Shiv Chander Sharma
Situated on the left bank of river Tawi, there is a famous and most revered Mahakali temple in Jammu city which is commonly known among locals as Bawe Wali Mata.
This 8th century temple having a beautiful black stone idol of goddess Mahakali is located in the Bahu Fort which overlooks river Tawi and is visible from various parts of the city and also from the main Tawi bridges linking two parts of the city and Gandhi Nagar area.
The temple is visited by thousands of people, both locals and visitors and Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims daily. However, rush is much more on Tuesdays and Sundays or during Navratras which fall this year from April 2 to 10 when the people have to wait for darshans in long serpentine queues for several hours.
A Mela is organized on the eighth Navratra during the Indian Bikrami month of Chaitra every year which falls this year on 9th April and is known as Mela Bahu Fort, and it is Government holiday in Jammu district so that large number of people can visit the temple and pay their obeisance to goddess Kali. Preparations for this Mela in the Bahu Fort have already begun and renovation process is in full swing said Rakesh Khajuria living near the temple.
Another resident of Bahu Fort locality just outside the fort Kishore Kumar said that Melas have always remained part of Indian culture and attraction for the people even in the present modern times which still attracts large number of people coming from various places. He said that many vendors offer various items for the children and females and the process to occupy their space by such vendors has already begun.
In earlier times, people had to wait for paying their obeisance to goddess Maha Kali standing in long queues outside the temple from the main entrance of the fort in the open under the Sun or under the rains. However, the situation has changed now and the portion where the people wait in queues has been covered by cement concrete roof. However, every devotee has to deposit their mobile phones, belts and shoes etc at the counter outside the main entrance of the fort and that portion has been recently been covered so that the devotees do not have to stand under the open sky.
Unique feature of this temple is the animal sacrifice which is still prevalent. In present times goats are not sacrificed by slitting their necks. This is done now a day’s symbolically as a gesture of thanks to the goddess when a cherished desire of the devotees is fulfilled.
The devotees purchase a goat by paying a small amount to the persons present in the temple premises having a number of goats. The devotees take the goat to a pit of size about 15 feet by 15 feet and about two feet deep just outside the temple. Then a handful of water is sprinkled on the goat when the priest mutters some incantation. When the goat reverts to its own, the offering is believed to be accepted by the goddess.
However, this was not the case earlier when the people used to sacrifice goats in the same pit outside the temple till the beginning of the 20th century and the blood would flow in the same water channel of the pit where now water flows. They would sacrifice the goat and eat its mutton treating it as a Prasad. This practice prevailed till the times of Maharaja Pratap Singh who ruled J&K state from 1885 AD to 1925 AD.
How this practice was stopped has an interesting story. A saint who used to meditate in an adjoining temple of Narsimha when saw this practice he was hurt. He tried his best to convince the devotees to stop this practice but to no avail. One day he got agitated and threw the idol of the goddess in river Tawi.
It is believed that thereafter Mahakali appeared in a dream to Maharaja Pratap Singh and told him that wish of the saint be fulfilled by immediately stopping the animal sacrifice. The very next day, Mahajara prohibited the animal sacrifice in the temple and visited the temple along with his family members. And, the saint on his request took out the idol of the goddess from Tawi waters and re-installed at its original place.
Now, people go the temple with devotion and if someone has a desire he commits before the goddess that he or they will offer a goat and Prasad if the desire is fulfilled. And when the desire is fulfilled they fulfill their commitment but not by sacrificing the goat and only do it symbolically.
This Mahakali temple is among the most famous Shakti shrines. The Dogra rulers as well the people of Jammu have always held it in high esteem.
However, animal sacrifice is still prevalent at some other religious places including Bhair Devta shrine just outside the city near Nagrota. In other parts of the Jammu region, animal sacrifice is a routine matter in religious affairs.
Another attraction of the Bahu Fort is its adjoining Bagh-e-Bahu Park, a major attraction for the tourists which is visited by the people from all walks of life whether locals or tourists and pilgrims. Very recently, a musical fountain has been introduced in Bagh-e-Bahu which is attracting huge crowd in the evening hours. This large park on the hill slope on the left side of river Tawi was constructed in
the 1980s to attract not only the people of the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, which was the one state at that time, but also the pilgrims and tourists from outside.
Those entering the city when reach the Tawi bridge, also see this fort in ruins which bears testimony to the history of Jammu Raj in various shapes and stages in different times.
This is Bahu Fort, which is believed to be originally built by legendary king Raja Bahulochan, the brother of Jambulochan who is believed to be the founder of Jammu. That is why this fort is named after Bahulochan -Bahu fort.
This Fort finds mention in several old books including Malfuzat-i-Timuri written by Amir Timur after he invaded Jammu in 1398 AD when Raja Maldev was the king of Jammu.
In ancient times, the Bahu Fort remained capital of Jammu Raj till 11th century AD when the capital was shifted to Babbapura (Now called Babor on Dhar-Udhampur Road), about 80 km from Jammu city due to continuous invasions by several invaders.
Some historians determine the period of this fort around 5thh or 6th century AD. Later, this was renovated several times, last time most probably by the founder of J&K state-Maharaja Gulab Singh in the middle of 19th century, said V K Sharma, a historian having worked on it and the adjoining Mahamaya temple.
The fort still has many rooms and halls including underground hall which used to serve various purposes of the kings which, however, are ruined now. A pond was also built inside the fort with such a technology that the rain water of almost the entire fort used to collect in it through various underground drains and channels, which is known as rain water harvesting.
Till about 100 years ago a flight of stairs descended from the back side of the fort to river Tawi, which, however, stands closed now.
The fort also had a very deep well which used to cater to the needs of drinking water even in the extreme summer season when the ground water table falls drastically. All this speaks about the intelligence of the then rulers who built this fort. It was a well fortified massive structure which was almost difficult to scale by the invaders from any side without coming into the sight of the rulers and their army.
That is why that Amir Timur did not make any attempt to conquer this fort during his invasion of Jammu. After Amir Timur’s mention of this fort in his book Malfuzat-i-Timuri, a german visitor Baron Charles Hugel, who saw this fort from afar on November 2, 1835 also gave an interesting description in his works.
However, after the death of Kapur Dev, the Jammu Raj was divided into two principalities with the river Tawi as the boundary. His son Jagdev held his court at Bahu while his brother Smail Dev ruled from Jammu, just across river Tawi. This state of affairs continued for a long time till the succession of Raja Hari Dev in 1760 AD. He re-united the states of Jammu. Until then the rulers of Bahu used to be called as Bahuwals and those of Jammu-Jamwals, the trend which still prevails.
This fort is in shambles now and no one has ever tried to restore it to its original glory though in 1986 an attempt was made by mapping of this fort by the state PWD department. But after that nothing happened and it still awaits attention of the Government.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
