Amarnath, Jammu And Kashmir

The name of this divine cave is comprised of two segments i.e. Amar which means immortal and Nath which means Lord. The name only suggests that this is the immortal place where Lord Shiva revealed the secret of life and death to his wife Goddess Parvati. The religious significance of Amareshwara or Amarnath can be referred to from Rajatarangini. There is a belief that in the 11th century, Queen Suryamathi presented this temple with Trishula, various sacred emblems, and banalingas. There is a piece of very detailed information about the historical accounts of this holy cave in Rajavalipataka which was started by Aryabhatta. There are several other religious texts where religious significance has been mentioned.

Amarnath is visited by millions of tourists every year from all across the world in what is famously known as the 'Amarnath Yatra'. The Amarnath cave situated in this town is considered to be a devout location for the pilgrims, most notably Hindus. Legend has it that, this place is regarded to be the same cave where Lord Shiva revealed the secret of life and eternity to Goddess Parvati.
Amarnath Cave is accessible only during the Sharavan months of July-August. There are two routes available for undertaking the Amarnath Yatra - via Baltal or Pahalgam. The Baltal route, though shorter, has a steeper trekking route. The Pahalgam route is longer but is generally preferred by most devotees. It usually takes 3-5 days to reach Amarnath from the base point. Helicopter services are now available by private operators on both these routes. The devotees need to make bookings and get registered to undertake the holy pilgrimage to Amarnath.

History

A very popular legend states that Goddess Parvati demanded from Lord Shiva to reveal the secrets of the precious life and death but he didn’t want anybody to hear this secret. So, they decided to hit for the cave in the mountains as it could be quite difficult to be accessed by any common person and even for the gods also. Lord Shiva wanted to keep the secret between them only so they left all his companions and belongings on the way itself. For example, Nandi which was his ride was left behind at Pahalgam, the moon which was adorned on the top of his head was left at Chandanwadi, the snake which he used to wrap around his neck was left at Shesh Nag, and at last, the five basic elements of life which he had carried were left at Panchtarni. They even left his son Lord Ganesha at Mahaguna top and all these left belongings and companions are found by the devotees en route the mountainous trek.