It has been thirty-five years since the Kashmiri Pandit community was exiled from their native land and they've kept alive their customs, culture and traditions. The Kashmiri Pandits adopted Jammu and the Jammuites invited them in, embraced them and deserve our appreciation. The Kashmiri Pandit population was driven from their ancestral home in the early 1990s, has built replicas of their sacred shrines and temples in many locations in Jammu and beyond. These buildings are not just places of worship; they are links of emotions and spirituality to their ancestral land, which they were forced to leave behind. Kashmiri Pandits have the dream of a Kashmir homeland called Panun Kashmir and have stated as far back as 1991, in a resolution called the Margdarshan resolution, that Panun Kashmir should be created for seven lakh Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir where the Pandits should be settled as original inhabitants of Kashmir. The original Bhadrakali shrine temple exists in Handwara North Kashmir and devotees still visit this shrine on auspicious days, there is usually no rush of devotees because of turmoil.
The Badrakali Temple located at Phallianwala in Jammu is not just a place of worship but is also a tangible representation of the spiritual heritage and cultural identity of the Kashmiri Pandit community. The temple is of great personal and communal religious significance and emotional connection, both contemporarily and historically, to thousands of displaced Kashmiri Pandits who, because they were forced to escape their country, settled in Jammu in the aftermath of the ethnic cleansing of 1990. Badrakali, or Bhadrakali, is one of Goddess Durga's fierce and accomplished forms; she is the embodiment of Dharma, and a destructive force of evil. In Kashmiri Shaivism and Hinduism, Badrakali is worshipped as an incarnation of Shakti, the feminine aspect of the divine. The temple of Badrakali at Phallianwala is a symbol of spiritual continuity for Kashmiri Pandits, for whom, even exiled from Kashmir, they brought their deities, customs, and traditions from their homes.
While there are original shrines to Badrakali and other deities in Kashmir, many of these shrines are either destroyed or cannot be accessed because of turmoil. Whatever the case, the temple to Badrakali in Jammu has become a stronghold of hope, resilience, and devotion in a sea of chaos. A place to call refuge, and where the displaced community of Hindu devotees, such as the Pandits, come to find connection and cultural identity. Phallianwala is on the western side of Jammu, not far from both the Tawi River and the Jammu airport. It's a quiet and peaceful place, you could not ask for a better site for the temple, connected to a goddess whose fierceness and motherly compassion are celebrated. The Badrakali Temple is an unassuming yet powerful forty-year old symbol of faith and devotion amongst a surging development area. It is geographically isolated with no nearby urban encroachment, and surrounded by nature, the temple itself and sometimes, the air is filled with the mention of deity names and think about a hundred bells ringing. The temple releases a smell of faith. Whenever devotees are present and visiting the temple they report feelings of peace and divine energy or vibrations, the presence and experience evokes, power, maybe it is Goddess herself. The Badrakali Temple remains an important focal point in the spiritual lives of a displaced and diasporean community.
After the forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, the community constructed this beautiful temple at Thalwal Mandal. In that new environment, there was a need for a multi-purpose space that served as both a center of spirituality and a cultural centre for the practicing of festivals, rituals, and congregation of the community. The temple was completed through the donations of members in the community and from well-wishers in the area. In many ways, the temple reflected the basic forms of traditional Kashmiri Hindu temple architecture -while generally simple, the temple design always found ways to express sanctity, symmetry, and spiritual symbolism. For example, the temple has a main sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha) that houses the murti (idol) of Goddess Badrakali, bedecked in red and saffron cloth, garlands, and ornaments. Also, the face of the goddess is portraying a focused calm, and is possibly comforting. Further, there is a use of a number of arms holding a long sword and shorter weapons which represents her ferocity as a fierce protector.
Navratri, especially Sharad Navratri in the fall and Chaitra Navratri in the spring, is celebrated enthusiastically at the Badrakali Temple. Over the nine-day period, the temple attracts people in considerable numbers, who observe fasts, conduct special pujas, and enjoy devotional singing (bhajans) and dance practices (jagarans) with great energy. An equally important celebration is Kher Bhawani Mela, a festival with roots deeply entrenched in the Kashmiri Pandit tradition. Although the Kher Bhawani temple's original location is in Tulmulla, Kashmir, the spirit of the festival is carried on at temples like Badrakali, where people come together to pray, light lamps, and remember the spiritual history of their ancestors. An equally important celebration is Kher Bhawani Mela, with roots entrenched deeply in the Kashmiri Pandit tradition. Although Kher Bhawani temple's original location is in Tulmulla, Kashmir, the spirit of the festival is carried on at temples like Badrakali, where people come together to pray, light lamps, and remember the spiritual history of their ancestors.
Temple ceremonies, celebrations, havans (fire rituals), group prayers, and communal feast are common activities in temples. These temple-based activities represent both religiously sanctioned activities and collective identity and pride for distressed communities. The Badrakali Temple at Phallianwala is more than a place of worship; it is a center of Kashmiri Pandit culture; the cultural identity of exiled people. Language classes, religious discourses, youth programs, and cultural events have sometimes been organized in temples. The aim is to ensure that the connectedness of younger generations to their culture is still alive and their heritage is celebrated. At a time when modernization and loss of identity is as fast as a click, temples can carry the torch of tradition.
The Badrakali temple epitomizes how faith acts as a vehicle between the past and the future. For the Kashmiri Pandit population in Jammu, it is more than bricks and mortar; it is a flame of faith, vitality and connection within the community. The temple recognizes and venerates the divine mother in her fierce majesty, and pays tribute to a community that has been displaced, lost systems of spirituality and have trudged on through unimaginable obstacles, to build something dignified and authentic to their devotion. While such temples are still being built and built upon, local authorities and civil society have the ability to acknowledge their immense cultural and historical value. Preserving these relationships and conserving the temple sites associated with them can play a role in contributing to communal harmony and cultural pluralism for themselves and more broadly, Jammu and Kashmir.
In nutshell, the Badrakali Temple at Thalwal Mandal is a blessed symbol of hope- grounded in age-old beliefs, nurtured through shared community links, and blossoming as a hub of spiritual and cultural revitalization in the present day. We want to thank the Badrakali temple trust, citizens who donated of their resources to the temple, and all the concerned citizens of Jammu- who ensured that this amazing temple dedicated to Badrakali was built. May the goddess Badrakali vanquish evil forces and protect the righteous and may She shape the dream of Pannun Kashmir into reality in the near future.
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