2nd July - 5th July 2015 - via Pahalgam
Amarnath cave is situated @ an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft), about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu & Kashmir; The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains & covered
with snow most of the year except for a short period of time in summer
when it is open for pilgrims # Devotees visit Amarnath Cave close to the festival of Shravani Mela that is held between July-August # The Amarnath Cave has a special significance in the Hindu religion # Thousands of Hindu devotees make an annual
pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave on challenging mountainous terrain to
see an ice stalagmite formed inside the cave; where the path of 3 kms to the cave is covered with the snow & after crossing the river of ice, the cave is finally seen (The cave is about 100 ft. long & 150 ft. wide) # In this cave Lord Shiva told the secret of immortality to the Mother Parvati where Shiv lingam is formed when the water drips from the roof gets accumulated & start to freeze on the floor # According to Hindu religious belief, the size of Shiva lingam at Amarnath Cave increases & decreases with the different phases of the moon, but there is no scientific evidence to support this belief # Along with Shiva lingam, two more ice formations exist in the cave that are believed to be of Maa Parvati & their son Ganesha!!!
There are two ways for Amarnath journey – Pahalgam & Sonmarg Baltal...
According to the legends, Lord Shiva took the Pahalgam route to reach the cave Once Maa Parvati asked Lord Shiva that when He started wearing the beads of heads; "why are you immortal & I keep on dying again & again?" Lord Shiva replied that this is due to the Amar Katha; Maa Parvati insisted to hear that Amar Katha # To narrate the story, Lord Shiva started looking for an absolutely lonely place so that no living being can hear that Amar Katha except for Maa Parvati...
Lord Shiva finally found the Amarnath Cave to describe the secrets of immortality & formation of the universe to Maa Parvati #
To reach there, He left all his belonging on the way like His bull Nandi at Pahalgam (96 kms from Srinagar; surrounded by mountain peaks) #
His Moon at Chandanwari (16 kms from Pahalgam); According to the beliefs, Lord Shiva sacrificed the moon from his head here; The moon then waited for Lord Shiva to return here; This is how the name of this place became Chandanwari #
Slightly ahead of Chandanwari is Pissu Top - The importance of this place is related to the darshan of Amarnath; According to this, for the darshan of Amarnath, a huge fight between the Gods & demons occurred; That time with the help of Lord Shiva, the Devas defeated the demons; With the dead bodies of the demons a mountain was formed; which is known as Pissu Top #
After Pissu Top the next destination is Sheshnag; Lord Shiva dropped his snakes at the banks of Lake Sheshnag (There is a lake of blue water here, which proves that this is the place of Sheshnag, which is 12 kms from Chandanwari) #
His son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (It is around 4 - 5 kms from Sheshnag) #
He left his Five Elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Sky) @ Panchtarni (6 kms from Mahagunas Parvat @ an altitude of 12,500 ft.); Here there is a confluence of five rivers; belief is that the five rivers flowing here come out from the tangles of Lord Shiva’s hair #
After this, Lord Shiva entered in this holy Amarnath Cave with Maa Parvati; sat on the Deer Skin & took a samadhi # To further make sure that not even a single living being could hear the secret Amar Katha, He created a rudra named Kalagni & ordered him to set fire around the cave so that everything living around that place could be destroyed # He then started narrating the story of immortality to Maa Parvati; In spite of all these efforts, one egg remained protected under the deer skin on which the Lord was sitting # But it was considered as non-living; A pair of pigeons was born out of that egg & supposedly became immortal # Pilgrims can still see the pigeon pair while going towards the Amarnath Cave!!!
According to the legends, Lord Shiva took the Pahalgam route to reach the cave Once Maa Parvati asked Lord Shiva that when He started wearing the beads of heads; "why are you immortal & I keep on dying again & again?" Lord Shiva replied that this is due to the Amar Katha; Maa Parvati insisted to hear that Amar Katha # To narrate the story, Lord Shiva started looking for an absolutely lonely place so that no living being can hear that Amar Katha except for Maa Parvati...
