Badri Nath Taragami
Whole of Kashmir valley is home to various goddesses, gods,saints and seers and the sacred land of Kashmir is also abode of the Shakti Peethas.The ancient village of Taragram which is known as Taragam is a village situated in tehsil Qazigund, district Anantnag. This village is the abode of goddess Tara and a shrine of Mata Tara Devi is situated in the village of Taragam.The name of village Taragam comes from Sanskrit name Taragram,which with the passage and afflux of time turned into Taragam.In good olden days Shivism and Shaktism was most popular in Kashmir.Goddess Tara is the manifestation of Shakti and her shrine in Taragam is a shaktipeeth and this village has the distinction of being a Shakti peetha.In Shaivisim and Shaktism tradition of Hinduism ,the goddess Tara is the second of 10 Mahavidyas.She is considered a form of Adishakti ,the tantric manifestation of Parvati.Her three most famous forms are Ekajata,Ugratara,and Nilasarasvati.Her most famous centre of worship is the temple and the cremation ground of Tarapith in West Bengal.The mention of goddess Tara is found in various scriptures of Hinduism.The commonly known origin of Tara is from the 17th chapter of the Rudraymala which describes the initial unsuccessful attempts of sage Vasistha in worshipping Tara ,and subsequent meeting with the god Vishnu in the form of Buddha in the region called Mahacina (China). She is also described as the form of Atharvaveda.
Her Bhairava is named Aksobhya.According to the Svatantratantra, Tara protects her devotees from difficult situations and troubles and so she is also known as Ugratara. Tara is all pervading and also manifest on earth.Shiv upsana and philosophy was prevalent in Kashmir throughout ages.Shiv and Shakti are the two faces of the same coin of religious doctrine.It is a fact and reality that Shiv without Shakti is a meaningless proposition and Shiv cannot work without shakti, the energy which is all pervading. The people of northern India take pride in celebrating feminine power and this is the reason that two times in a year Navratras are celebrated with great devotion and enthusiasm.Therefore we can say that nothing can be done successfully without the feminine power and thus shakti Puja has great significance in the Sanatan Dharma and such Puja is performed by the people especially in Kashmir from the ancient times.
Thus we have many Shakti peethas in Kashmir spread from north to south and east to west.We have Sharda Peeth of sharda Mata, Hari Parbat of Sharka Mata, Tullmulah of Ragina Bhagwati, Khrew of Jawala Mata and some other Shakti Peethas in various parts of Kashmir.These Shakti Peethas are the abodes of peace where devotees find solace of life that is peace of mind.One such Shakti peeth is the shrine of Tara Bhagwati in village Taragam of South Kashmir of Tehsil Qazigund,district Anantnag.This village has the distinction of being the only Seda and Shakti Peetha of Tara Bhagwati in Taragam, though we find Tara Bhagwati in the form of Mahakali near the shrine of Jawala Bhagwati at Kangra Himachal Pradesh. We find the mention of Tara Bhagwati in various scriptures and the offerings and ablutions are made to Tara Bhagwati in all Hawans, Yagyas, Sacred thread ceremony and she is prayed everywhere. There was a magnificent temple dedicated to Tara Mata ,besides a beautiful spring and a big chunk of land belonging to the temple.The temple still exists but not with the grandeur of the past and people have great faith in this sacred shrine, visit the shrine, pay obeisance and seek blessings from Tara Bhagwati.The Jayanti of Tara Bhagwati falls on Ashad Amavisya of the Hindu calendar. A hawan used to be performed there before the migration of the Kashmiri Pandits and devotees used to take part in the Hawan and partake Prasad. It is said that in good olden times there used to be a Mela and people both Hindus and Muslims used to pay obeisance at the shrine and seek blessings of the goddess. It is said that once when the Jayanti of Tara Bhagwati was being celebrated and Hawan was performed, some frenzy elements threw some sacrilegious substance in the spring to disturb the religious ceremony.A miracle happened soon after the Purn Auhati of the Hawan, there was a thunderstorm with winds and rain and with the rain sharp edged stone pebbles wrought havoc in and around the village and to this day such sharp edged pebbles are found scattered all around. This is the living testimony to the greatness of this sacred Shakti Peeth. Some day later the maximum water of the holy spring disappeared and people took it as the sign of misfortune .After the mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits ,the Pandit Baradari of the village Taragam also performed the Hawan for many years in Jammu.The temple still has a thousand year’s old Brenn tree which translates as Elm in English and the tree with a trunk of about 20 feet girth stands there which is home to thousands of birds,creepers and insects.This huge Brunn (Elm) tree adds to the grandeur and sanctity of the shrine.
The information about this holy shrine was given by one respectable senior citizen B. N. Raina who is a humble devotee of Tara Bhagwati. It is given to understand that a pious and noble lady known as ‘Tez Dedi’ lived in the village in the first half of the nineteenth century.She turned widow just after her marriage.But she turned her misfortune into God realization and she became a staunch devotee of Tara Bhagwati. Sensing her helplessness, some selfish people wanted to grab her land and she faced a land dispute. One day when revenue authorities along with village elders assembled in the courtyard of the temple and the competent officer called ‘Muhatamim’ was ready to transfer her land and other property,and sign the mutation, just then a black snake appeared and went towards the gathering. Sensing,the trouble,the revenue authorities along with the village elders left the place and in this way could not transfer the property of Tez Ded .
In this manner Mata came to the rescue of her devotee. There are still few households of Kashmiri Pandits who have not left the valley at the time of the mass migration of the community. They still offer prayers in the temple.The temple is in a dilapidated condition,but with the help of local MLA ,some amount was sanctioned for the renovation of the temple. The construction was started but is still incomplete and needs the urgent attention.We draw the attention of the authorities and the PNBM trust towards the deplorable condition of this shrine for upkeep and, maintenance.This Shakti Peeth is symbol of the religious and cultural identity of Kashmiri Pandits and therefore needs urgent attention on the part of the government and PNBM trust. Let me conclude this write up in the poetic words of a devotee poet which reads as, ”Cheh Tarum Tarah Tarayee. Thavith Asha Cheh Kun Ayyee. Cheh Chek Na Taj Deth Barsar. Daya Kar Pana He Devi which translates as ‘Oh Ma Tara ,we have come with the expectation that you will bestow us salvation, Having a crown on your head. Be kind to us. May Tara Bhawati come to our rescue and remove all hurdles and obstacles in the return and rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits back to their native place of Kashmir.
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