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Jammu, the Duggar land where the past
still has a living presence. A land of grand ancient
temples, and beautiful palaces, all nestling in the
foothills of the Himalayas. It is said that, on becoming
King, the Suryavanshi Jambu Lochan went on a hunt and,
crossing the Tawi, found a deer and a tiger drinking
water from the same tank. His ministers explained that
this meant that the soil of the place was so virtuous
that no living creature bore enmity against another.
Raja Jambu Lochan, who lived in the later Vedic period,
decided to found his capital, Jambupura, on his soil, on
the right bank of the Tawi, overlooking his brother king
Bahu's fort. Today the temple of Maha Kali, better known
as "Bahu" or "Bawey Wali Mata", located in the Bahu
Fort, is considered second only to Mata Vaishno Devi in
terms of mystical power. The present temple was built
shortly after the coronation of Maharaja Gulab Singh, in
1822. The existing fort, as well as the Manasabdar's
palace inside it, was constructed in 1820.
Jammu is justly famous for its temples. Infact, it is
known as the city of temples and the every fame of its
trends to overshadow its palaces, forts, forests and
powerful Ziarats (shrines). If Bahu Mata is the
presiding deity of Jammu, the Dargah of Peer Budhan Ali
Shah is the other shrine that protects Jammuites. The
other major tourist attraction is the Ragunath Temple
Complex. Maharaja Gulab Singh began the construction of
the Raghunath Mandir Complex in the crowded downtown
Bazaar named after it, in 1851. It was left to his son,
Ranbir Singh, to inaugurate it six years later perhaps
the most popular temple north of Banaras, it contains
representations of almost entire Hindu pantheon, though
the emphasis falls on the various incarnations of Lord
Vishnu. The complex houses a rich collection of ancient
texts and manuscripts. For those interested in languages
one can hear Hindi, Kashmiri, English, Urdu, Punjabi and
Dogri spoken in Jammu. The old city of Jammu is perched
on a hilltop beside the Tawi River. A new town sprawls
away from the hillside and extends for some distance
across the other side of the river.
History of Jammu:
Legend has it that Jamboo Loochen founded the city about
three thousand years ago. The Raja was hunting in the
area, away from his capital city of Bahu when he came
across a lion and a goat drinking from the same pond.
The Shivadawala Shrine now stands on this spot in the
city. Jammu is known as 'the city of temples' because of
its many shrines, with their soaring golden spires or 'Shikhars'.
There are many other shrines and temples around the city
and environs that date from earlier years but the
recorded history of Jammu begins from the time of the
Dogra rulers in the early 19th century. In 1846 the
Dogra ruler of Jammu was created Maharaja of an
ill-defined Himalayan kingdom, 'to the eastward of the
river Indus and westward of the river Ravi', by the
treaties of Lahore and Amritsar at the conclusion of the
first Sikh war. It was the lack of definition of this
state - the forerunner of Jammu and Kashmir - that
caused the continuing disputes with Russia and China
over territory. The British created the state as part of
a complex political buffer zone between their Indian
Empire and China and Russia. For the Maharaja Gulab
Singh, the treaty confirmed for him almost 25 years of
fighting and negotiation with the small hill tribes
along the northern border of the Sikh Empire, centered
on the Punjab. The region remained under Dogra rule
until the partition of India in 1947, when Hari Singh,
the then Maharaja of Kashmir, decided that it would
remain as part of India and the state of Jammu & Kashmir
was born. |
