Dear friends, I am here once again with an interesting tale which is known to very few people. This tale is about Bhaderwah (Mini Kashmir). It’s a very interesting tale, please read it wholeheartedly spearing some precious time of yours.
The land of Snakes
Bhaderwah is also known as “Nagaon ki Bhoomi”(Land of Snakes). This town was previously known as Hettary Nagar. There were two other towns namely Donga Nagar and Udho Nagar, both of which were situated around the village of Monda. Historians tell us that both the villages were flooded away because of excess rains in the Himalayan ranges. Big boulders are still present in the town which justifies the historians. After those floods, the people selected a place to dwell in Seeri, which means a vast piece of land. This area is presently known as Seeri Bazaar. Bhaderwah once used to be a part of Chamba but later was merged with J&K.
The emergence of Nagas and Garurs
King Dakhsh ruled that area and his two beautiful daughters Kadru and Vineeta were married to Rishi Kashyap. Both of the daughters lived a happy life after marriage. Kadru gave birth to one thousand Nagas. The second wife gave birth to two sons named Arun and Garur. Garur went to the Himalayas for meditation of lord Vishnu at an early age. One day when Kashyap rishi had gone out of the house, both the sisters were watching the scene of the rising sun.
Discussion On The Color Of The Horses
Suddenly they started discussing the color of the horses of the Chariot of the sun. Kadru thought that the color of the horses was black, whereas Vineeta said that the color was white. At last, there was a bet between the two that she who would lose the bet will serve as a servant to the other. In the evening when Kadru told her son the whole episode, the sons said that the color of the horse is white. On hearing this Kadru became worried that she was going to lose the bet the next morning with the rising of the sun, her sons said her not to worry.
A Plan Was Made By Them
They said that tomorrow at the time of rising son we will wrap the horses of Chariot with our color, as all of them were black except brother Vasuki nag, and in this way, the white color of the horses will become black and you will win the bet. The next morning both the sisters waited for the sun to rise. The sons of Kadru did exactly what they have planned. The horses appeared to be black and thus Vineeta lost the bet. So Vineeta began to serve her sister Kadru as a servant.
After The Completion Of Meditation
After completing his meditation one day when Vineeta’s son Garur returned home, his mother asked him about his meditation. Garur replied that his meditation was successful and lord Vishnu after getting pleased with my meditation God blessed me to remain with him always as his carrier. Hearing this the mother became very happy and blessed his son. Garur noticed that despite hearing his success story her mother was looking worried. He asked the reason behind this.
Avoidance Of The Question
Vineeta tried to avoid the question but on his son’s insistence, she told her about the whole episode. Garur told his mother that she has been cheated as the color of the horse was white. He became very angry with this agonomy and decided to take revenge. Garur with his extreme anger wasn’t able to decide what to do and what not to do. He was suggested by Narad jee to go to Lord Vishnu and seek his advice. Garner again went to the Himalayas and again started meditating hard. Again Lord Vishnu got pleased by his hard meditation. Garur demanded that Lord if you are really happy with my meditation please bless me that today onwards no snakes or nags can harm us. Since Vishnu was pleased with him, he gave him the desired blessing. From that very moment, the enmity between nags began.
Coming of Nagas to Bhaderwah
After the NAG- YUG’ of King Janmayjae of Hastinapur, the saved nags were highly frightened, and to save their lives, they fled to safe and hilly areas. Some of them reached Bhaderwah. They liked this place and decided to make it their permanent habitat. Our ancient books say that Bhaderwah was previously known as Bhaderkhashi. The place where they settled in the present-day village is known to be Gatha. At that time very well-off families used to live there. They were mostly dependent on agriculture and reared animals. The people of that village-owned many cows. In that village was a dense cluster of Deodar trees, under whose shade the cows used to rest. Suddenly the cows started giving less milk in the evening.
Decision Made To Find The Truth
When the same thing continued for six or seven days, an old lady in the village became suspicious and decided to find the truth. She decided to go herself with the herd of cows to find the truth. The cows started grazing. The old woman watched them with full attention. After grazing a cow sat in the shade under the Deodar tree to take a rest. The tree under which the cow sat, had a big hole in it. At that very time, a Nag came out of the hole and started drinking the milk.
Astonishing Part
After drinking the milk the Nag went back into the hole. The old woman was watching this event very carefully. She returned home and shared the whole episode with his family. She narrated that the snake didn’t look like an ordinary snake. So the family decided to treat the snake as their guest. The next day onwards the old lady herself presented a bowl of fresh milk to the snake every day in the evening and the morning. In this way, Vasuki Nag and many other Nags became permanent residents of Bhaderwah.
The war between Nagas and Garurs in Bhaderwah
Nagas lived a peaceful and comfortable life in Bhaderwah for a long time till Garur came to know about their existence in Bhaderwah. They started killing the Nags. At that time Vasuki Nag was the ruler of that area. Vasuki Nag Ji became very upset and called Garur. Garur too came to his elder brother because he knew that Vasuki Nag was not involved in the cheating on his mother Gaurs. Vasuki Nag requested Garur to stop those killings, but the Garur refused to do so. On this Vasuki, Nag Ji presented a proposal before Garur that one Nag would be served to Garur every day as his meal. Then a treaty was signed that a Nag wearing a red cloth would go to decided flat stone and present himself as Garur’s food.
Sacred Sacrifice Of Jimat Vahan
The whole of the mountainous region of Seoj Dhar was ruled by king Jimut Katu, the father of Jimut Vahan. When king Jimut Katu became old he handed over the reign of the kingdom to his son Jimut Vahan and went for meditation in the forests of Seoj Dhar. One day due to urgent work he came to Bhaderkshi city. One day while roaming in the village Sartingal, he passed by the home of an old lady. There came a sweet fragrance of the food that was followed by the sound of crying. He started thinking that the sweet fragrance of food means that there is some special occasion being celebrated in the house. If it is so then why the sound of crying is coming from that home?
What Happened Next
He became impatient and went inside the house and started inquiring about the matter. She told him the whole episode and answered that today was the turn of her only son Shankchur to be presented as food before the Garur. So she was making the last food for her only son and crying too. On hearing this Jimar Vahan thought that he could save the life of an old woman’s only son and decided to present himself as food before Garur. He immediately wore red clothes and went on to climb the mountain i.e. the place which was already fixed. He reached the spot which was noticed by Garur. Garur flew to that place and saw that Jimut Vahan was very happy.
Astonishment Of The Garur
Garur was astonished to see for the first time that Nag was neither afraid nor weeping. He was thinking about this, in the meantime, Jimut Vahan said, what are you thinking, am ready before you. Garur picked him up and flew to a distant place to eat him peacefully. As soon as Garur took his flight the Nag Shankhchur gave a loud cry and requested to leave the person as it was his turn. It was too late. Garur had flown away with his prey. Shankhchur followed them and reached the spot where Garur had taken his prey. Shankhchur requested before Garur that it was his turn while Jimut Vahan insisted that it was his turn. When Garur came to know the truth, he was highly impressed by the selfless service of Jimut Vahan. He felt very ashamed and then onwards he decided not to kill the Nags.
Hope you will enjoy reading this article. Stay connected to read my next articles. Till then Bye! God bless you all.