She sits in immense grandeur in the Tulmul nag island temple,
\nPresiding over the protection and well being of Kashmiris:
\nShe is Maharajni Khir Bhavani, Kashmir\u2019s supreme and the newest goddess.
\nShe is also called Tripurasundri, Shyama, Rajni, Ragniya;
\nShe has held at various times aspects also of Kali and Sita.
\nHer prophecies of the state of life in Kashmir are rendered by the color of the water in
the nag.
\nShe is a Tantaric goddess, a vegetarian and a virgin,
\nShe is worshipped by Shiva and Rama.<\/p>\n
Over time her iconic image has changed in some ways
\nBut in a classic one she is seated in a yogic asna on a thousand petal lotus bedecked
hexagonal seat
\nWearing a bejeweled crown,
\nShe has a third eye in the middle of her forehead and she has four arms:
\nUpper right carries a lotus, left a spear; lower right a poison\/elixir container, left an auspicious
vessel;
\nShe is flanked by Vishnu on the right and Shiva on the left.
\nA supreme Tantaric goddess equipped with powerful cultic paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
Her murti, mantra, and yantra are for people to understand and worship,
\nAnd realize what they want.
\nHer fifteen syllable mantra is:
\nAum, Hrim, Shrim, Ram, Klim, Sau, Bhagavatyai, Rajnyai, Hrim, Svaha.
\nWhich alludes to paying respect to the Shakti of desire and nailing it down.
\nThis penetrating and marvelous power is in an arrow whose manifestation is the goddess Rajni.
\nIt is a mantra of the highest degree which can take one to Shivahood.<\/p>\n
Her yantra is a hexagonal form which is produced by juxtaposition of two triangles:
\nThe upward pointing triangle symbolizes the male aspect of the supreme reality
\nAnd the downward pointing triangle symbolizes its female aspect, Shakti.
\nThus the total hexagonal shape symbolizes the eternal unity of Shiva-Shakti.
\nEach arm of the triangles represent her gunas; Tamasi, Rajasi, and Sattvika.
\nThe hexagonal space formed by the two triangles is the seat of the goddess,
\nWhich is protected by the six Kashmiri deities.
\nThe hexagonal star is enclosed by a circle which represents the cyclical cosmic forces.
\nThe circle blossoms into eight lotus petals, signifying the unfolding of the divine essence.
\nThe yantra has further architecture of other geometric shapes,
\nThe journey through which leads the tantric sadhaka
\nTo the bindhu (center of the yantra), where the goddess resides, carrying in her the supreme consciousness.
\nThe whole representational concept of the yantra is the integration of a person with cosmos,
\nReleasing the latent energy in the human system for a cosmic bliss.<\/p>\n
She came all the way from Lanka to Kashmir to start a new life:
\nRavana, the great demon of Lanka, a great devotee of Shiva and a yogi, but still a Tamasi,
\nDid a dedicated penance for a hundred thousand years but found that he was still not favored by gods.
\nIn distress he prayed to Brahama, who responded to him and told him
\nTo worship Shakti from that point on for his good.
\nRavana prayed to her for ten thousand years and she finally appeared before him.
\nImpressed, the goddess Shyama\/ Tripurasundari bestowed on him the kingdom of Lanka
\nAnd assured him that it will last for three eons and gifted him a boon:
\nRavana asked for the goddess to live in his house, so that she is always near him.
\nShe accepted his request and stayed in his house for a long time but then got turned off
\nBy the regular demonic rituals of the offerings of buffalos, alcohol, and humans
\nAnd furthermore when Ravana threatened to kill Rama to keep Sita with him,
\nShe decided to leave Lanks and move on to Satidesha (Kashmir).
\nShiva Bhairavi mandated her to take care of Kashmir Valley
and
\nRama, her devotee, asked Hanuman to take her there, accompanied by countless nagas.<\/p>\n
Crossing Pir Panjal mountain in Kashmir, she went to Kapalamula,Vishnupada, Madhyagrama,
\nKhilavar ini, Anantanaga, Lokutpur, Rayasthal, Vadipur, Kotipur, Chandipur,
\nTankarpur, and Sharda (Teethwal, now in Pakistan).
\nFinally, she selected a marshy area, near the confluence of rivers Sindh and Vitasta,
\nWhich was suitable for nagas and was studded with trees.
\nTulmul became her home and the foremost mandala.<\/p>\n
The beginnings of the Khir Bhavani temple are shrouded in mystery:
\nTulmul residents used to pay homage to a natural spring which was surrounded by marshes.
\nOne day, in the last quarter of the 19th Cent., the village mystic, Pandit Govid Joo Gadru,
\nHad a vision of a goddess, who manifested herself as a serpent,
\nDwelling at a spot at the marshes.
\nHe felt her presence at that spot;
\nIt was confirmed by another village wise man, Krishna Taplu.
\nEmergence of Maharajni Khir Bhavani at Tulmal soon became history.<\/p>\n
She rose from the level of a Tamasi goddess at Lanka to Sattvika state In Kashmir
\nThrough her yogic power and willfulness.
\nShe showed the people that a person can achieve excellence
\nWith the right spirit and the right guidance.
\nShe also echoed the virtue of mobility when necessary.<\/p>\n
Khir Bhavani came to Kashmir when its people were drifting hopelessly,
\nHaving lost their great visions, faith, and discipline.
\nKashmiri Pandits are again in confusion and spiritual distress,
\nThey need a leap of mind to reignite their faith and galvanize their practical skills,
\nAnd find the path forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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