KATHA
Meri Maiya Vaishno Devi
followed and worshiped Lord Vishnu and considered him as HER ideal.
At about 2 kms from Katra,
from where we start our Meri Maiya Yatra today, is situated an old village,
Hansal, also called (Hansalli). Around 700 years ago, there lived a very
poor priest named Pandit Shirdhar, who was very heartily devoted to Meri
Maiya Vaishnodevi. He used to sing his daily prayers and performed Meri
Maiya Puja daily. He also used to worship little girls (called Kanya Pujan)
regularly. And as faith was, he was childless and had no children of his
own.
His daily Puja and Prayers
for Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi went on for many years. At last seeing his firm-faith
and the true devotion, Meri Maiya one day came to Panditji, in the form
of a little innocent girl.
Pandit Shridhar had been
busy in his daily preparation of Kanya Pujan, where, some little girls
were present before him. Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi manifested herself in those
little-girls. As per the Hindu tradition, while Pt. Shirdhar had been washing
the feet of these little girls, his sight fell on Meri Maiya manifested
Herself in the form of a little girl. Panditji was astonished to see HER
celestial beauty in vermilion garbs; SHE wore on HER divine body. He had
never seen the little girl before, and SHE did not even seem to belong
to his village. Anyway, he worshipped as usual. When the Puja was over,
all the girls returned to their homes after getting their offerings from
Panditji, except Meri Maiya who remained seated.
Panditji was very much
confused and was about to enquire and ask Meri Maiya, that Meri Maiya Herself
spoke to him and said " I have an important task for you." Panditji was
spell bound and was astonished more and more to listen to such a conversation
from that little-girl. Meri Maiya asked Panditji to invite people from
neighboring villages for a collective lunch - called Bhandhara. Panditji
was very much confused and before he could say anything or ask Meri Maiya
about HER, Meri Maiya disappeared. [Bhumika Temple - About 2 kilometers
from Katra on Panthal Road, is situated Bhumika Temple. This is the place,
where Pt. Shirdhar had the sight of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi - The Divine
Girl. At this very place Pt. Shridhar arranged the Bhandhara.
Pt. Shirdhar went on thinking
hard - who this little girl was?, but was unable to find an answer to it…
SHE might be an "Eternal-Girl", or may be Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi Herself
and the more he thought the more he got confused, and worried for the "Bhandhara",
as it was not possible for him to keep such a huge Bhandhara. He could
not think of anything, and in the end, he decided to obey the Divine Girl
and went to tell and invite the people in the neighboring villages.
He went on to invite people
from one village to another. On his way, he came across a group of saints.
He very humbly bowed before them, and with his folded hands, extended an
invitation to them also to attend Bhandhara, the next day. Maha Guru Goraksh
NathJi - the leader of the group of saints - told him that he was mistaking
in inviting them at home, as even Lord Indra had not been able to satisfy
them. Pt. Shridhar got afraid and related them the event and told them
of the Divine-Girl. Mahayogi Guru Gorakshnath ji in his anxiety accepted
Panditji's invitation. He also wanted to see, such a girl, who could prepare
food for so many peoples and was very curious to find Who this Girl was?
Panditji was fully exhausted
when he returned home, and so he went fast asleep immediately on returning
home. The next morning, once again, he started worrying about the arrangements
for Bhandhara. He just sat in his home, thinking, when people began to
gather outside his small hut.
Maha Guru Goraksh NathJi
and Bhairavnath, a disciple of Maha Guru Goraksh NathJi, also arrived along
with their disciples.
Panditji was not able
to understand what was going on, and to his surprise, all of a sudden Meri
Maiya Vaishnodevi - The Divine Girl, entered into the little hut. No one
could know - which way SHE had come! How and when did SHE arrive? Meri
Maiya told Panditji, "Don't worry, and get up! Everything will be arranged
very soon. Tell your guests to come in and sit in the hut." Pt. Shirdhar,
immediately got up, and came out to the eagerly awaiting crowd. He invited
them to come inside the hut and have food.
Mahayogi Guru Gorakshnath
ji then asked - How can we sit in your hut? It does not have a sufficient
space for all of us. Panditji folded his hands and said. No problem - please
come in .....
All people who were invited
began to enter one by one in the hut. All of them were astonished to see,
that all of them had entered and sat inside the hut and still a small space
was left in the corner of the same hut, which was very small !!
Meri Maiya began to serve
food from a small vessel in HER little hands. The foods of their respective
choice and likings! Everyone was surprised and Meri Maiya bhakt Pt. Shirdhar
was overwhelmed with joy.
