Romesh Mengi
Mahashivratri, the great night of Lord Shiva, is one of the holiest days of the Hindu calendar. It falls on the new moon day in the month of Maagha, and is dedicated and celebrated in honour of the beloved Hindu deity, Lord Shiva. People often fast on the night of Shivratri and sing hymns and praises in the name of Lord Shiva. Shiva temples across the country are decorated with lights and colorful decorations and people can be seen offering night long prayers to Shiva Lingam. Woodapple leaves, water and milk are offered to the Shiva Lingam on this day as they are believed to be Lord Shiva’s favorite. It is believed that the people who fast on this night and offer prayers to Lord Shiva bring good luck into their life.
Maha Shivratri story identifies Mahashivratri as the night of Lord Shiva’s wedding to Goddess Parvati. Yet another popular belief associates Mahashivaratri with the legend of Lord Shiva drinking poison to save the universe. A pot of poison was amongst the many things discovered during the churning of the ocean (the legendary Sagar Manthan). Lord Shiva drank the poison to save the universe from its ill effects. Gods danced in order to protect Shiva from the harmful effect of the poison and to keep him awake for a night. The poison eventually didn’t harm Shiva, but it turned his neck blue, which also explains why Lord Shiva is called Neelkanth.
Legends apart, Mahashivratri celebrations are of tremendous significance since this festival is considered to be a powerful time for prayers and prayer fulfillment, spiritual awakening and realisation. Whether one seeks worldly happiness or spiritual wisdom, Mahashivratri is considered as an auspicious day to seek the blessings of God.
At every Shiva Temple in Reasi district including World famous Shiv khori Shrine, the festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated with grandeur, devotion and love. It is regarded as a day of gratitude, a day of thanksgiving to Lord Shiva for his kindness and blessings. Fairs are organized with exuberance and enthusiasm on the eve of Shivratri at Shiv Khori Shrine, Baba Dhansar, Aap Shambu Mahadev and others temples of Lord Shiva falls in Reasi district. Reasi is famous for its striking natural beauty and religious beliefs. Deep inside this land, one can find many famous temples, caves which make an impact on the visitor, who is left with a sense of wonder about the creation of God, enhanced by the effort of man. Reasi district has many historical places that have been beautifully and tastefully crafted and have ever since remained the talk of UT and the country. There are several caves and temples in the district which are dedicated to Lord Shiva and hold importance during the religious Festival “MahaShivratri”. Lord Shiva is the Supreme form of the Trinity in oneness. Lord Shiva is the most popular Hindu God. He bestows numerous boons upon his devotees. Some of the Caves and temples associated with Lord Shiva present in the district are

Shivratri Special

Shiv Khori
There are many Shiva Shrines in J&K but Shiv Khori Shrine is famous for its uniqueness. A cave held in the lap of a hill and images inside are heart touching. An atmosphere of sheer peace and serenity pervades the shrine. Shiv Khori is one of the most revered cave shrines of Lord Shiva in the UT of J&K. Shiv khori is located in Ransoo village of Pouni block in Reasi district and it attracts lakhs of devotees annually. It is situated in Sangad hills of Ransoo area. People have to traverse about 3 km on foot on a track recently constructed by the Shiv Khori Shrine Board, Ransoo. This holy natural cave is about 200 meters long, one meter wide and two to three meters high and contains a self made lingam, which according to the people is unending. The cave is full of natural impression and images of various Hindu deities, that is why Shivkhori is also known as “Home of Gods”.
