On a height from the holy banks of the Devika River in the Jammu region, Purmandal, an ancient place of pilgrimage, is located about 20 kilometers from Purmandal Morh on the Jammu-Pathankot national highway. The river which originates at Sudhmahadev, another well-known Tirath in Jammu, is also called Gupt-Ganga. Amidst these hallowed grounds, Mahadev, the supreme Lord among all the deities, slew Sudhi demon with his trident at this place when the latter cast an evil eye on the female deity. The trident that was partially damaged in the duel between them is affixed along with its two or three pieces within the temple premises. Jangams (Shiv Yogis), since time immemorial, have hailed and chanted hymns in praise of Lord Shiva and Parvati in commemoration of their marriage ceremonies that is performed on the auspicious day of Shivratri.
As per these hymns, Mata Parvati was born at Chenani town, belonging to the District Udhampur, Jammu Province. King Himachal, king of Chenani, was to be her father and Maina, her mother.The marriage ceremony of Lord Shiva and Parvati was solemnized at Mantalai located on the highland within reach of Sudh Mahadev. As the millennium rolled back, a lovely pond surfaced in the space where the wedlock platform was erected, the Vedi. Beautiful yellow lotus flowers used to be seen in bloom in the pond. Some distance away was Gaurikund, which is where Mata Parvati bathed with her `Sakhis'.
After successful completion of his 12-year-long penance, Kashyap Rishi made a prayer before Lord Shiva to bless the Jammu region with a river like Ganga. To flow through its landscape. However, none of Shiva's wishes were to be fulfilled since it was utterly impractical for another river to attain Ganga's exaltation. Therefore, Mata Parvati decided to descend from her seat and flowed through the Jammu hills further called Devika. Lord Shiva and Kashyap Rishi then followed the path of the river as Devika flowed in Udhampur, Jandrah, and Sakona, disappearing in stretches in-between.
At the spots where it emerges, temple architecture sprang up. It emerges four miles short of Purmandal in the direction of the northeast. There lies the Indereshwar Mandir. From here it flows uninterruptedly up to Purmandal and beyond till it meets the Sangam River at Barh Kshetar. Before supping into the Basant Sar River, it flows intermittently towards Vijaypur. The Purmandal temple complex comprises the Umapati Shiv Mandir, with twin gold-plated domes added, besides 108 other small temples with a bunch of Shiv lingams installed in each of them. It was in its original design, built some 1400 years ago by Raja Veni Datt of Kashmir. In 1838 AD, the ruler of Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, visited Purmandal for three days, worshipped in the temple, and gave the pitcher made of pure gold. Both Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Dogra Maharaja had this temple restored and rebuilt. Maharaja Gulab Singh built the 108 Shiva temples, with other small temples with a cluster of Shiva lingams installed within the precincts of the temple.
As per a popular folklore, Raja Veni Datt had a daughter who, since birth, suffered from constant head pain. The king consulted a saint-astrologer, who spoke that his daughter, in her previous birth, had been a jackal and had been killed with an arrow shot to her head. The king together with the astrologer went on to Purmandal and found a jackal's skeleton with an arrow lodged into that skull.
No sooner had the arrow been withdrawn from the skull than the pain in his daughter's head subsided. The locals later came to know that a cow used to shed all her milk into the Shiv Kund. One day, the cow's owner followed the animal and saw her shedding the milk in the Kund, which the jackal was licking from the outside surface of the Kund. The cow's owner shot the jackal in anger and killed it at once. Accordingly, King Veni Dutt built the Umapati Shiv temple at the place and got a statue set at a wall which is still there. Much later, on one side of the temple complex, a great 115 ft high wall along the river bank was built by some Pant (Pujari) of Basohli after the fulfillment of his wish. The total height of the Umapati Shiv Mandir including the wall that enhances the beauty of the majestic temple complex is 350 ft. It is said that Guru Gobind Singh, the founder of the Khalsa, visited Purmandal in 1662 AD to pay his obeisance before departing for Vaishnodevi. However, while there are no references regarding his pilgrimage at Sudh Mahadev, his Murti could be found among the idols of several deities assembled at a place in the Sudh Mahadev temple's premises.
Inside the sanctum sanctorum of the golden dome temple at Umapati Shiv Mandir in Purmandal rests the Shiv Kund besides captivating Murtis of Shiv and Parvati. Inside this Kund is a self-born idol of Nagdev, quite small in size. While this Kund never dries up, it also never overflows, so a person could dip his hand in and feel it at the bottom.On Shivratri, thousands of pilgrims pay their respects at the temple, also called Chhota Kashi, pouring tons of water mixed with milk, honey, and sesame seeds into the Shiv 'Kund,' but miraculously, the level remains unchanged.
(Vivek Koul)
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