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Amarnath cave is a famous shrine in Hinduism located in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is dedicated to Shiva. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft),about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir and reached through Pahalgam town. The shrine forms an important part of Hinduism,and is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism.The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains. The cave itself is covered with snow most time of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for pilgrims. An annual pilgrimage is made to the Amarnath cave by lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of Hindu devotees on challenging mountainous terrain to see an ice stalagmite formed inside the cave.

The Lingam 

Ice Lingam at Amarnath Cave
Inside the 40 m (130 ft) high Amarnath cave, Lord Shiva gets formed due to freezing of water drops that fall from the roof of the cave on to the floor and grows up vertically from the cave floor.It is considered to be a Shiva Linga by devout Hindus. He waxes during May to August, as snow melts in the Himalayas above the cave and the resultant water seeps into the rocks that form the cave and gradually wanes thereafter.As per the religious beliefs, it has been claimed that the lingam grows and shrinks with the phases of the moon reaching its height during the summer festival, although there is no scientific evidence for this belief
According to a Hindu legend, this is the cave where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his divine consort, Parvati. Two other ice formations represent Parvati and Shiva's son, Ganesha.

Do not dwell in the past we are told.Should we forget how close to the main stream culture ,nay the fountain head of our philosphy the ancient Kashmir was? The Pandits and the others who were converted population of kashmir today were the the leaders in the Vedic world thoughts.

1.Raja tarangini by kalhana-a poet 1129-1150 AD writes in his chronicle of Kingsof kashmir. about Amarnath Yatra as ocean of milk the lake of Susra vasa -the sesh naga lake after chandan wadi -wajhwan..King Vibhishanas and his daughters story ,river Vitasta.

2.The story of kashmir Kings begin with Gonanda I friend of jarasandha in Krishna s' times!!till  Prajyabhatta in 16th century when Akbar occupied the gentle Kashmiris.Lord Krishna himself rejected to be king of kashmir after victory and annointed the wife of the defeated Damodra King pregnant at that time as the ruler of kashmir.He said ''the land of Kashmir is Incarnate of parvati and the ruler is the ansha a part of Shiva."'

3,The poet Kalhana had noted that ''there is not a inch of this land which does not have temple or is not sacred''..
Where does that leave the secularism of the great Akbar and his army who must have destroyed all the butts and the tyemple of these gentle idol worshippers and converted them .What history you want Hindus to forget? all that shows the invaders in poor light must be ignored?? The minoritysm has come to this?

4.There was the Sharda peeth of kashmir on the hill .he used to lead the Chadi the gold mace to the Amarnath caves since ages.now we have to start from jammu and get shot and blasted by our own descendents converted to a foriegn faith that too intolerant to such an extent..to others.

5.Pampur,Brij bihara,gautama, Martand sun temple,Anant nag,Shesh naag are the enroute divine places as you go to Amarnath caves .Then we too celebrated the non idol form of the Shiva..but little did we know that non idol worshippers will wreck havoc in there way of lives..

 6.As the locals of Batkut protected and served the Amarnath shrine even after they were converted even today they get the share 1/3rd to maintain the shrine.and the pilgrims which they do.

7.In Ain A Akbari Abul Fazl p-360 II..he pays tribute to the faith of the hindus and this shrine and describes how people took trouble to climb up this most sacrosanct place.

8.Kashmir shaivism is called trika matta a agama shshtra.KM mUnshi in his book -Immortal India has given some details of the shiava literature produced then from Kashmir.They believed that Moksha is the complete realisation of the soul -that is Shiva..a completely non idolic Allah like entity that should have impressed a true Moslem Islamic theologician. .But then Akbar and his army were not led by them.Still the Original Kashmiris are blinded by these Mullahs about how the two great religious philosphies met here and one of them over pwered the other by sheer sword andpower..without fully understanding how universally one the Shiva tatwa in divine form and the Holy Allah visioned by the HM Holy prophet were..
still the kashmir bleeds and pain is felt by the whole nation..-majority of them..Now Minority rules the policies and the vast mahority are to be taken for granted..however broad minded they become..
I Hope the Shiva tatwa grants peace to the people of kashmir on both sides of the border and they know how universal they can become even as they continue to pray to thier present Empathic Divine & Universal God..give him whatever name- Hinduism says..all paths lead to thee..

