The tradition of Amarnath Yatra

The tradition of Amarnath Yatra dates back to ancient times. According to legend the cave is situated at the place where Lord Shiva had given amrit (nectar) to the gods of the Hindu pantheon who wished to attain immortality. It is believed that Lord Shiva adopted the shape of an ice-lingam which still exists in the cave. It is in this context that the place has been mentioned as Amrishwar by Kalhan, the famous Kashmiri poet-historian of yore in his Raj Tarangni.

The Yatra was abandoned for a long time due to devastating floods and other natural calamities in the valley. In those years it was impossible to even locate the sacred cave. A local Muslim family called Maliks residing in Mattan is said to have re-discovered it. when the head of the family was grazing his herd of sheep in the area, he reached the cave and saw the ice-lingam and a couple of pigeons coming out of it. He told the Pandits of Mattan about the cave and accompanied them to show it. The Yatra was thus revived. The successive generations of the Malik family of Mattan have since then been taking an active part in preparation of the Yatra and they get a share of the offerings at the cave.

According to another legend, Rishi Bringesh was once approached by people who were desperate to seek the path of salvation. The sage instructed them to undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Cave for their salvation. But the pilgrims were harassed by Rakshasas, the demons. Thereupon, Rishi Bhringesh prayed to Lord Shiva and with his grace a spectre was bestowed upon him to ensure safe pilgrimage to the Cave. Since then this has been the symbol of protection to the caravans of pilgrims and has now taken the form of Chhari Mubarak (silver mace) which leads the yatra in the traditional manner after the pooja at the famous Raghunath Temple in Jammu.

The Cave of Amarnath is only about fifty kilometers from Pahalgam in south Kashmir. However, this distance is not the same as in the plains of the country. It is an arduous admixture of tough walking, trekking and pony-riding, Palanquins are also used in some cases while negotiating the path through tortuous mountains.

Pahalgam, the base camp where the bus-terminus is located, is at hight of 9,000 feet above sea-level. A pilgrim has to cross an altitude of 9,500 feet at Chandanwari, just 14 kilometers away from Pahalgam. The pilgrims have to do a very difficult climbing to reach Sheshnag, 12 km away. The height to be gained to reach the next stop, Panjtarni, is 2,200 feet. Ascending further from Panjtarni involves a steep climb to Mahagunus Pass at 14,000 feet. In the last stage of the yatra, however, a pilgrim has to undergo a descent of about 1,000 feet to reach the Holy Cave located at a height of about 13,000 feet above sea level.

The Kashmiri labourers, invariably all Muslims, help the pilgrims throughout. The pilgrims traverse the route chanting "Har Har Mahadev" and "Amarnath Swami Ki Jai". The Muslim helpers join them by saying "Ya Peer Dastgeer". The Yatra culimates on the full moon day of August.

Pilgrims intending to join the Yatra are expected to be medically fit. They have to register themselves at any of the J&K Government Tourist Offices located in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Jammu and Srinagar. Two thousand five hundred pilgrims are allowed inside the Holy Cave every day during the season. Faith can move mountains, so goes an old adage. With a little variation to the saying, it is hoped that the yearning for Moksha (salvation) can move the devotees to the challenging heights of Kashmir.