Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 3: Thousands of people today paid obeisance at the revered temple of Mata Kheer Bhawani, an incarnation of Goddess Ragnia and presiding deity of Kashmiri Pandits, situated at Bhawani Nagar in Janipur area here on the occasion of Zeyshta Ashtami and Kheer Bhawani festival.
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The Kashmiri Pandit devotees offered flowers to the idols of Mata Kheer Bhawani installed as replica of the original shrine existing in Tulmulla village of Ganderbal district in Srinagar. They prayed for peace in the region and sought blessings of Mata Kheer Bhawani.
Long queues were seen outside the temple and devotees including young and the old, were waiting for their turn to offer prayers and seek blessings.
The entire shrine premises tastefully decorated, echoed with bhajans since last evening which reached its climax as the day advanced today. Devotees with flowers and thalis filled with puja material which was provided by the management of the Peeth on no profit no loss basis, continued to assemble around the small magnificent Temple of Mata Maha Raghneya to offer puja in the traditional way.
Ardh Ratri Maha Raghneya Sewa Sanstha Trust, which manages affairs of the temple, performed Hawan on this occasion. Several stalls were set up by the Sanstha for convenience of the devotees. The Samuhik Arti was performed at 7.15 PM in which thousands of devotees participated.
Meanwhile, Kashmiri Sahayak Samiti (KSS) Jammu cerebrated Zeyshta Ashtami as birthday of Mata Kheer Bhawani with traditional religious fervor and high enthusiasm here today at Mata Sharika Bhawan, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.
Thousands of devotes chanting mantras and Vedic hymns throng the sanctum sanctorum of Mata Raghneya to worship by performing their ritual hawan pooja conducted by learned scholar, B N Sadhu who prayed for peace and prosperity of mankind.
Kashmiri traditional bhajans sung by devotee Nari Shaktis led by Kusum Koul and Veena Jee invoking blessings of Mata Kheer Bhawani, created an emotional atmosphere among displayed Kashmiri Pandit Baradari, who could not visit Tulmulla, Kashmir on this auspicious occasion.
Dr Daleep Pandita, General Secretary KSS, while conducting the proceedings explained the religious importance of this day under the historical context of Mata Kheer Bhawani Kashmir.
Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Additional General Secretary of National Conference, Advocate Rattan Lal Gupta, Provincial President of NC, along with senior party colleagues, today visited Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple at Nagrota and paid obeisance to Goddess Ragnya Devi.
Both the senior leaders offered prayers at the holy shrine and prayed for lasting peace, prosperity, and communal harmony in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They extended heartfelt greetings to the Kashmiri Pandit community on this sacred occasion and appreciated their unwavering faith and resilience.
During their visit, the senior NC leaders interacted with members of the Kashmiri Pandit community who had gathered there to mark the festival.
Prominent NC leaders accompanying him included: Bimla Luthra, Pardeep Bali, Ayub Malik, Laxmi Datta, Satwant Kour Dogra, Abdul Gani Teli, Raghbir Singh Manhas, Naresh Bittu, Vikram Puri, Jatin Bhat, Ashok Koul, Ashwani Charak, Rakesh Pahalwan, Jatinder Bhagat, Jatinder Singh Lucky, Sardar Gimmy, Sewak Singh and other party functionaries.
Meanwhile, Zeyshta Ashtami was celebrated today at Kashmiri Pandit Sabha, Ambphalla where puja archana was performed in which large numbers of devotees participated and Prasad was distributed among the devotees. The puja was performed in traditional manner in which the devotees prayed for the well being of the people of J&K and in particular the Kashmiri Pandits.
The members present on the occasion were K. K. Khosa President, Deepak Dhar Sr Vice-President, Ashwani Koul Vice-President, Subhash Dhar, Dr Usha Tickoo, Dr Sujata Sathoo, V. K. Bakshi, V. K. Mukhi, Bharat Bushan Gosani, A. K. Braroo and Nimi Braroo.
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