The Holy Cave of Shree Amarnath

Kashmir has, since times immemorial, been the abode of gods and goddesses. The most sacred and famous one is the holy cave of Shree Amarnath, the Eternal Lord, which is situated at a height of 13,000 ft. from the sea level. It is about 45 kms. from Pahalgam, the famous tourist resort of Kashmir.

The origin of the pilgrimage is described in a Sanskrit book Bringesha Samhita. Herein is stated that rishi Bringesha told his disciples the importance of the Amarnath cave and instructed them to go to the holy cave and have darshan of the sacred ice-lingam. The pilgrims, however, were harassed by the Rakhashas. Thereupon, the rishi Bringesha prayed to Lord Shiva. The Lord gifted the rishi a sceptre to ensure safe journey. This has ever since been the symbol of protection, to the caravan of the pilgrims and now it is called Chhari Mubarak. The traditional Yatra (pilgrimage) generally arrives at the cave every year at Rakhsha Bandhan Purnima (full moon), which occurs near the last week of August. The Chhari is accompanied by a large number of pilgrims and sadhus chanting mantras.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CAVE

The cave is quite large. Its entrance is about forty yards horizontally and in height it is about 75 feet and is sloping 80 feet deep down inside the mountain. In the cave is an ice-lingam of about five feet high and at the top it forms a cone. This obviously symbolises Lord Shiva and to the left of the lingam is a small ice block which stands for Lord Ganesha and to the left of the latter is a small ice formation representing goddess Parvati. These ice formations are formed during the summer days and wax and wane alongwith the moon. On the full moon day they are complete in form whereas on moonless days they altogether vanish.

Entrance to the Amarnath Cave.

THE IMPORTANT PILGRIMS

Lakhs of great men and common men, both old and young, have undertaken the h azardous and exhausting trekking to the cave for centuries. Most notable among them are Swami Vivekananda who visited the holy cave in 1898, Swami Ramatirtha and, above all, Swami Shankaracharya, the great saint who journeyed from the south to have darshan of the icelingam. About Swami Vivekananda's pilgrimage to the holy cave, Margaret Noble, better known as Sister Nivedita, gives interesting details in her "Notes on the Wanderings of Swami Vivekananda". She says that the Swami was much moved inside the cave so that his whole body shook and he swooned with intense emotion. Sister Nivedita also writes that "the place was vast, huge enough to hold a Cathedral and the great ice-Shiva was in a niche of the deepest shadow, sacred as if throned on its base. The Swami, she says, told her that he had a strange mystical experience in the cave. Lord Shiva himself appeared before him and he granted him the boon that he would die whenever he desired".

THE DISCOVERY OF THE CAVE

There are many legends regarding the Amarnath cave given in Amarkatha, a Sanskrit text. It also gives the significance of the Yatra. This Amarkatha is said to have been narrated by Lord Shiva himself to his consort Parvati. The discovery of the cave has been attributed to a shepherd who while searching for his flock of sheep, saw the cave and on entering it found the ice-lingam. The cave was rediscovered by a Muslim of Balkote village, situated below Pahalgam, at a distance of seven kms. The cave's location had been lost for over a century and as a reward the family of the Muslim, Malik, continues to get one-third of the share of offerings at the cave every year, while the rest is equally divided between the Mahant of Dashamani Akhara, Srinagar and the Pandas of Mattan, a village in South Kashmir.

The pilgrimage is undertaken in the following stages: (i) Pahalgam, the base camp; (ii) Chandanwari; (iii) Sheshnag; and (iv) Panchtarni.

PAHALGAM

Pahalgam is a picturesque village surrounded by mountains covered with deodar and conifer trees and is situated on the bank of the river Liddar. It is said that in the vicinity of Pahalgam is Mahadevgiri mountain and at its base is a big flat stone. A stream runs besides it. "In the 9th century A, D. a saint named Vasugupta had a dream in which Lord Shiva appeared to him and told him the whereabouts of a rock with a series of teachings inscribed on it. These teachings which were named as Shiva sutras form the foundation of Kashmiri Shaivism. Swami Mukhtananda who visited Kashmir found the rock. The intervening years have wiped away the writings which were found on the rock but the feelings remains".

Lidder valley, Pahalgam, Kashmir

Kashmiri Shaivism describes one's own nature, the nature of the world around him and God. Self-realization is the aim of this system of Kashmiri Shaivism.

CHANDANWARI

Then the pilgrims leave for the next stage, Chandanwari, which is eight kms. from Pahalgam and one has to climb up the valley which, on both sides, has thick forests of tall pines and birches and green grass so that the whole panorama looks like an enchantment of greenery.

SHESHNAG

From here the pilgrims move to the next stage, that is Sheshnag, which is situated about 13,000 feet above the sea level. Here the pilgrims stay for the night. One finds a big lake here. It is about a mile long and a quarter of a mile broad. There is a meadow overlooking the lake. Behind it rises a huge glacier with three silent pinnacles of ice. There is a legend concerning this lake. It is said that a powerful Asura (demon) brought about a havoc among the Devas (gods). In distress they prayed to Lord Shiva, but he could not help them as he had granted a boon to the Asura (demon) that he would not be killed by the Lord. He advised them to approach Lord Vishnu. They prayed to Lord Vishnu as a result of which the mighty snake residing in the lake destroyed the Asura (demon) at the command of Lord Vishnu. Thus the spot containing lake and the mountain behind, is known as Sheshnag. The pilgrims bathe in this lake as it is considered auspicious.

Sheshnag Lake, enroute to Amarnath

Then the pilgrims have to climb the Mahagunus mountain which is about 13,000 feet high. The mountain is covered with beautiful buttercups and here are heard the shrieks of the marmot animals which cannot be seen as they run into the holes as soon as they hear the footsteps of a human being.

PANCHTARANI

Then from here one has to travel a mile's decline to Panchtarani. The whole scene is one of barren mountains and no trees are found here; it is covered with green grass only. The pilgrims reach the plain of Panchtarani which is a mile long and a quarter of mile broad. A stream runs here and four other streams also join it. The tradition goes that Lord Shiva was performing Tandav Nritya, the cosmic dance of destruction. "While dancing his locks got dishevelled and from them the five streams came down. These are considered holy and bathing in them is considered as auspicious. Some very rare types of wild flowers of variegated colours and kinds are found here. The pilgrims, leaving Panchtarani behind, go up. Here goats and horses which belong to the Bhakarwals graze. After passing this stage the pilgrims go up to the holy cave. At the left of the cave flows the Amarvati stream in which the pilgrims bathe before entering the cave.

Outside the cave are seen two pigeons which are present there throughout the year. There is a legend that Lord Shiva was in deep meditation when he was disturbed by his two devotees. Lord Shiva got furious and transformed them into pigeons and now they are seen there since many years.

It often happens that the weather gets overcast with dark clouds and it rains excessively but in spite of it the devotees with strong determination go up the cave and are rewarded with the darshan of the Lord's icelingam. Those who have true devotion and faith in Lord Shiva never turn their back during the Yatra but go steadfast up to the cave.