Kāśmīra
Kāśmīra, “the land of Kāśmīra”
Kāśmīra is a land of Bhārata. The Agni Purāṇa, which Agni Deva taught to Vasishṭha Maharshi, names it in three teachings. Among the fifty-five names of Śrī Mahāvishṇu, each to be remembered at its own place, it says that at Kāśmīra he is to be remembered as Cakrapāṇi, the one who holds the cakra in his hand. In the teaching on the consecration of mūrtis, Kāśmīra is among the lands whose brāhmaṇas should not perform the pratishṭhā of a devatā. And in the teaching on victory in war, it is among the lands that are ruined when portents arise in the Āgneya maṇḍala of nakshatras.
Bhagavān Vishṇu as Cakrapāṇi
Agni Deva gives fifty-five names of Śrī Mahāvishṇu and the place where each is to be remembered. One who does japa of these names gains the fruit of mantra-japa and the imperishable puṇya of worship at the tīrthas. The list begins: at Pushkara, Puṇḍarīkāksha, the lotus-eyed; at Gayā, Gadādhara, the bearer of the mace; at Citrakūṭa, Rāghava; at Prabhāsa, Daityasūdana; at Jayantī, Jaya; at Hastināpura, Jayanta; at Vardhamāna, Vārāha; and at Kāśmīra, Cakrapāṇi. Then come Janārdana at Kubjāmra, Keśava at Mathurā, and the rest.
One who remembers Bhagavān Vishṇu in this way gains bhukti (enjoyment) and mukti (moksha), and one who does japa of these names gains everything. Śrāddha, dāna (giving), japa and tarpaṇa done at these kshetras are multiplied a crore-fold, and the one who does them becomes one with Brahman after death. One who reads these names, and one who hears them, becomes free of pāpa and attains svarga.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 305
Who may consecrate a mūrti
When Bhagavān Hayagrīva taught Brahmā the pratishṭhā (consecration) of Bhagavān Vishṇu and the other devatās, he first named the twenty-five tantras and then said who may perform the rite. According to these tantras, a dvija born in Madhyadeśa and similar lands should perform the pratishṭhā of the mūrtis of the devatās. A brāhmaṇa born in these lands should not perform deva-pratishṭhā and the like: Kaccha, the land on the banks of the Kāverī, Koṅkaṇa, Kāmarūpa, Kaliṅga, Kāñcī and Kāśmīra.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 39
The portents of the Āgneya maṇḍala
In the Yuddhajayārṇava, the teaching on victory in war, Parameśvara describes four maṇḍalas (groups) of nakshatras and what portents in each of them bring. The Āgneya maṇḍala is that of Kṛttikā, Maghā, Pushya, Pūrvaphalgunī, Viśākhā, Bharaṇī and Pūrvabhādrapadā.
If in this maṇḍala there is an outburst of wind, a halo round the Sun or the Moon, or the earth shakes, ruin comes to the land. If eclipses of the Sun and the Moon occur, if smoke and flame are seen and the quarters look as if burning, if a comet appears, if blood or stones rain down, or if it is very hot, the people suffer eye disease, dysentery and fear of fire. Cows give less milk, trees bear fewer fruits and flowers, the crops are poor, people of the four varṇas are in sorrow and all suffer hunger. When such portents occur, these lands perish: the regions of the Sindhu and the Yamunā, Gujarāt, Bhoja, Bāhlika, Jālandhara, Kāśmīra and Uttarāpatha.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 130
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 39, 130, 305