- Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits converged at the Kheer Bhawani temple in Kashmir Valley’s Tul Mulla in Ganderbal district to attend the annual festival of Zyestha Ashtami.
- Many of them had migrated to different parts of the country in the 1990s in the wake of raging militancy.
- This time the water is ‘Nirmal’ (clean and transparent), which is considered a good omen.
- The temple of Kheer Bhawani is located amid chinar trees and has a natural spring, which is considered auspicious by Pandits.
- The mention of Kheer Bhawani is found in Kalhana’s Rajtarangini. Kalhana writes that the sacred spring of Tula Mula is situated in a marshy ground.
- Kheer Bhawani temple is dedicated to the goddess Mata Maharagina Bhagwati.
- Legend is that Mata Maharagina was pleased with the devotion of Ravna who appeared before him and he got the image of the Goddess installed in Sri Lanka.
- However, the Goddess became displeased with the vicious life of Ravna and did not want to stay in Sri Lanka.
- Therefore, she is believed to have instructed Lord Hanuman to get the image from Sri Lanka and install it at the holy spot of Tul Mulla.
Dig Deeper: Locate on the map various pilgrimage sites in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
