Vaishno Devi
Mythology claims that during the period when the Goddess was busy in destroying the various Asuras, one day her three main manifestations viz.
Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati got together and pooled their collective Tejas or spiritual strength.
A stunningly bright light emanated from the place where the Tejas of the three manifestations coalesced and a beautiful young girl emerged out of this Tejas. The young girl asked them, "Why have I been created?" The Devis explained to her that they had created her so that she would live on earth and spend her time in upholding righteousness. The Devis added, "Now, go and take birth in the house of one Ratnakar and his wife who are great devotees of ours and who reside in the southern part of India. Live on earth. Uphold righteousness and evolve yourself spiritually so that you reach higher levels of consciousness. Once you have attained the appropriate level of consciousness you will merge into Vishnu and become one with him." So saying they blessed the girl.
Sometime later a very beautiful girl child was born to Ratnakar and his wife. The couple named the child Vaishnavi. Very soon Ratnakar realised that not only was his daughter extra ordinarily pretty but she appeared to be endowed with an uncommonly inquisitive and sharp mind. Realising the prodigious intellectual capability of his daughter, Ratnakar made arrangements for the best teachers in the area to come and teach her the sacred Vedas and other religious works of the period. Vaishnavi mastered these texts in a very short time and wanted her teachers to impart more and more knowledge. Unfortunately, however, her teachers were unable to quench her intense thirst for knowledge. Both Vaishnavi and her father, Ratnakar, were disappointed. Ratnakar advised his daughter to immerse her mind in contemplating upon the Creator of the Universe so that she could obtain the answers to some of the questions which seemed to vex her. Vaishnavi agreed and soon learnt the art of going into deep meditation.
As a result of her meditation, Vaishnavi increased her latent spiritual power considerably. One day Vaishnavi told her father, "Father, I have lived long enough in your house and the time has now come for me to go into the forest and meditate upon the Creator with even greater devotion and intensity so that I can attain Him". Ratnakar and his wife had realised a long time ago that the Goddess had blessed them with an uncommon child. They had, therefore, over the years learnt to accept the peculiar habits and traits of their child. when Vaishnavi sought their permission for going to the forest, they felt sad at the thought of losing their daughter. However, they realised that the girl had already made up her mind and would not be dissuaded from the course of action that she had decided to adopt. So, reluctantly they gave their permission.
Vaishnavi went deep into the forest and immersed herself in intense Tapasaya. After some time she attained a very high level of spirituality and word spread around that a sage of great accomplishment was residing in the forest. Soon people began to trickle into the forest in order to meet her and seek her intervention in resolving their mundane problems.
When the flow of people coming into the forest to meet her became unending, Vaishnavi decided to leave the forest and go to some other place where she could continue her Tapasaya undisturbed.
One night, Vaishnavi quietly left her Ashram in the forest and went to a far off place along the sea in the general area of modern day Rameshwaram. There, away from prying eyes, she once again immersed herself in Tapasaya. The objective behind her intense devotion was her desire to merge her being in Vishnu. Some time later she realised through her spiritual attainments that Vishnu had been incarnated on earth and was living as Ram. Vaishnavi was very happy because she felt that now she would be able to fulfil her desire of merging in Vishnu very soon.
Meanwhile, Ram was sent to the forest for fourteen years by his father under the influence of his favourite wife Kaikayee. During this period, Ravana, the Asura king of Lanka, abducted Ram’s wife, Sita, and carried her away to Lanka. Ram mobilised an army in order to wage war upon Ravan and rescue his wife. He decided to launch his campaign from the place known in the present day as Rameshwaram. While Ram was preparing for war, his advisors suggested to him that he should propitiate all the gods and goddesses and also seek the blessings of the holy men and women living nearby before starting his campaign so that he could be victorious in the war. Ram agreed. During the course of this activity, Ram learnt that there was a very spiritually advanced Sadhavi who resided nearby and thought that it would be appropriate to seek her blessings too. Ram accordingly went to the Ashram of Vaishnavi in order to seek her blessings.
Vaishnavi was immersed in her prayers when Ram went to meet her. When she opened her eyes and found Ram standing in front of her, she immediately recognised him. Ram asked her to bless his proposed campaign against Ravan so that he could be victorious in the war that lay ahead. Vaishnavi happily told him that all her good wishes were already with him because she had decided to merge herself in him a long time ago. When Ram appeared surprised on hearing Vaishnavi, She laughed and said, "I know who you are Ram. You are Vishnu's incarnation and have come to the World to rid it of the evil that is personified by Ravan. That is your aim and I bless you for it. However, my aim is different. It is to merge myself in you so that I can become one with the Supreme Creator." When Ram still feigned ignorance, Vaishnavi said, "Ram, you have no choice but to accept me because I have been praying very hard for a long time for this". When Ram found that Vaishnavi could not be dissuaded from the stand she had taken, he left after promising that he would return to her Ashram after the end of the war and if she was successful in recognising him, he would consider her wish. After Ram left the Ashram, Vaishnavi once again busied herself in her prayers.
