve progress
and prosperity in life and have all their wishes fulfilled. But those who do not
partake of the sacrificial food and do not break their fast after the Puja are
bound to go to hell or take rebirth as lowly animals besides facing all kinds
of disappointments in life, as related texts like the Shiva Samhita say:
“yo yagotsavam ulanghya tishthet nirashano vrato
jivan sa pashutameti mrito niryamapnuyat”
The symbolism of the aniconic earthen images, vagur,
sonipotul and others representing Shiva, Ganesha, Parvati, yoginis and
kshetrapalas, is not clear, as no available text has cared to have thrown
any light on it. The vagur, specially worshipped on the dvadashi night
itself, is perhaps a vestige of the rites of the Kaula cult as the manual on
Shivaratri Puja suggests. It further indicates that these rites are related to
Bhairava Puja: “atha dvadashyam pujanam Bhairavam namami”, without
elaborating. This has resulted in ridiculous etymologies of the names of the
anicons being claimed by some people. The clay images are, nonetheless,
essential to the performance of the ritual activity. As they are not made on the
potter’s wheel, their worship may have originated in an early period.
However, it is clear from what we have said above that there
is difference in the way Shivaratri is celebrated by the Kashmiri Pandits and by
Hindus elsewhere in the country. The Pandits not only celebrate it as Bhairavotsava
one day earlier but also perform quite different rituals. Further, the
tradition among Hindus in general is to strictly observe a fast on the Shiva
Chaturdashi day. Even taking fruit or betel leaf is considered as violation of
the fast.
“Shivayaga chaturdashyam ma vrate phala bhojanam”, says
the Padma Purana. The Markandeya Purana going a step ahead adds: “tambulam
api na dadyat vrata bhanga bhayam priye”. It is not that the Kashmiri
Pandits do not celebrate on the chaturdshi day, but it is a day of
feasting for them. The Nilamata Purana, it may be noted, clearly says that
Shivaratri is celebrated on the chaturdashi of the dark fortnight of
Phalguna.
Khetsimavas:
There are several other festivals and Puja rites peculiar to
Kashmiri Pandits, some of them dating back to hoary antiquity. One such
distinctly Kashmiri festival is Khetsimavas or Yakshamavasya which
is celebrated on the amavasya or the last day of the dark fortnight of
Pausha (December-January). Commemorative of the coming together and co-mingling
of various races and ethnic groups in prehistoric Kashmir, khichari is
offered on this day as sacrificial food to Kubera indicating that the cult of
Yaksha existed there from very early times. Khetsimavas appears to be a
folk-religious festival - a pestle, or any stone in case that is not available,
is washed and anointed with sandalwood paste and vermilion on this evening and
worshipped taking it to be an image of Kubera. Khichari is offered to him
with naivedya mantras and a portion of it is kept on the outer wall of
his house by the worshipper in the belief that Yaksha will come to eat it.
Navreh:
Kashmiri Pandits celebrate their New Year’s Day on Chaitra shukla
patipada or the first day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra
(March-April) and call it Navreh - the word navreh, derived from the
Sanskrit ‘nava varsha’, literary meaning ‘new year’. On the eve
of Navreh, a thali of unhusked rice with a bread, a cup of curds, a
little salt, a little sugar candy, a few walnuts or almonds, a silver coin, a
pen a mirror, some flowers and the new panchanga or almanac is kept and
seen as the first thing on waking up in the morning. The Bhringisha Samhita says
that the thali should be of bronze (kansyapatraka) and adds that a
devamurti or an image of a god should also be kept in it along with the
things mentioned above. It may be noted that the rite of seeing the thali filled
with unhusked rice etc. is observed on Sonth or the Kashmiri spring festival
also.
The Saptarshi Era of the Kashmiri Hindu calendar is believed
to have started on this very day, some 5079 years ago. According to the legend,
the celebrated Sapta Rishis assembled on the Sharika Parvata (Hari Parbat), the
abode of the goddesss Sharika, at the auspicious moment when the first ray of
the sun fell on the Chakreshvara on this day and paid tribute to her.
Astrologers made this moment as the basis of their calculations of the nava
varsha pratipada, marking the beginning of the Saptarshi Era. Before their
exodus Kashmiri Pandits would flock to Hari Parbat in thousands to celebrate
Navreh.