History

• Exact period in not known when AmarnathYatra took start. According to Puran, Bhrigu Rishi visited Amarnath Cave. In the Maurya dynesty, Kashmir came under Ashoka’s rule and yatra was done by sages/ sadhus/ sanyasi and shiv-bhakts. Kalhan has written in his ‘Rajtarangini’ (i.e. History of Kashmir) in 11th century that AmarnathYatra was in use for one thousand years before Christ. But yatra remained closed time to time for several hundred and thousand years due to disturbance caused by outside invaders in Kashmir in medieval age. Discontinuation of yatra also occurred due to natural calamity many times. For instance, one recent occurrence happened in 1928 when river of panchtarani suddenly overflooded at night when pilgrims were sleeping in tents near river bed. Nearly two thousand people swept away. Since then no body looked towards for twenty years.

• There are many myths and legends about Kashmir and Amarnath Yatra. In primitive age Kashmir was a big lake which was ruled by King Nagraj. With due permission of his Guru Kashyap Rishi, he invited some human being. With human being some demons also came and begane to live. Later on demons began to vex men as well as King Nagraj. Now Nagraj went to his Guru and told his problem. Rishi prayed God Shankar WHO gave him a “silver stick” and directed them to take it to his abode at that holy cave where HE will appear and bless HIS devotees. “Silver Stick” i.e., ‘Chhadi’ is symbol of safety and authority. Since then yatra is done by a monk (Mahant/ Hindu prist) with this “Chhadi Mubarak”. A large number of hermits/ anchorites and devotees accompany this monk. The group reaches the holy cave on full moon day of Sawan (Which falls in August) every year and perform puja archana and religious rituals.

• Most common and popular legend about this holy cave is related to Shiv-Parvati. The divine consort of Shivaji is Parbati who requested Shivaji to tell her about creation of universe and secret of death and rebirth. Then Shivaji started searching a very lonely place where “Amarkatha” would be narrated before Parbati. He saw the cave with his divine eyes and moved towards it with Maa Parbati. When he reached a very beautiful and lonely place on the bank of river Lidder (Also called NilGanga) where he asked Nandi (OX) to remain there and do not allow any creature to go ahead. So that place was called ‘Bailgam’ and later on it converted into Pahalgam. After a few miles ahead he washed all his Bibhuti and Chandan of his body so that place is called ‘Chandanwari’. A few miles away Shivji separated snake (reptile) from his neck and kept him to remain on the bank of a glacial lake called Sheshnag lake. Again a few miles ahead he told his son ‘Ganesha’ to seat on a mountain top (14,700 feet m.s.l.). This place is called Mahagunush Top. When he reached at a flat ground he opend his dreadlocks(Jata) and shook vigorously. A few drops of water fell down on earth and became five streams. That’s why this place is called “Panchtarani”. When he reached holy cave made a thunder voice due to which all living creature fled away. But a pair of pigeon’s egg in a hole burst and squabs (nascent born pigeons) came out. Now Shivji kept his eyes closed and started to deliver “Amarkatha”. In the mid of katha Ma Parbati went into sound sleep but squabs heard Amarkatha in full and became immortal. This pair still remains in the hole of cave and give darshan to pilgrims.

• An another myth is also common in Kashmir that one muslim shepherd “Buta Mallik” of Pahalgam saw this cave and ice-lingam while he was grazing his sheep in that region. He became much excited and informed some Hindu sages about natural formation of an Ice-Shiv-Lingam. He showed the forgotten route also. Since then this pilgrimage is regularly done by devotees in every Srawan month of Hindu Calendar.

• There is some twist in this story. According to traditional story which is very common in Kashmir is like this. One Muslim shepherd namely Butta Mullick was given a sack of coal by a Hindu Anchorite. Opening the sack he found it full of gold. Overjoyed, he rushed to look for that very sadhu to express gratitude to him. He followed the sage to far distance place where sadhu disappeared and he reached to the cave and found a very beautiful “Ice-Lingam”. The route was forgotten by hindu devotees due to many bad occurrences for several hundred years. Buta came and described the whole incident to Hindu sages. He also showed the route. Since then Yatra again started. In 1858 A.D. Dogra King Gulab Singh pleased and decreed that representative of Mullick family would always be present at the holy cave shrine along with a mahant and pandit of Ganeshpora during the yatra every year. One third of the offerings received at Holy cave would go to Mullick’d family. Buta’s family was also granted a large estate near Pahalgam and exempted from paying land revenue to the state. Presently Subhang Mallik of Buta Mallik’s family acts as main priest of the Amarnaath Shrine. He does evening AARTI of Shankar Jee everyday during yatra period.

