| The
happy valley of Kashmir is well known throughout the world for its Natural
beauty. Here nature has been prodigal enough in crowning this ancient land
with all its splendour and glory. Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Mughal gardens
attract visitors from all over the world. Its lakes, green meadows, dancing
and foaming streams, majestic forests full of fir and pine, snow-capped
peaks are common attractions to the outsider as well as to the native.
Besides this, the valley
being sacred and called Rishi wari till now, abounds in sacred places,
Tirthas and Asthans. Long ago at the dawn of civilisation when the sons
of Rishi Kashyapa from plains came to settle here they brought with them
their traditions, religion, mythology etc. etc. These early settlers named
the confluence of river Sindh and river Jhelum as Prayag, equal to holy
Prayag at the confluence of the Ganga and the Jamna in India. They named
the tallest mountain peaks here after their Gods and deities such as Brahma,
Vishnoo and Mahadev. These settlers must have felt surprised to see the
hide and seek of water in the Spring of Trisandya; melting of snow around
the spring of Bedaba Devi and other marvellous places. With the passage
of time, these places became Tirthas or places of worship and has continued
so upto the present time. The tradition being like this R. L. Stein who
has translated Rajatarangini into English writes, "Kashmir is a country
where there is not a place as large as a grain of seasam without a Tirtha.
Time and conversion to Islam of greater portion of population has changed
but little in this respect. " Pandit Kalhana while writing introduction
to Rajatarangini names the miraculous springs of Trisandya Saraswati lake
on the Bheda hillock, Self created fire at Soyambhu etc. etc. " |
