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@Evening: 🛕 Devi Sharada Returns To Kashmir
Ma Sharada has returned to the Valley.
Context: The Sharada Devi temple near the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir was inaugurated today, after the panchaloha (five metals) vigraha of Mata Sharada reached Teetwal in Kashmir.
The new temple was inaugurated in the virtual mode by Home Minister Amit Shah on the occasion of the first Navratra of the Chaitra maas.
Supported by the Sringeri Matt, the temple replicates traditional Kashmiri architectural styles, and will be accompanied by a ghat built on the banks of the Kishenganga river flowing nearby.
The ghat, with proper steps, is being built with the intention of restoring pitra puja.
Making it happen. The temple was built due to the efforts of the Save Sharada Committee Kashmir.
The committee was set up to revive the ancient Sharada temple, which used to be a major seat of learning in ancient India, but now lies in ruins in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The ancient temple was sadly plundered and ravaged by invaders during the India-Pakistan war in 1947-48.
Save Sharada Committee founder Ravinder Pandita was long trying to reopen the Sharada yatra across the Kishenganga river into PoK, but his efforts never picked up enough momentum.
A decisive moment. In 2022, Sringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya and Jagadguru Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Sannidhanam blessed an effort initiated by Pandita’s Save Sharda Committee.
Jagadguru Sri Mahasannidhanam blessed Pandita, and the Sringeri Matt announced its full support to the noble initiative of temple construction at Teetwal.
It then led to the commissioning of a new panchaloha vigraha of Sharada for installation at the temple.
The yatra. The panchloha vigraha was received by the committee in January, after which the nearly 3,000-km-long yatra to the newly built Sharada temple in Teetwal commenced.
The yatra passed through various cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Gurugram, and Jammu.
It reached its destination on 20 March, nearly two months after it had commenced.
Next up. The temple was inaugurated today, but the Pran Pratishtha ceremony will be performed by Shringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahasannidhanam sometime in May, according to Pandita.
Significance. The Sharada Peetha is one of the three important teerthas, alongside Martand and Amarnath, for the Kashmiri Hindu community, an overwhelming majority of which is still forced to stay out.
Further, the temple plans are not restricted to puja alone. It has also been designed to serve as a point to revive the civilisational legacy of the Kashmiri Hindu community and its long line of jnana parampara.
Pondy Lit Fest co-founder Alo Pal is in conversation with historian Meenakshi Jain on this Swarajya audiobook.
They discuss Jain's latest book, The Hindus of Hindustan: A Civilizational Journey.
The thematic work, which highlights the underlying features of the Indian civilisation, was nearly a decade in the making.
The author was "very curious to understand what this civilisation is all about, and when it witnessed so much turbulence and upheaval in its history, how come, in a fundamental manner, it hasn't deviated from its fundamental principles."
Jain's recent publications include Vasudeva Krishna and Mathura (2021), Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples (2019), and The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya (2017).
She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020 by the Government of India for her contribution to literature and education.
