Omkar Dattatray
River Vitasta is a sacred river of Jammu and Kashmir and it flows through capital city of Srinagar as it is situated on the banks of this river .The river Vitasta has a great spiritual ,cultural and religious significance and Kashmiri Pandits still celebrate with truva and pay obeisance to this holy river .It is believed that Vitasta orginates from Vith Vutur Verinag in south Kashmir district of Anantnag which is a famous tourist spot visited by a large number of tourists every year .For the people of Kashmir in general and Pandits in particular Vitasta occupies an important place and they revere and respect it .In good olden days and not long ago it was brimming with clean and cool water and its width was in consonance with its deepness and water capacity .But alas the greed of man has exploited it and today its width has shrunk and its water has become dirty as well as scant! We should pay attention towards the safety of this river and save it from degradation and exploitation .With the efflux and passage of time this sacred river came to be called by the name of Jhelum and therefore in present time it is known Jhelum but this does not diminish the cultural ,spiritual and religious significance of this great river with which the past of Kashmiris is associated and it falls in central Kashmir and flows into Pakistan .There is great cultural ,religious and spiritual significance of river Vitasta .According to Nilmatpurana it was Sati daughter of Himal Parvata consort of Shiva who was called Uma in Viastra Antra and is the same goddess as Vitasta and same is Kashmira. The goddess Vitasta is verily the holy river remover of all sins .People who offer their bodies to or die within its waters in their bellies reach heaven without any hindrance. Those people who take bath in Vitasta do not see even in their dreams the tortures of hell .Vitasta gives protection with her hands to the evil doing sinners falling into hell .Fire of hell is pacified with cool outpourings of the drops sent from the waves of Vitas carried by wind .A person merely listening to the glory of Vitasta goes free from sins .The only thing Ganga has more than Vitasta are heaps of bones of human beings but all other things are equal .The river draining the entire Kashmir valley called by Kashmiris as Vyath is the direct derivation from original Sanskrit name Vitasta .Vitasta is also mentioned in the river names of Rigveda .In Vayupurna ,Vitasta has been referred as Biloda .The present name Jhelum river has been adopted from the city of Jhelum besides which it flows in Pakistan .The name was brought to Kashmir by European travelers and found its way in official use otherwise this river is still known by the Kashmiris as Vyath .The river Vitasta can be considered as the confluence of Harashpatha -Arapat ,Bringa -Bring and Sandran .But the old holy scriptures have traced the origin of Vitasta to a more specific source .As already stated in Nilmatpurana Harcaritachintamani and subsequently quoted in later references Vitasta is a manifestation of goddess Parvati .After Satisar (Parvatis lake) was drained of its water and demon Jalodbava destroyed by Vishnu ,Bhrama and Maheshvera ,at the request of sage Kashyap ,Maheshvara persuaded Parvati to show herself in Kashmir in the form of a river to purify the humans from the unholy contact of Pisachas .The goddess assumed the form of underground river and asked Shiva to make an opening by which she could come to the surface in the form of a river .Shiva by striking the ground with his trident on13th of Badar Shuklapakasa from which the river gushed forth receiving the name of Vitasta .Since then the birthday of Vitasta is celebrated on 13th Badar Shkula Paksha .The spring from where the goddess flowed in river form became known by several names Nilganga, Nila Kunda ,Sulaghata or simply Vitasta .According to a legend Vitasta made her second appearance at Vitvatru close to Verinag .Clear mention of Nilganga (Verinag) as the birth place of Vitasta by Kalhans leaves no doubt about the tradition prevailing in his time .The course of Vitasta has not changed during the historic times except at Vitasta Sindhusangrama where it was altered by Suyya the able engineer of King Awantivarman in 19th century .It is believed that as soon as Lord Shiva struck his trident and made a hole equal to a Vitasti ,about four inches long ,water sprouted forth .Lord Shiva named the river as Vitasta as it was formed by a Vitasti .The place where the spring was formed came to be known as Vitasatra and with the passage of time it became vyeth Vathur .Vedic civilization flourished along the course of the legendry river Saraswati .The people of Kashmir valley lived on the banks of river Vitasta ,flowing across the entire valley from the foots of Pir Panchal mountain range ,where its source is located at Vrinag ,to its confluence at Jehlum village ,with the river of Krishen Ganga ,flowing in the territories of Jammu and Kashmir under the occupation of Pakistan .The Kashmiri Pandits very much like Sarswat people ,built their Tirthas and their places of worship along the banks of river Vitasta .The Vedic people venerated rivers ,worshipped them as the embodiment of the divine mother Bhavani and praised them as the source of life and means of sustenance .For Hindus of Kasshmir ,Vitasta is the embodiment of Goddess Parvati ,consort of Lord Shiva .Vedic literature refers to Vitasta as a prominent river of north India. .Vitasta also finds mention in Mahabhrata as well .Vitasta is also called by the name of Jhelum and it is the river of northern Indian sun continent .It orginates at Vrinag and flows through the Indian Jammu and Kashmir and enters into Pakistan administered and POK .It is the westernmost of the five rivers of the Punjab region and flows through Kashmir valley .It has a total length of about 725 Kilometers .The river Jhelum was called Hydaspes by ancient Greeks .Alexander the Great and his army crossed the Jhelum in BC 326 at the battle of the Hydaspes River ,where he defeated an Indian King ,Porus .The river Vitasta is the Gods gift to the people of Kashmir and it is not less than a blessing for them as it irrigates and gives sustenance to the Kashmir’ .But it wrecks havoc in floods .The memory of devastating flood of 2014 is fresh in our memory as it had damaged the Kashmir in a big way .It is the greed and selfishness of man which is responsible for the flood in the river Vitasta otherwise this river is the real gift of God to Kashmir .The Vitasta ,Vyath ,Jehlum whatever we chose to call it will not diminish the religious ,cultural and historical significance of this sacred river .Let us maintain the sacredness ,holiness and sanctity as well as the beauty of Vitasta .May we continue to venerate river Vitasta so that it will continue to sustain us .In brief river Vitasta is most sacred ,holy as well as economically beneficial for the people of Kashmir .Pranam to maa Vitasta.
(The author is a columnist, social and KP activist).
