SURESH NAUTIYAL
THE Kumaon hills situated in Uttarakhand are idyllic to watch and visit. The huge snow-clad peaks silhouetted against the sky, sacred rivers and streams thundering through the silence and quiet of the forests, wide and verdant valleys and the sporadic hamlets full of unassuming rustic life add lustre to the elevated surroundings.
Amidst these surroundings lies a temple cluster called Jageshwar on the Almora-Pithoragarh highway. The group of large and small temples is one of the few temples that has the Swayambhu Lingas (Jyotirlingas) otherwise rarely found in India. One is transported into a dream sequence to a region dotted with ancient temples on a big canvas of unparalleled beauty.
Leaving the main road behind, I, along with my local friends, drove into the beautiful valley of Jataganga at Aartola passing the Dandeshwar temple on the way. Travelling during the Shravana month meant being constantly under a spell of a drizzle which, in fact, made our journey a pleasant one. Walking in the midst of innumerable deodar trees compelled us to believe that nothing was left unethereal in our being.
On nearing Jageshwar the dramatic mountain scape, furious torrents, majestic peaks and far-flung villages seemed to have been lost somewhere in the Mayavi clouds. The sense of descension was bad in a highland but we could not help it because centuries ago this place was chosen by the learned men to be the seat of Swayambhu Linga. It is famous not merely for its exquisite craftsmanship but also for this Swayambhu Linga named Nagesh and a visit by Adi Shankaracharya.
The pucca road led us to a rural setting camouflaged by old deodar trees and a thin stream Jataganga following by the side of it. Finally, we were in the quiet of a historical, archaeological and most importantly a religious place called Jageshwar consisting of 124 temples of various size, situated in a small village of the same name, some 36 km away from Almora city, in the east. Temple building activity was at its zenith during the Chand regime. Some 400 temples were built in Almora region alone, most of them in clusters. Among such group is Jageshwar.
First of all, we moved to the Rest House of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, a structure that gives you an alien looks in a setting dotted with ancient temples and traditional houses of the adjoining Jageshwar village. We ordered our meal first of all because we wanted to be sure about our lunch. Then we moved inside of the temple complex, where one of the chief priests of the temples told us about the importance of various presiding deities. Of all the deities revered here it was Shiva and his consort Parvati who are held supreme.
Most folklore and mythology surround them. Even an aged deodar tree is revered as the divine couple. The huge tree has a thick trunk and girth that parts into two at a considerable height giving an impression of two different trees (beings) symbolising Lord Shiva and his eternal consort Parvati in perpetual concourse.
It is believed that a few of these deodar trees are more than 1,000 years old with a height of more than 300 feet and girth of about 30 feet.
In a nutshell, Jageshwar, rich in rustic beauty and full of a mystic spell, is a treasure house of myth and folklore.
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