Chhari Mubarak leaves for Amarnath cave

"Chhari-Mubarak", the silver mace of Lord Shiva was today taken from Shri Amareshwar temple near here for the holy Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas, amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by Mahant Deependra Giri Ji Maharaj, the custodian of the mace.

Earlier a large number of devotees, including sadhus, led by Mahant Deependra Giri, offered Puja in the Amareshwar temple, here. Later the Chhari Mubarak left in vehicles for other destination under tight security arrangements.

Later the puja was also performed at Hindu shrines of Pampore, Awantipora, Bijbehara, Nagbal Anantnag, Mattan (Martand), Ganeshpora, Aishmuqam before reaching the Pahalgam late in the evening where the Chhari Mubarak used to have a night halt prior to eruption of militancy in Kashmir.

The holy mace after two days halt at Pahalgam will leave for Chandanwari on August 10 to reach the cave shrine on Shrawan Purnima falling on August 13.

Elaborate security and other arrangements have been made for safe journey of the "Chhari Mubarak’’, to the cave, where so far about 6.30 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance to the self made Ice-Shivlingam since the commencement of the 46-day pilgrimage from June 29.

At Mattan hundreds of devotees besides the office bearers of Tirath Raj Mattan Trust led by M K Yogi joined the puja of holy mace in a traditional way.

Mahant Giri lauded the role of the locals for extending all help to pilgrims and making the pilgrimage successful.

"We will pray for the peace and prosperity in the State at the holy cave," he said and expressed satisfaction that the pilgrimage remained peaceful.

He said the "Chhari-Sthapana’’ ceremony was performed at Shri Amareshwar temple on August 2, where the holy Mace was kept for darshan of devotees.

Earlier on August 4, Chhari-Pujan was also performed at the Amreshwar Temple, amid chanting of Vedic hymns by Mahant Deependra Giri, of the Chhari Mubarak, along with Sadhus who had come from across the country.

As described in Hindu scriptures, Chhari Pujan was an important ritual to be performed traditionally on ‘Nag-Panchami’ (Shravan Shukla Paksha Panchmi) before leaving for the main course of pilgrimage.

Mahant Giri said before eruption of militancy, Sadhus on foot carrying Chhari- Mubarak used to start their journey for holy shrine immediately after this pujan.

After night halts at Pampore, Bijbehara, Martand, Aishmuquam, Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Panchtarni the silver mace would reach the holy cave on ‘Shravan-Purnima’ the ‘Raksha-Bandhan’ day.

Chhari-Mubarak, one depicting Lord Shiva and another Goddess Parvati will be kept in the temple for ‘Darshan’ till commencement of main course of pilgrimage tomorrow to reach holy shrine on ‘Shravan-Purnima’.

He said, "The True Trust" founded by him has made all the arrangements, including food, accommodation and transportation, for Sadhus and other devotees coming from across the country during the pilgrimage.

It was taken to historic Shankaracharya temple on the bank of Dal Lake on the occasion of "Haryalic-Amavasya’’ as per age old customs last week.

It was taken to "Sharika-Bhawani’’ Temple in the downtown city to pay obeisance to the Goddess last week.

The 46-day-long annual pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, which commenced from June 29, will conclude on August 13 when the holy mace will be taken inside the cave shrine.

The return journey of the holy Mace will start after August 13.

Meanwhile, 1,503 pilgrims left for the darshan of Ice Lingam early this morning from twin base camps of Baltal and Nunwan-Pahalgam.

While 718 pilgrims left via shortest Baltal track, 418 left via traditional Nunwan Chandanwari track. Besides, 267 yatris left by air, he added.

He said hundreds of pilgrims including those who were trapped due to yesterday’s rain fall at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni left for holy cave this morning.

While the pilgrims who left from Baltal and Panchtarni in the morning performed darshan at holy cave by late to night others were on their way, he said.

He said 2000 pilgrims had performed darhsan of Ice Shivlingam by late to night. With this 6,29,080 pilgrims performed darshan at holy cave by late last night, and this number has touched 6,31, 080, he added.

He said out of this 6.20 lakh pilgrims had returned to their home states. Majority of them preferred the Baltal track for return, he added.

