Located in the Trikuta mountain at a height of about 5200 ft, the Vaishno Devi temple of Jammu and Kashmir is considered as one of the holiest Hindu temples in India. Every year, the shrine receives millions of devotees from all across India and abroad. The devotees need to trek for roughly 12km from the Katra base camp to reach the holy cave of the three-peaked mountain, where Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji is believed to reside. Vaishno Devi is also known as Trikuta, Mata Rani, Jyotawali or Sherawali.
What Exactly Happened?
Sher comes from the Persian word ‘Shir’ which means a lion or a tiger. And Sherawali refers to the Hindu goddess who rides on the sher. Recently, a leopard was spotted on the hilly path near Adhkuwari that leads to the temple. The majestic creature was gracefully roaming about on the kachcha road. The incident was captured on CCTV and it is already doing rounds on social media. A post on twitter also referred to it as a ‘good sign‘. Now, we do agree that a tiger and a leopard aren’t the same, but those who have faith, have been calling it a sign from the goddess as well. However, there have been contradicting opinions about if it’s a tiger or a leopard.
Good sign? :
Leopard spotted near Adhkuwari on the way to Mata Vaishno Devi. The incident was captured on CCTV. #Vaishnodevi pic.twitter.com/5snYAjfT0s— The Publish (@PublishThe) April 15, 2020
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What’s More?
The yatris are usually blessed with darshans of Vaishno Devi at the culmination of the shrine. These darshans take the form of three mighty rock formations. which are locally called the Pindies. The cave doesn’t have any statue or idol. When the entire world is suffering amid the pandemic, it seems that ‘Maa’ is trying to communicate with her devotees or children through her valiant ‘sher’.
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So, if you had plans to go on a pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi that got postponed due to lockdown, the sight of this tiger will definitely please your eye and soul.
First Published: April 15, 2020 1:27 PM