Numbers of earthen lamps lit the Teetwal hamlet in
Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district as Diwali was celebrated for the first
time at the Mata Sharda Devi temple in the last 75 years, said the organiser of
the event.
Prayers on the occasion were performed in the temple,
which is now reconstructed in the area on the Line of Control (LoC).
Save Sharda Committee head and founder Ravinder
Pandita said this is happening for the first time in 75 years.
“It’s a matter of happiness that Diwali is being
celebrated in the same way as it used to be before 75 years. The inauguration
of this temple was done on March 22 after its renovation,” said Pandita.
He further appealed to the government to open the
Sharda Peeth, the seat of Sharada, like that of Kartarpur Sahib.
“This is our request to the government that Sharda
Peeth gets open like Kartarpur Sahib,” he said.
After performing the Diwali rituals, the people
gathered outside the temple and burst firecrackers.
The ancient temple and its centre were rebuilt with a
view to reviving centuries-old pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth temple in the
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Sharda Peeth is an abandoned temple located in Sharda
village along the Neelum River, which was a major centre of learning. It is
regarded as one of the 18 highly revered temples across South Asia.
The Save Sharda Committee took the lead in the
reconstruction of the temple and a Sikh gurdwara after reclaiming the same.
The temple was inaugurated on March 22 this year,
Pandita said.
“The inauguration of this temple was done on March 22
after its renovation as it was demolished during the attacks in the past. Prior
to the tribal raids in 1947, a dharmshala and a Sikh gurdwara used to exist in
the same plot that was burnt down in the raids,” Pandita said.
Teetwal was a traditional route of pilgrimage to
Sharda Peeth which was last stopped in 1948 after the tribal raids and
partition.
ANI
