The mesmerizing climb to shrine

Hey friends...



With this post, I thought to be little different by starting a travelloblog ...

Being an Army Officer's daughter, I am fortunate enough to get the chance of travelling to various places. I love travelling and so do many of my friends. This platform gave me the chance to share with you my travel experiences and I expect my friends to share their share of experiences too.



Being a spiritual person, I thought of starting this travelloblog with Mata VaishnoDevi's Trip.
I am sure few of my friends must have visited this place and few must be longing to visit.
Before sharing my experience, I would like to share a small story about Vaishno Maata.






Legend About Mata's Shrine :


Every hour, every day, every year a mass of humanity surges up steep pathways that cut across the hillside for mile after mile. Popular belief holds that anybody who walks the Himalayan trail to her abode to ask for a boon rarely goes back disappointed. There are many who journey here year after year to pay obeisance regardless of their faith or belief, creed or class, caste or religion, for Mata Vaishno Devi transcends all such barriers.
As the legend goes, more than 700 years ago Vaishno Devi a devotee of Lord Vishnu, used to pray to Lord Rama and had taken vow of celibacy. Bhairon Nath, a tantric (demon-God) tried to behold Her. Making use of his tantric powers, Bhairon Nath was able to see Her going towards the Trikuta mountains and gave chase. The Goddess felt thirsty at Banganga and shot an arrow into the earth from where water gushed out. Charan Paduka, marked by the imprints of Her feet, is the place where she rested. The Goddess then meditated in the cave at Adhkawari. It took Bhairon Nath nine months to locate Her, the reason why the cave is known as Garbh Joon. Mata Vaishno Devi blasted an opening at the other end of the cave with Her Trident when the demon-God located Her.
On arriving at the Holy Cave at Darbar, she assumed the form of Maha Kali and cut off Bhairon Nath's head which was flung up the mountain by the force of the blow and fell at the place where the Bhairon Temple is now located. The boulder at the mouth of the Holy Cave according to the legend is the petrified torso of Bhairon Nath who was granted divine forgiveness by the benevolent Mata in his dying moments.

My Experience :

Finally, let me start with my climb to shrine reciting 3 ecstatic words :

"Jai Mata Di..."

Excitement started since we boarded the flight from Delhi to Jammu. The serene beauty of Himalayan Mountains, the pleasant weather, was spectacular and fascinated us. There were colourful flowers bloomed everywhere.
From Jammu we hired a vehicle till Katra. It is the base of Vaishno Devi Shrine. From the base after 6.5 Km (approx) is Ardhakunwari Devi temple. Another 5.5 Km is the Vaishno Mata Temple and 2 Km above it, there is Bhairav Nath Temple.

We collected the entry passes from the gate and started off for the 14km climb at around 9pm. The great energy and marked enthusiasm for the climb, by me and my brother had to be seen.
There are many other modes also available to reach to the top and return, like Horses and Mules for every one, Paalki for elderly people and helicopter (by Deccan Airline) also. From Ardhakunwari till Vaishno Mata, they have Battery operated cars also for elderly and sick people.

Every 50 Mtr we can find a Beverage Shop for a variety of tea/coffee and every 1Km there are Canteens catering Pure Vegetarian Food Items. These are functional round the clock.

It is indeed a tiring climb, but the hymn of goddess by the fellow climbers keeps everyone encouraging and going.

My parents preferred Horses till Ardhakunwari and joined us from there till Mata's Temple. By the time we reached, we were totally exhausted, but the sound of chirping bird, golden rays of the sun at top of the mountain range was ecstatic and we realized it was dawn.
We had booked a room there for a short stay. Rested for a while. Had a quick bath and rushed for the Darshan of Vaishno Devi. Bhairav Nath climb was very steep and more tiring. The lush green trees and Monkeys every where made that more exciting.

After the darshan, it was the time to go back with all these beautiful memories. While climbing down, to our amusement and to make our trip most memorable, it started drizzling, washing out all our tiredness.

Overall it was a thrilling and an amazing experience always to be cherished.

Browse this site for more information on Mata Vaishno Devi: http://maavaishnodevi.org/new1/index.html