BHAIRAV GHATI

LOCATION:Vaishno devi

PRESIDING DIETY : bhairav nath

STORY:Shree-Dhar was an ardent devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi(refer vaishno devi temple). He resided in a village called Hansali, 2 km away from the present Katra town. Once the goddess appeared in front of him in the form of a bewitching girl. The young girl asked the Shree dhar to hold a Feast. The Pandit set out to invite people from the village and near-by places. He also invited 'Bhairav Nath' a selfish demon. Bhairav Nath asked Shri-Dhar how he was planning to fulfil the requirements. 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 tensed as everything had been arranged. She asked that over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut. True to Her word the Feast went smoothly with food and place to spare.

Bhairav Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and decided to test Her further. He followed the Divine girl to Trikuta Hills. For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the mountains, whom he believed was an incarnation of the Mother Goddess. While running away from Bhairav, Devi shot an arrow into the Earth from which water gushed out. This water flowed in the direction of bhairav nath to stop his progress towards the goddess.The resultant river is known as Baanganga. It is believed that by taking a bath in Baanganga (Baan: Arrow), a believer of the Mother Goddess can wash away all the sins. The banks of the river, known as Charan Paduka, are marked by Devi's foot imprints, which remains intact till date. Vaishno Devi then took shelter in a cave known as Garbh Joon near Adhkawari where she meditated for 9 months attaining spiritual wisdom and powers.

Her meditation was cut short when Bhairav located her. Vaishno Devi was then compelled to take the form of Maha Kali when Bhairav tried to kill her. The manifestation of the Mother Goddess took place at the mouth of the Holy cave at Darbar. The Goddess then beheaded Bhairav with such sheer force, that his skull fell at a place known as Bhairav Ghati, 2.5 km from the Holy Cave.

In his dying moments, Bhairav pleaded for forgiveness. The Goddess knew that Bhairav's main intention in attacking her was to achieve salvation. She not only granted Bhairav liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, but also granted him a boon, whereby every devotee, in order to ensure completion of the pilgrimage, had to visit Bhairav Nath's temple near the Holy cave after the darshan of the Goddess

REFER TO VAISHNO DEVI TEMPLE AND BHAIRAV GHATI TO KNOW MORE OF THE STORY.. THESE 3 STORIES ARE RELATED

BAANA GANGA

LOCATION:Vaishno Devi

PRESIDING DIETY:Vaishno devi related

STORY:Shree-Dhar was an ardent devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi(refer vaishno devi temple). He resided in a village called Hansali, 2 km away from the present Katra town. Once the goddess appeared in front of him in the form of a bewitching girl. The young girl asked the Shree dhar to hold a Feast. The Pandit set out to invite people from the village and near-by places. He also invited 'Bhairav Nath' a selfish demon. Bhairav Nath asked Shri-Dhar how he was planning to fulfil the requirements. 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 tensed as everything had been arranged. She asked that over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut. True to Her word the Feast went smoothly with food and place to spare.

Bhairav Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and decided to test Her further. He followed the Divine girl to Trikuta Hills. For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the mountains, whom he believed was an incarnation of the Mother Goddess. While running away from Bhairav, Devi shot an arrow into the Earth from which water gushed out. This water flowed in the direction of bhairav nath to stop his progress towards the goddess.The resultant river is known as Baanganga. It is believed that by taking a bath in Baanganga (Baan: Arrow), a believer of the Mother Goddess can wash away all the sins. The banks of the river, known as Charan Paduka, are marked by Devi's foot imprints, which remains intact till date