Ram defeated Ravan and rescued Sita. After the war was over, Ram remembered his promise to Vaishnavi. So he decided to visit her Ashram once again. This time Ram went to her Ashram disguised as an old man. Vaishnavi was unable to recognise him. While leaving her Ashram Ram revealed himself to Vaishnavi and said that since she had been unable to recognise him, he was freed from his promise to her. When Vaishnavi realised the enormity of her lapse she was inconsolable with grief. Ram then gently told her, "Vaishnavi, you have not yet attained the spiritual level that is required before you can merge your being into Vishnu. You still have a long way to go. However, do not lose heart. Continue your Tapasya. In time you will be rewarded. If you are able to keep up with your Tapasya then in my incarnation as Kalki during Kaliyug, I shall accept you as my Shakti. Ram then urged her to go to the northern region of India and set up her Ashram at the base of the Trikuta mountain. The peculiarity of this mountain he said, was that it had three peaks and each peak was shaped like a hut or Kutia. Therefore, its three peaks looked like three huts or three Kutias. Ram added, "Vaishnavi you will have no difficulty in recognising the place. Go there and immerse yourself in contemplating upon me. When the time is opportune, I shall come and accept you and allow you to merge into me. Meanwhile, as you keep on advancing spiritually, mankind will learn about you. They will then start coming to your abode to seek your blessings and favours. Be kind. Bless them. Grant them their wishes. Your presence on the Trikuta mountain will, over a period of time, render the place so holy that people will elevate it to the status of a Tirath sthan and a constant stream of humanity will flow to your abode. Do not get vexed with this never ending flow of people. Remember, that each one of them contains a spark of me. Thus they will in reality be I who will be worshipping you constantly. Be generous and help them over come their frailties so that gradually they are able to raise themselves high enough in the wheel of life and death and attain Moksha. Always remember that you are already blessed. So, it is they who need your help and forbearance. As you grant more and more boons, your fame will spread far and wide till a stage will arrive when the entire world will come to you and pay obeisance. That is the time I shall come and accept you. So, do not waver. Remain steadfast and worship me. I bless you." So saying, Ram left.
Vaishnavi decided to proceed northward as directed by Ram. After a lot of adventures she finally reached the Trikuta mountain and set up her Ashram at the place known today as Bhumika near the present day town of Katra and immersed herself in intense Tapasaya in order to overcome whatever spiritual shortcomings she still had. Vaishnavi continued to perform her Tapasaya in this manner for thousands of years and attained extra ordinary spiritual heights. In fact, she evolved her latent spiritual capabilities to such an extent that she came at par with her creators-Goddesses Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati.
Thousands of years later a person by the name of Gorakh Nath was able to achieve a very high level of spirituality through his mastery of the Tantric art. One day while he was immersed in his prayers the entire episode of Vaishnavi and Ram flashed before his mind's eye. He then became curious to find out whether the young woman, Vaishnavi, had been able to continue to lead a life of piety and devotion or had fallen by the way side.
Gorakh Nath took some of his disciples along and began to roam around in search of Vaishnavi. One day, while he and his disciples were moving around near the river Devak which flows quite close to the present day city of Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir they learnt about the presence of a Sadhavi who had attained extra-ordinary spiritual power and who lived somewhere at the base of the Trikuta mountain.
Gorakh Nath felt that this Sadhavi must be none other than the Vaishnavi he had been looking for. So, he sent his chief disciple Bhairo Nath to go to the Ashram of this Sadhavi to find out whether she was still pious and holy and return with a full report. Then Gorakh Nath departed for his own Ashram.
Bhairo Nath made his way through dense forests to the base of the Trikuta mountain and learnt about the location of the Ashram of Vaishnavi through the people living nearby. He set up his own Ashram quite close to Vaishnavi's Ashram and began to follow her movements. Bhairo Nath was quite intrigued to see that even though Vaishnavi was a Sadhavi, she always carried a bow with a quiver full of arrows and a Trishul and she was always surrounded by black faced monkeys known in the local language as Langoors. He also noticed that a wild and ferocious lion would often come to her Ashram. Once inside her Ashram, the lion would become very gentle, but the moment it slipped out of her Ashram it once again became its ferocious, wild self. Other things about Vaishnavi also intrigued him. Even though she was ineffably beautiful yet she seemed to be totally unaware of her beauty. She did not go out to the forest to collect berries and other fruit for food as the other sages did. And very often she would disappear for days together. What she did then or where she went no one seemed to know. Bhairo Nath, however, continued to study her movements so that he could learn more about the places she frequented and the people she met.
Once he knew the routine of Vaishnavi, he began to wait for her at various places which she frequented. He also tried to get friendly with Vaishnavi but received no encourgement from her. However, he continued to follow her and pester her until in exasperation Vaishnavi changed her routine to prevent Bhairo Nath from bothering her. Bhairo Nath, however, was not dismayed and decided that henceforth he would wait outside her Ashram and follow Vaishnavi wherever she went. By and by Bhairo Nath became bolder and bolder in his advances till finally he began to openly ask her to come and live with him as his wife. Vaishnavi was furious at Bhairo Nath's temerity and scolded him very severely. However, her anger left him unfazed. Soon, he began to even enter the Ashram of Vaishnavi with impunity and began to pass lewd comments and make suggestive actions whenever he saw her.
