Amarnath is an important religious destination for Hindus. It is located at a distance of 145 Kms from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The Amarnath cave situated on Mount Amarnath is a popular shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. This shrine is over 5,000 years old and occupies an important place in Hindu mythology. The route to Amarnath is accessible only during the months of July and August ( Shravan ), after the snow on the mountain peaks has melted and before the temperature rises to a point when the ice within the caves start melting.
Within the Amarnath cave, an ice stalagmite is formed naturally and it resembles the Shiva Lingam. The size of this ice lingam changes with the seasons and it grows and shrinks along with the waxing and waning of the moon. There are two smaller ice stalagmites in the cave which represent Lord Shiva's wife Parvati and son Ganesha. Every year on full moon day during the monsoon ( July-August ) the Shiva Lingam attains its maximum height ( 6 ft ) .This is said to be the day that Lord Shiva first appeared. A grand festival is celebrated at the cave temple during this time. Every year around 400,000 people visit the cave during this festive time.
Amarnath Yatra
Annually in July-August, a yatra to Amarnath is organized by the government. Thousands of Hindus across the globe participate in this holy pilgrimage to pay homage to Lord Shiva. Every pilgrim is required to register at one of the registration centers or fill up the online registration form in order to participate in the yatra.
Starting from Srinagar, there are two main routes for the
Amarnath yatra:
Pahalgam Trek
Srinagar ( 96 km ) - Pahalgam ( 16 km ) - Chandanwari ( 3 Km ) - Pissu top ( 11 km ) - Sheshnag ( 14 km ) - Panchtarni ( 6 km ) - Amarnath
This is the most popular route amongst trekkers.
There are buses and cars to go from Srinagar to Pahalgam. It is a half-day drive. You can stay overnight at Pahalgam and commence your drive to Chandanwari the next morning. On arrival at Chandanwari, start your trek to Sheshnag. The trail passes through Pissu ghat and gradually leads to the Sheshnag Lake, which has a breathtaking view. You can have dinner and stay overnight in a tent in Sheshnag as there are no hotels here. Next morning, commence your trek towards Panchtarni. This journey is quite long and tiring, but there are some beautiful flowered meadows to admire and relax amidst. The final leg of the trail is the trek from Panchtarni to the Amarnath cave, which should take 2-3 hours. Many devotees take a holy dip in the ice cold water at the sangam of the Panchtarni River and Amravati River before going for darshan. Once you finish your darshan begin your trek back towards Srinagar along the same route.
Baltal Trek
Srinagar ( 113 km ) - Baltal ( 14 km ) - Amarnath
On arrival at Srinagar, you can directly drive towards Baltal which is at a distance of 113 kms. This drive can be completed in 3.5 to 4 hours time. Since Baltal is located at a distance of just 14 kms from the Amarnath cave, pilgrims can travel to the cave and return back to Baltal on the same day. The trail from Baltal to Amarnath is a steep and narrow route. Hence pilgrims need to walk cautiously and be careful while covering this trail. On arriving at the sangam of the Panchtarni and Amravati Rivers the pilgrims can take a dip and proceed for darshan.
There was a cave chosen by the Lord Shiva for narrating the secrets of
immortality and creation of Universe to Maa Parvati ji. The story goes
that Centuries ago Parvati asked Shiva to let her know why and when He
started wearing the beads of heads ( Mund Mala ). Lord Shiva replied
whenever you are born I add one more head in my beads. Maa Parvati
said," My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and
again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this."
Bhole Shankar replied that it is due to Amar Katha.
Parvati insisted that she may be told that secret. For long Shiva
continued postponing. Finally on consistent demand from Parvati He
made up his mind to tell the immortal secret. He started for lonely
place where no living being could listen it . He chooses Amarnath
Cave. In preparation to that He left His Nandi ( The Bull which He used
to ride ) at Pahalgam ( Bail gaon ). At Chandanwari He released Moon from
his hairs ( Jataon ). At the banks of Lake Sheshnag He released the
snakes. He decided to leave his Son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat
( Mahaganesh Hill ). At Panjtarni, Shiva left the Five Elements behind
( Earth , Water, Air , Fire and Sky ) which make living being . He is
the Lord of these elements. It is believed that as a symbol of
sacrificing the earthly world, Shiva and Parvati had the Tandav Dance.
After leaving behind all these, Shiva enters the Holy Amarnath Cave
along with Parvati. Lord Shiva takes his Samadhi on the Deer Skin and
concentrate. To ensure that no living being is able to hear the
Immortal Tale, He created Rudra named Kalagni and ordered him to
spread fire to eliminate every living thing in and around the Holy
Cave. After this He started narrating the secret of immortality to Maa
Parvati.
But as a matter of chance one egg which was lying beneath the Deer
skin remained protected . It is believed to be non living and more
over it was protected by Shiva -Parvati Asan ( Bed ). The pair of
pigeons which were born out of this egg became immortal having
listened the secret of immortality ( Amar Katha ).
Many pilgrims report seeing the pair of pigeons when they trek the
arduous route to pay their obeisance.
The story narrated by people about the discovery of this Holy Cave is
of a Gujjar ( shepherd ) Buta Malik. He is given the credit of
discovering this Holy Cave. Story goes like this, that a saint gave
Buta Malik a bag full of Coal. On reaching his home when he opened the
bag, to his utter surprise the bag was full of gold coins. This made
him overwhelmed with joy. He ran to thank the Saint. But, what he
found was that the Saint had disappeared instead, he found The Holy
Cave and Shiv Lingam there in. He announced the discovery of this to
the Villagers. Then onwards this has become the sacred place of
Pilgrimage.
