Tulmul

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Location of Sumbal in Ganderbal district map

Tulmul (तुलमुल) is an ancient village in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Variants

• Tulamula
• Tul Mul
• Tulmula
• Tulamulla
• Tulmulla
• Tulla Mulla
• Tullamula
• Tullamulla

Origin of name

• Tulamula is mentioned in Rajatarangini of Kalhana

• Rajatarangini of Kalhanamentions name of a King named Kshira.

• Rajatarangini of Kalhana mentions Kshira as a Professor of Grammar.

• Some people are of the opinion that there was a mulberry tree near holy spot of Kheer Bhawani which, in local language, is called tul mul. But tul mul is also derived from the Sanskrit word atulya mulya meaning great value.

History

Sri Lanka to Tulmul: According to legend, Ragyna was pleased with the devotion of Ravana and appeared before him. Subsequently, Ravana got an image of the Goddess installed in Sri Lanka. However, the Goddess became displeased with Ravana's ruthlessness. With the help of Hanuman, she came to Tulmul. That night is called Ragnya Ratri.

Though Ragyna is a form or rupa of Durga, this one is a vaishnav form. Ragyna, also known as Tripurasundari, while in Lanka, was called Shayama. Ragniya is a Sattavie form of the goddess, i.e. the form of tranquility and bliss.

Rajatarangini and other texts

The mention of Kheer Bhawani is found in Kalhana's Rajtarangini. Kalhana writes that the sacred spring of Tula Mula is situated in a marshy ground. Thousands of years ago, floods inundated the spring and temple.

Kashmir's Yogi Krishna Pandit Taploo of Bohri Kadal, Srinagar had a dream in which the Goddess appeared to him and directed him to the location of the holy spring.

It is also mentioned in the Bhrigu Samhita.

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak in his book Aini-Akbari mentions the area of Tula Mula extending over a region of hundred bighas (unit of land area) of land, which used to sink in the marshy lands during the summer season.

In Rajatarangini of Kalhana

Rajatarangini of Kalhana mentions ....Improvements in the kingdom: The king (Jayāpira) made several improvements in the kingdom. He introduced such sciences as were long forgotten in the country, even as Kashyapa brought the Vitasta, and encouraged his subjects to cultivate learning. He invited learned men from other countries and employed them in collecting the fragments of Patanjali's commentary , on the annotations of Katyayana on Panini's grammatical aphorisms. The king himself used to take lessons from Kshira, a Professor of Grammar. He never liked nor tolerated self-praise, but valued the praise of the learned. The title of pandita was more prized in his reign than that of the king. He listened to whatever learned men said, and so the inferior kings who had any favor to ask crowded in the houses of the learned. Such was his assiduity to get together learned men, that men of lore became scare in the courts of other kings.

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Rajatarangini mentions ....King oppressed his subjects: Unfortunately for his (King Jayapira) subjects, the king left the path of his grandsire, and walked in that of his father. The Kayasthas advised him that it was useless to undergo the fatigues of foreign conquest when he could accumulate wealth in his own country. The king took their advice, and began to oppress his subjects. Shivadasa and others of his treasurers excited his cupidity. Thenceforth he spent tho revenues of Kashmira according to his pleasure, and as advised by the Kayasthas. The devices by which he had conquered other kings, were now employed to enslave his own men. The measures which had formerly been intended for the comfort of the good, were now adopted for the oppression of the people. He murdered many persons ; and excepting those who flattered him, no one spoke well of him, even in dream. Prostitutes and kings both commit sins : the one cruelty and the other fickleness. Their senses are obscured by sins, The one is not grieved even to kill his parents, the other to embrace low men. In this way the king reigned for three years with such cruelty, and plundered even the cultivator's share of the harvest. His gain over-turned his senses; he considered the Kayasthas his friends, though they gave him but a small share of the plunder, appropriating to themselves the rest. Even Brahmanas who always have great patience, began to oppose the king. Some of them fled from the country

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[p.99]: as the king began to kill many of them. ; but at last they combined and stood together, and the king could not destroy them, though he continued to plunder them. The king's character was greatly changed, and he was spoken ill of in poetry by the panditas. The cruel king once ordered that ninety-nine Brahmanas should be killed in one day. And when he was sitting on the banks of the Chandrabhaga after having forcibly taken possession of Tulamula, he was informed that ninety-nine Brahmanas had, perished in the 'waters' of that river. From that time he, ceased to take possession of lands granted to Brahnianas, but he continued to take possession of those possessed by men of other castes.