• An another story has come to notice with some historical facts that a monk (Hindu Priest) of Hoshangabad (Now in M.P.) used to go Amarnath yatra with “Chhadi Mubarak” in 16th century. But it was very tiring and time taking. It took several months of one trip. Fifth Sikh Guru Arjundev (1581 to 1606) gave a piece of land at Amritsar and provided facilities to the mahant to start his yatra from there. From That period yatra was continued from Amritsar. In 19th century, Dogra King Gulag singh was made king of Kashmir by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Gulabsingh donated land for hermitage (DashnamiAkhada) at Srinagar to start yatra of “Chhadi Mubarak”. Since then it is continued till the date. Now a days “Chhadi Mubarak” yatra starts from Dashnami Akhara of Srinagar under leadership of Mahant Krishnanand Saraswati. Several hundred sages, hermits, anchorites & devotees accompany the procession. This yatra is 143km long and procession takes halt at Pampur, Bijbehara, Anantnag and proceeds through Matan, Aishmukam and Pahelgam. The procession takes rest at Pahelgam for two days and then proceeds for Holicave. Thousands of Pilgrims/Yatries accompany the holy procession from Pahelgam and passes through Chandanbari, Sheshnag, Panchtarmi and reaches the Holycave on “Raksha-Bandhan”(full moon night of Sawan month of Vikrami calendar which fall in July-August). After Puja-Archana at Holycave the “Chadi Mubarak” returns.

• The history and the geography of the Himalaya in general and Kashmir in particular were recited by daddy. He told us that yatra would be more interesting if we had the following information of visiting place i.e., geographical location, history (when this place came to the knowledge), topography, people and caste-system, eating habits, cloths and garment, houses, belief and religion, cultural function and festivals, Govt.’s development work, their views of govt.’s plan, social lockout, village pradhan’s power and prestige, home industries, their cattle, agriculture and business. Without knowing above information of visiting place is like water pouring on bald-head. The more we know the more we can see that we know a little.

Yatra

Amarnath Yatra Camp.

The temple is a popular yatra destination for some Hindus. In 2011 it received about 634,000 persons, the highest recorded number for the site.[9] The number was 622,000 in 2012. Pilgrims visit the holy site during the 45-day season around the festival of Shravani Mela in July–August, coinciding with the Hindu holy month of Shraavana.

The beginning of the annual pilgrimage, called Amarnath Yatra[10] is marked by 'pratham pujan' to invoke the blessings of Shri Amarnathji.

Route 

Amarnath pilgrims en route the holy shrine

Devotees travel on foot, either from Srinagar or from Pahalgam.The latter journey takes approximately 5 days.

The State Road Transport Corporation and Private Transport Operators provide the regular services from Jammu to Pahalgam and Baltal. Also privately hired taxis are available from Jammu & kashmir and travel with Ajay kumar.

The shorter northern route is just about 16 km long, but has a very steep gradient and is quite difficult to climb. It starts from Baltal and passes through Domial, Barari, and Sangam to reach the cave. The northern route is along the Amarnath valley and all along the route one can see the river Amaravathy (It is more like a tributary of Chenab) which originates from Amarnath Glacier.

It is believed that Lord Shiva left Nandi, The Bull, at Pahalgam (Bail Gaon). At Chandanwari, he released the Moon from his hair (Jataon). On the banks of Lake Sheshnag, he released his snakes. At Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Mountain), he left his son Lord Ganesha. At Panjtarni, Lord Shiva left behind the five elements - Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Sky. As a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world, Lord Shiva performed the Tandava Dance. Then, finally, Lord Shiva entered the Holy Amarnath Cave along with Parvati.

