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The holy place of Machail Shrine is about 250 kilometer away from Jammu
city while 31 kilometer journey of the pilgrim age with night halts at
Massu, Chishoti and the Machail villages is covered on foot. The
Sankirtan and gun-gan of the Goddess continues at halting stations till
late night. One of the unique features of this Yatra includes
non-remembrance of home, kith and kin's by the pilgrims during
pilgrimage.
For the first time in the history of popular annual Machail Yatra, the
yatries have been permitted by the Yatra Management "Serve Shakti Sewak
Sanstha to undertake pilgrimage from 10th of August itself to avoid rush
and have glimpses of the Goddess. It is deemed necessary to mention here
that the scene of the holymace (Charrimubarkh) departure from its base
camp is worth seeing and immemorable rather. Thousands of the devotees
who thronged at Chinote on the occasion chants and dance to the tunes of
devotional songs and tears roll down from the eyes of the spectators and
the participants out of emotions. It looks like a bride is departed to
her in laws house. The bazaars and roads are decorated with raising of
colourful gates and buntings to receive and welcome the yatra at
different places with offering fresh fruit, sweet water and the other
eatables like halwa-puri, chai and channa etc. as a token of love and
respect to the divine mother. It is an admitted fact that who so ever
joins this pilgrimage once wishes to visit the shrine again and again to
satiate his spiritual thrust, such is the impression and effect of this
unique pilgrimage on the human mind.
Infact, the Machail yatra has strengthened the spirit of religious
tolerance, bonds of secularism and mutual brotherhood among the masses
which is apparent from the fact that the people even our Muslim brethren
greets the Yatra with due respect where-ever it passes, through their
habitations. The most important and impressive aspect of the Machail
yatra is the unique holy mace of the Goddess which remains ahead of the
pilgrims and provide strength and inspiration to the pilgrims enroute.
According to the legend, the Goddess Chandi appeared at Machail long-Iong
ago in the shape of shila (Pindi). The mother came here from her ancient
place Mindhal Battas (HP) to bless the simple, ignorant and helpless
people of Paddar area. The Machail is a unique pilgrimage with unique
features. Besides spiritual, its social aspect is more effective and
impressive where under the Goddess asks her devotees to shun social
evils like smoking, drinking and abusing each other for over all welfare
of society and the mankind as a whole. By the grace of the mother
majority of the pilgrims succeed in this objective with the blessings of
the Goddess. Domestic problems of the devotees are also solved by the
Chandi Mata by dint of "Dhooptalna programme" called 'man ki bat boojhna'.
Most of the newly wedded couples reach Machail with a desire of male
child first.
The main reception station of famous Machail yatra include Bhala,
Puldoda, Premnagar, Thathari, Kishtwar, Athdi Paddar, Massu, Chishoti
and Machail where religious congregation and Bhandaras are organized to
high light the importance of religion and the yatra. The distance of
about 200 Kms of the yatra from its base camp up to Gulabgarh Paddar is
covered by bus in 3 days due to tremendous response and well come
accorded to the pilgrimage enroute almost at every village and markets
located on the road side. Moreso, it is perhaps the only pilgrimage
where a pilgrim has nothing to spend as the unique system of boardings,
lodging and langers are available free of cost enroute. Besides local
people also welcome pilgrims in their houses from the core of hearts and
offer every possible facility within their reach to the pilgrims free of
cost treating them as guests of the Goddess Chandi.
"Earlier, the yatra used to reach its destination Chandi Dham Machail,
on the eve of a local festival called 'Naghui' when doors of the
historical Chandi temple were thrown open for Darshan of the Goddess
after remaining closed throughout the year as per ancient tradition and
faith. On the occasion, the local populace including Budhist Clad in
multi colour traditional dress greets the holymace and the pilgrims with
enthusiasm and thus grace the occasion with their colourful appearance.
The devotional songs and holy couplets sung and chanted in local Padri
language beautify the holy dances throughout the day. Besides Sankirtan,
Karsewa, Yagya havna are also performed by the devotees for peace and
satisfaction to the ultra modern society which is full of tension today.
But now, in view of the Independence Day celebration and security of the
pilgrims the reach of the yatra has been delayed by two or three days.
The Chandi Dham Machail has the distinction of the simultaneous
appearance Shiv and Shakti of at its credit. On the one hand, the
Goddess Chandi (Shakti) is blessing her devotees at Machail village
while on the other hand the God Mahadev Shiva abruptly appears on the
opposite high mountain in the shape of lingam to provide darshans to the
pilgrims on the pious occasion of the Shakti yatra. The mountain is
called Shiv Pahad which often remains covered with black clouds. It is a
unique union of Shiva and Shakti found at Machail only and nowhere else
in the country.
It is an historical fact that a great Duggar warrior, General Zorawar
Singh on his way to conquer Gilgit first bowed his head before the
Goddess to get her blessings on reaching Machail. The Goddess instructed
her senior disciple to accompany Zorawar Singh to Gilgit and came back
with flying colours by the grace of the Goddess and this fact stands
reflected in the Aarti of Machail Mata.
It is necessary to mention here that the founder/originator of this
unique pilgrimage is a President Award winner, Police Officer, Thakur
Kulbir Singh Jamwal of Bhadarwah who has became a living embodiment of
the Goddess Chandi. He is called MATA by the local people and replies
almost all the secret and personal questions of the people by the grace
of the Goddess irrespective of caste, colour and creed whosoever
approaches him for solution of his domestic and official problems.The
Yatra is manned and conducted by a state level registered
social-cum-spiritual organization, 'Sarve Shakti Sewak Sanstha' first of
its kind ever formed in the State. The district and divisional
administration also extend its helping hand to the Sanstha by way of
deputing medical and wireless teams, Yatra Officer, security staff and
deployment of pilgrims vehicles to make the Yatra a grand success.In
view of increasing number of pilgrims year after year, much more
arrangements of boarding, lodging and deployment of vehicles etc. are
needed to be made on the pattern of Swami Amarnath Ji Yatra to
facilitate the pilgrims enroute hilly area. The Machail Yatra is
continuously becoming popular day by day and is assuming the status of
the second biggest pilgrimage is the State, where more than 50 thousand
pilgrim pored at Chandi Dham Machail at a time.