The Brahmnnas who dwelt at Tulamula once came to say something to the king, but were struck in his presence by his door-keeper, and consequently were very angry. " Brahmanas were never insulted before, even in the presence of Manu, Mandhata, Rama and other great kings ; " they said, " and when angry they can destroy in a moment the heaven with Indra, the earth with her mountains, and the nether world with its Naga — chief." The king who would not ask for advice, and was deseertd by his feudatory kings, replied with supercilious pride. "You cunning people who eat by begging, what pride is this of yours that you pretend to do what the Rishis did."

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Rajatarangini of Kalhanamentions ....Old king prepared to go to Vijayakshetra....They then reached the shrine of Vijayeshvara and their hearts were soothed of the troubles on account of their son. There they passed their days in devotion and lived with their servants. The persons who followed him to the shrine were Tanvanggnraja, Tungga &c., the princes his kinsmen, and Suryyavarma, Chandra, &c , and the Damaras. The Damaras and king Kshira were stationed by him in their own towns; but they also served as his guard. The old king kept his treasure secure and passed his days in happiness.

Kheer Bhawani Temple

Kheer Bhawani, Ksheer Bhawani or the Ragnya Devi temple is a Hindu temple situated at a distance of 25 kilometres north-east of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India, in the village of Tulmul[b] in Ganderbal. It is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kheer Bhavani constructed over a sacred spring.As is the custom with Hindu deities, the goddess has many names including Ragyna or Rajna, along with variations in honorifics such as devi, mata or bhagavati. The term kheer refers to a milk and rice pudding that is offered to propitiate the goddess. Kheer Bhawani is sometimes translated as 'Milk Goddess'. The worship of Kheer Bhawani is universal among the Hindus of Kashmir, most of them who worship her as their protective patron deity Kuladevi.

The sacred spring here has its own attached superstition. An eponymously named mela is held annually here. It is one of the largest gatherings of Hindus in the region following the Amarnath pilgrimage. Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir and Maharaja Hari Singh contributed to building and renovating the temple.There are other temples to Kheer Bhawani in the region, such as Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple at Tikker, Kupwara, which has been renovated by the Indian Army.

The temple is one of the most important temples for Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir. The resident deity, Kheer Bhawani, is a favourite in this region. A septagonalspring at the temple is situated around the goddess. The holy spring is known to change its colour with various hues of red, pink, orange, green, blue, and white. A black shade of the spring water is believed to be inauspicious. Most of the colours do not have any particular significance. In 1886, Walter Lawrence, the-then British settlement commissioner for land, during his visit to the spring, reported the water of the spring to have a violet tinge. The current form of the spring, temple pond, and temple were built under Maharaja Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir in the 1910s. Maharaja Hari Singh further renovated the temple.The temple area has old-growth chinar trees beneath which the pilgrims sit or sleep on mats of grass.

Kheer Bhawani mela: The Kheer Bhawani mela or festival sees the annual congregation of Kashmiri Hindus, and other pilgrims and tourists. The mela is during Jyeshtha Ashtami, also spelt as 'Zyeshta Astami'.The mela was threatened during terrorism and Hindu exodus of 1990. It was restored with dedicated efforts of Indian Army contingent placed at Ganderbal. This place is one of the few exception where Hindu priests never left the Mandir despite serious terrorist threats.

The Holy Spring At Tullamulla (Kheir Bhawani)

The Holy Spring At Tullamulla (Kheir Bhawani) (Its water changes colour)

One maryel of Kashmir is the mysterious holy spring of Kheir Bhawani which is widely known to change its colour from time to time. It is towards the north of Srinagar at a distance of about 14 km. and can be reached within an hour by bus.

Before we enter the main islet to have Darshana of the holy spring of Bhawani we come across two important sites - one is Ziarat of Mir Baba Haider (a Muslim saint) and the other is the Samadhi of Shri Labhu Shah, a saint who lived some 150 years ago in Kashmir.