Facilities 

En route to the cave, various non-profit organizations set up food supply and resting tents called pandals which are available for free to the pilgrims. Near the shrine, hundreds of tents which are erected by locals can be hired for a night's stay. Helicopter services from base camp to Panjtarni (6 km from the cave) are also available from various private operators.

Security

Every year, thousands of central police and state police personnel are deployed to provide security to pilgrims from potential terror threats. The forces position at various halts and also in the perimeter of the shrine.

Deaths

Of the 622,000 yatra pilgrims in 2012, 130 died during the yatra. The major cause was attributed to persons who were not physically fit for the arduous climb, high elevations, and adverse weather undertook the yatra. Some also died in road accidents before reaching the base camp from where the yatra starts. Of the 130 deaths, 88 were due to purported health reasons and 42 in road accidents. The 2012 pilgrimage ended on Shravana Purnima (Raksha Bandan) Day, 2 August 2012.

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Char Dham Yatra

Badrinath


Badrinath is located in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is in the Garhwal hills, on the banks of the Alaknanda River. The town lies between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges and in the shadow of Nilkantha peak (6,560m).
Badri refers to a berry that was said to grow abundantly in the area, and nath means Lord. The legend goes that Shankara discovered a black stone image of Lord Badrinarayan made of Saligram stone in the Alaknanda river. He originally enshrined it in a cave near the Tapt Kund hot springs. In the sixteenth century, the King of Garhwal moved the murti to the present temple.

Dwarka


Dwarka located in the West is in the state of Gujarat, India. The city derives its name from word dvar meaning door or gate in the Sanskrit language. It is located close to where the Gomti River merges into the Gulf of Kutch. The city lies in the westernmost part of India.
The legendary city of Dwaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed[who?] that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area.

Jagannath Puri 

Puri located in the East is located in the state of Orissa, India. Puri is one of the oldest cities in the eastern part of the country. It is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

The main deity is Shri Krishna, celebrated as Lord Jagannatha. It is the only shrine in India, where goddess, Subhadra, sister of Lord Krishna is worshipped along with her brothers, Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balabhadra. The main temple here is about 1000 years old and constructed by Raja ChodaGanga Deva and Raja Tritiya Ananga Bhima Deva. Puri is the site of the Govardhana Matha, one of the four cardinal institutions or Mathas established by Adi Shankaracharya.

Brahma, Vishnu & Maheswara three are together in alltime every place. In Kali yuga Sreemandir as jagannath temple in Puri. Jagannath-Vishnu, Balabhadra-Maheswara & Subhadra-Brahma. This is the plume for Oriya people to celebrate a special day in this Dham which is also known as "Chariot Festival".

History of Puri dates back to the period when the town was inhabited by the Sabaras, a Pre-Dravidian and Pre-Aryan tribe belonging to the Austro-Asiatic family. During the 7th and 8th centuries, Puri had been a provincial outpost that linked eastern India with the South. 

Owing to its religious association with Sankaracharya (a Hindu reformer), Puri became one of the new centers for the practice of reformed Hinduism. In fact, Puri became an important center of pilgrimage by the 12th century. The history in Puri also proves that Sri Ramanuja visited Puri during 1107 and 1117. Sri Ramanuja was followed by Vishnu Swami, who is known to establish the Vishnuswami Matha, near Markandeshwar Tank. 

With the arrival of the Gangas in the 12th century, Puri emerged as one of the centers of Vaishnavism. Anantavarman Chodaganga, one of the powerful rulers of Puri, established the Purusottama temple in 1135. Purusottama Temple later came to be known as the Jagannath Temple in the 15th century. 

Under the Mughals, Orissa was divided into three revenue collection circars. The three circars of Orissa included Bhadrak, Jaleswar and Kataka with Puri being a part of the Kataka circar. 

The history of Puri also reveals that in the 16th century, Puri was captured by the Afghans. The Afghans destroyed the Jagannath temple and reduced it to ruins. The temple was restored by the Marathas, who ruled Orissa for a short time. Under the British, the Jagannath temple was managed by the King of Orissa. The temple is also said to enjoy certain privileges under the British. 

