Rubon Saproo
The ancient and glorious temples of Martand are situated at different places at a site now called Mattan or Bavan in Anantnag district of South Kashmir. The ancient shrine dedicated to Martanda (the Sun God) is about 61 Kms from Srinagar and 6 Kms from district headquarters of Anantnag. The pilgrim village is just off the road that leads to famous tourist spot of Phalgham and holy cave shrine of Shri Amarnathji.The place is remarkable for a very old Hindu pilgrimage place in the valley and enjoyed prominence among other religious shrines of Kashmir. It is held sacred to the Lord Vishnu Surya, who is being worshipped here in his Martand manifestation. The Martand shrine is well-known in the world and holds important place among Kashmiri Pandits and Hindus in India as of Haridwar. The pilgrimage to Martanda is connected with visits to several temples and springs at Mattan.The shrine is visited by devotees from across the country at frequent intervals to perform their religious rituals. Although many religious festivals are celebrated throughout the year at Martand, however the main celebration is the birthday of Martand Ji, which falls every year on Magh Shukla Paksh Saptami i.e., the 7th day of bright fortnight of Magh(February) as per the Hindu calender.
The sacred site of ‘Martand’ is presently known by the names of ‘ Mattan’ or ‘Bavan’.The modern name of the village ‘Mattan’ seems to have evolved from the Sanskrit ‘Martanda’ which means ‘Sun God’ or ( Mart=dead; anda=egg) where ‘Bavan’ is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Bhavana’ meaning sacred habitation. So, the modern shrine of ‘Martand’ now bears the name of ‘Mattan’ whereas the locality around it is popularly known as ‘Bavan’.The site of Martand was known in ancient times as ‘Vishnu Bhawan’ or ‘Macch (Fish) Bhawan’.The tirtha of Martand is actually associated with numerous shrines erected in honour of the presiding deity at many places in and around Mattan village. These shrines include ancient temple dedicated to Martanda by the side of two springs, Adhi Shakti Mata Bhargshika temple on a high crag rising above the Martand temple, Bheema Devi and Shri Ganganand temples near Baghander Bagh, Baswati and Shree Bhawani temples, Cave temple of Lord Shiva in proximity of tirtha at Bumzoo, Sangam tirtha near Tika Bagh and ruined Sun temple at Mattan wudar (alluvial plateau).Many of these shrines are less known to pilgrims who instead visit few among them.
For an account of this important shrine, there are many religious documents available which tells us in detail about the sun god and its abode at Mattan. According to a legend related in the ‘Martanda Katha’, ‘Markandyapuran’ and other texts, Martanda (the sun god) was born from Aditi, the wife of Kashyap Rishi. Earlier, Aditi had given birth to twelve off- springs in the form of eggs which later produce 12 suns. However, Aditi gave birth to 13th sun before time in a fit of anger after an argument with her husband Kashyapa. She abandoned him into waters of Satisar (Kashmir). The 13th sun in the form of a lifeless egg remained in Satisar for a long time. To kill a demon called Jalobhava, who was living under water, Kashyapa with the blessings of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh made a cut in the mountains and drained off the waters from Satisar. Thereafter, he found an egg in deep waters that he recalled as his 13th son Martanda, dropped by her wife Aditi. As soon as he tried to hold on him, he was warned by his son of dire consequences. Kashyapa visualized the situation and prayed the gods Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh and goddess Parvati to do needful. Then, Mata Parvati asked Lord Vishnu for help, who with his Sudarshan Chakra (discus) cut this egg into two parts. These parts transformed into springs known as Vimala and Kamala. In the process, mysterious glowing and flames beamed from the broken egg. The light came to be known as Martanda whereas the flames hit four places are known to be four great Shaktis- Bhargshika, Bheema Devi, Baswati and Shree Bhawani.