Lord Shiva finally found the Amarnath Cave to describe the secrets of immortality & formation of the universe to Maa Parvati #
To reach there, He left all his belonging on the way like His bull Nandi at Pahalgam (96 kms from Srinagar; surrounded by mountain peaks) #
His Moon at Chandanwari (16 kms from Pahalgam); According to the beliefs, Lord Shiva sacrificed the moon from his head here; The moon then waited for Lord Shiva to return here; This is how the name of this place became Chandanwari #
Slightly ahead of Chandanwari is Pissu Top - The importance of this place is related to the darshan of Amarnath; According to this, for the darshan of Amarnath, a huge fight between the Gods & demons occurred; That time with the help of Lord Shiva, the Devas defeated the demons; With the dead bodies of the demons a mountain was formed; which is known as Pissu Top #
After Pissu Top the next destination is Sheshnag; Lord Shiva dropped his snakes at the banks of Lake Sheshnag (There is a lake of blue water here, which proves that this is the place of Sheshnag, which is 12 kms from Chandanwari) #
His son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (It is around 4 - 5 kms from Sheshnag) #
He left his Five Elements (Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Sky) @ Panchtarni (6 kms from Mahagunas Parvat @ an altitude of 12,500 ft.); Here there is a confluence of five rivers; belief is that the five rivers flowing here come out from the tangles of Lord Shiva’s hair #
After this, Lord Shiva entered in this holy Amarnath Cave with Maa Parvati; sat on the Deer Skin & took a samadhi # To further make sure that not even a single living being could hear the secret Amar Katha, He created a rudra named Kalagni & ordered him to set fire around the cave so that everything living around that place could be destroyed # He then started narrating the story of immortality to Maa Parvati; In spite of all these efforts, one egg remained protected under the deer skin on which the Lord was sitting # But it was considered as non-living; A pair of pigeons was born out of that egg & supposedly became immortal # Pilgrims can still see the pigeon pair while going towards the Amarnath Cave!!!
From Pahalgam – A traditional route
To reach Amarnath Cave, one has to reach Pahalgam either from Jammu - 315 Km or from Srinagar - 96km. # Take a bus or taxi from Jammu to reach Pahalgam or reach Srinagar by air & from there take a car, bus or taxi...
From Pahalgam, devotees have to reach Chandanwari - 16 km. @ 9500 ft & this distance can also be covered by using road transport; Pilgrims can either camp at Pahalgam or Chandanwari...
From Chandanwari, pilgrims climb the height upto @ 11,000 ft./ 3 kms. to reach Pissu Top...
To reach at Sheshnag @ 11730ft. / 11 kms., pilgrims follow a steep incline # The entire route has untouched wild scenery with cascading stream on one side # The place got its name from the Seven Peaks # The shape of the peaks resemble that of the head of the mythical snake...
From Sheshnag one has to cover the steep height @ 14,000 ft./ 14 kms to reach Panchtarni; This is the last camp to the Holy Amarnath Cave @ 13,000 ft. / 6 kms.
From Baltal – A new route
There is another route to Amarnath cave from Baltal; located @ 14 km from the Amarnath caves # The distance of Baltal from Jammu is 400 km that can be covered by taxi or bus # From there, pilgrims can either take ponies or travel by foot to cover the route from Baltal to Amarnath # Though this route is much narrower & steeper than from Pahalgam, it can be completed in one day with Baltal as base camp # All in all, Amarnath Yatra is an experience in itself and one must visit this holy place atleast once during his or her lifetime!!!
My first ever visit to Bhole baba & Amarnath # Very excited to reach to the cave
Day 1 - Pahalgam > Chandanwari >> Sheshnag (en route Pissu top) / 12 kms.
