Omkar Dattatray
It is a historical and ancient temple located in the heart of Jammu city .This temple has a great and magnificent architecture ,design and grandeur and provides spiritual beauty to Jammu city .It is frequented by the devotees throughout the year .It is the centre of religious ,spiritual ,social and cultural activities .The temple is associated with the history of Jammu and Kashmir .The large number of pilgrims who visit Mata Vashno Devi also pay visit to Shree Raghunath ji temple and seek blessings from Lord Ram and Devi Sita .This temple has become a famous pilgrim tourist spot of Jammu and Kashmir as a very large number of people visit the temple and pay obeisance to Lord Ram .Raghunath temple, with seven shrines each with its own ‘Shikhara’,(Shikhara ,a Sanskrit word translating literally to mountain Peak ,refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture in north India) is one of the largest temple complexes of north India ,located in Jammu city .Maharaja Gulab Singh and his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh built the temple ,during the period of 1853-1860.The temple has all most all gods and goddesses of Hindus ,but presiding deity is Lord Ram ,an avatar -incarnation if Lord Vishnu .The temple came under public glare and intense scan ,when in November 24,2002.While the Hindus were performing Puja in the complex ,the fidayeen terrorist attack took place ,resulting in at least 10 deaths and injuries to several devotees .As already mentioned the gigantic Raghunath temple has seven lofty shikharas ,where every shrine has its own shikkara .On the very entrance to the temple ,a portrait of Maharaja Ranbir Singh and an image of Lord Hanuman beautify the site .The central shrine is dedicated to Lord Ram/Raghunath ,who is the commanding deity .Apart from the main shrine ,the other shrines encompass various incarnations of Lord Vishnu .There is another remarkable shrine of Lord Surya -sun God ,which houses different forms of the Lord .Inside the temple there are other shrines that house colossal statues of Hindu gods and goddesses .It is notable to mention here that gold sheets envelop the interior walls on three sides of the temple .It also has a gallery ,where various ‘lingama ( phallic form of Lord Shiva) and saligrams are placed .Raghunath temple comprises almost all the images of the Hindu Pantheon ,an unusual embodiment in temple architecture .Sermons and rituals of the temple include morning and evening aarti .Glimpses of Mughal masonry can be visualized in the architecture splendor of Raghunath Temple .The carvings and arches being extraordinarily resplendent ,grab everyone’s attention .There is a library in the temple complex ,housing rare Sanskrit books and manuscripts .People visit this temple in large numbers to pay their homage to the deity and seek blessings from the Lord. .Raghunath Temple is a Hindu temple located in Jammu city in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir .It consists of a complex of seven Hindu shrines .The temple houses many gods and goddesses but the presiding deity is Lord Rama-also known as Raghunath the incarnation of Lord Vishnu .All the spiral shaped towers have golden plated spires .The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well -crafted icons of gods and goddesses including those of Surya and Shiva ,but most are particularly related to the life stories of Rama and Krishna. The paintings in the 15 panels of the main shrine are based on themes from Ramayana ,Mahabharata ,and Bhagavad Gita .The temple premises include a school and a library that preserves over 6000 manuscripts in many Indian languages ,with a notable collection of Sarada script Sanskrit manuscripts .The temple complex is located in the old city north of River Tawi with an average elevation of 350 m(1150ft) in Jammu and Kashmir .During the reign of the rulers of Jammu Shivaliks after 1765,there was a spurt in temple building activity in Jammu area ,which continued during the early period of the 19th century .The rulers built spiral shaped temples with bricks and crowned each with tower with bright Kalashas in the shape of shikaras -rising tower .This temple complex was started in 1835 by Gulab Singh ,the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir and was dedicated to his guru Baba Prem Das .Its construction was completed in 1860 by his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh..During the reign of Ranbir Singh ,the temple complex started a Pathshala -school which welcomed students from all castes and classes .The Raghunath temple remains a significant scholarly source of sarda manuscripts and one of the largest collection of Hindu and Buddhist texts of the Kashmir tradition .The Ragunath temple has been an early promoter of digitization initiative of the manuscripts. .It houses and has started the eGangotri initiative to digitize ancient manuscripts from other parts of India .The Raghunath temple has seven shrines .The temple complex is dedicated to Raghunath ,another name for Rama .The entrance has a Surya icon ,another manifestation of Vishnu .It is built over a raised platform of 5 feet height in an octagonal shape .The temple is dedicated to Lord Rama as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu .The temple consists of gold sheets that cover the inner three sides of the temple .This temple is famous all over India and especially in north Indian states and devotees come from these states to visit Ragunath temple to pay obeisance and seek blessings from Lord Rama .The architecture and grandeur of the temple is worth seeing and it is a source of attraction .The visit to this temple leaves one spiritually and mentally elevated and the beauty of the temple is a matter of joy and pride and it also helps in the peace of mind of the devotees .One who comes to Jammu and visits Mata Vashno Devi shrine should also visit the Raghunath Temple as the tour of Jammu is incomplete without paying a visit to this temple complex .What differentiates Ragunath temple from rest of the temples of India is the fact that it houses all most all gods and goddesses of Hindu religion and it is the temples distinguishing feature .Though the Ragunath temple is dedicated to Lord Rama ,but it has all the deities of Hindu religion and thus it is doubly worth visiting .All the people who visit Jammu are advised to visit Ragunath temple and have a glimpses of its architecture and design and it is in fact a good marvel of engineering. The temple complex stands duly guarded by the security personnel so that no further untoward militant incident will take place .May Lord Rama be our torch bearer and path pradershak.
(The author is a columnist,
social and KP activist).
