Haryana Governor Visits Srinagar’s Vachar Nag Temple | 10 Apr 2024

Why in News?

Recently, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya visited the ancient Vachar (Vichar) Nag Shiva temple in Srinagar and joined Kashmiri Pandits in a special puja on the occasion of Navreh, the Kashmiri New Year.

Key Points

  • During the visit, he released a special calendar to commemorate 5,100 years of the ‘Saptarishi system’.
  • The Vachar (Vichar) Nag temple was closed in the 1990s when Pandits left the Valley in the wake of rising militancy.

Navreh

  • It is celebrated on the first day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Chaitra (March–April) in the Kashmiri Hindu calendar.
  • It is the Sanskrit word ‘Nav-Varsha’ from which the word ‘Navreh’ has been derived.
  • Kashmiri Pandits dedicate the Navreh festival to their Goddess Sharika and pay homage to her during the festival.