Mal Mass in Martand Teerath

Adhika Masa(Mal Mass)
Significance of Mal Mass in (Martand Teerath) Mattan Anantnag Kashmir

 Astronomy
When the sun does not at all transit into any rashi but simply keeps moving within a rashi in a lunar month (i.e. before a new moon), then that lunar month will be named as adhik or "extra The Hindu calendar is a lunar calendar and is based on the cycles of the Moon.The lunar calendar adds one extra month every third year. This extra month is known by various names: Adhik Maas, Mal Maas, Purushottam Maas. This is the thirteenth month of the lunar calendar.

Just as there is the lunar year with the extra month (Adhik Maas), so is there a lunar year with a diminished or reduced month, with only eleven months in the year.     ( Swami Jeewan Sahib )

The lunar year comprising of eleven months only is very rare indeed. It occurs once in 140 years or once in 190 years. But the extra month or Adhik Maas comes every third year. Adhik Maas adopts the name of the month that follows adhik Maas.

Whenever Sankranti does not fall within one month then Adhik Maas occurs. When there are two Sankrantis within one month then it becomes the lunar year with one reduced month (11 months in the year).

Vasishtha Siddhanta mentions that Adhik Maas or the extra lunar month occurs after every 32 months, 16 days and 8 Ghadis (a Ghadi is a period of 24 minutes and 60 Ghadis equal 24 hours).

It is a fact that the solar year is made up of 365 days and about 06 minutes and the lunar year is made up of 354 days. Thus both the solar and the lunar years have gaps of 11 days, 1 hour, 31 minutes and 12 seconds. As this gap increases each year, it approximates in three years to one month. (  Janam Dhin, Birthday  )

[ The moon takes about 27.3 days to make one complete orbit around the earth. The earth orbits around the sun once every 365.2422 days (= earth's orbital speed of 29.79 km per second). The earth and the moon in 27.3 days have moved as a system about 1/12 of the ways around the sun. This means that from one full moon to the next full moon, the moon must travel 2.2 extra days before it appears full. This is due to the curve of the earth's orbit around the sun. The moon is still making one complete orbit (circle) in 27.3 days. But to line up with the earth and sun to become a full moon again it takes 29.531 days. 29.531 day Lunar months = 354.372 days per lunar year. Thus we arrive at a difference of 10.87 days a year between a lunar year and a solar year of 365.2422 days per year.]

 Religious significance of Adhik Maas (Mal Mass)in  Martand Teerath Anantnag Kashmir
There is a beautiful story related to Sun (God) in Martand (Mattan) Anantnag  Kashmir. Aditi was much perturbed about the future of her sons. She performed great penance for twelve years in order to please Vishnu.  Sage Kashyapa became worried about her health so he advised Aditi to leave that austere penance.  He told her "Toyah Marate Mandam" (You have killed the egg i.e. ova.Aditi got a still egg which was of gold. She then prayed to Brahma. Brahma Ji finally advised Aditi to throw the egg into the Satisar and gained prosperity because a very pious and sacred shrine in the three worlds will become known at that place by the name of "MARTAND" (Mritand) i.e. one begotten from the still egg.  Twelve sons (twelve months) were given twelve different names and places to preside over.

A way out was made near Baramula for the water of Satisar to flow out. On one side of de-watered Satisar was found the still golden egg which had been thrown there. Lord Vishnu struck this egg with his chakra into two parts and great light came out of it which pervaded all round. Thus it was prayed as Sun God Martanda.  From the two parts of the broken still egg sprang out two sacred springs; Vimla and Kamla; from the chakra flows the Chaka stream which destroys great sins and satisfies the dead by a pious dip in it and offerings of sacrifice. Vimal Kund, the stainless and pure gives salavation to the dead; and Kamal Kund gives solace to the living; water in the Vimal Kund bear Vishnu and Shiva and that of the Kamal Kund bear Brahma and Mahesh.

Adhik Maas (Mal Maas) is capable of washing away all the sins of people. During this month Shraadh, fasting etc are undertaken and garments etc. are distributed to poor people. One more beautiful story relates to how, in ancient times, through the observance of Mal Maas Vrat, king Nahush was released from all bondage.

Devi Bhagavat says that charitable and meritorious acts, shraadh and fastings etc. carried out during this Mal Maas (Adhik Maas), inevitably produce results. Just as atomic sized contents within a seed produce a giant and long living big tree, so in the same manner even a little charitable act done during Mal Maas (Adhik Maas) produces big results.       (     Ramkund in Poonch   )

Martand Prohit Sabha had worked a lot in the past twenty one years,and build new temple and Dharmshala''s and are offering rooms at a very less price to the Shardalu''s who come to visit Martand Shrine.

