Land of Kashyapa - Page#15 - Verinag Spring

Verinag Spring

When I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism many years ago my doctor advised me to store water in a clay container and drink from it. He told me to avoid bottled water at all costs. His argument was that besides a nutritious diet, good potable water was key in restoring the balance in the body.

About Verinag, the first thing I looked up was the goodness of the waters. There is a research paper by Dr. Jeelani who has analyzed water samples from the Verinag springs and "discovered the presence of all fourteen trace elements and four minor elements essential for the human body."

Verinag is about 85 kilometers south of Srinagar and is the source of the river Jhelum. It was called the holiest of holy rivers by the Kashmiri Hindus and was called Vitasta. The river has mention in the Rigveda and Srimad Bhagavatam. It was sacred as Ganga is today for the "pitrus" (manes). It still remains a pilgrimage spot for the Kashmiri Hindus.

"In the Nilmat Purana, Vitasta is called Nilja, the daughter of Nil Nag, the son of Kashyapa, who drained out the waters of the lake, Satisar, which once filled the valley of Kashmir. The birth of Vitasta is described in the Nilmat Purana. Pandit Kashi Nath Dhar, a Sanskrit scholar of Kashmir, refers to Nilmat Purana and notes,"the contact with Pishachas had made the inhabitants of the valley unclean, hence to purify them Kashyapa requested Lord Shiva to prevail upon his consort, Parvati, to manifest herself in the form of a river. Parvati requested Shiva to make an opening through which she could come to the surface after assuming the form of a river. Thereupon Lord Shiva struck the ground with his trident, which measured one 'Vitasti' and through this fissure, the goddess Parvati quashed forth in the form of Vitasta. The name Vitasta was given to her (this river) by Lord Shiva himself."

"Vistasti" in Sanskrit is actually a measure. About 21 centimeters. This is the most effulgent thing I read about today.

Verinag spring is fed by an aquifer. It is located at a height of nearly 1840 meters and is about 15 meters deep. The waters are as pristine as they can be. The mean discharge is nearly 850 liters a second and during monsoon can exceed three times as much.

When Akbar captured Kashmir in 1586 AD, Verinag springs was a "shapeless pond" as per Mughal records. It was Jahangir who added an octagonal-shaped pool and incorporated a traditional Mughal garden at the place in the Charbagh design. The ornate arcade around the pool is a place to sit and contemplate. I wish to see this place in winter when powder-white snow covers everything.

Sri Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan narrated how Emperor Jahangir dropped a poppy seed into the pristine waters of the pond over the spring and could see it fall with great clarity - through its depth. He added that on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the month Bhadrapada or Purattasi month there is a celebration of the birth of Verinag springs.