Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, July 9: After remaining suspended for a day due to security reasons, Amarnath yatra resumed from Jammu base camp and 8167 more pilgrims performed darshan of the holy Ice Lingam at the cave shrine in South Kashmir today while Chhari-Mubarak (the holy Silver Mace of Lord Shiva) rituals for the pilgrimage this year began with traditional Pujan on the occasion of Vyas-Purnima.
According to an official spokesman, the number of pilgrims who have so far performed darshan of the holy Ice Lingam since commencement of the pilgrimage this year, reached to 1, 34,771 as 8167 more yatris paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on Sunday.
‘Bhoomi-Pujan’, ‘Navgrah-Pujan’, ‘Chhari-Pujan’ and ‘Dhawajarohan’, important rituals associated with the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, also began today.
Amidst chanting of Vedic hymn, Mahant Deependra Giri, custodian of the Chhari Mubarak, performed these ceremonies at Pahalgam in Anantnag district of South Kashmir. The sound of conch shell reverberated whole atmosphere and sizeable number of Sadhus and pilgrims participated in the Pujan.
Speaking on the occasion, Mahant Deependra Giri said that people of Jammu & Kashmir, irrespective of their caste, creed or religion, have been cooperating, assisting and encouraging the pilgrims and Sadhus who come here from across the country and even abroad for this annual pilgrimage. He suggested that Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra is a pilgrimage and it should be arranged and undertaken in that perspective only and pilgrims should follow the tradition said in our scriptures.
Mahant Deependra Giri also expressed his satisfaction after performing these important rituals at Pahalgam and thanked the State administration for making arrangements for the occasion. The event was organized by ‘The True Trust’ founded by Mahant Deependra Giri in year 2004.
Prayers were also offered at Historic Martand Temple, Mattan (Anantnag).
Earlier, the Chhari-Mubarak left Deshnami Akhara, Budshah Chowk area of the Srinagar city this morning at 0515 hrs for Pahalgam.
Meanwhile, fresh batch of 4411 Amarnath pilgrims today left Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for their onward pilgrimage to the cave shrine. 97 buses and 43 Light Motor Vehicles, carrying 3316 males, 763 females, 272 Sadhus and 60 Sadhvis, left the Jammu base camp for Pahalgam and Baltal Base camps at 3 a.m this morning amidst heavy security arrangements.
Similarly, pilgrims, who were stopped at Baltal and Pahalgam base camps after paying obeisance at the cave shrine yesterday, also left for Jammu this morning.
While 4411 pilgrims left Jammu base camp for the cave shrine, 2950 more were registered here today for their onward pilgrimage. 1568 pilgrims got themselves registered for the pilgrimage via Pahalgam and 1382 were registered for Baltal route.
At Mahajan Hall, 643 pilgrims were registered for Pahalgam route and 457 for Baltal route while at Vaishnavi Dham, the number of pilgrims registered for Pahalgam and Baltal routes was 581 and 379, respectively. Similarly, at Saraswati Dham, 419 pilgrims were registered for Pahalgam route and 461 for Baltal route.
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