‘Peer Kho’ the old and the famous temple of Jammu ‘City of Temples’ is one of the famous and most visited temple of Jammu City by the devotees and believers of Lord Shambhu Nath. A large number of devotees visit this temple usually on Puranmashi, Amavasya and Ekadashi. This temple also have a cave inside it. The cave is also known as the Jamwant Gufa (cave) as the hero of Ramayana is believed to have meditated here. The Shiv linga is established inside a cave. The location of the temple is situated on the Circular Road, 2 kms from Raghunath Bazar.
Peer Kho Temple
During the reign of Raja Biram Dev of Jammu (1454 – 95) who was a famous mendicant(wanderer) Jogi Guru Garib Nath belonging to the Guru Gorakh Nath came to Jammu and resided at Peer Kho. Thus, Kho means cave in the local dialect. He came to be known as Peer-i-Kho and thus with the passage of time the cave got its name ‘Peer Kho’.
All About Peer Kho Cave and Temple
According to the unconfirmed historical records, the temple was built in 15th century A.D. The two caves are around twenty to thirty feet below the ground level. The Peer Kho cave temple has a lot of believe and faith among the local people of the Jammu city. The black stone lingam is located inside a cave is small and is decorated with a copper snake or Nag devta and a silver sheet which covers the Jallari or Yoni being topped by a copper vessel hanging to pour water continuously on the lingam. There’s round domed entrance in the Peer Kho cave temple leads to a small opening to a low-level passage, a devotee have to lower his head and bend his back to enter here, thus then it bifurcates into the Amar Nath Guffa cave on the right side. The low ceiling further leads to Shiva shrine or the Amar Nath Cave Siva Temple known as Jamvant Cave. On the left side there is another small opening which goes further downwards to the Nav Durga shrine. It is a long temple decorated with idols of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, Lord Vishnu and other gods and goddesses. The narrow small means of access,further extends in a manner to a large covered courtyard and which further down extends into other small opening to the Nau Devi’s Gufa (cave) or Nine Devi’s Cave shrine. The long shrine with statues of nine Goddesses in attractive and beautiful red robes gives a wonderful view to behold in a cave shrine. These Nav Devis or goddesses namely : Shri Mata Shella Puri Devi, Shri Mata Bhadrachani Devi, Shri Mata Chandra Ghanta Devi, Shri Mata Sakandanatha Devi, Shri Mata Kushamandra Devi, Shri Mata Katyani Devi, Shri Mata Kalrathri Devi, Shri Mata Maha Devi, Shri Mata Siddi Devi. In the centre of the temple there’s Ghoraknath eternal Dhunni or continuous smoke-emitting from the center of the temple’s courtyard.
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Important Festivals Celebrated
The important festivals celebrated in this temple are Shivratri, Purnima and Shravan Puranmashi or Raksha Bandhan.
Location :
The temple is situated on the Circular Road which is 2 kms from Raghunath Bazar.
Way To Reach:
To reach Peer Kho temple through the nearest railway station of Jammu, take private taxi or autorickshaw if you need a private and comfortable journey. The option of local mini buses is also available but local buses don’t have a direct route to this temple.
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Our Review :
The Peer Kho temple is located on the riverbank which provides fresh air and beautiful scenery to the visitors. This temple has been built on a higher platform so as to prevent the flooding of the water from the Tawi River in the rainy season. This temple is old and historic as it is believed that the cave inside this temple leads to Amarnath and in a cave once a hero of The Ramayana had stayed and meditated for a time being. If you have come to Jammu for the first time then you must visit this temple.