Goddess Sharika is a manifestation of the Mother Goddess or Goddess Shakti. Hindu Goddess Sharika is worshipped mainly in Jammu and Kashmir by the Kashmiri Pandits. She is also known as Jagatamba Sharika Bhagavati, Mahatripursundari, Rajarajeshwari and also as Haer. The Goddess is represented in the form of a Swayambhu Sri Chakra – a Sri Chakra that appeared on its own.
The popular belief is that Goddess Sharika appeared on the ninth day during the Shukla Paksha of Ashada month. Her abode is the Hari Parvat on the outskirts of Srinagar. The belief is that this place is the source of Sri Chakra – the secret knowledge of Sri Yantra
Legend has it that Goddess Sharika took the form of a bird (Haer in local language) and took a huge pebble from Hari Parvat and annihilated a demon that was causing havoc in the valley. Thus she is also known Haer.
There are numerous miracles associated with Goddess Sharika and some of them are part of folklore.
In human form, Goddess Sharika is represented with 18 arms. Her vehicle or Vahana is a lion.
According to legend, the Hari Parbat hill was once a huge lake inhabited by the demon Jalobhava. The inhabitants called on the goddess Parvati for help. She took the form of a bird and dropped a pebble on the demon's head, which grew larger and larger until it crushed the demon. Hari Parbat is revered as that pebble, and is said to have become the home for all the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Another version of the myth says that two demons, Tsand and Mond, occupied the fair valley. Tsand hid in the water near the present location of Hari Parbat and Mond somewhere above the present Dal Gate, and both terrorized the people of the valley. The gods invoked Parvati who assumed the form of a Haer (myna) and flew to Sumer, picked up a pebble in her beak, and threw it on the demon Tsand to crush him. The pebble grew into a mountain. Parvati is worshipped as Sharika in Shri Tsakra (an emblem of cosmic energy pervading the universe) occupying the middle part of the western slope of the hill. The hill is also called Predemna Peet.
On the birthday of Sharika Bhagwati, the devotees make a sacrificial offering of `Taher-charvan' (Taher - rice boiled with turmeric powder and mixed with oil and salt; Tcharvan - cooked liver of goat) to the goddess. This day is celebrated as Har Navum
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