Maha Guru Goraksh NathJi
and his senior disciple Bhairavnath were very much amazed and began to
consult between themselves - and said SHE seems to be an Eternal Power.
Who SHE was? and when Meri Maiya reached Bhairavnath to serve him the foods,
he asked, "Shall I get the food of my choice?"
"What do you want?" Meri
Maiya asked him politely.
Bhairavnath asked for
meat and wine. Meri Maiya very gently told him that he was sitting in the
hut of a pious Vaishnav Brahmin, and that only vegetarian food will be
served.
Bhairavnath turned a deaf
ears to the words, as he wanted to cross-examine the Girl. Nevertheless,
Meri Maiya knew his evil desires and as soon as, Bhairavnath could rose
up with some seditious thinking and tried to catch hold of Meri Maiya hand,
Meri Maiya disappeared.
Bhairavnath was an expert
at the science of meditation and was a tantrik. He closed his eyes for
a moment and saw with the help of his yogic-powers that Meri Maiya had
proceeded towards the Trikuta Hills, in a subtle form of "Air". Bhairavnath
started chasing Meri Maiya. Darshni Darwaza - Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi proceeded
through this way, after disappearing from the Bhandhara. One can get a
clear view of the hills, from this place. Hence it is called Darshni Darwaza,
i.e., a gate to the hill-site one and a half kilometer from Katra.]
During this chase, Meri
Maiya felt thirsty, and SHE perched an arrow with HER bow on the land
and a stream of water flew out. This place is called Ban Ganga. [
Ban Ganga - Starting form Katra and passing through Darshni Darwaza, Ban
Ganga is a streamlet gushing out from the hills over a bridge. The stream
is regarded very sacred and many bhakts take a purificatory bath in it
before proceeding further. A beautiful idol of the goddess is place in
the corridors of Ban Ganga temple.]
Meri Maiya stopped for
some time and looked behind at Bhairavnath who was chasing her. [ Charan
Paduka - The place where Meri Maiya rested have marks of
the impressions of HER feet and were printed on a stone as SHE stopped
here. The foot prints are still visible on the stone, preserved here in
the temple. Hence, the place is called "Charan Paduka" i.e., the holy foot
prints.]
At a considerable distance
from Charan paduka, Meri Maiya reached a small charming plateau, called
Ardhkwari, where a mendicant was practicing his meditations opposite a
small tunnel. SHE gave HER divine sight to the mendicant and told him not
to tell any thing about HER visit to any one. Thereafter, Meri Maiya went
into the tunnel and took rest for full long nine months, as if the child
in the womb of a mother. Meri Maiya spent the nine months in complete devotion.
Hence, the tunnel was called "Garabh Joon".
Searching for Meri Maiya,
Bhairavnath reached here. He asked the mendicant " Have you seen a girl
on this plateau?" The old mendicant replied, " SHE is the supreme power
in the whole world, whom you think to be an ordinary girl and that she
is Adikumari", i.e. A virgin since the very beginning of this earth. He
told Bhairavnath either to run away or to beg pardon from HER. The moment
universe came into existence since then SHE has maintained virginity better
you go back. Bhairavnath again put a deaf ear to the advice and entered
into the tunnel. Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi was aware of it. Meri Maiya with
HER divine powers made another opening of the cave by strucking a
path at the end of the tunnel with the help of HER trident and moved ahead
towards the Holy cave at Darbar (Bhavan). [ Garabh Joon - The tunnel
is about 15 feet long that starts horizontally and ends vertically. This
place is about 5 kms from Charan Paduka.]
On reaching at the Holy
cave at Darbar Meri Maiya with all HER powers looked as Meri Maiya MAHA
KALI and in the end Meri Maiya with HER Trishul cut the
head of Bhairavnath and threw it with such a force
that it went at a distant Mountain. The place
at which the head fell is now Bhairav temple.
According to the katha the big rock at the entrance of the Holy cave is
the remaining body of Bhairavnath.
Bhairavnath then started
pleading Meri Maiya, and begged to Meri Maiya to forgive him, for his sins.
Merciful Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi
forgave Bhairavnath for all his sins and blessed him and granted him a
wish that whenever HER bhakts will come to Bhavan for HER Darshan their
yatra will not be completed unless on going back after HER Darshan the
bhakts pay homage at Bhairavnath temple.
On the other side, Pt.
Shirdhar was very much disappointed with the sudden disappearance of Meri
Maiya. He was very much worried about Meri Maiya, and went on for fasting
for many days, even leaving food and water.
