THARU DR AJAY KUMAR OJHA: From the Eyes of Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha :Charar-e-Sharief Jammu & Kashmir

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

From the Eyes of Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha :Charar-e-Sharief Jammu & Kashmir

From the Eyes of Dr Ajay Kumar Ojha :

Charar-e-Sharief Jammu & Kashmir

(All the images are subject to IPR)

Charar -e- Sharief is one of the most sacrosanct Muslim shrines of India. Situated at around 28 km from Srinagar en route to Yousmarg the shrine is more than 600 years old popularly known as the " Hazrat Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali".

The shrine was built to commemorate Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani , a sufi saint. The life of Sheikh is full of legends and tales. He was born as Nund Reshi or Sahazanand to Salar Sanz in 1377. It is said that he refused to drink milk till the third day after his birth. He drank milk only when a Yogini, a female saint Lal Ded known as Lal Ishwari among the Hindus fed him with her own milk.

Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani or Nund Rishi was first to start Rishism in the valley. The saint preached non-violence, communal harmony, vegetarianism and tolerance to the people.The saint led a very simple life. His mortal remains were buried in Charar-e-Sharief .

This holy shrine has been destroyed twice. The first time the shrine suffered ruination due to the presence of armed rebels. However it was reconstructed on the lines of Central Asian Architecture. In 1995 the shrine was once more destroyed during fierce encounter between Islamic terrorist and Indian troops.

Despite this, the shrine is continued to be revered and respected by both the Hindus and the Muslims.