Started from Pahalgam by bus till Chandanbari # Started walking in the midst of Beautiful Valleys & Mountains # Amazed to see the arrangements & selfless free services for Yatris by different different Langar's & Bhandara's throughout the way at frequent distances # Crossed Pissu top & then gradual climb to reach to Sheshnag;
One of the Magical & Windiest places in this valley # Very Blissful & Lively environment throughout the way - its said that "Kashmir ki Wadi me Bhole ki Shadi me!!!" # Awesome feeling, which lets you forget that you have to cover a long distance #
Day 1 - Pahalgam > Chandanwari >> Sheshnag (en route Pissu top) / 12 kms.
Started from Pahalgam by bus till Chandanbari # Started walking in the midst of Beautiful Valleys & Mountains # Amazed to see the arrangements & selfless free services for Yatris by different different Langar's & Bhandara's throughout the way at frequent distances # Crossed Pissu top & then gradual climb to reach to Sheshnag; 
Reached first camp for overnight stay @ Sheshnag # Delicious dinner
with lots of different varieties of food like in marriages # Nice
arrangements of hundreds of tents in the area...
Day 2 - Sheshnag >> Panchtarni (en route Mahagunas Parvat) / 13 kms.
Started early in the morning via Mahagunas Parvat; highest point of this yatra (This place has several waterfalls & scenic overlooks) # here it was a bit difficult point of the yatra; to descent walk through glacier for few miles...
but as soon as this patch ends; as a reward there is a big 5
star Bhandara; Unbelievable!!! @ almost 14,000 ft. such kind of Wonderful
arrangement for yatris!!! Unlimited varieties here will beat any wedding party;
Hats off to this Shiv Bhaktas for their selfless services # After having delicious lunch started for
next Destination Panchtarni; where The
helicopters operate for both the Amarnath yatra routes – from Pahalgam
as well as Baltal!!! # Atmosphere here was like Fair in a small town;
very Lively & Homely environment # Overnight stay in tents;
Day 3 - Panchtarni >> Amarnath cave / 6 kms
Started early morning at about 5.30 am from Panchtarni # Very narrow route but Memesmerizing scenic beauty all over # Finally reached to the Holy place # A local market around the Amarnath cave for Prasad & deposit luggage as any bag or gadgets are not allowed inside the cave (Also provides hot water for bathe before darshan & bed to take rest) # So took a bath & deposited my luggage at one of the shop # Took prasad & much awaited moment got over when I was in front of the actual ice Lingam of Bhole baba @ sacred gufa of Amarnath!!! Feeling Blessed to witness the most Auspicious place of Bhole baba!!!
After darshan, decided to go back by Baltal route as its almost half the distance of Pahalgam route # Since its the shortest route, it's the steepest, very narrow & filled with dust throughout as it's a temporary route arrangement made every year specially for this yatra # It took hardly 4 hrs to get down till Baltal base camp as it was total downhill # At the basecamp again it was like festival of food in the form of Langars & Bhandaras # Thankfully I took rest in one of the Bhandara; which now became like my other home @ Baltal because of the affection of the people of this Bhandara # Now I have decided to go every year to such a Beautiful & Sacred place to enrich my soul :)
30th June - 4th July 2016 - via Baltal
Blessed to visit Bhole baba for the 2nd time consecutively # This time decided to go via Baltal as now I got a home @ Om Shakti Seva Mandal where I visited in my last year's darshan just for few minutes for relax after coming down from the sacred Cave of Bhole baba # Wonderful people serving with full of devotion # This time wanted to be a part of this Amazing group of Sevadar's # So reached 2 days before the yatra commencement; i.e. on 30th June 2016 & Yatra started on 2nd July 2016 # For darshan started early morning 5 O'clock on 2nd July # reached bhavan @ 10 AM; had bath & took divine darshan # Started getting down to Baltal at about 12.30 pm & reached by 4.30 pm # Every evening there is a Amazing Bhajan sandhya & cultural programs devoted to Bhole baba which I have ever seen # Environment here is heavenly where all the coming & going devotees come for prasad 24*7 # Hats off to all the Sevadars # Would Love to visit this sacred place every year especially with Wonderful souls of Om Shakti Seva Mandal # Jai Bhole Ki :)
JAI BHOLE KI...
No comments:
Post a Comment