Festivities mark ‘Jaishta Ashtami’

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 12

While thousands of devotees visited Kheer Bhawani temple in Kashmir to participate in ‘Jaishta Ashtami’ festival, a religious function was also organised in Jammu.

Devotees, especially displaced Kashmiri Pandits, thronged replica of Mata Kheer Bhawani temple at Janipur and performed their religious ritual. The temple constructed by Pandits after their exodus in 1990 is exact copy of the shrine located in Tulmulla, Ganderbal district.

There was a beeline of devotees waiting for their turn to have glimpse of goddess since early morning and as the day proceeded the rush of the visitors increased and it continued till late in the evening.

Various social and religious organisations had set up stalls offering eatables and drinking water to the devotees, who visited the shrine.

“Though in Jammu, devotes cannot feel the shade of Chinar trees which dot the shrine in Kashmir and breeze from springs surrounding the temple, but it brought the scattered community together after traumatic exodus”, said Surinder Raina, a devotee.

Security fear this year discouraged several families from visiting the Valley who preferred to visit the temple in Jammu. “We could not go to Kashmir this year due to security fears but our faith in goddess has brought us here. For last two decades, Jammu is also abode of Mata Kheer Bhawani”, said Anita Koul.

The legend says that Shri  Goddess) was brought to the Valley by Lord Hanuman from Lanka, when Lord Rama killed demon King Ravana in battle. Pandits claim to have observed a darkish tinge to the water just before the insurgency erupted in the Valley in 1990, thus concluding that dark cloud of hatred and suffering will decent on the place. After selective killings were carried out by militant groups, 3.50 lakh Hindus had left their homeland.

Keeping in view the rush of the people, police and other government departments had made elaborate arrangements for the visiting devotees.