Meevy

Vaishnodevi is the hill shrine located in the Himalayan region dedicated to Goddess Vaishnodevi. Vaishnodevi or Vaishnavi is the wife of Lord Mahavishnu. She is the incarnation of Goddess Mahalakshmi. The hill is named “Vaishnodevi” due to the Vaishnodevi temple shrine situated there.

Jammu is the nearest railway station to Vaishnodevi. From Jammu you have to reach Katra, which is the starting point to reach Vaishnodevi temple(shrine board). Busses are available between Jammu and Katra. From Katra, there is no transportation available. Generally, people reach Vaishnodevi by walk. The distance between Katra and Vaishnodevi is approximately 13 kilometers.

The trekking path between Katra and Vaishnodevi is well laid using cement. Lights are available through out the way during the night time. It is a nice and enchanting experience to walk in the high altitude mountains of the Himalayan range. Pilgrims are allowed to wear shoes during their journey so as to the heavy snowfall that may occur any time.

There is a unique practice that is followed here by pilgrims. That is when we are going up the hill people wish us ” Jai Mata Di”. Everybody follows this. We may also say “Jai Mata Di” in return. Men and Women, rich and poor, young and old do this. The words “Jai Mata Di” means “Praise the holy Mother”.

During our walk, we came across a lot of gushing rivers. The view of the mountains is captivating. As a south Indian, I have visited Thirupathi, Kodaikanal and Ooty. But the view from Vaishnodevi (Trek) is absolutely enlightening. I have never seen mountains of so much height. They cannot be expressed in words. And also the natural scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Fresh carrots, radish, apples and strawberries are sold in the mountain path.

Food is available for pilgrims on the way. Rotis, parathas and pooris are the common food stuffs. It will take approximately 12 hours to reach the hill temple. The nights are extremely cold. But people continue their trek in the night time too.

The journey is half finished when we reach Adhkawari. Adhkawari is a cave in which Goddess Vaishnodevi is there. There is a real cave and entering the cave is not easy. We have to lean down and get inside the cave. Inside the cave the Adhkawari temple is there. We can also see water coming inside the cave (melting from the Himalayan snow peaks).

Though most of the people walk, horses are available for the old and the other people who cannot walk. When we reached the Vaishnodevi temple, it was almost snowing heavily (February). There are 3 Pindies representing the three avatars i.e., Goddess Saraswathi, Goddess Parvathi and Goddess Lakshmi. All the three combined to form Mata Vaishnodevi here.

The holy mother is full of grace towards her devotees and she is in the form of Vaishnodevi here. Hence the surroundings were not only exquisite but also very much divine. One can feel the presence of the holy divine Goddess here in Vaishnodevi. It is such a place not to be missed in one’s life time.