The
abode of the Goddess Vaishno Devi is in the Moutains of
Trikuta Hills, in the Jammu and Kashmir State of Northern
India. Ma resides in a beautiful cave in the form of 3
'Pindis' namely, Maha-Kali, Maha-Laxmi and Maha-Sarawati.
Ma
Vaishno Devi took birth in the South of India in the home of
Ratnakar Sagar, Her worldly parents had remained childless for
a long time. Ratnakar had promised, the night before the birth
of the Divine child, that he would not come in the way of
whatever his child desired. Ma Vaishno Devi was called Trikuta
as a child. Later She was called Vaishnavi because of Her
taking birth from Lord Vishnu's lineage. When Trikuta was 9
years old, She sought her father's permission for doing
penance on the sea-shore. Trikuta prayed to Lord Vishnu in the
form of Rama. During Shree Ram's search for Sita, He reached
the sea-shore along with His army. His eyes fell on this
Divine Girl in deep meditation. Trikuta told Shree Ram that
She had accepted Him as Her husband. Shree Ram told Her that
during this Incarnation He had vowed to be faithful to only
Sita. However the Lord assured Her that in 'Kaliyuga' He would
manifest as 'Kalki' and would marry Her.
In
the meantime Shree Ram asked Trikuta to meditate in the cave
found in the Trikuta Range of Manik Mountains, situated in
Northern India. Ma decided to observe the 'Navratra' for the
Victory of Shree Ram against Ravan. Hence one reads the
Ramayana during the 9 days of Navratra, in remembrance of the
above connection. Shree Ram promised that the whole world
would sing Ma Vaishno Devi's praise. Trikuta was to become
famous as Vaishno Devi and would become immortal forever.
With
the passage of time many more stories about the Mother Goddess
emerged. One such story is about Shree-Dhar.
The
above story is about 700 years old. Shri-Dhar was an ardent
devotee of Ma Vaishno Devi. He resided in a village called
Hansali, 2 Km away from the present Katra town. Once Ma
appeared to him in the form of a young bewitching girl. The
young girl asked the humble Pandit to hold a 'Bhandara'. (A
feast to feed the mendicants and devotees) The Pandit set out
to invite people from the village and near-by places. He also
invited 'Bhairav Nath'. Bhairav Nath asked Shri-Dhar how
he was planning to fulfill the requirements. He reminded him
of the bad consequences in case of failure. As Panditji was
lost in worry, the Divine girl appeared and told Him not to be
despondent as everything had been arranged. She asked that
over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut. True to Her word
the Bhandara went smoothly with food and place to spare.
Bhairav
Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and
decided to test Her further. Bhairav Nath followed the Divine
girl to Trikuta Hills. For 9 months Bhairav Nath was searching
for the mystic girl in the mountains. He saw the 'girl'
hitting the stone with an arrow and water gushing out of the
stone. He 'saw' the 'girl' sitting on the mountain top. When
Bhairav went to that place, he saw footprints on the stone.
Bhairav wondered how the 'girl' had eluded him for 9 months!
Wondering whether she was hiding in the cave (Adi Kunwaari),
he decide to enter it.
On
seeing Bhairav entering the cave, Ma tore open a path behind
the cave, by Her trident and came out. Ma reached the
beautiful cave in the Trikuta mountain. She urged Bhairav not
to follow Her. But he disobeyed. The Goddess took the shape of
Fierce Chandi and killed Bhairav. The head of Bhairav fell on
the mountain peak. Bhairav had Spiritual powers. So though his
head was severed, he still retained consciousness. Bhairav
repented for his conduct. Ma forgave him and granted him the
boon that whosoever worshipped Her would later visit his
shrine.
Meanwhile
Pandit Shree-Dhar became impatient. He started to march
towards Trikuta Mountain on the same path that he had
witnessed in a dream. He ultimately reached the cave mouth. He
made a daily routine of worshipping the 'Pindis' in several
ways. His worship pleased the Goddess. She appeared in front
of him and blessed him. Since that day, Shree-Dhar and his
descendants have been worshipping the Goddess Mother Vaishno
Devi.
Jai
Mata Di.
Read:
Navratras
Read
Montserrat
