Kashmir is even more complicated than the chord progressions for the Led Zepellin song by the same name. And there is no place in the world I have wanted to visit more than Kashmir. The closest I've come is Mysore (which is nowhere close). I blame it on the fact that the BJP was ruling India when I visited, which made it difficult to procure travel documents.
The Hindu shrine of Amarnath cave is dedicated to Shiva. Situated at an altitude 12,756 ft less than 80 miles from Srinigrar. As one of the holiest shrines in the Hindu religion, the cave admits pilgrims during a short period of time in the summer, when the surrounding mountains and paths are not covered in snow. Thousands of Hindu devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave on challenging mountainous terrain to witness the famous ice stalagmite, considered a Shiva Linga, formed within the cave.
The sacred stalagmite is 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. There is a rhythm to the legends and sacred mysteries surrounding this cave-turned-temple.
The Cave 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. The main purpose of the annual pilgrimage to the cave is worship of the ice stalagmite Lingam.
The Amarnath cave has been a place of worship since times immemorial. There are references to the legendary king Aryaraja (ascribed dates 300 BCE) who used to worship a lingam formed of ice in Kashmir. The book Rajatarangini (Book VII v.183) refers to Amareshwara or Amarnath. It is believed that Queen Suryamathi in the 11th century AD gifted trishuls, banalingas and other sacred emblems to this temple. Rajavalipataka, begun by Prjayabhatta has detailed references to the pilgrimage to Amarnath Cave. Other than this, there are further references to this pilgrimage in many other ancient texts.
["Amarnath Temple", Wikipedia]
The people of Kashmir observe October 27 as “black day” every year to protest the arrival of Indian troops and their invasion of the Himalayan region in 1947. The Pakistani press warns that observances this year were rather boisterous, with thousands of Pakistanis turning out to rally against India.
On the other side of the fence, The Times of India downplayed the numbers and effect of the protest. It was a "strike" (less political) and something that happens every year (nothing significant).
And yet some Indians express concern. Indian authorities claim one guard was killed and six injured by a shell fired at the Arnia post in Jammu region, where the protests are taking place.
Amir Bashir promises his guests that they are "going to heaven". What he intended was to tell them they were going to Kashmir, a heaven to many, and a hell to others.
[Mehboob Jelani, "Blood and Tourism in Kashmir", Dissent]
Back in August, reporters suggested the fight for Kashmir continues, though at a lower level of violence. New recruits to militancy are different from volunteers over the past 20 years. They are younger and better educated. Burhan Wani is one of the youngest. His father said his son had left home overnight two years ago at the age of 15 to join the militants. Burhan didn't tell a soul of his plans. He just told his father he was going out and then he never returned. Though pious and brought up in a family that is supportive of the extremists, Burhan had shown no sign of wanting to take up arms until he was detained and beaten by security forces, his father, the head of a local college, said. Jason Burke has the story on the new wave of militants.
Rising unemployment provides a wonderful source of recruitment for young militants, who are given a clear source against which to direct their despair and anger. Over 330,049 unemployed educated and uneducated youth have been registered with district employment and counseling centers in Jammu and Kashmir till June this year, reports Sana Altaf.
In the recent years it is said that a Buta Malik, a muslim shepherded re-discovered the caves in 1850. The by of given a sack of coal by a sadhu (ascetic) and upon reaching home he opened the sack and found that it contained gold not coal. When he rushed back to find and thank the sadhu he found a cave at the place where they both had actually met. From that day they cave became the sited of pilgrimage. Maharaja Gulab Singh who was the King of the Dogra kingdom was so please with the find that he declared that during the time of pilgrimage each year a representative of the Malik family would be present in the shrine. The king also granted that the Malik family would be given one third of the offerings made to the shrine. Lastly his family was given a large estate near Pahalgam and the family was exempted from paying any revenue for the earnings.
The Amarnath yatra starts from Palalgam with pilgrims walking the 42 km distance. It normally takes four to five days to reach the shrine. Devotees of old age take a ride on horse-back to make the journey.
[Popular Temples of India blog]
Photo credit: Nissar Amad
In 2010, efforts were made to protect pilgrims and cave-trippers. “Fidayeen or no fidayeen, we will ensure that the Yatra takes place peacefully. If militants try to disturb peace, we will hunt them down,” Inspector General Reddy told a visiting group of journalists. Paramilitary protection for religious pilgrims.
In 2012, fourteen pilgrims died en route to the Amaranth shrine in Kashmir. The deaths were from natural causes, including cardiac arrest.
The Holy Shiva Lingam Shrine +
Mrs. Percy Brown's published poems about Kashmir circa 1921 +
Traditional yatra routes +
Phugtal, which occasions its own adjective +
10 most incredible Indian cave temples +
