The
Holy Cave is around 98 feet long. Besides the main Darshans
of the Pindies inside the Cave, there are various other
Darshans, outside and inside the Holy Cave and around the
Holy Pindies. It is believed that the Darshans of 33 crore
(330 million) Gods and Goddesses are present in the Holy
Cave. It is believed that at some given point of time, each
of the 330 million gods and goddesses have worshipped the
Mother Goddess in the Holy Cave and have left their symbolical
marks inside. It is also believed that during Poojan and
Aarti in the morning and evening, all these Gods and Goddesses
arrive at the Holy Cave to pay their obeisance to the Mother.
At
the entry of the Holy Cave, towards the left hand side,
is the symbol of Vakra Tund Ganesh. Adjacent to the symbol
of Lord Ganesh are the symbols of Surya and Chandra Dev.
Once inside the Holy Cave, one crosses over the Dadh (torso)
of Bhairon Nath, which is around 14 feet long. Due to the
impact of the mighty blow of the Divine Mother, while the
head of Bhairon Nath fell atop an adjacent mountain a couple
of kilometers away from the Holy Cave, his body lay lifeless
at the entrance of the Holy Cave.
After the Dadh (torso) of Bhairon is the symbol of Lord
Hanuman known as Launkra Beer. Thereafter one comes across
Charan Ganga, the legendary river flowing from the feet
of Mata. Those having Darhans through the old Cave have
to wade through water beyond this point. Around 23 feet
beyond Launkra Beer, on the left upper hand side, the roof
of the cave flares out and the entire weight of this cave
appears to rest on the innumerable heads of Shesh Nag. Immediately
below Shesh Nag is the Havan Kund of Mata and adjacent to
it are the symbols of Shankh, Chakra, Gada and Padam.
Above,
almost touching the ceiling of the cave are the symbols
of five Pandavs, Sapt rishis, Than (udders or breast) of
the divine cow Kamdhenu, symbols of Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh
and Shiv-Parvati. 3 feet further ahead, on an elevation
can be seen the Khamba that was gripped by the legendary
worshipper Prahlad. Diagonally below this, at the water
level is the Yantra with innumerable mystical signs and
symbols inscribed on it. 22 feet beyond this point is located
the Sher Ka Panja, symbolizing the lion which is the mount
of the Mata Vaishno Devi Ji. The
distance from the entry point to the Sher Ka Panja is 59
feet. 13 feet beyond this, immediately above the head of
the worshipper, is located the symbol of the Primary Hood
of Shesh Nag which appears to be bearing the weight of the
roof of the Cave at this point. 6 feet further ahead, on
the left hand side, are the symbols of Shankar and Gauri.
13 feet beyond this are the Holy Pindies of Mata Maha Kali,
Mata Maha Lakshmi Vaishno Devi and Mata Maha Saraswati.
To the right of the Holy Pindies on the upper side can be
seen the symbols of Lord Ganesh, Surya Dev, Chandra Dev
and Goddess Annapurna. Slightly behind the Holy Pindies,
on the right hand side can be seen the symbol of the seated
Sinh Raj (Lion). A little ahead of it is the full hand of
the Mother Goddess, raised in the Varad Hast mode, granting
boons to the world. An interesting corollary to the Varad
Hast of Mata lies in the story of the sacrifice of Sati.
The Scriptures say that the hand of Mother Sati fell in
the region of Kashmir creating a Shaktipeeth. There are
a few sources, however, which believe that it was at this
place i.e. the Holy Cave at Trikuta Mountain that the hand
of Sati fell and the Varad Hast in the Holy Cave provides
some link to the tale of Sati. Immediately opposite the
Holy Pindies is the natural symbol of Lord Pashupati Nath.
Yatris
may however note that most of these Darshans are possible
only if the original cave is used. However, owing to the
heavy rush, usually the new tunnels are used and the original
cave is opened only during the lean seasons. Yatries desirous
of having all the Darshans are advised to formulate their
programme to correspond with the lean seasons.
After this can be seen the symbol of Lord Hanuman called
Launkra. Water gushes out of the base of the holy Pindies
and flows out of the holy Cave. This gush of Holy water
is known as Charan Ganga and the water of this stream is
collected in small containers by the devotees and taken
home. The same water is also channelised to the bathing
ghat and the devotees take a bath in this water before they
join the queue for Darshan of the holy Pindies.