Until 1816, Puri remained the capital of Orissa, as well as the headquarters of the Collector. In 1806, the government rejected the proposal of shifting the headquarters to Jajpur but in 1814, the headquarters were transferred to Cuttack. The headquarters was shifted back to Puri in the month of December, 1814. In 1816, the headquarters was again shifted back to Cuttack. 

Historical facts about Puri reveal that Orissa was culled from Bihar in 1936. In 1948, Puri was integrated with Orissa (1st January, 1948). Until 1995, the province continued to be divided. The territory of Puri was divided into 3 subdivisions in 1995. Presently, the district of Puri comprises of the Puri Sadar division. 

Rameshwaram 

The Ramanathaswamy Temple

Rameswaram located in the South is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated in the Gulf of Mannar at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. According to legends, this is the place from where Lord Rama, built a bridge Ram Setu to Lanka. The Ramanatha Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva occupies a major area of Rameshwaram. The temple is believed to have been consecrated by Shri Rama Chandra.

Rameshwaram is significant for the Hindus as a pilgrimage to Benaras is incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram. The presiding deity here is in the form of a Linga with the name Sri Ramanatha Swamy, it also is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Brahma, Vishnu & Maheswara three are together in alltime every place. Rama-Bishnu, Laxman-Brahma & Hanuman-Maheswara

The famous Ramanathaswamy Temple is regarded as one of the most sacred shrines of Hindus in India. It is an honoured pilgrimage destination, which represents the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India. It is considered as holy as Banaras. This famous Hindu temple situated on the Rameshwaram island is located off the Sethu coast of Tamil Nadu. The temple is noted for its close association with Ramayana and the legendary victory of Rama over the demon king Ravana.

This temple is a pious temple, keeping in mind its association with Lord Rama, a great Hindu legend and its grand structure. This huge temple on the island of Rameswaram can be reached via the Pamban bridge across the sea, it is famous for its long ornate corridors, towers and remarkable 36 Theerthams.

Rameshwaram Temple - Legend Related To The Temple

According to a legend, Rama worshiped Shiva in the form of a Shiva Lingam, while returning to Ayodhya. This lingam was made of earth by Rama's consort, Sita. It is also said that Hanuman was sent to bring an image of Viswanathar from Banares. Rama thought that Hanuman will be late in returning. Therefore, Rama is said to have offered worship at a pre-chosen auspicious moment to the Shivalingam. This lingam is referred to as Ramalingam.

The other Shivlingam brought here by Hanuman from Banaras is known as Viswanathar . This Shivalingam is also called Kasilingam and Hanumalingam. The Viswanathar Shivalingam is worshiped before offering prayers to Ramanathaswamy. It is also believed that Rama worshiped Tilakeswarar at Devipatnam on the route to Sri Lanka.

The History of The Temple

It is said that the ancient shrine was placed in a thatched hut until the 12th century. Parakrama Bahu of Sri Lanka built the first ever masonry structure here. The Setupathy rulers of Ramanathapuram completed the rest of the temple. Some of the temple vimaanams are similar to the Vimaanams of the Pallava period. Much more was added to the temple between the 12th and the 16th centuries. The long corridor (3rd prakaram) dates back only to the 18th century. The Gandhamadhana Parvatam (hill) offers a panoramic view of the temple. Travancore, Ramanathapuram, Mysore and Pudukkottai kingdoms provided royal patronage to this famous Hindu temple.

The Temple Architecture

The temple is sprawled over an area of 15 acres. It has huge gopurams, monolithic walls and a stupendous Nandi. There is a 4000 feet long pillar corridor with over 4000 pillars, considered the longest in the world. A unique feature about this corridor is that the rock used here is not found on the native island, it was brought in from elsewhere in Tamilnadu across the sea. The eastern Rajagopuram has a height of 126 feet and has nine levels whereas the western Rajagopuram is not as tall as the eastern one. The huge image of Nandi is about 18 feet tall and 22 feet in length.

The Gandamadana Parvatham

This hill on the Rameshwaram island, has a small shrine, consisting of imprints of Lord Rama's feet, which is worshiped here.

Theertham(Water Springs)

There almost 36 Theerthams here out of which 22 are in the temple. The water of these Theerthams are said to be therapeutic. A bath in these is regarded significant. The Agni Theertham refers to the ocean while the Koti theertham is located within the temple itself.

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