Romesh Mengi
Reasi district is endowed
with many religious places and also places which are
rich in natural beauty, flora and fauna, rivers and rivulets which are not yet explored. There are several temples in District Reasi dedicated to Lord Shiva including Shiv Khori , Salal Shiv Cave, Mahadev Temple Reasi .
Out of the many holy places
in district Reasi, there exists
a famous religious place namely Baba Dhansar in Karua Village that has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Karua village is situated approximately 10 kms away from Reasi and 14 kms from Katra. The village is known for its temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva and Karua Jheel. From there you step downhill in around 100 steps. The entire walk is dotted with a number of waterfalls that ultimately join the Banganga River. Near this rivulet, is a naturally formed Shivalingam on top of which milky water droplets fall continuously throughout the year.
Legend
As per locals belief, when Lord Shiva went to the Amarnath cave to tell Parvati the story of his immortality, he left his serpent king, Sheshnag at Anantnag. Shesh Nag came in the human form as Vasudev. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar who was a saintly person.
As the local belief goes, in the ancient times there was a demon that lived near Karua Jheel and committed atrocities on the people of village Karua. The villagers sought help of Baba Dhansar to get rid of the demon. It is believed that Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva arrived and helped in killing the demon. The temple of Baba Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva near Karua Jheel has become a place of worship. Karua Jheel is considered sacred where bathing is not permitted. ssHowever, the devotees may take a bath downstream. People believe that their wishes are fulfilled if they take bath in the stream and pray with complete faith. A large number of devotees visit the place every year on the day of Mahashivratri when an annual mela is organized and during shravan month to worship Lord Shiva. There is also a Nag devta temple.
Baba Dhansar is also considered as one of the best picnic spots in district Reasi where people can break away from the humdrum of routine life. Despite being thronged by nature lovers, especially from Jammu, Vaishno Devi devotees and Shiv Khori devotees, the place has yet to be listed as an important tourist destination in the State. The footfall on this religious place is very high as in the summer there is no space seen which is not filled by visitors, but yet the development of this religious place is not up to mark. The road leading to Baba Dhansar is in dilapidated condition in some areas.
During ShivRatri, the people have to wait for at least 2 to 4 hours or even more for having darshan of the Lord Shiva. A number of Langers are arranged by devotees of the Lord to serve parshad among the devotees. Locals have a staunch belief that Lord Shiva has always protected their region from mishappenings. They further believe that every desire is fulfilled by visiting this shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva.
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