01The Amar Katha
Mata Parvati asked why Shiva wore a garland of skulls, and he told her they were her own, from each of her past births, for she was mortal and he was not. She asked for the secret. He chose this cave, far from every living thing, and left his companions on the way: Nandi at Pahalgam, the moon at Chandanwari, his serpents at the Sheshnag lake, Ganesh at Mahagunas, the five elements at Panchtarni. Then he told the Amar Katha. A pair of pigeons hidden in the cave heard it and became immortal, and pilgrims still look for a pair of doves when they reach the cave.
02The yatra
The yatra runs in the short summer window and ends on Shravan Purnima, Raksha Bandhan, when the Chhari Mubarak, the sacred mace of Shiva, is carried up from the Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar. There are two routes: the long one from Pahalgam by Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni, and the short steep one from Baltal. Popular memory credits a shepherd, Buta Malik, with finding the cave again in the 19th century. Since 2000 the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has run the yatra. It has been attacked by terrorists, most recently in July 2017 when a pilgrim bus was fired on and eight devotees were killed.
The life of this place
- 2000 CEShri Amarnathji Shrine Board constituted to run the yatra.
- 10 July 2017Terrorists fire on a pilgrim bus near Anantnag; eight devotees killed.
Registration and a medical certificate are compulsory; the yatra usually runs July–August. Carry warm clothing even in summer.
