By Vincent Van Ross

When the six of us jumped into a Toyota Innova and headed for Amarnath in south Kashmir, little did we know that we would all become such good friends by the end of the journey. Shiva, Bala. Rama, Surender, Shyam and me made up the lot. It was a spontaneous decision just a few days before the trip when three of us decided on the trip and decided to bring our friends along. All of us were keen to have a glimpse of the ice lingam, the natural ice formation of the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva, which is the only one of its kind in the world and pay our obeisance to the Lord.

Bala owned the car and Shiva volunteered to drive. Shiva amazed all of us with his driving skills. He needed just one extra inch between two cars to squeeze the Innova through. But, this scared most us. And, we could feel our nails digging into the seats that we were firmly holding on to. Then, Bala, who had traveled with Shiva on an earlier occasion, asked us to relax and revealed the fact that Shiva was a former Himalayan Rally co-driver and navigator. That steadied our nerves a bit and put our tummies back into their places!

We started off around 8.30 at night and reached Baltal the next evening. We drove non-stop for 940 km from Delhi to Baltal through Panipat-Ambala-Khanna-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Pathankot-Jammu-Udhampur-Ramban-Banihal-Avantipura-Srinagar-Ganderbal and Sonamarg. On the way, we stopped here and there for dinner, breakfast and lunch or an occasional drink of water or for soft drinks or to pick up a couple of packets of snacks. Between Ramban and Banihal, we negotiated the Jawahar tunnel which is almost 3km long.

One can being the pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave either from Baltal or through Pahalgham which is the traditional route. From Baltal, the cave is 15 km away via Domail, Burari and Sangam. The distance from Pahalgam to the cave is 47 km via Chandanwai, Sheshnag and Panchtarni. Until the 1940s, when there was Sikh rule in Kashmir, the pilgrimage use to begin from Amritsar. Now, it begins at Dashnami Akhara in Budshah Chowk in Srinagar. From Baltal or Pahalgham, one can hire a mule, rent a palanquin or trek up all the way to Amarnath cave. One can also take a helicopter flight from Baltal. The flight takes less than 3 minutes one-way.

The story of Amarnath begins with the query of Lord Shiva’s consort and daughter or the Himalayas, Ma Parvati, about the garland of skulls (mund mala) adorned by him. Lord Shiva explained to her that each time she is reborn, he adds one more skull to his garland of skulls.

Ma Parvati responded to this with a question. “My Lord, my body is destroyed time after time but you are immortal. What is the secret of your immortality?” asked Ma Parvati.

Lord Shiva dilly-dallied for some time but finding Ma Parvati resolute, he decided to reveal the secret of immortality to her. He set out in search of a place where no living being could overhear this revelation lest they too should become immortal. He zeroed in on the Amarnath cave.

In order to ensure that the secret is not leaked unwittingly, Lord Shiva posted his vehicle, Nandi (the bull), at Pahalgam (originally called Bail Gaon) to prevent anyone from approaching the Amarnath cave. At Chandanwari, he discarded the moon from his matted hair (Jataon).

At Sheshnag, Lord Shiva is believed to have released the snake. According to another story, the place was haunted by a powerful demon who had obtained a boon from Lord Shiva. Seeking delivery from his attacks, the gods gathered at Sheshnag lake and exhorted Lord Vishnu to intervene. Lord Vishnu is believed to have appeared from the lake reclining on Sheshnag which is his bed and destroyed the demon.

Then, Lord Shiva asked his son, Lord Ganesha, to keep a watch from the Mahagunas Parvat (originally called Mahaganesh Parvat).

At Panchtarni, Lord Shiva is believed to have renounced the five elements, namely, earth, water, air, fire and sky of which all living beings are made. However, there is another interesting story about Panchtarni. According to this story, it is believed that Lord Shiva performed thandava, his cosmic dance, at Panchtarni before proceeding to Amarnath. He was so engrossed in this ecstatic dance that he failed to realize that the locks of his matted hair had opened and the Ganga had escaped to the ground in the form of five streams.

Finally, Lord Shiva entered the Amarnath cave with Ma Parvati. In order to ensure that no living being overheard the secret of immortality he was going to reveal to Ma Parvati, he created a Rudra named Kalagni and ordered him to spread fire to destroy every living being in and around the Holy Cave. After this, he seated himself on deer skin which is his seat and revealed the secret of immortality to Ma Parvati. But, a couple of eggs lying beneath the deer skin remained protected by his seat. The pair of pigeons that were born out of these eggs became immortal as they heard the secret of immortality. Pilgrims claim to spot them at the holy cave on the Shravan purnima (full moon day) to this date.