The weather on entire yatra route was cloudy today however the yatra was progressing smoothly, he said.

A fresh batch of 158 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar Jammu Yatri Niwas for holy cave early this morning under tight security arrangements. Comprising 90 male, 18 female, 50 Sadhus, these pilgrims left in a cavalcade of 5 vehicles.

Meanwhile arrangements for annual yatra of Pracheen Amarnath cave Thajiwara in Bijbehara tehsil of Anantnag district were finalized by the Devasthan Prabandhak Committee (DPC) Bijbehara.

The annual Pooja will commence in the evening of August 12 at newly renovated temple and it will culminate on August 13 evening. The pracheen shrine of Lord Shiva Thajiwara is one of the most prominent shrines of Hindus in Kashmir Valley.

The rush of pilgrims at Budha Amarnath also continued with 426 pilgrims leaving Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas for darshan of the Shivlingam in Mandi tehsil of Poonch district today.

These pilgrims were joined by hundreds of yatris enroute and after a night halt at Poonch they will leave for holy shrine tomorrow morning.

Chhari Pooja performed

 Chhari Poojan’ performed, 5000 more offer prayers at shrine

Over 5,000 pilgrims performed darshan in holy cave of Shri Amarnath Ji in South Kashmir district of Anantnag on 32nd day of yatra today.

With this, the total number of pilgrims performing darshan during this season till today has touched 6,17,090 mark. It may be recalled that 6,12,090 pilgrims had performed darshan in the cave shrine by late last night, a Yatra Officer said.

He said out of them six lakh pilgrims have returned to their home States while the rest were on their way. The pilgrims who performed darshan in holy cave yesterday were on their way to Baltal and Nunwan-Pahalgam base camps, he added.

He said the pilgrimage was progressing smoothly despite the cloudy weather on yatra routes.

The Yatra Officer said 4,882 pilgrims left for holy cave from twin base camps of Baltal and Nunwan-Pahalgam. Out of them 3,017 pilgrims left via traditional Nunwan Chandanwari track while 1,865 left via shortest Baltal route. Besides hundreds of pilgrims, who had a night halt at Sheshnag and Panjtarni yesterday, also left for their onwards sojourn this morning, he added.

He said while the pilgrims who left from Panjtarni and Baltal this morning performed darshan in cave shrine by late tonight, those who left from Sheshnag and Chandanwari were on their way to next camps.

Meanwhile on the occasion of Shrawan Amawasya today, holy Chhari Poojan was performed at historical Shankaracharya temple in a traditional way by Mahant Deepender Giri Ji, the Mahant of holy mace amidst chanting of Vedic hymns. A large number of saints and devotees participated in the function.

The holy mace was taken to Shankaracharya temple from Dashnami Akhara early this morning by Mahant Ji. After performing the traditional Chhari pooja, the holy mace was brought back to Dashnami Akhara.

It will be taken to Sharika temple at Chakreshwar, Srinagar tomorrow by Mahant Ji where the Chhari Poojan will also be performed in a traditional way.

Besides a fresh batch of 793 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu Yatri Niwas for holy cave early this morning under tight security arrangements.

Comprising 378 males, 84 females, six children and 325 Sadhus, they left in a cavalcade of 23 vehicles. These pilgrims had reached Nunwan-Pahalgam and Baltal base camps till last reports came in where from they will leave for their onwards sojourn tomorrow morning.

The 46 day long yatra which started on June 29 will culminate on Shrawan Purnima coinciding with Raksha Bandhan falling on August 13.

Chhari Mubarak to leave on August 8

Chhari Mubarak to leave for holy cave on August 8

* Yatra likely to touch 6 lakh today

The holy mace (Chhari Mubarak) of Shri Amarnath Ji will be taken from Dashnami Akhara, Srinagar to holy cave shrine of Shri Amarnath Ji by Mahant Depender Giri Ji Mahraj on August 8 morning.

Informing this to Excelsior today Mahant Ji said that on its way to holy cave the Chhari poojan will be held at all the haltage places were the Chhari Mubarak prior to onset of militancy in the Valley used to stay for the night.

