Devotees throng ancient Sheetla Mata temple to celebrate 'Ashtami' in J-K's Doda

Thousands of devotees Wednesday thronged the ancient Sheetla Mata temple, perched on a hillock called Rehoshra on the eastern side of the Chinta valley here, to celebrate 'Ashtami', a symbol of Nag culture, with religious fervour and gaiety.

The festival, which marks the beginning of autumn, saw a large number of devotees trekking eight kilometre steep hill to pay obeisance at the 8,000 feet high ancient temple, the doors (kewaar) of which were opened on first Navratra, officials said.

The place comes alive during Navratras, especially on Ashtami (eighth day of Navratra) as devotees converge at the temple surrounded by snow-peaked mountains to seek the blessings of Sheetla Mata, a local deity.

Located in a mountain pass, 43 kilometres away from Bhadarwah town in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, the temple remains out of bounds for most part of the year for the devotees owing to heavy snowfall during winters. Legend has it that Rehoshra temple is believed to have its origins in Mughal emperor Babar's era.

The 'Ashtami' celebrations start early in the morning with the opening of the 'kewaars'.

"It is the most ancient festival of this area. Devotees from the different parts of the state and elsewhere arrive here with holy mace to have blessings of Sheetla Mata at this 1000-year-old temple," Bhuddi Singh Manhas, a priest from Nalthi, told PTI.

The holy mace (Charri Mubarak) from Chinta, Shourara , Nalthi, Chirala, Sunarthawa, Atalgarh, Rainda and Dalain reach the temple at 12 pm after which people begin celebrating 'Ashtami' with traditional 'Dekhu' dance.

Community food (langar) is served to devotees by the volunteers of Chinta village.

Officials said adequate security arrangements were made for the safety of devotees.

"It is really amazing to participate in this festival. Beside religious importance this place has got enough potential to be developed as a major attraction for pilgrimage as well as the landscape tourism," former sarpanch, Sunarthawa, Rakesh Charak, said.

He said there should be proper road connectivity and other facilities to attract more pilgrims.

The picturesque Bhaderwah, also known as mini-Kashmir for its natural beauty, is known and famous for its unique Nag culture, ancient temples and numerous high altitude pilgrimages.

"The Bhadarwah valley, which is also known as Nagbhomi, have got all the ingredients to attract pilgrims in large numbers round the year," Charak said.

Congress MLC Naresh Kumar Gupta, who spent Rs 15 lakh from his Constituency Development Fund for electrification of the temple, said the local administration need to come forward to provide basic amenities to pilgrims.