Devika
Devika
-Narinder Anthal
Devika, a small holy rivulet flowing through Udhampur, has got such a religious and cultural importance for the people of Udhampur that the land of Udhampur is known as Devaknagri.This sacred river has its origin at near Sudhmahadev and at Venisung it merges with Suryaputri Tawi and this confluence is a place of pilgrimage,where a fair is organised on the eve of Baisakhi every year. It again appears near Gangera in Udhampur,whose ancient name is believed to be Gauraan. Devika manifests itself in the form of small rivulet at Sudhmahadev, Udhampur,Jindrah, Purmandal and Uttarvehni after which it merges with Basantar.As it appears and disappears at many places, Devika is also known as Gupt Ganga.Devika is reverred as the elder sister of holy Ganga.According to Neelmat Puran,the people of Madardesh (Duggar)had lost their track and taken to evil ways.They had forgotten their religious and other duties and adopted sinful ways in their day to day life.Those who followed the religious ways were in deep thought as to how to pull them out of the morass.Seeing their plight, Kashyap Rishi, who is believed to have created Kashmir, was in deep thought as to what to do.So he worshipped Lord Shiva for a long period of time and performed deep and severe meditation for years together at Sudhmahadev,as a result of which Lord Shiva was pleased with him.Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him to narrate the purpose of his meditation and what he wished for.Kashyap Rishi narrated the condition of the inhabitants of Madardesh and prayed Lord Shiva to rid the people of Madardesh (old name for the land of Dogras) of their ills so that they don’t have to go to Hell.So Lord Shiva asked His consort,Goddess Parvati to go to the earth and flow as river Devika to rid the people of their ills and guide them to a righteous path.This was how Devika is believed to have come into existence on the earth and came to be reverred as the elder sister of Maa Ganga.But Maa Parvati told Lord Shiva that She would miss Him all the time on the earth.Upon this, Lord Shiva promised that He would always be by the side of His Consort, Uma.Then Lord Shiva manifested Him in the form of holy Lingams on the bank of Devika.That is why there are a number of temples of Lord Shiva all along the course of holy Devika.It is a place of pilgrimage considered equal in importance to Haridwar and Kashi and a bath in this holy rivulet is thought to please Goddess Parvati so much that it rids a person of all his/her sins.This holy river also finds mention in Padma Puran and other scriptures.
According to Pandit Sudesh Shastri, the legend goes that there was a demon on the bank of this river. He used to devour and eat animals and humans whichever came his way.There was a spring on the bank of the river and the demon would come there to drink water and quench his thirst after eating the flesh of animals and human beings.One day as he came there as usual, he found Baba Pani Nath doing meditation on the place where there used to be the Bowli.Baba asked the demon to bring wooden sticks to stoke the fire.The demon brought bones of dead animals and human beings and presented them to Baba.Baba at once sprinkled some water on the bones and converted them into wooden sticks.The demon was surprised and asked the Baba how the Bowli had mysteriously disappeared and how he had converted the bones into wooden sticks.Baba asked him to sit down and told him not to kill human beings.He told the demon that he would always get one dead body to eat every day.So he should desist from killing animals and human beings.In due course of time, the Baba fixed the demon with his powers to a spot but not before the demon had made the Baba give him the promise that the Baba too would stay there.So Baba Pani Nath took a smadhi near the spot where he had fixed the Demon.