Offended by Bhairo Nath's persistently lecherous conduct, she decided to leave her Ashram and go up the Trikuta mountain to get away from him. One day, therefore, she quietly left. The langoors also went with her. While Vaishnavi was passing through a ravine on her way to the mountain the langoors accompanying her felt very thirsty. There was no water nearby. So, Vaishnavi took out an arrow from her quiver and shot it into the ground. The arrow pierced the ground and went deep in to the earth where it encountered an aquifer of crystal clear water. This water burst out of the earth in a great gush. The langoors quenched their thirst. Vaishnavi also drank some water and continued her trek up the mountain. This stream came to be known as Banganga.
From Banganga, Vaishnavi proceeded ahead up the mountain and after some time stopped on a high rock to collect her breath and check whether Bhairo Nath had started pursuing her. This place is now known as Charan Paduka. Vaishnavi then proceeded to a place half way up the mountain. There she saw a narrow cave which was well camouflaged. Since she did not see Bhairo Nath pursuing her she decided to stay in the cave and carry on her Tapasaya there.
Meanwhile, on finding out that Vaishnavi had disappeared, Bhairo Nath began to look for her. His search took him up the mountain and after some time he reached near the cave where Vaishnavi was performing Tapasaya. While searching the area Bhairo Nath was able to locate the cave and decided to see what lay inside. He entered the cave and saw Vaishnavi there. Realising that Bhairo Nath had not only located the cave but also entered it, Vaishnavi took hold of her Trishul and smashed open another way out of the cave. The place where she performed Tapasya came to be called Adhkwari.
Vaishnavi then swiftly went up the mountain with Bhairo Nath pursuing her. Even though Vaishnavi's patience was coming to the end of its tether she still held on to her temper and finally reached the holy cave on the mountain and entered it. However, before going into the cave she ordered the langoors to chase Bhairo Nath away. But Bhairo Nath was very powerful and the langoors were no match for him. He killed a few of them and chased the others away. Then one of the langoors scampered into the cave and told Vaishnavi that since Bhairo Nath was too strong for them, either Vaishnavi should transfer her power to the langoors to enable them to vanquish him or she should deal with Bhairo Nath herself. By now Vaishnavi's anger knew no bounds. In fury, she transformed herself into her divine form. From an ordinary looking mortal she suddenly became a supernatural being who was not only incredibly beautiful but also had awesome powers.
She had eight arms, each of which was carrying a weapon of war. She was dressed in red clothes and rode a ferocious lion. The lion bounded out of the cave with Vaishnavi mounted on him and before Bhairo Nath realised what was happening she struck him with a blow of her sword.
There was so much power behind the blow that Bhairo Nath's head flew away and fell on the next spur of the mountain almost one kilometre away. His torso, however, fell outside the mouth of the cave. Bhairo Nath did not die immediately even though he had been beheaded because of his own spiritual strength. Realising that he had exceeded the brief given to him by his guru and also that the person whose anger he had aroused was no ordinary mortal but the Goddess herself, he was seized with mortification for his obnoxious behavior. He begged Vaishnavi's forgiveness and told her that he behaved in the manner he did only out of his desire to carry out the orders of his guru who wanted to test whether Vaishnavi was still pure virtuous. When Vaishnavi saw that Bhairo Nath was truly repentant for his conduct, she forgave him and asked Bhairo Nath whether he wished to be restored to life. Bhairo Nath declined by saying that he could have never hoped for a more auspicious death than at the hands of the Goddess, because his death at her hands would ensure that he was freed from the wheel of life and death and attained Moksha. "What more can any mortal hope for?" "Bhairo Nath said. He, however, added, "Mata, I am not a bad person. My conduct hitherto-fore has been pure. However, since you have beheaded me the world will presume that I must have been an evil person. The thought of this kind of notoriety is too terrible to contemplate. Please have mercy and arrange things in such a manner that the world and my guru do not think ill of me". Vaishnavi then assured Bhairo Nath that he would always be looked upon with respect by the pilgrims who came for her Darshan and their pilgrimage would be deemed to be complete only after they had had the Darshan of Bhairo Nath in his temple on their return journey. Satisfied, Bhairo Nath released his grip on life and died. With her spiritual strength Vaishnavi transformed Bhairo Nath's torso and head into stone so that they could last for aeons.
By now Vaishnavi had tired of all the hurdles she had to face constantly while performing her Tapasaya due to the human form which she had assumed. She, therefore, decided to petrify herself also into a rock and immerse herself in Tapasaya so that she could attain Vishnu in his incarnation as Kalki in Kalyuga. The rock form in which Vaishnavi converted herself is visible today as the Holy 'Pindies' in the sanctum sanctorum. The three Pindies are the upper most part of that petrified rock which is five and a half feet tall. The three Pindies on the top are the three manifestitions of the Goddess in her forms as Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi and Maha Saraswati signifying that spiritually she has become one with her creators. And now the world comes and bows before her and seeks her blessings and her boons.
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