Holy mace of Lord Shiva left for Amarnath

Srinagar, Aug 23: 'Chharri Mubarak', the holy mace of Lord Shiva, today left for Pahalgam en route to Amarnath cave, about 150 km from here, in south Kashmir.

Mahant Deepender Giri, custodian of the holy mace, along with a large number of 'sadhus' and other devotees, offered prayers in the Dashnami Akhara temple, near here, which is housing the Chharri Mubarak.

Chanting ''Bholay Nath ki jai and Bum Bum Bholay'', the devotees boarded a special bus and left for Pahalgam, the base camp of the holy cave where other rituals would be held in the evening.

A large number of devotees, including Kashmiri pandits, were also present near the Akhara building in the Maisuma locality, where the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) headquarter is located.

The mahant admitted that the number of pilgrims, visiting the holy cave, was less as compared to previous years.

The main reasons have been non-existence of the self-made Ice-Shivlingam and a two-month-long pilgrimage period.

He said the ice-ling melted before Jaisht Purnima, disappointing the the pilgrims covering thousands of kilometres to visit the cave shrine.

The mahant said before the nineties, the yatra would be completed in a week or ten days and every body could have a 'darshan' of the ice-lingam. However, extending it to two months affected the rush of the pilgrims, he added. He said besides praying for the restoration of total peace in the valley, the pilgrims would also pray for a ''Khushhal Kashmir''.

He thanked the people of Jammu and Kashmir for extending their whole-hearted support to the pilgrims.

The mahant said the prayers of Chharri Mubarak would be offered at Pampore temple and Martand temple at Mattan before halting for two nights at Pahalgam.

The 'chharri' would leave for holy cave shrine to reach there on August 28, the day Rakshabandan falls, en route Chandanwari and Sheshnag.

This year the ice-lingam melted completely, much before the two-month pilgrimage started on June 30, creating a wave of disappointment in the pilgrims gathered in Pahalgam.

A number of television channels telecast a CD showing yatris and some security force personnel touching the Ice-Lingam inside the cave, about a fortnight before the commencement of the yatra, causing damage to it.

The shrine board has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Two locals were killed and 16 others, including a yatri, injured in a grenade blast at Baltal, the base camp of the cave while 12 others, mostly pilgrims, were injured in Pahalgam blast during the pilgrimage this year.

About 35 pilgrims died during the yatra, mostly due to heart failure.

UNI