Kind hearted Meri Maiya
Vaishnodevi, again appeared before him, in his dream one night. In his
dream, Meri Maiya showed him HER shrine - the Holy cave and asked him to
follow HER through the route. Panditji followed Meri Maiya and reached
Meri Maiya Pavitra Gufa. Pt. Shirdhar was very happy when he woke up in
the morning. All his distortion was removed.
From that very day, Panditji
began to search for the Holy cave of Meri Maiya, which he had seen in his
dream. He was very much disturbed and wanted to find Meri Maiya Holy cave
as soon as possible. He started recounting and following the route as Meri
Maiya has directed him, and once while climbing up the hills, Panditji
was able discover the Holy cave, the same which he saw in his dream.
Panditji entered inside
the Holy Cave .…. And to his astonishment, he got the Holy sight of the
abode of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi to the success of his life. He saw, Meri
Maiya Vaishnodevi, represented by three goddesses, viz. Meri Maiya
Maha Laxmi (the goddess of beauty and wealth), Meri Maiya Mahakali (the
vanquisher of evil (right)), Meri Maiya Maha Saraswati (the muse of art
and learning (left)). Pandit Shirdhar read hymns and verses in praise of
Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi, with his hands folded before HER, and offered "Aarti",
and bowed and prayed by all means. Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi was very much
pleased with him. SHE granted him a boon of four sons, and said that his
descendants will continue to worship HER. Since that day, the descendants
of Pt. Shirdhar have been worshipping Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi, inside the
Holy cave (Pavitra Gufa).
Thereafter, Pt. Shirdhar
made known to this world of the Holy Cave and existence of Meri Maiya Vaishnodevi
in the Pavitra Gufa. This is how, we all came to know of our beloved Meri
Maiya Vaishnodevi ..... and had been blessed by HER all through these years
.....
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As the time passed, Mahayogi
Guru Gorakshnath ji ( who made lord Rama free from the sin of brahma-hatya
which he acquired by killing Ravana) came to make words of lord Rama true
for vaishnavi. Meanwhile a staunch devotee of Vaishnavi Mata, Sridhar organised
a Bhandara (Community meal) in which the whole village and MahaYogi Guru
Goraksh Nath ji along with all his followers including Bhairavnath were
invited.
Mahayogi Guru Gorakshnath
accepted Shridhar's invitation, which surprised bhairavnath. Bhairavnath
decided to find out the secret of the bhandara, as he knew no worldy man
can feed Mahayogi Guru Gorakshnath and his followers including him. Bhairavnath
also wanted to know why his master Mahayogi Guru Gorakshnath accepted the
invitation. So, Bhairavnath decided to find out all this on his own. BhairavNath
on locating the ashram started observing Vaishnavi secretly, and realised
that though a 'Sadhvi' she always carried bow and arrows with her, and
was always surrounded by langoors (apes) and a ferocious looking lion.
Bhairon Nath was enamored
by Vaishnavi's extraordinary beauty, and losing all good sense he began
to pester Vaishnavi to marry him. Mahayogi Guru Gorakshnath went to bhandara
with his 300 disciples including Bhairavnath. During the course of Bhandara
BhairavNath attempted to grab Vaishnavi but she tried her best to daunt
him. On failing to do so, Vaishnavi decided to flee away into the mountains
to continue her Tapasaya undisturbed. Bhairon Nath however chased her to
her destination.r best to daunt him. On failing to do so, Vaishnavi decided
to flee away into the mountains to continue her Tapasaya undisturbed. Bhairon
Nath however chased her to her destination. |
When Bhairon Nath continued
to follow her despite the goddess trying to avoid a confrontation, the
goddess was compelled to kill him. Bhairon Nath met his ultimate fate when
the goddess, just outside the mouth of the cave, beheaded him. The severed
head of Bhairon fell with a force at a distant hilltop.
Bhairon Nath upon death
realised the futility of his mission and prayed to the deity to forgive
him. The almighty Mata ( Mother Goddess) had mercy on Bhairon and gave
him a boon that every devotee of the goddess would have to have the Darshans
of Bhairon after having the Darshans of the Goddess and only then would
the yatra of a devotee be complete. Meanwhile, Vaishnavi decided to shed
off her human form and assuming the face of a rock she immersed her self
into meditation forever.
Thus Vaishnavi, in the
form of a five and a half feet tall rock with three heads or the Pindies
on the top is the ultimate destination of a devotee. These Pindies constitute
the Sanctum Sanctorum of the holy cave known as the shrine of Shri Mata
Vaishno Devi Ji, which is revered by one and all.
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