The holy cave was discovered by a muslim shepherd called Buta Malik in 1850. According to legends, a saint gave Buta Malik a bag full of coal. But, when he reached home and opened the bag, he found that it had turned into a bag of gold. Overawed by this miracle, he rushed back to thank the saint. He could not find the saint. But, he found the holy cave with the ice lingam. He went back to his village and brought the villagers to the Amarnath cave and it became a place of pilgrimage.

Until the year 2000, when the Jammu and Kashmir government took over charge of the pilgrimage, it was the descendents of Malik family that made all the arrangements for the pilgrimage. For this, the Malik family used to share one-third of the offerings at the Amarnath shrine with the Giri Mahants of Amritsar and Pandits of Mattan.

To this date, the Amarnath Yatra is a unique example of the co-operation and brotherhood between Hindus and Muslims. The local Muslims provide the logistics to their Hindu brethren who flock to the Amarnath Cave from all parts of the country. The tented camps still are put up by the local Muslims. They also provide mules and palanquins to the infirm pilgrims.

Perched on a narrow gorge at the end of the Lidder valley, the Holy Cave of Amarnath is situated at an altitude of 3,888 mtrs above sea level in south Kashmir. Sheshnag a high mountain with seven peaks resembling the heads of the mythical snake looms opposite the Amarnath cave.

The Yatra begins with the ceremony of “Chari Mubarak” or the holy mace at Dashnami temple in Srinagar. This has a special significance because Lord Shiva is believed to have handed the holy mace or chari to Rishi Kashyap with the instruction that it be carried to the Amarnath shrine every year. In continuance of the tradition, the holy mace is carried to the Amarnath shrine by the mahant of Dashnami Akhara, Deepender Giri to mark the beginning and end of the pilgrimage each year. After the prayers, the pilgrims acquire a chari or walking stick which has physical and religious significance. It helps the pilgrim in steadying himself on the slippery path and to strengthen his resolve in weak moments during the arduous journey up the mountain trail.

The pilgrims can reach the Amarnath Cave either through Pahalgam or through Baltal. The two trekking routes meet at Sangam which is also the confluence of Amravati and Panchtarni rivers. Some pilgrims take a holy dip here and apply the white sand on the way which they believe is bhasm or holy ash on their foreheads before proceeding for darshan.

There are tented camps at vantage points to facilitate the pilgrims’ progress. The community kitchens (bandaras) that dispense free food (langars) round-the-clock and run by organizations dedicated to the service of Lord Shiva which converge on the yatra route during the yatra season from different parts of the country. Similarly, the state as well as central security forces pool in their resources to provide security to the pilgrims.

It is believed that water from the Ramkund Lake which is situated above the holy cave trickles down drop by drop and freezes inside the cave to form the shiva linga. The Linga or Phallus which symbolizes Lord Shiva is formed naturally of ice stalagmite. Since the original Shiva Linga was formed on a full moon night (purnima), it is believed to be in its full glory on the full moon night. The shiva linga waxes and wanes with the moon’s cycle. To the left of the shiva linga, there are two more ice formations each year which represent Ma Parvati to the extreme left and Lord Ganesha in the middle.

Hundreds and thousands of pilgrims brave the rough terrain and inclement weather to get a glimpse of the ice lingam that forms naturally at the Amarnath Cave. Pilgrims traveling by helicopters can get a bird’s eye view of the serpentine queues of pilgrims on foot, on mules and palanquins who look like tiny ants making their way to the holy cave. The annual pilgrimage to Amarnath used to begin in early July (Ashad Purnima) and close in early August (Shravan Purnima). However, the period of this pilgrimage was extended a few years ago. As at the beginning of the pilgrimage Mahant Deepender Giri, the custodian of the holy mace, carries the mace to the holy cave every year to mark the end of the annual yatra. Amarnath Yatra is truly a pilgrimage to the immortal lord. Amar means immortal. Nath means lord. And, yatra means pilgrimage.

After a glimpse of the ice lingam the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva in the Amarnath Cave, we returned to Baltal and decided to drive back the same evening. By the time we reached Srinagar, it was past 10 O’clock at night. There was a traffic jam in Srinagar that took more than an hour to clear. We thought we may not be able to reach the Jawahar tunnel by midnight. The tunnel closes at midnight and opens next morning. As if by god’s grace, we reach the tunnel minutes before it closed. Then on, it was a smooth run up to Delhi.