The pilgrimage is undertaken in the month
of Shravan (July -August) each year and lasts for approximately 40 days.
Thousands of pilgrims make an arduous trek up to the Amarnath cave, located at a
height of 3,888 m in the Kashmir Himalayas through rocky terrains, snowy
mountains under unpredictable weather conditions. They come to worship the
sacred ice 'lingam' -a phallic symbol of Lord Shiva, which is a natural
phenomenon and considered a miracle.
Amarnath yatra started in the
year 1850 AD. Devotees believe that one can get salvation by witnessing 'Shiv
lingam'. There are several legends behind its origin.
It was a Muslim shepherd,
Buta Malik who discovered the cave and the naturally formed shiv lingam.
According to popular belief, Buta malik was given a sack of coal by
a sadhu. But when he open the sack at home, he found that it was full of
gold. Overjoyed he went back to thank the sadhu but found the cave on the
spot where they met. From then on the cave was venerated as a pilgrim
centre and a representative from the Malik family would be present at the
holy shrine along with the Hindu priest during the time of the
pilgrimage.
It is said that
Lord Shiva recounted the secret of creation to
Parvati in this cave which was overheard by a pair of
doves who became immortal and made this cave their eternal abode. Pilgrims
still report seeing these doves at the cave. More
details...
How to get there
Amarnath is situated 145-km from Srinagar. There are
two routes to Amarnath, 1) via Pahalgam, Sheshnag and Panchtarni (48
kms long) takes 4 days to reach 2)the steeper route Via Baltal (15kms)
takes two days. Ponies and Palanquins are available for pilgrims
who are unable to climb. More
details...
