Spirituality

Two-day Bala Devi Balhama pilgrimage ends with calls to preserve Kashmir's shrines

A two-day pilgrimage to the Shri Bala Devi Temple at Balhama concluded with traditional puja and havan-yagna, a Hindu fire ritual, and calls to preserve Kashmir's spiritual heritage, Kashmir Indepth reports. The yatra was organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Kshatriya Samaj, and Ranbir Singh Pathania, MLA from Udhampur East, and Zorawar Singh Jamwal, president of Team Jammu, led the concluding religious ceremonies.

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Pathania points to the shrine's five deodar trees#

Pathania called Kashmir's old shrines storehouses of history, culture and spiritual wisdom whose meaning reaches past geography, religion and time, Kashmir Indepth reports. He described them as a civilisational inheritance belonging to humanity, carrying messages of universal brotherhood and coexistence, according to the outlet.

He highlighted the Balhama shrine's five sacred deodar trees, traditionally linked to an ancient sacred spring, and sacred shilas connected to Tripura Sundari and the Shakta traditions found in Kashmir's religious literature, Kashmir Indepth reports.

"Today, Balhama; tomorrow, Sharada Peeth. Kashmir's spiritual treasures belong to humanity and must be restored to their rightful place in our collective consciousness," Pathania said, per Kashmir Indepth. He said he wants to work toward opening pilgrimage to Sharada Peeth in the Neelam Valley, in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, by lawful means once conditions allow, the outlet reports.

Earlier reports named local organisers and attendees#

Greater Kashmir reported that the pilgrimage, organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Kshatriya Samaj, concluded Sunday with a reaffirmation to preserve Kashmir's civilisational heritage, and quoted Jamwal saying the shrines' stories and spiritual meanings "deserve serious study, documentation and wider recognition."

Daily Excelsior reported that police and administrative officers, Dharmarth Trust representatives, community leaders and local residents joined the closing ceremony, and that local Muslim residents of Balhama welcomed the pilgrims, an association the outlet linked to the shrine's protection during past years of terrorism.

Rising Kashmir named those present as including Dharmarth Trust president Purshotam Pathania, DDC Khanmoh Sheikh Ajaz and retired SP Sewa Singh Mankotia, and reported that organisers again cited the welcome from local Muslim residents as an example of communal harmony.

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