Bawa Dhansar

Baba Dhansar is a holy place at Karua Jheel near Karua village, which is 17 km from Reasi towards Katra, in the Udhampur district and is 15 kms from Katra and around 65 kms from Jammu. The approaching way is a 1 km walking path from the road. A Mythological story is connected to this holy place. According to the story when Lord Shiva went to the Amarnath cave to tell Parvati the story of his immortality, he left his serpent king, Sheshnag at Anantnag. Shesh Nag came in the human form as Vasudev. One of the sons of Vasudev was Dhansar who was a saintly person.

There is a local belief that in the ancient times a demon lived near Karua Jheel and commited atrocities on the people of the village. The villagers asked for help from Baba Dhansar to get rid of the demon. Baba Dhansar prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva came and helped Baba Dhansar in killing the demon. Since then the temple of Baba Dhansar and a cave of Lord Shiva near Karua Jheel has become a place of worship. Karua Jheel is considered sacred but bathing is not permitted. But the devotees can take bath downstream. It is a belief among people that if they take bath in the stream and pray with complete faith then their wishes are fulfilled. A large number of devotees visit the place every year on the day of Mahashivratri when an annual fete is organized. An annual Dangal (wrestling) competition is also organized here.

The temple is on the way to Salal Dam. The beauty of the place is that a huge spring emerges from the rocks in a thick grove of trees and forms a number of small cascading waterfalls before flowing into the Holy rivulet that further merges with Chenab. There is a naturally formed Shivling on which droplets of water fall at a constant pace all the year round. A big fair is held here during Shivratri. For the facility of the yatris visiting the place, the Shrine Board has undertaken some development works including the construction of a Dharamshalla.

Reaching Baba Dhansar is easy by road from Jammu as well as Katra. To reach Jammu one can take a flight, train or even a bus from Delhi. Katra can be reached easily from Jammu by road