Kheer Bhawani
खीर भवानी
Kuldevi, family goddess
Worshipped as a form of Durga; Ragnya (Maharajni) is her Kashmiri name
At a glance
- Main shrine
- Kheer Bhawani Temple (Ragnya Devi temple), Tulmul (Tulmulla), Ganderbal district, Jammu and Kashmir
- Worshipped in
- Kashmir Valley, Jammu
- Kept by
- Kashmiri Pandit
About
Kheer Bhawani, called Ragnya Devi in Kashmiri, is the goddess of a sacred spring at Tulmul in Ganderbal district, about 25 km north-east of Srinagar. She is understood as a form of Durga. Walter Lawrence, writing in 1895, called her the Kashmiri Pandits' favourite goddess, and many Pandit families keep her as their kuldevi. Some Pandit households have kept Sharika or Jwala instead. Her main festival is on Jyeshtha Ashtami.
Legend and Origin
Two accounts sit side by side. The first is the legend told today: the goddess was worshipped by Ravana in Lanka, grew unhappy with his conduct, and left; Hanuman carried her to Kashmir, where she settled at Tulmul. Retellings differ on details. One has her stopping first at Satisar, another at Shadipora, and one names Shiva Bhairavi as the power who assigned her to the valley. Lawrence in 1895 records only that her cult is said to have come from Ceylon. The second account is the written record. Marc Aurel Stein, in his notes to Kalhana's Rajatarangini (12th century), says the Tirtha of Tulamulya was already old and that its Purohita corporation was a rich and influential body under King Jayapida (Rajatarangini 4.638 in his note). Stein describes the large spring there as sacred to Maharajni, a form of Durga, whose miraculous colour changes were ascribed to the goddess. The present temple on an island in the spring dates from the Dogra period: Maharaja Ranbir Singh is said to have built a rest house, Pratap Singh the present temple and pond in the 1910s (one guide says 1912, another gives 1920), and Hari Singh later renovated it. Modern accounts also tell of a vision of the goddess at the marsh in the late nineteenth century; the villager named differs from account to account.
How the Deity Is Shown
A small white marble temple stands on an island in the middle of the spring, which is seen from a hall across the water. Accounts give the spring six or seven sides. Old chinar trees surround the complex. Devotional accounts say a Shiva image is installed with the Devi, and that the spring is the home of Naga deities.
How Families Keep the Worship
Among the Kashmiri Pandit families who keep her, she is the goddess to whom the family goes at Jyeshtha Ashtami and on other Ashtami days. Lawrence (1895) records the rules as he found them: families who worship Ragyan (Khir Bhawani) abstain from meat during Chaitra Navratri, some for five days and some for eight, while those who worship Jwala or Sharika may eat meat; he gives her offerings as sugar, milk, rice and flowers. At the temple today kheer is cooked fresh each morning, offered first to the goddess and then shared as prasad, and visitors are asked to come without having eaten meat or taken alcohol. Pilgrims offer kheer and milk at the spring, and halwa is also brought. Lawrence also notes the seventh day of Har (Ashadha) as a day of her worship. Which goddess a household calls its kuldevi varies by family, and details of home worship are the family's own.
Shrines
Kheer Bhawani Temple (Ragnya Devi temple)
Tulmul (Tulmulla), Ganderbal district, Jammu and Kashmir
The main shrine. A small temple stands in the middle of a sacred spring, about 25 km north-east of Srinagar.
Ragnya Devi shrine
Manzgam, Kulgam district, Jammu and Kashmir
Named with Devsar in a 2026 report as a place in Kulgam district where Jyeshtha Ashtami is also observed.
Ragnya Devi shrine
Tikker, Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir
Also marks Jyeshtha Ashtami.
Ragnya Devi shrine
Logripora, Aishmuqam, Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir
Festivals
Jyeshtha Ashtami (Zyeth Atham)
Eighth day of the bright half of Jyeshtha, usually in late May or June
The main mela at Tulmul. Pilgrims offer kheer, milk and flowers at the spring. Lawrence listed Jeth Ashtami as a day of her worship in 1895.
Chaitra Navratri
Chaitra, fifth to ninth day of the bright half
In Lawrence's account, families who worship Ragyan keep a period without meat during these days.
Shukla Ashtami
Eighth day of the bright half, each month
One account says the eighth of the bright half is special at the temple every month and that devotees visit on it.
Stories and Legends
How the goddess came to Tulmul
Tradition holds that the goddess was worshipped by Ravana in Lanka. She was unhappy with the conduct of his house, and when Rama came for Sita she left; Hanuman carried her to Kashmir. In one retelling she settled at the foot of a tul (mulberry) tree, which is said to have given the village its name Tulmul. Lawrence in 1895 records only that her cult is said to have come from Ceylon.
The colour of the spring
Families believe the spring changes colour and that the change foretells the state of the valley. Lawrence, writing in 1895, found the water violet and was told that black means famine or cholera is near. Modern accounts keep black as the one colour all agree is a bad sign; Upendra Kaul reports it in 1990 and 2014. Pink, green, red and violet are read differently by different people, and one writer calls their meaning debated.