The happy valley of
Kashmir is well known throughout the world for its Natural beauty. Here nature
has been prodigal enough in crowning this ancient land with all its splendour
and glory. Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Mughal gardens attract visitors from all over
the world. Its lakes, green meadows, dancing and foaming streams, majestic
forests full of fir and pine, snow-capped peaks are common attractions to the
outsider as well as to the native.
Besides this, the valley being sacred and called Rishi
wari till now, abounds in sacred places, Tirthas and Asthans. Long ago at the
dawn of civilisation when the sons of Rishi Kashyapa from plains came to settle
here they brought with them their traditions, religion, mythology etc. etc.
These early settlers named the confluence of river Sindh and river Jhelum as
Prayag, equal to holy Prayag at the confluence of the Ganga and the Jamna in
India. They named the tallest mountain peaks here after their Gods and deities
such as Brahma, Vishnoo and Mahadev. These settlers must have felt surprised to
see the hide and seek of water in the Spring of Trisandya; melting of snow
around the spring of Bedaba Devi and other marvellous places. With the passage
of time, these places became Tirthas or places of worship and has continued so
upto the present time. The tradition being like this R. L. Stein who has
translated Rajatarangini into English writes, "Kashmir is a country where
there is not a place as large as a grain of seasam without a Tirtha. Time and
conversion to Islam of greater portion of population has changed but little in
this respect. " Pandit Kalhana while writing introduction to Rajatarangini
names the miraculous springs of Trisandya Saraswati lake on the Bheda hillock,
Self created fire at Soyambhu etc. etc. " More
...
Video Clips (Courtesy: Sumer
Kaul, Neeraj Fotedar)
Socio-Cultural
