Vitasa or the River jhelum holds an important position in our religious and cultural
life. Most of our famous temples are situated on its banks, noteworthy being Ganesh temple,
Mahakali shrine, Somayar - the temple of the Moon, Raghunath Mandir, Batayar, Bokhatakeshwar
Bhairav Temple etc. It is not surprising, therefore, that we celebrate the Pracdurbhava divas or the
appearance days of this life line of Kashmir on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of
Bhadrapada, for all the ghats of this holy river are sacred for us to perform Sandhya, to have a dip
and to offer pooja. The river is worshipped by offering water, milk oblations vermillion, raw rice and
flowers. People also go for pilgrimage to its source at 'Vyatha Votur’ and Verinag. There used to be
seven bridges (a couple of bridges have since been added) across river in Srinagar, from Amira
Kadal to Safa Kadal. The banks of this river have been fortified with the huge stone slabs, carved
and otherwise, obtained from the destroyed temples during the Muslim rule, particularly during the
reign of Sultan Sikander, nicknamed as 'Butshikan’, the iconoclast, in early fourteenth century.
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