Pilgrimage should take place as per wishes of deity: Mahant
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Aug 12: The Chhari Mubarak -holy mace of Lord Shiva, which will reach the cave shrine from Dashnami Akhara Srinagar on Shravan Purnima falling on August 31, will be taken to historic Shankaracharya temple atop of hillock in Srinagar on August 16.
This was stated by Mahant Deependra Giri Ji, the founder of True Trust and custodian of holy mace today while giving the itinerary of the Chhari Mubarak and rituals being performed before it embarks on final yatra to holy cave.
He said the rituals of the holy mace of Lord Shiva will begin on August 16 after the traditional Puja will be held at historic Shankaracharya temple, Srinagar.
Maintaining that Amaranth Yatra has a greater significance, Mahant Deependra Giri said this is because there are two ‘Shravan’ months this year, an astronomical event taking place after 19 years.
Deependera Giri, while providing details about the programme of Chhari Mubarak and rituals being performed in connection with Amarnath Ji yatra, said ‘Bhoomi-Pujan’ ‘Navgrah Pujan’ and ‘Dhawajarohan’ — rituals connected to the beginning of the Chhari Mubarak — were performed at Pahalgam, on the occasion of ‘Ashad Purnima’ on July 3.
The holy mace will now be taken to the historic Shankaracharya Temple on August 16, he said.
He said rituals will be performed at the revered temple atop Zabarwan hills in Dalgate area of the city. Prayers will then be held at the Sharika Bhawani Temple on the slopes of Hari Parbat in the interiors of the city here, a day later, Giri said.
The rituals for ‘Chhari Sthapana’ will be performed at Shri Amareshwar Temple, Dashnami Akhara on August 19, he said.
After performing ‘Chhari Pujan’ at Dashnami Akhara, Srinagar on the occasion of ‘Nag Panchami’ on August 21, he said the holy mace will be taken to the Amarnath cave shrine to perform ‘Pujan’ and have ‘darshan’ early morning on ‘Shravan Purnima’ on August 31. The holy mace yatra will have night halts at Pahalgam on August 26 and August 27, at Chandanwari on August 28, at Sheshnag on August 29 and at Panchtarni on August 30, he said.
The custodian of the holy mace said since the yatra is a pilgrimage it should happen as per the wishes of the deity.
“My view is that the annual Amarnath Ji yatra is a pilgrimage and it has to be seen as such,” Mahant Ji said. So, arrangements should be made accordingly and pilgrims should also undertake the yatra keeping that in mind, he added.
“The duration of the yatra is decided by the Sri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) but my view is that the yatra has always taken place from Ashad Purnima to Shravan Purnima for a month traditionally as well as religiously. But, I believe that since this yatra is a pilgrimage, it will happen according to the wishes of the deity,” the Mahant said.
However, he added that the yatris come in large numbers in the first three weeks and then the rush declines. “This has been made clear this year also as about four lakh pilgrims had the darshan till July 31 or August 1 and it has decreased since then,” he said.
“The main attraction for this yatra is the naturally formed ice-lingam, and it is everyone’s wish to have the darshan as soon as possible,” he added. Mahant Ji said security forces personnel will do their duty for two months or more if they are asked to do so “but they will perform their duty with enthusiasm and full of energy” if the yatra has a tighter schedule. However, he added, the decision lies with the SASB.
The Mahant Ji also said there was a need to improve the infrastructure so that more yatris can visit the cave shrine per day which will also mean a shorter duration of the pilgrimage.
“The track has been made larger. Build infrastructure in Panchtarni, Sheeshnag and Baltal (base camps) so that more yatris visit the cave shrine. If about 20,000 yatris visit the cave every day for a month, then the total will be about six lakhs. I think this is possible in the times to come. This is not a huge number provided there is infrastructure,” he said.
He said earlier over six lakh pilgrims had visited the holy cave and the track has been widened to accommodate 20,000 pilgrims daily, 10,000 each from Baltal and Nunwan Pahalgam side.
He said this year the yatra plied normally till date and except two occasions when it was suspended due to inclement weather and rainfall the yatra was normal for the remaining period.
He also endorsed the decision of Shrine Board of running yatra on alternate days saying this has been done keeping the resources in view. Mahant Ji assigned the reasons for decreasing rush of yatra after July 31 to flash floods in various parts of country especially Punjab and HP.
He also suggested for creation of accommodation for sheltering twenty thousand to thirty thousand pilgrims enroute in case weather remains disturbed for couple of days.
On the 43rd day of darshan 1,480 pilgrims drawn from different parts of country paid obeisance to naturally formed Ice Shivlingam in Himalayan cave, officials said.
With this, a total number of 4,31,553 pilgrims have visited the holy cave since the Yatra started from twin tracks of Baltal and Nunwan -Pahalgam on July 1 this year.
Meanwhile, a bear has been spotted at holy cave near a Bhandara early this morning whose head was trapped in a tin. He was rescued by alert jawans of Mountaineering Rescue Team (MRT) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
After a one-day break, a fresh batch of 915 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here for Kashmir early this morning to undertake the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, officials said.
The pilgrims left in a convoy of 33 vehicles between 3:30 am and 3:45 am amid tight security, they said.
While 675 pilgrims, including 97 women, 25 Sadhus and three Sadhvis, preferred the Pahalgam base camp in Anantnag district, 240 devotees opted their way to the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district, they said.
So far, over 4.31 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath Ji since the commencement of the annual 62-day yatra from the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route and the shorter 14-km Baltal route — on July 1, according to the officials.
No yatri convoy left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp on Friday after the authorities decided to run the yatra on alternate days from Jammu to Kashmir in view of a sharp decline in the number of pilgrim arrivals.
The yatra will conclude on August 31, coinciding with the festival of Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
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