Srinagar, July 29 — The ‘Chhari Mubarak’ (Lord Shiva’s Mace) was taken from its seat at the Dashnami Akkara building temple in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city on its holy journey to the Amarnath Cave shrine by its sole custodian, Mahant Deependra Giri, on Wednesday in a procession of Sadhus and devotees.
Rituals for 'Chhari Mubarak', associated with the annual Amarnath Yatra, formally began earlier in the day, Mahant Deependra Giri told reporters here.
The ‘Chhari Mubarak’ is the saffron-robed silver mace of Lord Shiva. Its journey to the cave shrine started amid chanting of Vedic hymns.
The Chhari Mubarak will be taken first to Gauri Shankar Temple, Pahalgam, where the bhoomi pujan of the holy mace will be held. The holy mace will then be taken to the holy cave shrine.
The holy mace will stop at Martand Temple in the Mattan area for the holy bath on its return journey to its seat at the Dashnami Akkara temple.
So far, since it started on July 3, over 4.44 lakh devotees have had darshan inside the holy Amarnath Cave shrine situated 3880 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas.
The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe that the ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
The Yatris approach the cave shrine either from the longer, traditional route of Pahalgam base camp, which is 47 km long and takes four days to reach the cave shrine, or through the shorter Baltal base camp route, which is 14 km long, and the pilgrims return to the base camp the same day after performing the Yatra.
This year's Shri Amarnath ji Yatra will end after 57 days, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals on August 28. Since areas beyond the two base camps of Baltal and Nunwan (Pahalgam) were declared a no-fly zone, helicopter services for devotees were not available to pilgrims this year.