1. "Jai Kara Sherawali Ka Bol Sache Darbar Ki Jai" is the
usual refrain of one overwhelmed with the irresistible
urge.Maa Vaishno Devi Shrine is one of the oldest
shrine of India, located at a height of 5300 feet on the
holy Trikuta Hills of the Shivalik Hill Range.The Holy
cave is 13 Kms from the Base Camp Katra. The Town
Katra is 50 Kms away from Jammu and 35 Kms from
District HQ Udhampur and is linked by road. The Mata
Vaishno Devi Shrine is one of the most popular
Shrines of India.
Devis fenêtre
2. History: 'Vaishnavi' means the one who is related to lord "Vishnu''
Goddess Vaishnavi is the manifestation of the collective spiritual
strengths of Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha
Saraswati It is described in Durga Sapatshati that the goddess was
born as a young girl of extraordinary beauty and strength, out of the
collectively pooled 'Tejas' of various 'Devtas' and three lords
Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar The immediate purpose of the
creation of the goddess was the annihilation of Asura (Devil)
Mahishasura This story is about 700 years old Shri-Dhar was an
ardent devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi
3. He resided in a village called Hansali, 2 Km away from the present
Katra town Once Ma appeared to him in the form of a young
bewitching girl The young girl asked the humble Pandit to hold a
'Bhandara' (A feast to feed the mendicants and devotees) The
Pandit set out to invite people from the village and near-by places
He also invited 'Bhairav Nath' Bhairav Nath asked Shri-Dhar how he
was planning to fulfill the requirements
4. He reminded him of the bad consequences in case of failure As
Panditji was lost in worry, the Divine girl appeared and told Him not
to be despondent as everything had been arranged She asked that
over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut True to Her word the
Bhandara went smoothly with food and place to spare Bhairav Nath
admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and decided to Devis
fenêtre test Her further Bhairav Nath followed the Divine girl to
Trikuta Hills
5. For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the
mountains He saw the 'girl' hitting the stone with an arrow and water
gushing out of the stone He 'saw' the 'girl' sitting on the mountain
top When Bhairav went to that place, he saw footprints on the stone
Bhairav wondered how the 'girl' had eluded him for 9 months!
Wondering whether she was hiding in the cave (Adi Kunwaari), he
decide to enter it On seeing Bhairav entering the cave, Ma tore open
a path behind the cave, by Her trident and came out
6. Ma reached the beautiful cave in the Trikuta mountain She urged
Bhairav not to follow Her But he disobeyed The Goddess took the
shape of Fierce Chandi and killed Bhairav The head of Bhairav fell
on the mountain peak Bhairav had Spiritual powers
7. So though his head was severed, he still retained consciousness
Bhairav repented for his conduct Ma forgave him and granted him
the boon that whosoever worshipped Her would later visit his shrine
Meanwhile Pandit Shree-Dhar became impatient He started to
march towards Trikuta Mountain on the same path that he had
witnessed in a dream He ultimately reached the cave mouth
8. He made a daily routine of worshipping the 'Pindis' in several ways
His worship pleased the Goddess She appeared in front of him and
blessed him Since that day, Shree-Dhar and his descendants have
been worshipping the Goddess Mother Vaishno Devi
