(Main Entrance of Raghunath Ji Mandir)
Jammu is crowned with the name of City of temples and one such historic and ancient temple is located in the heart of Jammu city which is popularly known as Raghunath ji Temple. This temple is a unique architecture, design and wonderful proud and has lot more spiritual beauty to the Jammu city. This temple is visited by the devotees all through the year. The temple is a very significant center of religion, religious, spiritual, social and cultural activities. The temple is located in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. There are large number of pilgrims, who came from Mata Vashno Devi, those also pay visit to Shree Raghunath ji temple and ask blessings from Lord Ram and Devi Sita. This temple is accepted as a famous pilgrims tourist spot of Jammu and Kashmir, where many people got to temple and pay their respect to Lord Ram. The Raghunath temple consisting of seven shrines each having its distinctive 'Shikhara' (Shikhara, a Sanskrit word, which literally means to mountain Peak; is a generical term in Hindu temple architectural styles of north India, used to denote the rising tower in a temple building), is one of the major temple complexes of north India Located in the Jammu City, it was built between 1853-1860 by Maharaja Gulab Singh & his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh.
The temple has almost all gods and goddesses of Hindus, however the presiding deity is Lord Ram, considered to be avatar - incarnation - if of Lord Vishnu. The temple sparked national interest and media scrutiny, when on November 24,2002, while the Hindus were performing Puja inside the temple complex, a fidayeen terrorist attack took place - at least 10 people were killed and several other devotees were injured. As mentioned before, the gigantic Raghunath temple has seven towering shikharas (tower above a temple), and every shrine has its own shikkra. At the entrance of the temple are the majestic portrait of Ranbir Singh and an image of Lord Hanuman. Sitting behind these, is the central shrine dedicated to Lord Ram/Raghunath, the presiding deity. Besides the main shrine, other shrines are dedicated to manifestians of Lord Vishnu. Additionally there is another interesting shrine, dedicated to Lord Surya - the sun God. Within the temple itself, other shrines house giant statues of the gods and goddesses within Hinduism. It should also be mentioned that three interior walls of the temple have gold sheets gleaming on the surface of the walls. The temple also has a gallery, which has crossed the 'lingama '(phallic form of Lord Shiva) and saligrams.
The devotion and rituals in the sermons and rituals of the temple are comprised of morning and evening aarti. The architecture of Raghunath Temple could be seen in the flamboyant aspects of the Mughals with their marble and stone use. Massive carvings and arches worthy of high regard draw the eye to the intricacies of this artistry. There is at least one library in the temple complex that canonizes rare Sanskrit books and manuscripts for intellectual reading. People come to this temple in droves to express their devotion to the deity and to seek the blessings of the Lord. It is a temple complex of seven Hindu shrines. The Raghunath Temple is home to many gods and goddesses, but the shri is Lord Rama who is also known as Raghunath, the incarnation of the god Vishnu. All tiers of the spiral shaped towers are capped with a golden plated 'viman'(above the shrine). The walls of the shrines have niches which are elaborated with 300 representations of different gods and goddesses including Surya and Shiva, but most notedly tied to the Ramayana and Krishna stories. The temple complex contain a school, library, and records over 6000 manuscripts in the temple complex, for the curators and staff to preserve about 6000 manuscripts for scholars and researchers.
The temple complex is located in the old city north of River Tawi at an average height of approximately 350m (1150ft). In the Jammu area, temple building activity began to expand, and was built in Spiral shape with bricks and topped with towers and with bright Kalashas in the shape of shikara rising tower during the period of the Jammu Shivalik rulers after 1765 and earlier in the nineteenth century. In 1835, Gulab Singh (ruler of Jammu and Kashmir), built this temple complex as a dedication to Sanctum of Raghunath which he called a temple complex in honour of his guru known as Baba Prem Das. It was completed in 1860 by his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Under the authority of Ranbir Singh, the temple complex created a Pathshala school for all castes (varnas) and student (jatis). In addition to being a repository for sarda manuscripts, the temple complex has also established an initiative called eGangotri to digitize ancient manuscripts from other parts of India. The temple complex is dedicated to Lord Rama, another incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
This temple has the interior decor of sleeves of gold sheets on 3 sides of the temple. The architecture and the sight itself is something to see, and difficult to explain in words. The experience of coming here will elevate a person's devotion and spirituality and bring mental peace from the beauty alone, that make one glimmering with joy and pride. If someone is already visiting Jammu and the Mata Vashnu Devi shrine, then Ragunath Temple should also be seen, as a tour of Jammu, is not complete without seeing and passing through, the temple complex. What separates Ragunath temple from other temples of India is that it encompasses nearly all the gods and goddesses of Hinduism, and this is another feature of the temple. Anyone visiting Jammu should be advised that Ragunath temple can also be easily visited and one can appreciate its architecture/design which is engineering marvel. Of the temple, the temple complex has security personnel who are guarding so that no untoward militant incident takes place thereafter. May Lord Rama and serve as our torch bearer and path pradershak.
(Writer:- Vivek Koul and Co-Writer:- Omkar Dattatray)
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