Khir Bhawani
One marvel of Kashmir is the mysterious holy spring
of Khir Bhawani which is widely known to change its colour from time to
time. It is towards the north of Srinagar at a distance of about 14 km.
and can be reached within an hour by bus.
Before we enter the main islet to have Darshana of the holy spring of
Bhawani we come across two important sites - one is Ziarat of Mir Baba
Haider (a Muslim saint) and the other is the Samadhi of Shri Labhu Shah, a
saint who lived some 150 years ago in Kashmir.
The main spring dedicated to Goddess Khir Bhawani has an irregular
heptagonal shape with its apex called Pad ( feet ) to the East. The
northern and the southern sides are longer than the western side which is
called Shir (Head). In the centre of the holy spring where once stood a
mulberry tree, there is one marble temple which enshrines some idols found
at the time of cleansing the spring. In January 1970 an electric pump was
installed to conduct the cleansing operation of the spring. Besides
removal of mud and mire which had accumulated since long at the bottom of
the spring a number of gold ornaments and silver pieces offered to the
Goddess were recovered. As a result of the silt clearance a huge volume of
milky white water bubbled out. During recent times regular clearance is
being made after each festival when huge quantities of flowers, lotuses,
mentha sylvestries (Vena) offered by devotees collect at the surface of
the holy spring.
The water of the Spring changes its colour from time to time. It takes on
various hues like red, pink, orange, green, blue and has often light
green, red rosy and milky white shades. Abul Fazal in 16th century and
Swami Vivekananda in the year 1894 have testified this fact. Any shade of
black colour is supposed to be inauspicious for the inhabitants of the
valley. This colour was prominent in the year 1947 when the Pakistani
raiders attacked the peaceful valley. Many times rising of bubbles has
been observed which form the mystic Chakra on the surface of the water. In
my infancy I had a strange experience here. An outstretched hand from the
holy spring offered me a beautiful pen in a dream. In the morning when I
woke up I found the same pen under my pillow which I retained for many
years with me as a sacred relic of the Divine Mother. Such a sacred and
mysterious spring is found nowhere else in India. The people living round
the holy spring have great veneration for the holy shrine. A Hindu or a
Muslim will not enter the premises of the holy spring if he happens to
have taken meat on the day. In 1947 when the Pakistani marauders attacked
the valley the local Muslims led them astray to save the shrine from their
unholy hands.
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