By: Seetha Vijayakumar
My husband, on his trip along Narmada valley in Madhya Pradesh had picked up a ‘Bana Linga’ to worship at home and also had visited ‘Jeeva Samadhi’ of Sadguru Sadasiva Brahman at Nerur near Karur in Tamil Nadu where a ‘Bana Linga is installed.’ Soon he had to go to Srinagar on an assignment and I joined him despite Kashmir being a troubled area.
Shankaracharya Hill comes into view as we approach Srinagar from the airport. The conical temple on top of the densely forested hill overlooks Dal Lake and in the mild afternoon light, it is shining like the crest jewel of the Goddess. The vista brings to mind the image of Vivekachudamani, Crown Jewel of Reason, which is the title of a famous poem that Adi Shankaracharya composed in his relatively short but meteorically brilliant lifespan of 32 years.
This metaphor of a glittering medallion for a scholastic topper seems doubly apt because the crowning glory of the Acharya’s academic achievements was his accession to Kashmir’s Sarvadnya Peetha, seat of all knowledge. Also called Sharada Peetha, after the Goddess of Learning, after whom the state got its name in the old days, the shrine is now located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. So, we visited the Shankaracharya Hill. On the way we stopped by a small shrine of Sai Baba.
My husband told me that at this place Shankaracharya meditated to compose his Saundarya Lahiri, the Waves of Beauty. The 100-verse-long poem opens abruptly with the assertion that, only when Shiva is united with his Shakti did he acquire the power of creation. According to a legend, the manuscript was originally authored by Shiva himself and He gifted it to Adi Shankara in the Kailash Himalayas. However, Nandi, the possessive bull of Shiva allegedly grabbed the text in his mouth, only to tear it into two parts and retain the first part with its 41 secret tantric verses. A smiling Shiva then commanded Shankaracharya to write additional verses praising the glory of the goddess.
Our plan was to bask in some of the magical vibes associated with the sacred spot while chanting Vishnu Sahasranama and ‘Om Namah Sivaya’. It was a difficult terrain, but once you get to the summit, everything seems to change magically. There is bright sunlight all around, and under the friendly blue skies, one can rest on granite seats around the massive ‘God trees’ that have been planted in front of the shrine. We strolled around to gaze down upon the dazzling Dal Lake with its tiny toy- like houseboats. Suddenly it seems to us that all is well, and God is nigh. So, now we know why Mughal Emperor Jahangir described Kashmir— “If there is Paradise on Earth, it is here; it is here; it is here,” he’s supposed to have exclaimed in ecstasy.
A reference to this shrine occurs in the 12th (superscript) century work ‘Rajatarangini’. It says King Gopaditya (426-325 BC) repaired the shrine to Jyestheswara, a form of Shiva. The Karkota King Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-726 BC) made some land grants to the compact rock temple, which is set on a solid 20-feet-high octagonal base.
The terrace around the square temple is reached through a steep stone staircase set between two walls. A doorway on the opposite side of the staircase leads into the interior, which captures your senses at once as an elegant marvel of architectural economy and ergonomics. The giant Bana-Linga in the sanctum has been smeared with, saffron and sandalwood paste. “Having been brought from the depths of River Narmada, which is geologically more ancient than the Indian subcontinent itself, this Linga truly symbolises the Jyestha- Ishwara, Elder or Primordial One,” the priest informs us, on learning that we are devotees of Sai Baba. His comment reminds us of the words of Sri Narasimha Swamiji: “Kashmir has always been more than a mere place. It has the quality of an experience, or a state of mind, or perhaps an ideal.”
A visit to Shankaracharya Hill was as good as visiting Sai Maharaj at Shirdi.
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