Omkar Dattatray
This highly revered Shiva temple is located at a distance of 42 KMs from famous tourist spot Patnitop and 112 Kms from Jammu and falls in the district Udhampur. The legend has it that after bathing at a spring called Gouri Kund, just short of Sudh Mahadav ,the Goddess Parvati would worship the Shivling here that is believed to be at least 3000 years old .The temple also houses a black marble statue of local Shiva and Parvati. A trident(trishul) of Lord Shiva is also preserved here .pilgrims in large numbers visit the shrine on the full moon night of Sawan to participate in the festival to worship Lord Shiva .The mystical underground stream ,Devak believed to be sacred as the Ganges originates at Sudh Mahadav and disappears in rocks some distance downstream .Also of interest are wooden sculptures ,crafted locally .Accommodation is available in Tourist Saraj managed by J&K Tourism Development Corporation managed by the Dharamarth Trust .A few kilometers further ahead of Sudh Mahadav is Mantalai (1450 meters)surrounded by lush deodar forests .As per legend ,it is the place where Lord got married to goddess parvati .Besides the Shiva temple here one can also visit the complex created by Sawami Dhrindra Brahmachari which includes a tree shaped house ,an air strip ,a hostel and a number of other unfinished projects .An excursion through the woods to Nania Devi 5kms from Mantalai provides excellent view of the mountain landscape all round .A highly revered temple in Jammu region ,Sudh Mahadav is believed to have been constructed more than a thousand years ago .This is one of the major attractions near Patnitop situated in Chanani town and is visited by a large number of Shiva devotees all through the year .The temple houses a trident -trishul ,natural black marble Lingam and a mace-gada. There is also a holy spring called Pap Nashni Bowli near the temple that holds the reputation of cleansing the sins of anyone who bath in it .During Asad Purnima festival ,a large number of devotees throng Sudh Mahadav .The three day festival is held every year in the month of June and is one of the prime attractions in Patnitop .Cultural programs like dance and music are organized during this festival and a small fair is also organized for the people .According to Hindu mythology ,a demon named Sudheet came to visit Goddess Parvati .But when the Goddess saw the demon ,she screamed in fear provoking Lord Shiva to throw his trident at the demon and kill him .When he realized that what he did was a mistake .Lord Shiva resurrected the demon ,since then this place is known as Sudh Mahadav .The main shrine of the temple has a presiding deity of Lord Shiva ,his consort Parvati and his son Ganesha. .Opposite to the main shrine are the temples of Goraknath ,Kal Bhairav and Bayankar Bhairav .There is also a small shrine of Ganesha ,where his idols preside in different postures .For Shiva devotees the best time to visit this shrine is June every year as three day festival is held there .Connected with the shrine of Sudh Mahadav is a popular tourist destination in Patnitop region called Gaurikund which is a holy site. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati at Gaurikund which is thronged by a large number of pilgrims who offer their daily prayers .A large number of pilgrims visit Gaurikund annually during the three day festival in the month of June during which devotees worship Lord Shiva and Parvati in the form of Uma and Shankar .During this festival ,a special fair is also held. .Pilgrims visiting during the festival time bathe in Dewaki River before performing Pooja in the temple .After paying homage to Shiva and Parvati ,the devotees head towards Gaukaran and Papnashni Vavli which are other attractions of Sudh Mahadav .Legend has it that Goddess Parvati took her daily bath at the spring in Gaurikund before offering prayers at sudh Mahadav .This place had natural springs here earlier where goddess used to bath .March to October is the best time to visit Gaurikund as the climate during this period is pleasant there .The Sudh Mahadav is very beautiful shrine and is the pilgrim tourist destination in Patnitop Jammu and is visited by a good number of devotees particularly on the auspicious days .There is urgent need to develop this pilgrim tourist destination and the Jammu and Kashmir government should take serious steps to develop this tourist-cum pilgrim spot so that people and devotees in large numbers visit this shrine and offer prayers .Pilgrim tourists and other general tourists should be encouraged to visit this scared place throughout the year .The J&K tourist development corporation should construct huts for the living of the pilgrims .Besides shops and other facilities should be constructed for the convenience of the tourists and it should be developed in such a way that pilgrims all through the year visit this place/shrine and pay obeisance and get blessings from Lord Shiva .The government should develop this pilgrim spot and encourage more and more people to visit this shrine so that it will become a means of earning livelihood .It needs to be developed to support the local economy of the region .This pilgrim tourist spot has more or less remained to be untapped and unexplored and so there is great need to develop this place as a major pilgrim destination so that the tourists and pilgrims who visit Vashnov Davi will also be fascinated and attracted to pay visit to Sudh Mahadav in Chinani .In short this pilgrim-cum tourist spot should be developed and explored so that it will attract pilgrim tourists throughout the year and it will add to the fragile economy of this place .This pilgrim tourist destination is a very beautiful place and there is need that the pilgrims should visit this shrine in large numbers all through the year and for this there is need to explore the tourist and pilgrim potential of Sudh Mahadav so that it will become famous across India and people from different states of the country will visit this shrine and pay obeisance and prayers and absolve themselves of the sins.
(The author is a columnist,social and KP activist).