Srinagar:The annual Amarnath Yatra passed off peacefully on Monday with just over half a million devotees paying obeisance and enjoying darshan of the fully formed natural Shivling, or ice lingam, of Lord Shiva at the cave shrine.
This year’s number of visitors to the venerable Hindu shrine, hidden in the 3,888 metres (12,756 feet) of the Kashmir Himalayas, reached a significant milestone. Over five million people visited during the 52-day pilgrimage, beating all records set in the last 11 years. In 2012, a record number of over 600,000 devotees visited Amarnath during the yatra period, an all-time record.
The Jammu and Kashmir government and officials of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) said that the traditional rituals, including ‘pujan’, were held at the cave shrine coinciding with Shravan Purnima, which is also famous for Raksha Bandhan, among various other festivals and rituals.
Earlier in the day, Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of Charri Mubarak, the sacred mace of Lord Shiva, and a group of sadhus or saffron-clad hermits had arrived at Amarnath with it. They were accompanied by the SASB officials and a small number of other pilgrims who offered ‘pujan’ amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns.
The Charri Mubarak left his seat at Dashnami Akhara in Budshah Chowk area of Srinagar on August 15 and proceeded to Pahalgam. After being taken to various temples and performing rituals en route, he stayed in Pahalgam for two days. During this period, rituals called ‘Bhoomi Pujan’, ‘Navgrah Pujan’ and ‘Dhawajarohan’ (flag hoisting) were performed as per the age-old tradition, which is associated with the beginning of the annual yatra and coincided with the auspicious occasion of ‘Ashad-Purnima’ (Vyas-Purnima), Mahant Giri said.
On their return to Pahalgam, Mahant Giri and the accompanying sadhus will perform ‘pujan’ and ‘visarjan’, the final rituals associated with the yatra, on the banks of the rushing Lidder in Kashmir’s main resort town, 90 km south of the capital Srinagar, officially declaring this year’s yatra over. The same evening, the traditional Kari Pakuri Bhandara will be held for the sadhus in Pahalgam, the SASB officials said.
The yatra began on June 29 simultaneously on both the traditional Pahalgam route and the shorter Baltal route in the southern Anantnag district and the northern Ganderbal district of the Kashmir Valley.
Strict security arrangements were made for the pilgrimage. While various security forces provided robust protection to the pilgrims, the Jammu and Kashmir government involved almost all its departments and agencies as part of a “foolproof arrangement” for the smooth conduct of the event. Following the centuries-old tradition, the local Muslims played an important role in conducting the pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, on Monday, hundreds of devotees paid obeisance to the Jyeshtaeshwara Temple on Shankaracharya Hill overlooking the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar on the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
