Srinagar: The Chhari Mubarak – the holy mace of Lord Shiva – will be taken to the historic Shankaracharya Temple atop a hillock here on August 16 for rituals connected with the ongoing annual Amaranth Yatra.
As there are two ‘Shravan’ months this year, an astronomical event taking place after 19 years, Amaranth Yatra has a greater significance, custodian of the holy mace Mahant Deependra Giri told PTI in an interview here.
Giri also provided details about the programme of Chhari Mubarak.
‘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, Giri said. The holy mace will now be taken to the historic Shankaracharya Temple here on August 16, 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, Giri will carry the holy mace 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, Giri said.
The custodian of the holy mace said that since the Yatra is a pilgrimage it should happen as per the wishes of the deity.
“My view is that the annual Amarnath Yatra is a pilgrimage and it has to be seen as such,” Giri 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 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 pilgrims come in large numbers in the first three weeks and then it 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.
Giri 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 also said there was a need to improve the infrastructure so that more pilgrims 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.
