Rajinder Chand Anthal
Gou-Karan is one of the main Tirthas in the Panjtirthi pilgrimage circuit Sudhmahadev. It is situated towards the northern end of Sudhmahadev town on the bank of holy Devika rivulet. From Devika bridge, Sudhmahadev, this tirtha is at a walkable distance of five minutes only. Devika originates just two kilometers above this place and flows down to join river Tawi at Benisangam. In Karam Purana, Gou-Karan tirtha has been described as a great tirtha and its location cited towards north of Shri Shool Dhari temple which matches with Gou-Karan of Sudhmahadev. The pilgrimage of this place is recommended after visiting Mandir Dushalla, Benisangam and Haridwar temples. Legends say that with the blessing of Lord Shiva, milk flows in Devika in place of water and throughout the course of this holy river, the stones, sand and even the leaves of the trees are made of gold. This divinity of holy Devika can be seen only by divine eyes.
In Gou-Karan temple, Lord Shiva is worshipped as “Rudra Avtar”. This tirtha is spread over about ten kanals of land on both sides of Devika and there is great ‘Mahatm’ of holy bath in Devika anywhere at this place. It is believed that Gou-Karan is the favourite place of Lord Shiva like Kashi and Purmandal-Uttarvehni. The Gou-Karan is also the sacred place to be visited for the ritual of Panjtirthi for the removal of harmful effects of Jeev-Hatya. The ritual of Panjtirthi starts with first holy bath at Gou-Karan. Thereafter, the devotees worship in all tirthas of Sudhmahadev. Finally, the Panjtirthi culminates with holy bath in Papnashini Bowli and pooja in Lord Shiva Temple Sudhmahadev. It is also believed that if cremation of dead body is held at this place, the soul will attain salvation immediately. In the religious books, it has been mentioned that if Pind-Daan and Kriya-Karam of the dead is performed on the bank of Devika at Gou-Karan, the wandering soul of the deceased will attain “Mukti”.
It is in line with these beliefs that Raja Karan of Mahabahrata period had visited this place. It is said that a cow of Raja Karan died in tied position in his cow shed, due to this sin of Gou-Hatya, the ears of Raja Karan got elongated like ears of a cow. The king was worried and consulted many learned persons for removal of ill effects of Hatya. The pandits advised Raja Karan to do Chaar-Dhaam yatra and worship Lord Shiva. Raja Karan started his pilgrimage and after visiting many tirthas, he reached Sudhmahadev area. He took holy bath in Devika rivulet and worshipped Lord Shiva there. He stayed there for some days. He felt that after each bath, his cow shaped ears are reducing. One day, when he rose from the pooja at the bank of river Devika, his cow shaped ears fell down and turned into stones. This way this place was named as Gou-Karan. The stone turned ears are kept in the temple till now and the visitors offer pooja there.
The elders of Sudhmahadev tell one more story of Gou-Karan and they link this place with the visit of some King Gou-Karana from Kashmir. The historical sources say that no king named Gou-Karan has ruled Kashmir. The locals of the area also tell the story of a religious-minded person named Gou-Karan who was disturbed due to ‘Pret-Atma’ of his younger brother killed by someone. He performed the last rituals of his younger brother at most of the sacred places but the soul of his brother continued to disturb him. One day the deceased brother came in his dream and told him to perform his last rituals at Sudhmahadev on the bank of Devika. Accordingly Gou-Karan performed the ‘Pind-Daan’ of his brother at this place. Thereafter, the soul of his brother got salvation, and in due course of time this place became famous on his name as Gou-Karan tirath. Likewise there are many more stories linked with the holiness of this place.
In the past, this Tirtha was the epicenter of religious activities throughout the year but with the passage of time, this oldest Tirtha of Duggar has been reduced merely to a major cremation site and its actual importance shifted to back seat due to many reasons. During the famous Sudhmahadev Mela there remains great rush of pilgrims at this place. For the rest of the year, the pilgrims mainly visit Shri Shool Panishwar Shiv Ji Maharaj Temple Sudhmahadev and proceed to Mantalai. There is nobody to guide them that Dev Bhumi Sudhmahadev has many more Tirthas and places of ancient times to be visited like: Devi Mandir, Pap Nashini Bowli, Gou Karan, Nadda, Budi-Sudhi, Som Tirtha, Ambuniz Tirtha, and Pandav-Sair, etc. The temple at Gou-Karan was well maintained during the period of Rajas of Chenani who had great faith in these Tiraths of Sudhmahadev-Mantalai. It was due to the blessings of Lord Shiva that the kingdom of Chenani was established in very early period of history at Mantalai and these kings ruled Chenani on behalf of Lord Shiva till 1947-48. Now J&K Dharmarth Trust has taken over the management of all these Temples. This Gou-Karan temple needs immediate repair and renovation. The Tourism Department should also promote these historical places by providing direct road link from Patnitop to Gouri-Kund, as this sanctioned road could not be completed even after forty years of its sanction. May the blessings of Lord Shiva bring prosperity to the lives of pilgrims visiting Sudhmahadev area.
(The author is former Zonal Education Officer, Chenani)
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