REFER TO VAISHNO DEVI TEMPLE AND BHAIRAV GHATI TO KNOW MORE OF THE STORY.. THESE 3 STORIES ARE RELATED

MAA VAISHNO DEVI TEMPLE

LOCATION:Jammu and Kashmir

PRIMARY DIETY:Vaishno Devi

STORY:Maa Vaishno Devi was born in the South of India in the home of Ratnakar Sagar. Her worldly parents had remained childless for a long time. Ratnakar had promised to lord Vishnu , the night before the birth of the Divine child, that he would not interfere with whatever his child desired. Ma Vaishno Devi was called Trikuta as a child. Later She was called Vaishnavi because of Her taking birth from Lord Vishnu's lineage. When Trikuta was 9 years old, She sought her father's permission for doing penance on the seashore. Trikuta prayed to Lord Vishnu in the form of Rama. During Shree Rama's search for Sita, He reached the seashore along with His army. His eyes fell on this Divine Girl in deep meditation. Trikuta told Shree Rama that She had accepted Him as Her husband. Shree Rama told Her that during this Incarnation He had vowed to be faithful to only Sita. However pleased with her devotion , Lord Rama gave her name vaishnavi (devotee of lord rama (Maha Vishnu)and assured Her that in Kaliyuga He would manifest as Kalki(another incarnation of lord Vishnu) and would marry Her.

In the meantime Shree Rama asked Trikuta to meditate in the cave found in the Trikuta Range of Manik Mountains, situated in Northern India.Lord Ram gave her a bow and arrows, army of monkeys and a lion for her protection, Ma decided to observe the 'Navratra' for the Victory of Shree Rama against Ravana. Hence one reads the Ramayana(mythological epic about Lord rama) during the 9 days of Navratra, in remembrance of the above connection. Shree Rama promised that the whole world would sing Ma Vaishno Devi's praise. Lord Rama also said Trikuta was to become famous as Vaishno Devi and would become immortal forever.

This temple was discovered by pandit shree dhar.. who had dreamt of it one night.. he followed the path he head dreamt of and reached the cave mouth where the lord meditated..He could not find her and yet worshipped daily , the goddess pleased by the devotion appeared in front of him and blessed him.
Later Vaishno Devi assumed the shape of a rock with three pindis (heads) and immersed herself into meditation forever

REFER TO BAANA GANGA AND BHAIRAV GHATI TO KNOW MORE OF THE STORY.. THESE 3 STORIES ARE RELATED

AMARNATH

LOCATION:Jammu and Kashmir

PRIMARY DIETY:Lord Shiva

STORY:Amarnath is The Cave which was chosen by Bhole Shankar(Lord Shiva) for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe to his consort Parvati . The story goes like this. Centuries ago Parvati asked Shiv to let her know why and when He started wearing the beads of heads ( Mund Mala) . Bhole Shankar replied when ever you are born I add one more head in my beads. Parvati said ,” My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this.” This Secret was said to be told by lord Shiva in these caves to his consort Parvati..

The earliest reference to Amarnath can be seen in the Nilamata Purana (v.1324), a 6th century Sanskrit text which depicts the religious and cultural life of early Kashmiris and gives Kashmir’s own creation myth, the pilgrimage to the holy cave has been described with full topographical details in the Bhringish Samhita and the Amarnatha Mahatmya, both ancient texts said to have been composed even earlier

What u can see over here
Inside the main Amarnath cave lies an ice stalagmite resembling the Shiva Linga, which waxes during May to August and gradually wanes thereafter.This lingam is said to grow and shrink with the phases of the moon, reaching its height during the summer festival.There are two other ice formations representing Parvati and Shiva's son, Ganesha.
it is a popular pilgrimage destination for Hindus - about 400,000 people visit during the 45-day season around the festival of Shravani Mela in July-August, coinciding with the Hindu holy month of Shraavana.

The holy trek
Devotees generally take the 42 km (26 mi) pilgrimage on foot from the town of Pahalgam, about 96 km (60 mi) from Srinagar, and cover the journey in four to five days. There are two alternate routes to the temple: the longer and more traditional path from Srinagar, and the shorter route from the town of Baltal. Some devotees, particularly the elderly, also ride on horse-back to make the journey.