The main spring dedicated to Goddess Kheir Bhawani has an irregular septagonal shape with its apex called Pad ( feet ) to the East. The northern and the southern sides are longer than the western side which is called Shir (Head). In the centre of the holy spring where once stood a mulberry tree, there is one marble temple which enshrines some idols found at the time of cleansing the spring. In January 1970 an electric pump was installed to conduct the cleansing operation of the spring. Besides removal of mud and mire which had accumulated since long at the bottom of the spring a number of gold ornaments and silver pieces offered to the Goddess were recovered. As a result of the silt clearance a huge volume of milky white water bubbled out. During recent times regular clearance is being made after each festival when huge quantities of floweres, lotuses, mentha sylvestries (Vena) offered by devotees collect at the surface of the holy spring.

The water of the Spring changes its colour from time to time. It takes on various hues like red, pink, orange, green, blue and has often light green, red rosy and milky white shades. Abul Fazal in 16th century and Swami Vivekananda in the year 1894 have testified this fact. Any shade of black colour is supposed to be inauspicious for the inhabitants of the valley. This colour was prominent in the year 1947 when the Pakistani raiders attacked the peaceful valley. Many times rising of bubbles has been observed which form the mystic Chakra on the surface of the water.

Various legends and stories are current among the people regarding the holy spring. One such legend is that when Ravana was killed at the hands of Bagwan Rama the Goddess Bhawani ordered Hanuman to carry her to Satisar-Kashmir along with 360 Nagas. Hanuman selected the site and installed the Goddess in the Northern part of the valley. She came to be known as Kheir Bhawani or Ragyna Bhagwati as her favourite offerings consist of rice cooked in milk and sugar, and all other vegetarian forms of diet.

Such is the brief history of the holy spring, the abode of Goddess Kheir Bhawani which has been eulogized by a poet in the following words :

"I make obeisance to that one Goddess, who having taken the position of the supreme God is the Queen in reality, whose form is made of light and is adorned by the lustre of 12 suns who cannot be observed through senses, who is seated on a throne and is wrapped with serpents ."

Source - http://koausa.org/crown/marvels.html

खीर भवानी मंदिर, तुलमुल, गान्दरबल

खीर भवानी मंदिर, तुलमुल, गान्दरबल, कश्मीर

खीर भवानी, क्षीर भवानी या राज्ञा देवी मंदिर भवानी देवी का एक प्रसिद्ध मंदिर है। जम्मू और कश्मीर के गान्दरबल ज़िले में तुलमुल गाँव में एक पवित्र पानी के चश्मे के ऊपर स्थित है। यह श्रीनगर से 25 किलोमीटर दूर है। खीर भवानी देवी की पूजा लगभग सभी कश्मीरी हिन्दू करते हैं। महाराग्य देवी, रग्न्या देवी, रजनी देवी, रग्न्या भगवती इस मंदिर के अन्य प्रचलित नाम है। इस मंदिर का निर्माण 1912 में महाराजा प्रताप सिंह द्वारा करवाया गया जिसे बाद में महाराजा हरी सिंह द्वारा पूरा किया गया। पारंपरिक रूप से वसंत ऋतू में मंदिर में खीर चढ़ाया जाता था इसलिए नाम 'खीर भवानी' पड़ा। ऐसी मान्यता है कि किसी प्राकृतिक आपदा की भविष्यवाणी के सदृष, आपदा के आने से पहले ही मंदिर के कुण्ड का पानी काला पड़ जाता है। यह मंदिर कश्मीर के प्रमुख धार्मिक स्थलों में से एक है। मां दुर्गा को समर्पित इस मंदिर का निर्माण एक बहती हुई धारा पर किया गया है। इस मंदिर के चारों ओर चिनार के पेड़ और नदियों की धाराएं हैं, जो इस जगह की सुंदरता पर चार चांद लगाते हुए नज़र आते हैं। ये मंदिर, कश्मीर के हिन्दू समुदाय की आस्था को बखूबी दर्शाता है।

खीर भवानी नामकरण: स्थानीय लोगों का मानना है कि पारंपरिक रूप से वसंत ऋतू में मंदिर में खीर चढ़ाया जाता था इसलिए नाम 'खीर भवानी' पड़ा। परंतु यह धारणा ऐतिहासिक रूप से सही नहीं है। कश्मीर का प्राचीन इतिहास कल्हण की राजतरंगिनी में मिलता है। राजतरंगिनी में दो स्थानों पर क्षीर नाम उल्लेख आता है - क्षीर नाम के राजा के रूप में और क्षीर नाम के व्याकरणविद के रूप में। संभवत: यह नाम इन दोनों में से ही किसी का दिया हुआ है जिन्होने यहाँ देवी के मंदिर का निर्माण किया हो।

References

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