Devika has got a great religious importance, too.Besides cremating the dead, the Hindus from Udhampur and neighbouring villages,immerse the ashes of the dead in the holy water of this river and there is no trace of bones or other parts of the body left in its holy water.Besides performing the last rites of the deceased, many people perform rites related to the 10th Day, Kriya, Half yearly and yearly anniversaries of their relatives who left for heaven,on its banks.Not only this, people consider it auspicious to take a bath in Devika and pay obeisance to the Deities on eve of Navratras, Bash dua, solar/lunar eclipses, Amavasya, Puranmashi and other such occasions.People also immerse ‘Saakh’in its holy water after the culmination of Navratras.On its bank, there is an ancient temple called Mahakaleshwar Mandir which has a rare idol of Lord Shiva having three faces.A marble slab on the temples shows that the outer part of this temple was plastered way back in 2000 Vikrami about 74 years ago by a ‘Shanker Sevak’named Faquir Singh.There is also a Shiv-Parvati temple built in 1962 and a grand statue of Nandigan installed on April 13, 1962 on eve of Baisakhi.There is also an ancient temple of Narsinghji Maharaj on the other side of the river.The other temples dedicated to Lord Satya Narayan , Lord Rama, Shiv Parvati,Hanuman,Radha Krishan etc. were added later on.There is also a historic temple called Raghunath Mandir at some distance from the other complex of temples.An idol/statue of Lord Shiva, perhaps highest in the northern India has also been installed on the other side of these temples. There is a bowli called Rani ki bowli, where Queens from the royal palace would come to take bath in the days gone by.The ruins of the bowli and the pillars of those times of the boundary wall of western side are still standing as remnants of the historic structure.The structure of Rani’s bowli is still intact.There are a number of bowlis on the bank of Devika, the water of which is used for bathing and drinking.
A historic Annual 3–day Baisakhi Mela is held on the bank of Devika on the eve of Baisakhi every year.This mela is believed to be held every year for about two hundred years.The Mela attracts people and traders from far and wide from within and outside the state.
According to Pandit Sudesh Shastri, the legend goes that there was a demon on the bank of this river. He used to devour and eat animals and humans whichever came his way.There was a spring on the bank of the river and the demon would come there to drink water and quench his thirst after eating the flesh of animals and human beings.One day as he came there as usual, he found Baba Pani Nath doing meditation on the place where there used to be the Bowli.Baba asked the demon to bring wooden sticks to stoke the fire.The demon brought bones of dead animals and human beings and presented them to Baba.Baba at once sprinkled some water on the bones and converted them into wooden sticks.The demon was surprised and asked the Baba how the Bowli had mysteriously disappeared and how he had converted the bones into wooden sticks.Baba asked him to sit down and told him not to kill human beings.He told the demon that he would always get one dead body to eat every day.So he should desist from killing animals and human beings.In due course of time, the Baba fixed the demon with his powers to a spot but not before the demon had made the Baba give him the promise that the Baba too would stay there.So Baba Pani Nath took a smadhi near the spot where he had fixed the Demon.
Devika has got a great religious importance, too.Besides cremating the dead, the Hindus from Udhampur and neighbouring villages,immerse the ashes of the dead in the holy water of this river and there is no trace of bones or other parts of the body left in its holy water.Besides performing the last rites of the deceased, many people perform rites related to the 10th Day, Kriya, Half yearly and yearly anniversaries of their relatives who left for heaven,on its banks.Not only this, people consider it auspicious to take a bath in Devika and pay obeisance to the Deities on eve of Navratras, Bash dua, solar/lunar eclipses, Amavasya, Puranmashi and other such occasions.People also immerse ‘Saakh’in its holy water after the culmination of Navratras.On its bank, there is an ancient temple called Mahakaleshwar Mandir which has a rare idol of Lord Shiva having three faces.A marble slab on the temples shows that the outer part of this temple was plastered way back in 2000 Vikrami about 74 years ago by a ‘Shanker Sevak’named Faquir Singh.There is also a Shiv-Parvati temple built in 1962 and a grand statue of Nandigan installed on April 13, 1962 on eve of Baisakhi.There is also an ancient temple of Narsinghji Maharaj on the other side of the river.The other temples dedicated to Lord Satya Narayan , Lord Rama, Shiv Parvati,Hanuman,Radha Krishan etc. were added later on.There is also a historic temple called Raghunath Mandir at some distance from the other complex of temples.An idol/statue of Lord Shiva, perhaps highest in the northern India has also been installed on the other side of these temples. There is a bowli called Rani ki bowli, where Queens from the royal palace would come to take bath in the days gone by.The ruins of the bowli and the pillars of those times of the boundary wall of western side are still standing as remnants of the historic structure.The structure of Rani’s bowli is still intact.There are a number of bowlis on the bank of Devika, the water of which is used for bathing and drinking.
A historic Annual 3–day Baisakhi Mela is held on the bank of Devika on the eve of Baisakhi every year.This mela is believed to be held every year for about two hundred years.The Mela attracts people and traders from far and wide from within and outside the state.
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