Temples and
Shrines
Amongst the temples in Jammu,
the Raghunath Mandir takes pride of place being situated
right in the heart of the city.
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The Temple skyline of
Jammu city
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It consists of a cluster of
temples and is the largest temple complex in northern India. Its
inner sanctums contain gigantic statues of deities and numerous
‘lingams’. It contains representatives of almost the entire Hindu
pantheon, which make it a rare site to behold.
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Bawey Wali Mata Temple
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The famous temple of Bawey
Wali Mata is inside the Bahu Fort where, every Tuesday
and Sunday, pilgrims throng to worship the goddess.
A little further away, on a
spur opposite the Bahu Fort, overlooking the river Tawi, stands a
temple dedicated to Mahamaya, a Dogra heroine who lost her
life fourteen centuries ago fighting foreign invaders.
The Peer Kho cave
temple overlooking the Tawi river, the Panchbakhtar temple
and the Ranbireshwar temple are the other well known Shiva
temples in Jammu.
Ranbireshwar
Temple
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Lingam in Ranbireshwar
Temple
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Located on
Shalimar Road near the New Secretariat and built by
Maharaja
Ranbir Singh in 1883 AD, this historic temple is dedicated to Lord
Shiva. It has one central 'lingam' measuring seven-and-a-half
ft in height, twelve Shiva 'lingams' of crystal measuring
from 15" to 38" and galleries with thousands of others carved on
stone slabs.
Each
has its own legend, its devotees and specific days of worship. In
Ranbireshwar Temple, there are twelve Shiva ‘lingams’ of crystal
measuring 12" to 18" and galleries with thousands of ‘saligrams’
fixed on stone slabs. Other important temples in Jammu are the
Lakshmi Narayan temple, Duda Dhari temple and the Panj
Mandir in Gandhi Nagar.
Peer Khoh
Peer Khoh is
a cave shrine located on the Circular Road, 3.5 kms from the heart
of the town. There is a naturally formed Shiva lingam in the cave
which is quite mysterious as neither its antiquity nor its cause are
known. Legend has it that the cave leads underground to many other
cave shrines and even out of the country.
It is said
that if the Bawey Wali Mata is the presiding deity of Jammu, the
‘durgah’ of Peer Budhan Ali Shah or Peer Baba as it is
known, is the shrine that protects the people of this city from
mishaps and evil spirits.
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Peer Baba
Shrine at Satwari |
A friend of Guru Gobind Singh, Peer Baba is said to have lived his
entire life on milk alone and lived to the age of five hundred. On
Thursdays, Hindu and Sikh devotees vastly outnumber their Muslim
brethren at this shrine; such is the faith of the people in Peer
Baba. Most VIPs make it a point to visit this ‘durgah’ when they
come to Jammu.
Peer Mitha
is another famous Muslim shrine in Jammu. Peer Mitha was a
contemporary of Ajaib Dev and Ghareeb Nath - both
saints were famous for their prophecies and miracles.
‘Mitha’ means
‘the sweet one’, for the Peer would accept nothing more than a pinch
of sugar in offering from his devotees.
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