A number of legends have propounded about the discovery of this holy cave. One of the most important legends among them is related to famous demon Bhashmasur. Bhashmasur after a long meditation of Lord Shiva obtained blessing to end the life of any one by keeping his hand on his head. After obtaining it, the said devil tried to end the Lord Shiva. On seeing the evil design of the demon, the Lord Shiva ran along with Maa Parwati and Nandi to save himself from the power of the demon. While running when Bhashmasur was far behind Lord Shiva stopped at a place near present Shivkhori for rest. But the demon reached there and started fighting with Lord Shiva. A dreadful battle took place them. Due to this famous battle that place was named as Ransoo (Ran= battle, Soo= Ground) means battle ground. Ransoo is now base camp for Shivkhori yatra. But, to keep dignity of his own blessings the Lord Shiva decided not to kill Bhashmasur and proceeded ahead. Then while running Lord Shiva threw his Trishul, which created the famous Shivkhori cave. Lord Shiva entered in this cave and had meditation. After this, Lord Vishnu in the guise of Parvati came forward and asked the demon to dance with her according to her tune. As and when the demon started dancing as per the actions of Parvati, the said demon took his hand at his head and with his own power, he was himself destroyed. After destruction of demon Lord Vishnu along with other deities went inside the cave with the help of Kamdhenu. As per the legend 33 crores deities exist in this cave in shape of pindies.
Kansi Patta (Gupt kashi)
Kansi Patta (Ancient Name Gupt Kashi) village is located in Reasi Tehsil of Reasi district. It is situated 10kms away from Reasi. The village is known for its temple dedicated to the god Shiva. The village ancient name is Gupt Kashi but as the time passed the name changed from Gupt Kashi to Kansi Patta.Its religious importance is considered similar to that of Kashi of Varanasi, believed to be the most pious of all Hindu pilgrimage places.The temple is located on the way to the world famous Shiva Shrine Shiv Khori and close to famous waterfall of Siar Baba. It has the scenic backdrop of river Chenab and with darshan of Lord Shiva and other deities in temple, one gets very good positive vibration and peace of mind.The story behind the place goes as once there was a devil. He worshipped and prayed Lord Brahma (the creator) and gained the blessings of Brahma. The demon performed penance to Lord Brahma and after obtaining boons harassed the virtuous and the learned .The blessing was made according to the devil wish. According to the wish,he asked Brahma to bless him with immortality along with the wish that he will be killed only in Kashi. For his long term worship, Brahma was pleased and blessed him according to his wish. He became very powerful and strong. The devil then ran away from kashi and settled in a village nearby Reasi which was called GUPT KASHI at that time. But he was unaware of the original name of the village. He was thinking that now no one will kill him in Reasi as he was blessed to be killed only in Shiv Bhoomi “KASHI”. He started his evil poaching to the locals and the Rishis-Munis of Kashi patta and Reasi. He troubled and destroyed many holy places and started disturbing normal life of locals. No one could stop him. He gathered army and continued his evil deeds. The locals and Rishis found it difficult to tackle him because he became very powerful after Brahma blessing. The saints assembled and evoked LORD SHIVA with their woes and told him the harm caused by the devil. Lord Shiva asked the devil to stop his blatant acts or ready to face death. The devil in return said that he was blessed to be killed only in “KASHI” not in any other place. Lord Shiva said you don’t know that this place real name is “GUPT KASHI” and he was then killed by “SHIVA”. The priest also said that there is another story of temple which is linked to General Zorawar Singh. One night while sleeping, General Zorawar Singh saw Lord Shiva in his dream who told him to come to Gupt Kashi and build a temple there .General Zorawar Singh then came to Gupt Kashi and build Lord Shiva temple there. The priest also said that the temple has a unique combination of five things which we rarely find together at one place viz banyan tree, peepal tree, Shiv temple ,cremation ground and pious river Chenab. Locals come in large number to took holy dip here on Somvati Amavasya , Shiv Ratri , Baisakhi and others religious days. Locals also perform last rites of their loved ones at this place.
Baba Dhansar
Out of the many holy places in district Reasi, there exists a famous religious place namely Baba Dhansar in Karua Village that has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva .Karua village is situated approximately 10kms away from Reasi and 14 kms from Katra. The village is known for its temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva and karua Jheel. From village, one should have to step downhill in around 100 steps. The entire walk is dotted with a number of waterfalls that ultimately join the Banganga River. Near this rivulet, is a naturally formed Shivalingam inside a cave on top of which milky water droplets fall continuously throughout the year. As per Locals belief, when Lord Shiva went to the Amarnath cave to tell Parvati the story of his immortality, he left his serpent king, Sheshnag at Anantnag . Shesh Nag came in the human form as Vasudev. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar who was a saintly person.
