Amarnath Yatra & the Story Behind

According to Hindu Mythology, God (Parameshwar) has three deities who carry on the world. This is also known as Holy Trinity. Brahma- the creator, Vishnu - the perpetuator of life and Shiva (Mahesh) -the purifier and perpetuator of good and destroyer of evil. Shiva’s power were beyond imagination, & much mightier than any other Lord. Such were his powers that all Gods would rush to him, if other Gods were in a big trouble. Lord Shiva would then open up his third eye (Trinetra), & do a Tandaav. Tandaav is known to be the dance of anger & fury that that would eventually destroy the wrong doer or the things associated with it. The Taandav would cause high tides, torrential rains, land slides, earthquakes & volcanoes, mountains to falter, floods & other catastrophes. Shiva is believed to be the strongest of the gods, & also believed to be very giving.

It was in the Amarnath Cave where Lord Shiva explained secrets of immortality and creation of Universe to Maa Parvati. The story goes like this. Maa Parvati asked Shiv Ji to let her know why he puts the Mund Mala (beads of heads) around his neck. Bhole Shankar replied “Parvathi you are not immortal, so whenever you are born I add one head in my beads, & so on”. Maa Parvati said,” My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and again, but you are immortal. What is the reason behind it?". Bhole Shankar replied “I am immortal because I know the secret of the Amar Katha”.

Maa Parvati kept on insisted that she be told that secret story “The Amar Katha”. For long Shiv Ji postponed giving one reason or the other. Finally on consistent demands from Maa Parvati he made up his mind to narrate the secret of life & death & the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati. He started off to a lonely place where no living being could listen to him or the Amar Katha. Finally Shiv Ji came across the Caves of Amarnath. To be sure that no one will overhear him narrating the story to Maa Parvati he left his Nandi (the Bull – Shiv Ji’s carrier) at Pahalgam (now called Bail Gaon). At Chandanwari he released the Moon from his locks. He released the snake around his neck at the banks of Lake Sheshnag. He left his Son “Maha Ganesh” at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Hill). At Panjtarni, Shivji left the Five Elements behind - Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Sky. Shiv Ji is also the Lord of all these elements that make up the entire universe.

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. Bhole Shankar entered the Cave of Amarnath along with Maa Parvati & took his Samadhi on the Tiger Skin & began to concentrate. After this he began to narrate the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati “Amar Katha”. But as a matter of chance one egg which was lying beneath the deer skin remained protected, & it hatched. Nothing could destroy it, not even the Rudra, since it was protected by Lord Shiva’s Asan of Tiger Skin. The pair of pigeons which were born out of this egg listened to the immortal story while Shiv Ji was narrating it to Maa Parvati & hence became immortal. Many pilgrims even today report seeing a pair of pigeons, even at such a high treacherous altitude & in adverse weather conditions.

The holy cave of Amarnath is situated in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in India. The holy cave consists of a big stalagmite of ice formed naturally in the cave of Amarnath. I should not call the ice Lingam as a stalagmite, as it is the Lord Shiva itself, in his another Avtaar. Cool, transparent & powerful as he really is. The Lingam gains its full shape of the form of the Lingam during the summer months of May to August. This is yet another miracle that the Lingam gains its full shape during the summer months, while as it should have been the other way round. Adjacent to Lord Shiva's Lingam are two other Lingam's that are of Maa Parvati & Lord Ganesha.

Amarnath Cave is situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of the Lidder Valley at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,760 ft) above sea level. The terrain is rugged & the climate makes it more of a penance to reach the pinnacle or the cave. Oxygen as you near the Cave also reduces, & causes breathing problems. The weather is chilly & even goes as low as -5o C. There are frequent snow storm, & chilling cold. The devotees still trek the arduous route & battle the weather to pay their obeisance to the Lord. The original name of the tirth yatra, was Amareshwara. It was later coined as Amarnath Yatra. This name is derived from the terms “Amar” & the “Nath”. Amar meaning the Immortal & the Nath is referred to the Lord Shiva, hence the name Amarnath.

It is mistakenly said that the Cave of Amarnath was discovered by a Shepherd, roughly some 150 years ago, when his sheep loitered in the rough terrain, & he went out in search of them. But that is not the fact. Existence of the Lingam & the Cave finds its reference in texts as old as the Nilamata Purana. Nilamata Purana (v.1324), a 6th century Sanskrit text depicts the religious and cultural life of Kashmiri Pandits, & has reference to the Holy Cave in it. The Cave’s existence also finds its reference in the texts like “Bhringish Samhita” and the “Amarnatha Mahatmya”. Pilgrims have been having the darshans of the Holy Amarnath Cave since the 12th century. The shrine & is existence is believed to be 5,000 years old.

There are 2 routes to reach the shrine. The older & the primary route is long, & Devotees generally take this 42 km long pilgrimage on foot from the town of Pahalgam, and cover the journey in four to five days. The shorter route is from the town of Baltal.
The Pahalgam route is as Pahalgam <>(16kms)<> Chandanwadi<>(3kms)<> Pissu Top <>(kms)<> Zoji Bal<>(kms)<> Naga Koti <>(9kms)<> Sheshnag <>(kms)<> Warbal <>(5kms)<> Mahagun stop <>(kms)<> Pabibal <>(6kms)<> Panjtarni <>(kms)<> Sangam <>(3kms)<> Amarnath Cave.
The other route is the newer shorter route from Baltal<>(2kms)<> Domail <>(5kms)<> Barari <>(4kms)<> Sangam <>(3kms)<> Amarnath Cave.
About 400,000 people visit the shrine every year, & the number of devotees keeps on rising every year.