Maha Shivratri, locally known as ‘Herath’, was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across Kashmir on Saturday with Kashmiri Pandits paying obeisance at temples and offering Pooja on the occasion.
The biggest gathering was held at Shankaracharya Temple overlooking Dal Lake. The temple authorities at Ganpatyar and Hanuman temple at Amira Kadal in Srinagar also held special prayers throughout the day. Hundreds of devotees thronged Mata Kheer Bhawani temple at Tullamulla in district Ganderbal. The temples were decorated with different colours and flowers.
The festival holds an important place among the Kashmiri Pandit community, who celebrate it to mark the wedding of Lord Shiva with Parvati by cooking traditional Kashmiri food, especially fish. Unlike Hindus around the country, Pandits cook fish and mutton instead of fasting on the day and only a small portion adheres to strict vegetarian tradition.
On this festival, the Pandits distribute soaked walnuts as a mark of respect to the Hindu deities and these are given as prasad after worship. Apart from walnuts, Pandits give rice bread as prasad to the girls of the house.
'Herath' is a three-day festival for Kashmiri Pandits in which the families come together for elaborate prayers and celebrations. The festival symbolises the unity of divinity and the complementing nature of consciousness and feminine energy that together lead to creation.
The festival has been a symbol of communal harmony for ages. “In local parlance, the second day is known as ‘Salam’ because it is on this day we get greetings from the Muslim brethren. Before militancy, it was a much-awaited day in the Valley after Eid,” Amit Raina, a Pandit said.
According to history, the word 'salaam' got incorporated into Kashmiri Pandits' tradition when Jabbar Khan, an Afghan ruler, forced them to celebrate Shivaratri in July to see whether it would snow if the festival is celebrated in the summer.
Almost every year, J&K experiences light to moderate rains and snowfall on this day. This year as well, there was a forecast of moderate rain and snowfall on the occasion of ‘Herath.’
The festival also commemorates the auspicious union of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva.