Bhairav Ashtami was today celebrated as ‘Bhairav Jayanti’ Religious fervour and gaiety at Jwalamukhi Bhairav temple in Kangra District of Himachal Pardesh. A large number of devotees on Wednesday paid obeisance at the Kaal Bhairav temple in Jwalamukhi.The Deity idol is elaborately decorated with garlands and flowers and many devotees visit the temple to participate in the grand celebration.
The famous Jwalamukhi temple is located adjacent to the Bhairav temple in the foothills of Kalidhar. Pilgrims started thronging the temple in the wee hours of this morning to have a glimpse of the idol of Lord Bhairava.
S D M Jawalamukhi , Dr Sanjeev Sharma said as per the past practice, a langar was organised for pilgrims visiting the ancient Bhairav temple.
He said pilgrims, along with their families, did ‘Bhairav Abhishek’. The Bhairav temple forest was humming with a large number of pilgrims, he added.
Acharya Prabal Shastri, Principal of Sanskrit college of Jawalamukhi, said chameli (jasmine) flower had its significance during the worshipping of Bhairav and devotees use this flower in abundance during the worship. He said Lord Bhairav was worshiped preferably between midnight till 0300 hrs as Bhairav was lord of the night.
He said worshipping Lord Bhairav helped in avoiding untimely and unnatural death and provided protection from the wrong impact of stars.
Long queues of pilgrims were seen outside the temple, waiting for their turn to pay obeisance before the idol of Bhairav. Havan was also performed by priests to seek the blessings of Lord Bhairav.
Rahul Sharma, the president of the organizing committee, stated that according to the ancient tradition, a special community feast for devotees has been arranged here throughout the day by the people of Jwalamukhi on the occasion of Bhairava Jayanti. He informed that devotees are performing 'abhishek' (ritual bathing) to please Bhairava here, which has created a devotional atmosphere. The deserted jungle around the Bhairava temple also presented a unique sight today.
Bhairava is the incarnation of Lord Shiva in the form of anger. It can be said that Bhairava is the manifestation of Lord Shiva’s wrath. According to the narrative narrated on this occasion, the trinity gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva were talking in a serious mood about who was the best among them. In this debate, Shiva got a little angry with the comment made by Brahma and instructed his gana Bhairava to cut off one of the five heads of Brahma. Bhairava obeyed Shiva’s command and one head of Brahma was cut off and thus he became the four head. Filled with fear, all the others prayed to Shiva and Bhairava.