As the local belief goes, in the ancient times there was a demon that lived near Karua Jheel and committed atrocities on the people of village Karua. The villagers sought help of Baba Dhansar to get rid of the Demon. It is believed that Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva arrived and helped in killing the Demon. The temple of Baba Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva near Karua Jheel has become a place of worship.
Salal Shiv Cave
Salal Shiv Cave is an ancient Lord Shiva cave which was discovered in 2012 by some local youths on the high mountain near Thanpal in Salal area of district Reasi. The area is tough terrain and nearly two hours on foot journey along Surman Khad. On one side there is Salal dam and on the other at high mountain this cave.The locals said that this cave was inaccessible due to its location but as they used to hear some kind of sounds from that area, nobody ever dared to go that side. A daring youth of the area armed with gun and assisted by 2-3 more youth, managed to reach up to the cave using ropes and his mountaineering skills. He saw a Shiva Lingam, stone idols of Shiva family, a statue of Saint and Hanuman. The cave appears to be almost equal to that of Shiv Khori. After this, the youth returned and told this matter to the whole village. The next day, the village Sarpanch and some locals started digging track on the rocky mountain and with in few days they managed to reach there and saw the cave. They saw pindis and a big Shiva Lingam. Pilgrims who visited this cave were astonished to see such a wonderful cave. There are two different routes one via Talwara-Siar Baba and Thanpal using boat over Salal dam and another one via Reasi-Salal and yet another one via Bidda-Dhayangarh-dam site.
Mahadev Aap Shambu Temple Reasi
Mahadev Mandir is a well known religious place in district Reasi and is revered by all the followers. The temple is said to be more than 300 yrs old. The present structure has been built in present form by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. In the sanctum sanctorum, a Shiv ling is visible which amounts a single rock resting beneath. As per the local Legend, there was a herdsman grazing cows nearby this temple. When cows reached a particular point , milk began to dribble automatically through their udders. This was very surprising but herdsman never noticed. When cows returned to their owners in the evening, many cows did not drip a single drop and many others dropped a tiny quantity of milk. Villagers and landlords began to blame herdsman for this but he was innocent in this matter. Now shepherd was vigilant while grazing cows. One day he noticed that milk was pouring on a particular spot from cow’s udders. Herdsman told the fact to villagers. Anxious villagers watched the next day and decided to dig the spot. On an auspicious day and moment, astonished villagers prayed and started digging the spot. After digging villagers saw divine Shiv Linga and its Jalhari. Seeing this they began to dance and prayed Lord Mahadev and named this area as Mahadev. Later on a temple was build there and named as Mahadev Mandir Reasi. As per local belief, all this happened on the eve of Baisakhi and from that time Baisakhi mela is organized in the temple premises with religious fervor.
Nandi Parbat Mahadev Cave
This ancient Lord Shiva cave was discovered recently on the high mountain near Shivkhori (Ransoo). The area is tough terrain and nearly one hour foot journey from Bhamblya village near Kanda. The area falls between Reasi and Rajouri district. The villagers with their efforts managed to make track up to the cave which is on the steep rocky mountain. The locals said that this cave was inaccessible due to its location. A local man whose goats got missing and in search of them the man along with some other locals found this cave and goats near this cave. He saw a Shiva Lingam, stone idols of Shiva family, Nag Devta, Kali Mata idol and other idols. The cave appears to be almost equal to that of Shiv Khori.The pilgrims visiting this place were astonished to see such a wonderful cave. This new cave is 3 kms away from Ransoo base camp of Shiv khori. The locals name this cave as Nandi Parvat Mahadev Gufa as the mountain on which cave is discovered looks like Nandi.
Nonetheless, Religious tourism too plays an important role in the economic development of an area and one can spot number of towering religious sites here in Reasi apart from scenery and nature. A number of places prevail in the Reasi that provide brilliant opportunities to explore the natural beauty, history and spirituality. Needless to say, Reasi is a Land of Shiva Caves and temples and all are welcome in this “LAND OF SHIVA” on the auspicious occasion of SHIVRATRI.

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