Baba Dhansar: The fusion of pilgrimage and scenic beauty
Jammu, June 01: If there is a place in Jammu which captivates you instantly it is the pilgrim-tourist destination of Baba Dhansar, the holy place that soothes the nerves through its mysticism and its beauty becomes a treat for eyes.
Baba Dhansar is the fusion of pilgrimage and scenic beauty visited by all for different reasons and everybody feels contented whether it is a pilgrimage to the temple or just a picnic for the school children.
The place is extremely popular with school and college going youth who find it most lovely places for the outing coupled with pilgrimage thus adding one more tourist destination to the pilgrim tourism circuit of Jammu region.
Even though Baba Dhansar is a well known place for the local tourists the place does not find much mention on national circuit in the advertisement material of J&K Tourism department as barring a few lines nothing much is available about the place to attract tourists from outside the state.
The place needs to be highlighted well through internet and other tourism related material and linking it with pilgrim tourism package exclusively for Jammu region can yield rich dividends for promoting Jammu tourism.
Baba Dhansar is a delight for tourists visiting this place to see a number of waterfalls here, which flow in full streams giving it a mystic look that takes your breath away with its sheer beauty.
The Karua jheel or lake here is considered of prime importance and it is a sacred water body where an annual wrestling tournament is also an added attraction organized near Karua jheel every year.
Being a popular destination for devotees there are a number of luxury and budget hotels here near and around Katra which is at distance of 17 km from Reasi.
This tourist cum pilgrim spot has a cool atmosphere and fresh ambiance making it one of the finest picnic spots in Jammu where anybody would love to get there time and again whenever you are at trip to Jammu. It is wonderful place with a small waterfall, a Shivling and beautiful landscape and once you reach the place, it seems as if you have seen something out of this world.
65 Kms from Jammu, on way to Salal Dam, 10 km from Katra, Baba Dhansar is a beautiful and cool picnic spot. Here, a huge spring gushes out of the mountain side in a thick grove of trees and forms a number of small cascading water-falls which flow in full streams to eventually join Banganga River, which is the starting point for a yatra from Katra to Bhawan before ultimately merging with the Chenab River.
Next to the spring in a small grove in the rock face is a naturally formed Shivling on which droplets of water fall at a constant pace all the year round. A big fair is held here during Shivratri. For the facility of the yatris visiting the place, the Shrine Board has carried out some developments including the construction of a Dharamshalla.
The holy place of Baba Dhansar is located at Karua Jheel (Pond) near village Karua, the approach involves a walk of 200 metres from the road. It is a mythological belief that when Lord Shiva went to the Amarnath cave to tell Parvati the story of his immortality, he left his serpent king, Sheshnag at Anantnag. Shesh Nag came in the human form as Vasudev. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar who was a saintly person.
As the local belief goes, in the ancient times there was a demon who lived near Karua Jheel(lake) and committed atrocities on the people of village Karua. The villagers sought help of Baba Dhansar to get rid of the Demon. It is believed that Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva arrived and helped in killing the Demon. The temple of Baba Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva near Karua Jheel has become a place of worship. Karua Jheel is considered sacred where bathing is not permitted. However, the devotees may take a bath downstream. People believe that their wishes are fulfilled if they take bath in the stream and pray with complete faith. A large number of devotees visit the place every year on the day of Mahashivratri when an annual fete (mela) is organized and is visited by many tourists during weekends. (With inputs from various sources)