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Context:

• Kashmiri Hindus, locally known as Pandits, will celebrate the Zyestha Ashtami at the Mata Kheerbhawani temple at Tulmulla in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.

About:

• The temple is dedicated to the goddess Ragnya Devi.
• Situated 30 km from Srinagar city, it is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Hindus.
• The temple gets its name from kheer, or milk and rice pudding, that pilgrims pour into the spring inside the temple complex as an offering to the goddess.
• Legend has it that the water of the temple’s spring changes colour from white to red and black. The colour of the water is said to predict the impending future. If it changes to black, it is seen as inauspicious or an impending disaster.
• Kashmiri Pandits say that the water had turned black before they were forced to flee Kashmir during the militancy of 1990.
• Every year, a mela or festival is held at the temple. The festival, known as Mela Kheerbhawani, is the largest gathering of Hindus in Kashmir after the annual Amarnath Yatra.
• Maharaja Pratap Singh built this temple in 1912, which was later renovated by Maharaja Hari Singh.
• The shrine has a hexagonal spring and a small marble shrine where the goddess' idol is installed.
• According to legends, Lord Rama worshipped the goddess during his exile. He expressed his desire of shifting the holy seat to Shadipora, which was fulfilled by Lord Hanuman. The temple was shifted to its present site after the goddess appeared in the dream of a local pundit named Rugnath Gadroo.

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