Stein was familiar with the shrine’s legendary origin which dictated the stages of pilgrimage. “It began with an ascetic who practiced austerities that he might behold the goddess Sharada. Divine guidance led him towards the Sharada forest where as promised, Sharada showed herself in her true form and vanished. The second step took the ascetic to a spring. When he bathed in it half his body became golden, a sign of liberation from darkness. The third step at the top of the mountain was the setting for the dance of goddess. And so, advancing step by step the ascetic was rewarded and invited by the goddess to her residence.”
Accordingly, Stein started in September 1892 a tour to the north of Srinagar in order to ascertain, if possible, the exact position of the Tirtha. The first reliable information about it, Stein obtained from Sant Ram, a purohit, resident of Sogam, in Lolab. He described to him the route followed by the pilgrims. Following Sant Ram’s direction, Stein marched to village Gus near which he located Chandra Pandit of Gotheng, whose family were hereditary guardians of the shrine. Chandra Pandit agreed to accompany Stein. He took him along a path that brought him to the left bank of a roaring stream at least one hundred fifty feet wide. Stein marched on Sep,6, 1892 to Zirhom the last village at the foot of Sitalvan Pass . Following day he crossed the high Pass to reach the uninhabitated Valley of Dudnial on Sep8,1892 . He found the path on the left bank of Kishenganga difficult to take his luggage as load on carriage and hence crossed at Dudnial a shaky rope bridge on Sep 9, over the river and marched towards the Sharada shrine by the right bank . Enroute he was shown the place where pilgrims performed ablutions . From the village Khirigam , Stein was able to see the hill of Ganesha named Ganesagiri situated on the opposite bank of the river. |
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Temple of Payech |
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September 10, 1892: “I had to cross over to the right-bank on a rope bridge. It consists of three ropes; the lower one in the middle of your feet; the other two for your hands. The ropes are held in position by Y shaped poles and the entire dangling structure is attached on both banks to high wooden cross beams like a suspension bridge. Only in the centre where it swayed in the wind was it unpleasant.
The rope under one’s feet seems to disappear, directly below is the roaring water. However with Chandra Pandit in the front and Pir Baksh behind I got across without any problem”. |
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Rope bridge at Dosot |
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“At a turn of path, the shrine came into view with a magnificent amphitheatre of high peaks behind. It stood on a prominent terrace-like foot of a spur of a high pine-clad peak. Immediately below where Kishenganga was joined by another stream was a sandy beach where the pilgrims performed their ablutions. The legend of the ascetic and his golden bath has a basis in fact. The Kishenganga drains a mountain region known as auriferous to the present day.”
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