NAVREH (New Year Day) for Kashmiri Pandits ! - Significance

  NAVREH (New Year Day) for Kashmiri Pandits !

First Navratra is a special day for Pandits from Kashmir. It's NAVREH (New Year Day) in Kashmir. On this day the new almanac, the annual calendar with new astronomical data and lot of other information commences for the new Hindu calendar year. With this day the most soothing season of the year, the spring starts with a renewed life. The nature wears a new look. Fresh fragrance of new flowers fill the air immediately after snow melts in Kashmir. 

Navreh is also a celebration of an escape from the clutches of the severe cold of winter with a new lease of life and a season of regeneration and fertility. Prior to the festival the family elder brings in the new almanac (Panchang) of the New Year, called Janthari in Kashmiri. 

On the night prior to Navreh the eldest lady of the house fills a big plate (Thali) with uncooked rice and arranges various items on it. The new Janthari occupies an important place with a twig of fresh seasonal flowers, some coins, walnuts, a small mirror, Katori filled with Yoghurt, a pinch of salt, a lump of cooked rice, a pen with an inkpot, a golden ornament (a ring or a bangle), a piece of bread or Kulcha etc as per the family traditions are placed on this rice filled Thali. The ritual is called ‘Thal Barun’. On the early morning of Navreh before sunrise all family members have a Darshan of this Thali with all the items placed on it .All the things arranged on the rice filled Thali have a special significance. The rice being the principal diet of Kashmiris guarantees abundance, the walnuts ensure regeneration and stability, coins and gold ornament prosperity, the pen and inkpot education, wisdom and knowledge, curds fullness. The walnuts are thrown into the flowing water and the rice used for making a yellow cooked rice called Taher and is taken as Prasad.

Thal Barun

This festival reverberates our past visits to Hari-Parbat hillock situated in the periphery of Srinagar, an ancient and the holiest of the holy shrine of Kashmir. It’s the abode of Jagatamba Sharika Bagwati also known as Maha-Tripursundari or Raja-Rajeshuri. The eighteen armed Goddess is considered the presiding deity of Srinagar city. The Goddess Sharika is represented by a self-made Srichakra also called Mahashriyantra, which consists of circular mystic impressions and triangular patterns with a dot (bindhu) at the Centre. 

Abode of Goddess Sharika-Chakrishwar

The holy Srichakra engraved on a vertical holy rock (Shila) located at the middle of western face of Hari Parbat. Shri-Yantra is the most auspicious, most powerful Yantra. The shrine called ‘Chakrishwar’can be approached by a flight of one hundred and eight chiseled stones. The devotees used to visit Hari-Parbat regularly and reach the Shrine of Chakrishwar in the wee hours of the morning. On the occasion of Navreh thousands of KPs used to pay obeisance at the shrine and wish for their prosperity. 

 

Hari-Parbat

The whole of Hari-Parbat is the holy of the holiest shrines as it’s the abode of numerous gods and goddesses. Since each and every stone, pebble, mound and slope of the hillock is auspicious so there was a tradition of going around the hill (Parikrama) in the wee hours of the morning .I remember my mother  used to observe the Parikrama regularly at 4 AM  before she started her daily routine .I had the last chance to go and pay obeisance as a child in 1989.I had observed that my mother and many devotees would recite Shri Indrakshi, Bhavani Sahsranama and Panchastavi during Parikrama. It still echoes in my ears, how the Panchastavi Shloka was being recited, while making the Parikrama of the Chinars.

 Everyone would recite :

Maya Kundalini Kriya Madhumati, Kali Kala Malini
Matangi Vijaya Jaya Bhagavati Devi Shiva Shambhavi
Shakti Shankaravallabha Trinayana Vagvadini Bhairavi
Hrimkari Tripura Paraparamayi Mata Kumari Iti Asi.

  

Now after we and other KPs  moved out of Kashmir these auspicious places are neglected including Hari-Parbat though- many a casual visitor visit the shrine and are welcomed by the security forces posted there for security.

The hill is the abode of numerous Gods and Goddesses .Number of holy temples representing various deities is located on all sides of the hill. So as a devotion to all these deities the devotees circumambulated  the hillock .

Hope with the Grace of Divine Mother will get to pay my obeisance at this auspicious shrine soon.

Will end with the prayers that my mother used to recite while we returned home after last parikrama of the hillock.

Ya Maya Madhu Kaitabha Pramathni, Ya ------Mahishonmoolini
Ya Dhumre Kshana Chanda Munda Mathini Ya Rakta Bijashini.
Shakti Shumbha Nishumba Daitya Dalini, Ya Siddha Lakshmi Para
Sa Durga Nava Koti Murti Sahita Mam Patu Maheshvari.

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