This
is one of the revered pilgrimage sites of India tucked away in the mighty
Himalayas. Open only for a few months during the year, Amarnath enshrines a
natural Shivalingam of ice, and is reached after an arduous trek through the
mountains of Kashmir.
Amarnath is an ancient pilgrimage center. The Amarnath cave is located at a
distance of 86 miles north east of Srinagar, at a height of 13000 feet above
sea level. Shiva is worshipped here in the form of a Shivalinga shaped ice
block, made by drops of water oozing naturally in the cave.
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Legends of Amarnath
Kashmir - An Ancient Shaivaite Centre
According to the legend, Shiva made the Gods immortal by providing them
with the celestial nectar, and resided here upon their request. This boon of
immortality lent the name Amarnath.
Kashmir was a great Shaivite center in the 1st millennium CE. Kashmiri
Shaivism is referred to as "Trika Mata" and it dates back to the
8th century CE. The three components of Kashmiri Shaiva literature are "Agama
Shastra", "Spanda Shastra" and the "Pratyabhijna Shastra".
"Kalhana", a
contemporary of King Jayasimha of Kashmir of the 12th century describes
Kashmir as Parvati incarnate. Legend has it that there was once a lake by
name Sati-Saras named after Shiva's consort Sati. Sage Kashyapa, the
grandson of Bhrama, destroyed the demons residing over here. It is believed
that Kashyapa then converted this lake into "Kashmira Mandala".
Tales of the Cave Discovery
Legend has it that Lord Shiva recounted to Goddess Parvati the secret of
creation in a cave in Amarnath. Unknown to them a pair of mating doves
eavesdropped on this conversation and having learned the secret, are reborn
again and again, and have made the cave their eternal abode. Many pilgrims
report seeing the doves pair when they trek the arduous route to pay
obeisance before the ice-lingam.
According to an ancient tale, there was once a Muslim Shepherd named Buta
Malik who was given a sack of coal by a Sadhu (saint). Upon reaching home he
discovered that the sack, in fact, contained Gold. Overjoyed and overcome,
Buta Malik rushed back to look for Sadhu and thank him. But on the spot of
their meeting discovered a cave, and eventually this became a place of
pilgrimage for all believers. To date, a percentage of the donations made by
pilgrims are given to the descendents of Malik, and the remaining to trust
which manages the shrine.
Yet, another legend has it that when Kashyap Rishi drained the Kashmir
valley of water the cave and lingam were discovered by Bregeish Rishi who
was travelling the Himalayas. When people heard of lingam Amarnath for them
it became Shiva's abode and a centre of pilgrimage.
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