JAMMU, Aug 08: The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is the abode of gods and goddesses of Hindus and one such place of great religious and spiritual significance for Hindus is the Buddha Amarnath located at the border district of Poonch in Jammu region.
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Buddha Amarnath Temple in Raipur village in Mandi Tehsil of Poonch district is one of the oldest shrines of Jammu region and has been attracting devotees in large numbers during Budha Amarnath Yatra every subsequent year.
This year, this holy yatra started on 7th of this month and the first batch of the pilgrims left from the Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp-Jammu for performing holy Darshan of Budha Amarnath.
This holy pilgrimage lasts for 10-days and will culminate on 16th of this month. This yatra concludes with the arrival of Charri Mubarak (holy mace) at the shrine of Dashnami Akhara at Poonch.
This holy place (Budha Amarnath) has a great religious and spritual importance for Hindus. As per Hindu mythology, at this very place, the Lord Shiva had started narrating the Amar Katha to Mata Parvati Ji which ended at Swami Amarnath located near Pahalgam Kashmir.
This temple is considered older than the Swami Amarnath Ji of Kashmir. That is why the shrine is known as Swami Budha Amarnath. As per Hindu mythology, one must visit this sacred place before performing the yatra of Amarnath in Kashmir.
A number of legends are famous in and around Poonch city regarding the eruption of this ancient temple.
As per one legend, Mahatma Pulsat (the grandfather of King Ravana of Sri Lanka) meditated at this very place for a pretty long time.
He was a devotee of Lord Shiva. There are a number of references in Neel Mat Puran about Pulsat Rishi. As per these references, Pulsat was also an artist and sculptor.
He carved a number of images of God. One of the reference in Neel Mat Puran says,“By seeing the Goddess erected by Pulsat, one is free from all his sins and gets highest knowledge and the temple erected by him gives one’s merit of the gift of cows and also releases from the diseases”.
The legend goes that Pulsat meditated with such a devotion at Rajpura Mandi that Lord Shiva gave him a Darshan at this very place. In the memory of Darshana of Lord Shiva, Rishi Pulsat constructed the temple of Shiva and erected a lingum there.
Since the Pulsat was a great Rishi, a sculptor and very popular among the habitants of this area, therefore, after his death the people converted this small temple into a shrine. Later on, this shrine was named as Swami Buddha Amarnath.
Even now a number of idols of ancient times are available in this area. It is possible that these idols may have been installed by Pulsat Rishi.
Swami Buddha Amar Nath Yatra is a centuries old yatra. However, it was regularized during Dogra rule of Raja Moti Singh, Baldev Singh, Sikhdev Singh and Jagat Dev Singh in between 1852 to 1939.
Swami Buddha Amarnath temple is situated in between the main belt of Pir Panchal range at Rajpura Mandi which is 23 kilometers on the North East of Poonch town.
This sacred place is located on the confluence of two gushing streams namely Nallah Gagri and Pulsta Nadi.
This place is surrounded by snow bound lofty peaks, thick belt of forests (in the eastern side), lush green pastures and crystal clear streams and nallahs.
The climate of this attractive and charming spot is very pleasant and cool. At present Swami Buddha Amarnath temple is connected with a motorable road and it is 244 kilometers away from Jammu.
The original temple has been constructed with one big stone. There are four doors in the temple on the northern, southern, eastern and western sides which indicates that the doors of this shrine are open for all the four varnas.
There is a natural Shivlinga of white stone (Chakmak) inside the temple. A number of ancient idols collected from nearby villages are also installed in the premises of the temple where there used to be four holy springs near the temple in the past.
At present, the water of three springs has been diverted to fourth one which is on the southern side of the temple.
The water of these springs is considered as holy from religious point of view. The pilgrims first take bath in this spring and then enter in the temple for prayers.
The procession of Chari Mubarak starts from Akhara amid chanting of bhajans and religious slogans.
A guard of honour from Police contingents is also paid to Chari Mubarak at the gate of the Akhara. The Swami Ji is carried in a palki by the devotees, along with the sacred mace.
Thousands of devotees and hundreds of Sadhus accompany the procession which leads towards Swami Budha Amarnath on foot.
