Sandeep Singh
Lord Shiva has cast his spell on people in this country from times immemorial. Representations of the Lord Shiva have been traced on the carved seals unearthed at Mohenjo-Daro, thus making him one of our oldest gods in the Indian civilization.Jammu can boast of a number of Lord Shiva cave shrines and one such natural cave is situated in idyllic surroundings at Jakhole panchayat of Kathua District. To reach it we have to break off from the National Highway (Jammu–Pathankot) at Rajbagh (Ujh). A further twelve Km drive ahead to the north eastern side crossing Jasrota, Dhanni and Bakhta villages, one reaches village Jakhole and after that 5 km on foot on a path having panoramic view of its surroundings one can reach the 150 years old famous natural Shiva cave which is famously known as Mahanal. It is about fifty minute’s journey from Lakhanpur and thirty five minutes journey from Rajbagh to village Jakhole.
Shiva is associated with truth (satyam), goodness (shivam) and beauty (sundaram) and has his mystical abode in a cave at Mahanal. The most distinctive feature about this abode is that it does not contain a man-made image. On the contrary, the sacred image in this cave is svayambhu Shiva lingam. So great is the attachment of the devotees to this natural cave that this sacred place is called as Chotta Amarnath (Mini Amarnath) by sages and people alike.
The natural cave of Shiva at Mahanal is rich in legendary lore. According to one such legend approximately 150 years back, milk used to ooze from rocks and fall on the natural Shiva lingam which was noticed by the villagers. They started worshipping the place since then. But one day a woman of nomadic community collected milk from this pious place and used it for its own benefit. Since then milk stopped oozing from the roof of the cave and water started dripping over the lord Shiva‘s sanctum sanctorum.
According to another legend, a sage meditated there for many years. He had prohibited locals from visiting the place as he wished to meditate in glory of Lord Shiva at a secluded place. However, after many years, a curious lady of the area went there only to find a human skelton in meditation posture chanting loudly “Om Namah Shivaye”. The lady got scared and fainted on noticing a skeleton meditating. After sometime, she regained consciousness only to find that, the skeleton had turned into a human being chanting Om Namah Shivaye, which after sometime disappeared and then changed into a Natural Shiva Lingam inside the cave- nearer to the meditation site. Not to be beaten in their love for the Immortal God (Amarnath) the locals have named it Chotta Amarnath (Mini Amarnath), due to its resemblance to the famous shrine of the same name in Kashmir.
At Mahanal there is a big cave and inside the cave a natural lingam exists which as per legends dates back to centuries. The cave opening is narrow and only one person can enter the cave at a time to reach the sanctum sanctorum and have darshans of Lord Shiva. The idols of Ganesh, Nandigan and Kaal -Bhairav at the entrance of Mahanal cave adds to the piousness of the area. Another small cave lies on other side of the main cave where the devotees have now constructed small temples dedicated to nine goddesses. A seasonal waterfall lies in between both the caves where devotees can be seen bathing before offering prayers. However in summers, the waterfall dries up and devotees use water from the resultant water-body (Bowli) that exists near the shrine.
In 1980, an ascetic by the name of Baba Hari Giri Ji made this place his abode and started meditating here and large number of locals started visiting him. The place started catching attention during his time. He stayed there for ten years and in 1991 he attained Samaadhi.
The devotees from within and other states of the country throng this place throughout the year. However, heavy rush is seen on Ist day of the year, Mondays, Mahashivratri, Naagpanchmi and in the holy month of Shravan which coincides with the annual pilgrimage of Shree AmarNathji. Local residents and other devotees organize langars (community kitchens) there every year. Devotees consider it as a very sacred Place of Lord Shiva and where wishes of Pilgrims are fulfilled whoever offers prayers at the shrine.
Road Connectivity, Drinking Water facility and Electricity supply are required to be improved. Efforts need to be made to bring this holy cave on the religious tourist map of the state similar to Jasrota Mata Temple at Jasrota, Sukrala Mata Temple at Billawar, Mata Bala Sundri at Nagri and Jorian Mata Temple at Bani, so that the inherent pilgrim potential of the place is explored and utilized to the maximum possible extent.
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