There are many legends associated with Martanda and his shrine. According to one legend the place is considered very important among pilgrims of Shri Amarnathji as it is believed that the yarta is completed only after the fishes in the sacred waters of Martand springs are fed on the way back from the holy cave shrine. There is another legend which credited goddess Parvati for true creator of the holy place of Martanda. The story goes like that once Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati passed through Mattan where Parvatiji liked this place and asked Lord to make it an important place. In order to fulfil the desire of his consort, Lord Shiva commemorated the event of sun god, who took birth at this place. It is said to be supreme reality behind the tirtha.There is yet another story which tells us that Aditi, the wife of Kashyapa, gave birth to Martanda with an aim to defeat the forces of Danvas(demons).
The main and ancient site of Martand lies beneath the mountain called Devi Bal. The tirtha is marked by two famous springs and many temples. The temples including ancient Martand temple, Mata Durga temple, Radha-Krishna temple,Shri Ram- Lakshman-Sita with Hanuman Ji temple, Lord Ganesh temple and newly constructed surya temple with 12 sun gods. The names of twelve sun gods are Data,Arima,Mitra,Varun,Inder,Vivaswan,Pusha,Parjney, Anushman,Bug,Trusht and Vishnu. All these temples are raised on a platform by the side of Vimala and Kamala kunds (springs).There is a Shiva temple in the middle of Kamala kund.Sacred fish are found in large numbers in these springs. The waters of these springs are considered sacred enough to take home in bottles. The water of springs flow down from the higher level to the lower through a channel made of stones. This water channel branches off just before the entrance of the shrine where waters of one branch are collected in a tank built at lower course of shrine complex. Devotees bathe in this tank before leading to Martandji temple for worship. There is a ‘dharamshala’ for pilgrims to stay in. The shrine is enclosed by an iron railing on front side and concrete brick wall on the other side. The holy place has two gateways on the roadside where one remains open for devotees and the other has been kept locked since last two decades. The shrine attracts devotees every year on Magh Shukla Paksh Saptami to celebrate birth anniversary of the sun god.
The other temple at Mattan is Bargshikha.It is dedicated to goddess Bhargshika-the great power. The temple is situated atop a mountain above the Martand shrine. The mountain is locally known as Devi Bal or Bhawani Bal. ‘Devi’ or ‘Bhawani’ means ‘goddess’ and ‘Bal’ means ‘lake’ or’ place’.Thus, ‘Devi Bal’ means ‘goddess place’. It is also called Adi Shakti Barshikha, which means the great Shakti from which all other Shaktis are born. It is this Adi-Shakti which is worshipped as Bhargshika at the shrine. There is no regular idol inside the temple but a holy rock (Shilla).The temple is visible from the main road that leads to Bumzoo from Anantnag.It can be reached either from the Bumzoo or from the Mattan area. The legend related with the shrine is that at the time when Lord Vishnu cut lifeless egg abandoned in Satisar by his disc, the flame and blood hit the mountain called Devi Bal. The blood from this mountain flowed down and created a shape of a hair known as the hair of the sun god i.e., the Martand Ji.The shrines of other Shaktis -Bheema Devi,Baswati and Shree Bhawani are located at other places in Mattan.
Another spot is Sangam near Tika Bagh. At this place, the waters of Lamboderi (River Lider) originated from Shesh Nag and Chaka Nadi from Martand mingled. The place is considered very pious for Hindus as it is this place where the Shards of departed souls are performed. The rituals like Pinddhan, Pitre Shrad, Tarpan etc. performed at this Sangam under certain stellar positions and particular areas are regarded as highly auspicious. However, the rituals carried out in the month of Malmass and on Vijay Saptami, Sankarati, Solar and Lunar eclipse days, Amavassya etc, and especially on Sundays lead towards salvation and peace. Further, it is believed that Lord Shiva blessed the departed souls with peace and salvation if one performs rituals on these days. According to various texts like Nilmat Puran, Brhamavarat, Martand Katha, Martand Puran etc., the Martanda, the sun god, was made the supreme of Malmass by the gods Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh after the prayer of Kashyap Rishi.The most well known and sacred religious festival ‘Malmass’ is held at Mattan after every two and half years where pilgrims from all over the country assemble here and performed religious rites along the ghats of Chaka Nadi.
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