𑆤𑆩𑆱𑇀𑆠𑆼 𑆯𑆳𑆫𑆢𑆼 𑆢𑆼𑆮𑆵 𑆑𑆳𑆯𑇀𑆩𑆵𑆫𑆥𑆶𑆫𑆮𑆳𑆱𑆴𑆤𑆴
𑆠𑇀𑆮𑆳𑆩𑆲𑆁 𑆥𑇀𑆫𑆳𑆫𑇀𑆡𑆪𑆼 𑆤𑆴𑆠𑇀𑆪𑆁 𑆮𑆴𑆢𑇀𑆪𑆳𑆢𑆳𑆤𑆁 𑆖 𑆢𑆼𑆲𑆴 𑆩𑆼 ॥
नमस्ते शारदे देवी काश्मीरपुरवासिनि
त्वामहं प्रार्थये नित्यं विद्यादानं च देहि मे ॥
"My obeisance to Goddess Sharada, whose adobe is the land of Kashmir, I seek only you Devi, grant me the boon of knowledge which is eternal and illuminates from within."
Kaśmīra has been known to Bharat since the beginning of the Kalpa as per the Nīlamatapurāṇa, it was then a vast lake known as Satīsara. In the seventh Manvantara, the puranic legend mentions this lake was drained off, as a result of Jalodbhava's death, the invincible asura in water. Since then the humans were settled in this region by Rishi Kashyapa.
The name Kashmir has its origin from Sanskrit, as Kāś means exceptionally beautiful/heavenly and mīra means the king, the king of all heavens on earth is referred to as Kashmir. Kashmir is also associated with Kaśmīrā, the name of Goddess parashakti which hails her as the queen of all magnificence, beauty and grace. It was also known as the Sharadadesh, the land of Mother Goddess Saraswati, where Sharada Shaktipeeth, the sacred seat of knowledge exists.As for more than 10-12 thousand years it remained one of the prominent centres for learning in Bharat.
The Devi is referred several times in shastras as Kashmirapuravasini, the presiding deity of this region. As Sharada, Sharika, Kashmira, Vistasta, Bhavani and by several other names and forms, she is still revered and worshipped by Kashmiri Pandits.
As Sharika, she is Bhagwati Tripurasundari, who appeared in the form of a mainā bird, also known as haer in Kashmiri. As Sharika, she is known as the slayer of Jalodbhava asura who lived in the Satīsara lake. She dropped a pebble upon him, which grew larger and larger, and became the size of a hill and killed the asura. The hill dropped on the site was then known as Hari Parvat, which is also the abode of Mother Goddess Sharika. She resides here in the form of a Svayambhu Sri Chakram, and is worshipped in her ashtadashabhuja/18 handed form. As this region became the abode of Sri Mata, the city was named after her as Sri Nagara, or Shrinagar.
The prominence of Sharada Peetham in Kashmir, attracted variety of scholars, sages and seers in it's premises. Pioneers known among these visitors were Great Sanskrit author Kalhana, revolutionary Jagataguru Adi Shankaracharya, Tibetan scholar Vairotsana, Buddhist monk Kumarajiva, Thonmi Sambhota and many others. Adi Shankaracharya also received visions and sacred knowledge by the grace of Goddess Sharada here. It is said his popular Śākta work known as Saundarya Lahari was written in Kashmir. Along with being a powerful centre of Shaktism, Kaśmīra is also home to Vasugupta's Trika system of Kashmira Shaivism.
The Sanskrit name Kaśmīra became synonymous with different streams of knowledge. This land of Saraswati, which gave birth to Spiritual giants such as Abhinavagupta, was also known for it's a contribution to Vastushastra, Natyashastra, Kavya, Sahitya, Ayurveda and other fields. Even Bharatiya Astronomer Varāhamihira mentioned Kaśmīra as one of the significant astronomical sites in Bṛhatsaṃhitā.
Kaśmīra played a significant role in making our civilization, much before Sindhu valley settlements existed upon Indus. Its history is a reflection of Sanātana dharma/Hinduism's contribution in uplifting humanity towards seeking and attainment of existential, spiritual, scientific and several forms of knowledge, by breaking those shackles of ignorance.
But in the recent past Kaśmīra didn't remain for what it once stood for. As Islamic invasions began on this land, its sanctity and peace were in despair since then.The first ever authentic film on Hindu holocaust in Kashmir, The Kashmir Files which came recently just showed a small glimpse of the genocidal horror that the indigenous founders of that land, the Hindu pandits had gone through. The story of exodus, rapes, genocides and forceful conversions didn't began in 1990's, but can be traced back to 1320 AD with islamic invasions by turkish invader Qadir Khan, to Muhammad bin Qasim, later by Mughal emperors and the ninth genocide which occurred recently just 32 years back. As a consequence of that, the indigenous hindus who once occupied and shaped this land as majority, were forcefully converted or killed, and today became a vulnerable minority of Kashmir.
The destruction of our ancient civilization in Kaśmīra, is a loss for Bharat. This sacred land of Saraswati accepted, nourished and empowered individuals from different spheres of life. The reason why every indigenous Hindu here was known as pandit because there was no prevalence of a caste-based discriminatory system in their society, the karma of seeking the divine, accomplishing mastery on different subjects and proficiency in writing granthas in the ancient Sharada script, was the lifestyle of every Hindu household, and thus everyone was known as pandits.
This crown gem of the motherland, gifted to us by Saraswati is a unifying force for all living beings. The land today rampaged by radical jihadists demands to be reclaimed with the dharmic principles and its founding members, the Kashmiri pandits need to be resettled back in their homes with honour.
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