Khir Bhawani Temple is located 14 miles east of the city of Srinagar in Kashmir, India. Kheer is essentially a type of rice pudding, a common offering in this temple, so the name stuck and is referred to in the temple title. According to Hindus, the Goddess is known by names – Maharagya Devi, Ragna Devi, Rajani, Ragna Bhagwati and others. A form or avatar of Goddess Durga. She is one of the oldest deities, appearing during the time of Ravana.
Wikipedia added this article for reference – Maharaja was pleased with Ravana’s devotion and appeared before him and received the image of the deity that Ravana had installed in Sri Lanka. However, the goddess was displeased with Ravana’s vicious and vicious life and therefore did not want to stay in Sri Lanka. Hence, it is believed that she procured the idol of Hanuman from Sri Lanka and ordered it to be installed in the holy place of Tul Mal. Zeeta Ashtami is celebrated in this temple mainly in the month of May, the temple is visited by hundreds of Kashmiri Migrant Pandits from all over the world.
Why is Khir Bhavani famous? The water of Kheer Bhavan has turned red and black on rare occasions in the past, events considered inauspicious as, according to locals, something bad always happens afterwards.
Let’s look at some important references of Kheer Bhavani, maybe we can see what is being said. It is noteworthy that Swami Vivekananda talks about Khir Bhavani, the voice of the goddess can also be clearly heard while worshiping in the temple. He was one of those who drew attention to the heptagonal shape of the holy waters and noticed that the water changed color from time to time depending on the conditions in the valley.
According to old traditional folklore, Khir Bhavani water changes color depending on the condition or weather in the valley. The darker the shade of water, the more dangerous the situation or event. Locals believe that Khir Bhawani predicted the 2014 Kashmir flood, which killed over 200 people and affected over 40,000. The kund, which literally means “pond” or “spring”, turned red a day after the Janmashtami celebrations and this has alarmed the locals as it does not happen often. After about 15 days, floods wreaked havoc in the valley.
Some other incidents that I first found in Kashmir say:
In 1886, Walter Lawrence, the then British Land Commissioner, reported on his visit that the water in the spring had a purple color. Kashmiris claim to have noticed a dark or muddy color in the water shortly before the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the 1989 uprising in the valley. Some say the color turned completely black before the Pandits migrated from Kashmir in 1990!
After talking to several people who have been to the temple, I have come to the conclusion that there is little or no steam coming from the water, as is true of any other hot spring. Many came in February-March, when it was very cold, but at no other time could I find photos. This spring in Tula Mulla village is an outlet from the original spring, so there is no guarantee that the current water is influenced by the original hot spring. It is important to note that the floor where you can clearly see the temple is also very hot, which prevents you from standing without shoes for more than 5 minutes.
Kashmiri historian Kalhana wrote extensively on the history of Kashmir. In the history of Rajatarangini, published in the 12th century CE, the site of the temple was in swampy land, suggesting that it may have been built over an existing spring. Being part of the Tula Mulla spring, the water at Kheer Bhavani emits a small amount of steam near the temple.
To find the answers, we need to look outside India. Let’s also look at the science behind the color change. This is the case with hot springs: the color of the water, especially the shades of color we see, depends on the temperature and the effect of light on the microorganisms in the water. Yes! These are heat-loving microorganisms that live in very hot conditions. Take, for example, Yellowstone Park’s Grand Prismatic Hot Spring. Look closely at this photo, it’s so beautiful!!
Let me briefly explain the whole idea: from the middle of spring, the color of the water changes from pure blue to various shades. The reason is that the water in the middle is extremely hot, so no microbes consider it too sacred, so the color of the sky is directly reflected here, clear water, very hot!
As we go outside, the water becomes comparatively colder, allowing the micro
is bound to grow. Learn more about the color changes of these amazing microbes here and at the Smithsonian.
How does it affect water?
I took this information from a study done by the Smithsonian Institution. The further away from the center of a hot spring, the cooler the temperature and the more diverse microbes can live there, says Natasha Geeling of the Smithsonian Institution. The outer layer of the spring at 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius) is reddish-brown or burgundy.
is in Another carotenoid-bearing microbe also comes into play at this temperature: Deinococcus-thermus thermus creates “bright red or orange streaks,” according to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) blog. For example, the Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone has a reddish color due to this bacteria.
So, if it is the last end of the true spring, the part exposed to light is affected by the predominant red bacteria that give the water its color. Maybe so, yes. Let’s think about this for a minute and understand the surrounding circumstances. What we also need to know, and this is important, is that people, yes, people, affect the color change in hot spring for simple reasons. As Live Science also reports, the researchers went further than showing that environmental characteristics favor the microbes that produce certain colors. As they reported in a 2015 article published in the journal Applied Optics, a mathematical model was developed to explain the colors in the springs. In line with what was observed in the Grand Prismatic Basin, researchers from the University of Montana in the USA and the Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany found that in deep water, color arises mainly from the interaction of light (scattering, absorption). The water itself, then, as in shallow water, the color came from the reflection of light from the microbial mats, the composition of which was highly dependent on temperature.
They report that humans may have influenced the colors of Yellowstone’s geothermal features. In the past, they reported that the temperature in the morning glory pool was significantly higher and its color was dark blue. According to The Optical Society, as debris accumulated in the pool, the crater partially occluded, its temperature dropped, allowing microbes to grow and form the orange-yellow microbial mats that gave the pool its psychedelic appearance.
Well, the last time such an incident happened at Kheer Bhavani was the day after Janmashtami. Although the water is not dyed directly to give it color, it accumulates near the water source, cooling it and encouraging the growth of these microorganisms.
Then the water turned black. Curse! Now I’m not too sure about this, but it might make sense. As we all know around the world, hot springs contain high amounts of sulfur and hot springs have “healing” or medicinal properties. Steamboat Springs in Colorado, USA is completely black. It didn’t affect the texture of the water, nor was the water dirty, it just turned black! Chemistry 101!~ The smell of rotten eggs or black water in hot water lines is due to the reaction of sulfates and microorganisms in the water, which creates hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This is a water chemistry problem, not a water heater problem. Hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water is corrosive to metals such as iron, steel, copper, and brass. Iron and steel rust from sulfur to form iron sulfide or “black water.” We all know that minerals exist in nature, so don’t rule it out. Also don’t forget that Kashmir is rich in borax and sulphur.
The article on Kashmir First speaks openly about these events directly related to the spiritual world of the valley. Blood was spilled at a Bavarian orchestra concert conducted by Zubin Mehta, after which the water in Kheer Bhawani turned red for the first time after many years. It was 2013.
I believe that a mountainous region is greatly affected by the presence of physical structures (in this case mountains), sound and the effect of sound (not to deny the effect of echoes and landslides) and many other things that we do not understand or fully accept. . All of these affect our environment as a whole, perhaps from the depths of spring geysers to the heights of water where microbes reside. If I knew more science, I could find more answers and come to conclusions, but I can say with confidence that the Earth’s geology plays a large part, and it is largely due to the energy that humans produce as well. Earth knows more than we do, and we are a product of the planet, so our connection doesn’t have to be physical and tangible, it’s more than we think. Every temple we know is built on the ground
They are highly energetic, so it is not surprising that Khir Bhavani is one such place.
Maybe some other times people saw the water change color, their fear manifested in later events, or Khir Bhavani offered calming and healing water, showing that times are tough and you need some healing!