From pawan pandita kashmiri guruji

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Historical Temples of kashmir

Kashmir has a variety of tourist attractions; its geography and topography, its birds and animals, its lakes and woods, flora and fauna its gushing springs and orchards.But the most important attractions, according to Jonaraja and Mirza Haidar Dughlat, the two well-known historians of Kashmir are its temples.

Although many temples have been destroyed by the ravages of times, the few which still remain are things of beauty and joy for ever, they are at Pandretan, Avantipur and Martand, all of them belong to pre-sultanate period.According to Devbala Mitra, the former DG of ASI: ‘‘These temples imbibe in them all the peculiarities of the typical architecture of the valley.

The great temples of Martand and Avantipur are inspiring and instructive examples of the 8th and the 9th centuries AD.The temple of Pandrethan, though of a modest scale is interesting on account of the presence of the roof, a rare survival in Kashmir temples. While Pandrethan and Avantipur are close to the river Jhelum, Martand was built upon a hill where there is a pool at the summit. The pool is always full of fresh fish.

By the side of it is a cave the depth of which has not yet been measured. Some historians call it well of Babylon but today it is an isolated but beautiful ruin. Rajtirangani of Kalhan (1148) gives detailed account of these beautiful temples. ( Ragnya Bagwati in Kashmir )

The oldest temple is at Pandrethan built by Emperor Ashoka. Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim who came to Kashmir in 631 AD stayed in the temple for a few nights. When the king Jaynendra of Karkota dynasty learnt about it he invited him to stay longer and placed 20 copywriters to copy the Budhist text the pilgrim wanted. Five monks waited upon him day and night. The pilgrim spent two years there, it is obvious that Kashmir at that time was a great centre of Budhist learning.

In the 12th century king Pravara Sena of Lohara dynasty built a Shiva temple there which now stands in the midst of a tank-like depression which is fed by natural springs. It is still a ‘tiratha’ for a the pilgrims. When I visited the site before the partition I saw even non-believers.

They said they were there for the sake of the beauty of the temple. Pandrethan is situated only 5 km southeast of Srinagar within its municipal limits. Once you are in Srinagar you can seen this beauty whenever you feel like.Avantipur Temples : It is located in district Anantnag on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, only 28 km from Srinagar on the mountain Wasterman over looking the river Jhelum.

Avantipur was founded by Avantivaram, the first king of the Utppala dynasty. There are two temples at Avantipuram, one of Shiva and the other of Vishnu. There were so many other temples but today only two exist blessed by the river Vitasta (Jhelum).Jonaraja, a contemporary of the most secular king of Kashmir named Zain-ul-Abdin who abolished ‘Jazia’ (1472-84) says ‘Avantipur’s was a paradise on earth. Later visitors like Moorcraft, Cunningham, Vigne all testify that it was the most beautiful spot in the valley. The work of Sir John Marshal and Dayaram Sahni on this site is commendable. ( Mata Bhuvaneshwari Harwan )

Martand Temple of the Sun : Also known as ‘Matan’, Martand is located in district Anantnag, also known as ‘Bavan’. The name of the village is derived from the name of the presiding deity ‘Martanda’. The site selected for the sun temple is a place of beauty.

A more nobler site could have been hardly imagined. Hidden by the tall trees the temple shines in sunshine like a red ball of Sun devata.Although there is a controversy but the general belief is that it was constructed by the liberal king Lalitaditya who had dreamed of annexing China in the Kashmir valley. According to ‘Ain-e-Abari’, ‘Matan stands upon a hill and once had a large temple.There is a small pool on the summit, the water of which never decreases’. It is, therefore obvious that the during the region of Akbar Martand was in ruins.

The imposing temple, even now, overwhelms the tourist and the pilgrim with its massive dignity and Kashmir-like simplicity. It is landmark in the history of temple architecture not only in Kashmir out in the whole of India of which Kashmir is a integral part and Jammu its heart. About the temples of Jammu it requires a sroarate article because Jammu is known as a city of temple with more than 300 temples in it with Raghunath Mandir as its apex-temple.Jammu and Kashmir is the nerve-Centre of our secularism with Kashmir its heart-centre and Jammu its heart beat. It is the duty of every Indian to keep both the heart-centre and the heart-beat alive.