BRAHM RISHI VAAGHA BHATTA OF KASHMIR, MAHABHARATA WAR AND NEEL-GATHA

                                                                        

BRAHM RISHI VAAGHA BHATTA OF KASHMIR, MAHABHARATA WAR AND NEEL-GATHA

(AI-generated photo of the coronation ceremony of Queen Yashovati by Sri Krishna. )

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Vaagahom, a village in Kashmir, is regarded as having originated from the ancient Vaaga Āshrama of Brahm-Rishi Vaagha Bhatta, who performed the Maha-Shraddha of thousands of innocents killed at the Kurukshetra in the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. This is supported by a broader pattern observable in Kashmiri toponymy, where place-names such as Burzahom and Vāgahom preserve the suffix –hom, commonly understood as a contracted and fossilised form of the Sanskrit āśrama. In these contexts, āśrama refers not to an ordinary domestic dwelling but to an ascetic, ritual, or hermitage-based settlement. The emergence of –hom can be explained through regular phonological processes characteristic of Kashmiri linguistic evolution, particularly in place-names. These include the loss of the initial vowel ā-, the weakening or transformation of the consonantal cluster śr, and the reduction of the terminal –ram, often accompanied by nasalisation. Through successive stages of simplification—āśram → ahram → hram → hom—the original term becomes compressed into a stable toponymic suffix. Such reduced and fossilised forms are a recurring feature of Kashmiri geographical nomenclature and preserve linguistic evidence of early sacred or monastic landscapes embedded within the region’s modern settlements.

As per some Sanskrit texts, Puranas, and the Neel-Gatha, it was Sri Krishna who asked Bhima to go to Satidesa ( Kashmir ) and bring Vaagh Bhatta for the Maha-Shraddha of innocents killed in the war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Sri Krishna desired to ensure Sadgati and Moksha for all these innocent souls. Queen Yashovati of Kashmir accompanied Bhima and requested Brahm Rishi Vaagh Bhatta for this Maha Shraddha. Queen Yashovati ( Widow of King Damodara of Kashmir ) was coronated by Sri Krishna in Kashmir. AgniShekhar's Neel-Gatha has at least 5 poems on the subject. Ancient Sanskrit texts say that Queen Yashhovati was pregnant at the time of her coronation. A poem from Neel-Gatha translated into English by Avtar Mota goes as follows:-

(22)

Sri Krishna put the crown on Yashovati’s head.

And in every direction,

Euphoric shouts resounded.

Flowers rained, and the sacred chants filled the air.

Yashovati’s head was adorned by the royal attendants with golden necklaces.

Music delighted everyone in the assembly,

Anklets jingled as dancers twirled,

And then suddenly,

Yashovati felt a little stir in her womb.

She turned alert with this sudden movement;

“Was it joy, the child’s gentle move,

Or anger at my choice?”

Her thoughts drifted to her husband’s dream,

And the slaying of her father-in-law Gonanda,

And of her husband too,

A silent fissure opened again somewhere deep in her heart.""

( Avtar Mota )

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.