Amarnathji Yatra - a journey
into faith
"The Himalayan
pilgrimages are the oldest organised travel system, evolved over time by Hindu
sages and embodying the spirit of wander, adventure and spirituality"
One of the holy trinity,
Shiva is a living god. The most ancient and sacred book of India, the Rig Veda
evokes his presence in its hymns. Vedic myths, ritual and even astronomy
testify to his existence from the dawn of time.
Shiva is known to have made
his home in the Himalayas. He built no house nor shelter, not for himself or
his bride. He was an ascetic, and yet married; he could be both for "he
was the wild god sporting in the forest or taking his ease on a cloud."
Kashmir - Amarnathji Yatra
Legend has it that Shiva
recounted to Parvati the secret of creation in the Amarnathji cave. Unknown to
them, a pair of mating pigeons eavesdropped on this conversation and having
learned the secret, are reborn again and again, and have made the cave their
eternal abode. Many pilgrims report seeing the pigeons-pair when they trek the
arduous route to pay obeisance before the ice-lingam (the phallic symbol of
Shiva).
AmarnathJi - The Yatra
Procession
The trek to Amarnathji, in
the month of Shravan (July - August) has the devout flock to this incredible
shrine, where the image of Shiva, in the form of a lingam, is formed naturally
of an ice - stalagmite, and which waxes and wanes with the moon. By its side
are, fascinatingly, two more ice - lingams, that of Parvati and of their son,
Ganesha.
According to an ancient
tale, there was once a Muslim shepherd named Buta Malik who was given a sack of
coal by a sadhu. Upon reaching home he discovered that the sack, in fact,
contained gold. Overjoyed and overcome, Buta Malik rushed back to look for the
sadhu and thank him, but on the spot of their meeting discovered a cave, and
eventually this became a place of pilgrimage for all believers. To date, a
percentage of the donations made by pilgrims are given to the descendants of
Malik, and the remaining to the trust which manages the shrine.
Yet another legend has it
that when Kashap Reshi drained the Kashmir valley of water (it was believed to
have been a vast lake), the cave and the lingam were discovered by Bregish Reshi
who was travelling the Himalayas. When people heard of the lingam, Amarnathji
for them became Shiva's abode and a centre of pilgrimage.
Whatever the legends and the
history of Amarnathji's discovery, it is today a very important centre of
pilgrimage and though the route is as difficult to negotiate as it is exciting,
every year, thousands of devotees come to pay homage before Shiva in one of his
famous Himalayan abodes.
Situated in a narrow gorge
at the farther end of Lidder valley, Amarnathji stands at 3,888 m and is 45 km
from Pahalgam and 141 km from Srinagar. Though the original pilgrimage
subscribes that the yatra be undertaken from Srinagar, the more common practice
is to begin the journey from Pahalgam, and cover the distance to Amarnathji and
back in four or five days. Pahalgam is 96 km from Srinagar.
Since the base point for the
pilgrim's trek is picturesque Pahalgam, a large tented township springs up to
accommodate the pilgrims. The conduct of the yatra is a gigantic task in which
the State Government takes the assistance of the security departments for
providing security and helping to keep the route open. All intermediate halting
places have the same kind of facilities as are provided at Pahalgam, and a
Yatra Officer is appointed to conduct the pilgrimage.