He said enroute to holy cave from Dashnami Akhara, Chhari Poojan will be held at Durga Nag temple, Pampore, Awantipora, Bijbehara, Nagbal Anantnag, Mattan, (Martand), Ganeshpora, Aishmuqam respectively and it will reach late in the evening to Pahalgam.

He said the holy mace after two days stay at Pahalgam i.e on August 8 and 9 will leave for Chandanwari next day. It will have a night halt at Chandanwari on August 10, Sheshnag on August 11 and Panjtarni on August 12. At all these places the Chhari Poojan will be performed in the traditional way, he added.

He said the holy mace will leave for darshan to cave shrine from Panjtarni on Shrawan Purnima falling on August 13 and after the performance of darshan it will return from the traditional route to Pahalgam and later to Dashnami Akhara Srinagar.

With this the 46 day-long holy Amarnath pilgrimage which started on June 29 will culminate. Besides Mahant Deepender Giri the Chhari Mubarak will be accompanied by a large number of Sadhus and devotees.

Prior to leaving for holy cave on August 8 the holy mace will be taken to historical Shankaracharya temple from Dashnami Akhara, Srinagar by Mahant Ji on Shrawan Amavasiya falling on July 30 for the traditional Chhari Poojan. It will return back to Dashnami Akhara in the evening.

Next day on July 31the holy mace will be taken to Sharika Bhawani temple Parbat in Srinagar for the Chhari poojan while on August 2 the Chhari Sthapana will be performed at Dashnami Akhara by Mahant Ji and other Sants.

To keep the centuries old tradition alive later on Naag Panchmi falling on August 4, the Chhari Poojan will again be performed at Dashnami Akhara Srinagar by the Mahant Ji and Sants.

Meanwhile, on the 29th day of yatra today 5,897 pilgrims left for holy cave from base camps of Nunwan and Baltal today. According to a Yatra Officer, 3,142 pilgrims left via shortest Baltal track while 2,755 left via traditional Nunwan Chandanwari route.

He said besides hundreds of pilgrims who had stayed for night at Sheshnag and Panjtarni also left for their onwards sojourn this morning.

He said 8,000 pilgrims performed their obeisance in holy cave till late tonight, while 5, 80, 625 pilgrims had performed darshan in holy cave till late last night. With this total number of pilgrims visiting the holy cave in last 29 days has touched 5, 88, 625. The yatra will likely touch 6 lakh mark tomorrow and this will be the highest number of pilgrims ever visiting the holy cave in a single year for darshan, he added.

All the pilgrims are in an upbeat mood and the yatra is progressing smoothly, he said.

Besides 28th batch of 911 pilgrims left for the holy cave under the tight security arrangements from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas Jammu this morning.

Comprising 472 males, 132 females, 10 children and 297 Sadhus, these pilgrims left in a cavalcade of 27 vehicles. They had reached to Nunwan and Baltal base camps in Anantnag and Ganderbal districts respectively till last reports came in where from they will leave for cave shrine at the height of 13500 feet in deep Himalayas next morning.

Meanwhile, at a meeting held here today with R K Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, (SASB) Preet Pal Singh, Additional CEO, and other concerned officers, N N Vohra, Governor, reviewed various aspects of the ongoing Shri Amarnathji Yatra.

The Governor, who is the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, reiterated his earlier directions about the effective maintenance of sanitation and cleanliness at all the camps in the yatra area and, besides, cleanliness along both the yatra routes. The CEO informed that a good number of workers are currently engaged for carrying out cleaning on round the clock basis and, besides, all the camp directors have been asked to launch a week long special cleanliness drive in their respective camps and ensure the appropriate disposal of all bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable wastes. The Governor asked the CEO to ensure that all the camps are cleared of all types of solid wastes by 20th August i.e. within a week of the conclusion of the Yatra. The Governor observed that he shall be personally visiting all the camps in the coming days to view the level of cleanliness.

Mr Goyal informed the Governor that the officials of the Shrine Board, various State Government Departments, Army, Para-military Forces and the State Police have been performing their duties in close coordination, for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage. He added that the Shrine Board would be undertaking a Post-Yatra Review involving senior officials of each of the concerned agencies soon after the conclusion of the Yatra with a view to eliciting their views and suggestions for bringing about progressive improvements in the future Yatras.