So widespread is the cult of the Mother Goddess among
Kashmiri Hindus that every family in the community has one form or the other of
hers as its tutelary deity. The most popular manifestations of the Great Devi
are Kshir Bhavani or Ragya (pronounced ‘Ragnya’by the Pandits) and Sharika.
The shrines of these two goddesses at Tulmula and Hari Parbat are held as most
sacred by all the Hindus of Kashmir irrespective of their cultic affiliations.
Jyeshtha Ashtami:
On Jyeshtha Ashtami, or the eighth day of the bright half of
Jyeshtha (May-June) a big festival is held at Tulmul to celebrate the pradurbhava
of the Goddess Ragya (Kshir Bhavani). Another festival is held at the shrine
on Asharha Ashtami with equal devotional fervour, the sacred spring of the
shrine that miraculously changes its colour having been discovered on the saptami
of that month. The devotees offer their worship, individually or in groups,
waving lamp (dipd) and burning incense (dhupa) while reciting
hymns to the Goddess and singing devotional songs. They make offerings of
khir to her and of milk, loaf-sugar and flowers, which they offer into the
spring. Ritually no specific procedure is prescribed for the Puja at Kshir
Bhavani. The Bhringish Samhita simply says that the Devi, whose mantra is of
fifteen syllables, accepts offerings of milk, sugar candy and ghee only - “sa
kshira-kharuladi bhojanam”.
Tiky Tsoram:
Tripura Sudari, literally meaning “she who is lovely in the
three worlds”, is one of the most important goddesses worshipped in the
Tantric tradition in Kashmir. Her cult is particularly popular among the Tiku
clan of Kashmiri Pandits who celebrate her festival on Tikya Tsoram, one day
before Vasant Panchami. The surname ‘Tiku’ is derived from “trika”, according
to popular etymology. Her devotees believe that she combines in her form all
three Goddesses, Mahalakshmi, Maha-sarswati and Mahakali, and all three of her
cosmic functions. However, she is also worshipped by the entire Hindu community
in Kashmir and from very early times. As Tripura Sundari (Shodashi), she
occupies a prominent position in both Kashmiri and South Indian Tantrism. Apart
from her anthropomorphic image, she is accessed ritually through her mantra and yantra.
Pan:
Pan (literally meaning thread) is a festival originally
associated with the spinning of newly produced cotton and worshipping the twin
agricultural goddesses, obviously local, Vibha and Garbha to whom roths or
sweet bread cakes were offered. Though Kashmir is not said to have a climate
suitable for growing cotton, there is a strong tradition suggesting that it
actually did grow there. The festival falls on the Ganesh Chaturthi (Vinayaka
Tsoram) day and the worship of Lakshmi on this occasion seems to have been
inducted later. Not that the worship dedicated to the local goddesses was
appropriated wilfully by followers of the cult of Lakshmi, but there appears to
have been a mix-up at some point of time. The twin goddesses themselves seem to
have merged into one another assuming the identity of the folk deity Beeb Garabh
Maj, whose very name- obviously a distortion - points to such a possibility.
Beeb Garabh Maj is represented by a lota or a water pot which is placed
in the centre of the place where the Puja is to be performed, a cotton thread
being tied to its neck and handful of dramun or runner grass kept inside
it, pointing again to its agricultural origin. A story is told at the Pan Puja
which is quite similar to the Satyanaryana Katha, showing some sort of confusion
between two different Pujas. Preparation of the roths and their
distribution for ushering in prosperity and auspiciousness has, however, become
an important part of Kashmiri Pandit religious life.
Other Festivals:
Kashmiri Hindus celebrate many other religious festivals also
like Kava Punim, Ganga Atham, Tila Atham, Vyatha Truvah, Anta Tsodah,
Mahakali’s Birthday etc. which had distinct ritual flavour, but most of
which are now forgotten, the changed times and the exodus of the Pandits from
Kashmir having taken their toll. Some like Janamashtami, which, quite
interestingly, is actually celebrated one day earlier on the saptami, Dashahar
(Dusshera), Durgashtami, Ramanavami etc. are still celebrated but not all of
them have a distinctively Kashmiri flavour. Many others have been lost to
geography, the Pandits being unable to celebrate them as they have been thrown
out of their habitat.t
*The Author has worked on Rituals and Ritual Arts of
Kashmiri Pandits. His earlier studies on Lal Ded and Kashmiri language have been
widely acclaimed.
—Editor
Source: Kashmir
Sentinel
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