Amarnath caves

This presentation is about Amarnath Yatra

1. AMARNATH CAVES SUBMITTED BY : SUSHMITA YADAV REG. NO 9924

2. CONTENTS Introduction History Geographic Location Discovery Of The Holy Cave Amarnath Temple Yatra The Linga Facility Security Route Deaths Organizers 1990’s Bans &1996 Yatra Tradegy 2000 Pilgrimage Massacre 2001 Terrorist Attact Massacre 2002 Terrorist Attack Massacre 2007 Yatra attack

3. INTRODUCTION Amarnath Cave is a Hindu shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft),about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir and reached through Pahalgam town. The shrine forms an important part of Hinduism, and is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains. The cave itself is covered with snow most of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for pilgrims. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave across challenging mountainous terrain.

4. HISTORY 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.

5. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION Coordinates 34.2149°N 75.5008°ECoordinates: 34.2149°N 75.5008°E Country India State Jammu and Kashmir Location Pahalgam, Anantnag Culture Sanctum Shiva

6. DISCOVERY OF THE HOLY CAVE Researchers and as per the belief of locals gad According to legend, Bhrigu Muni was the first to have discovered Amarnath. Long time ago it is believed that The Valley of Kashmir was submerged under water and Kashyap Muni drained it through a series of rivers and rivulets. Therefore, when the waters drained, Bhrigu Muni was the first to have Darshan of Lord Amaranth. Thereafter, when people heard of the Lingam, it became an abode of Lord Bholenath for all believers and a pilgrimage which is done by lakhs of people each year. According to the aria community were the first to discover the Amaranth cave and saw the first glimpse of Baba Barfani,

7. François Bernier, a French physician accompanied Emperor Aurangzeb during his visit to Kashmir in 1663. In his book “Travels in Mughal Empire” he writes while giving an account the places he visited in Kashmir that he was “pursuing journey to a grotto full of wonderful congelations, two days journey from Sangsafed” when he “received intelligence that my Nawab felt very impatient and uneasy on account of my long absence”. The “grotto” he refers to is obviously the Amarnath cave as the editor of the second edition of the English translation of the book, Vincient A. Smith makes clear in his introduction. He writes: “The grotto full of wonderful congelations is the Amarnath cave, where blocks of ice, stalagmites formed by dripping water from the roof are worshipped by many Hindus who resort here as images of Shiva….

8. AMARNATH TEMPLE YATRA The peak pilgrimage occurs when the iced stalagmite Shiv lingam reaches the apex of its waxing phase through the summer months.The July-August popular annual Hindu pilgrimage, undertaken by up to 600,000 or more pilgrims to the 130 feet (40 m)-high glacial Amarnath cave shrine of iced stalagmite Shiv linga at 12,756 feet (3,888 m) in the Himalayas, is called Amarnath Yatra.It begins with a 43 kilometres (27 mi) mountainous trek from the Nunwan and Chandanwari base camps at Pahalgam and reaches cave-shrine after night halts at Sheshnag Lake and Panchtarni camps.

9. THE LINGA Inside the 40 m (130 ft) high Amarnath cave, a 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. It is considered to be a Shiva Linga by Hindus. It is mentioned in the ancient Hindu texts of Mahabharata and Puranas that Lingam represents Lord Shiva. The Lingam 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 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 religious beliefs, this is the place where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his divine consort, Parvati .

10. 2000 PILGRIMAGE MASSACRE The pilgrimage suffered another setback with the massacre at Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam of at 32 people (including 21 unarmed Hindu pilgrims, 7 unarmed Muslim civilians and 3 security force officers) in a two hour long indiscriminate shoot out by Kashmiri separatists on August 2, 2000.[24][38] Most were yatris on their way to Amarnath[39] or porters and horsemen who would have ferried the pilgrims to the site.[40] This attack on Amarnath yatra was part of the larger 1st and 2nd August 2000 Kashmir massacre in 5 separate coordinated terrorist attacks that killed at least 89 (official count) to 105 people (as reported by PTI), and injured at least 62 more.[24][41] Then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba for the killings.

11. R0UTE The State Road Transport Corporation and Private Transport Operators provide the regular services from Jammu to Pahalgam and Baltal. Also privately hired taxis are available from Jammu & Kashmir. The shorter northern route is just about 16 km long, but has a very steep gradient and is quite difficult to climb. It starts from Baltal and passes through Domel, Barari, and Sangam to reach the cave. The northern route is along the Amarnath valley and all along the route one can see the river Amaravati (a tributary of Chenab) which originates from Amarnath Glacier.

12. FACILITY En route the cave, various non-profit organizations have set up food supply and resting tents called pandals which are available for free to the pilgrims. Near the shrine, hundreds of tents which are erected by locals can be hired for a night's stay. Helicopter services from base camp to Panjtarni (6 km from the cave) are also available from various private operators.

13. SECURITY Every year, thousands of central armed forces and state police personnel are deployed to provide security to pilgrims from potential terror threats. The forces position at various halts and also in the perimeter of the shrine .

14. DEATHS Of the 622,000 yatra pilgrims in 2012, 130 died during the yatra. The major cause was attributed to people who were not physically fit for the arduous climb, high elevations, and adverse weather undertook the yatra . Some also died in road accidents before reaching the base camp from where the yatra starts. Of the 130 deaths, 88 were due to purported health reasons and 42 in road accidents. The 2012 pilgrimage ended on Shravana Purnima (Raksha Bandan) Day, 2 August 2012.

15. ORGANIZERS Officially, the Yatra is organised by the government in collaboration with the Shree Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). Various agencies provide necessary facilities all along the route during the Yatra period, which includes provision of ponies, supply of power, telecommunication facilities, firewood and setting up of fair price shops.

16. 1990’S BANS AND 1996 YATRA TRAGEDY The pilgrimage was banned from 1991 to 1995 due to threats from terrorists. In 1993, Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Ansar announced a ban on the annual Amarnath yatra . In 1996 the militants had assured that they would not interfere allowing a resumed yatra with far greater numbers than in previous years. However, unseasonal blizzards in late August of that year led to a tragedy that claimed the lives of 242 yatris, killed by exhaustion and exposure.

17. 2001 TERRORIST ATTACK MASSACRE On 20 July 2001, a terrorist threw a grenade on a pilgrim night camp at Sheshnag near the Amarnath shrine in which at least 13 persons, including 3 women, were killed in two explosions and firing by militants, 2 were security officials and 3 of the killed person were Muslim civilians . 15 other were also injured in the attack.

18. 2002 TERRORIST ATTACK MASSACRE On 30 July and 6 August 2002, in two separate incidents terrorists from al-Mansuriyan, a front group of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, massacred 2 and 9 pilgrims and injured 3 and 27 people in Srinagar and near Nunwan pilgrimage base camp respectively.

19. 2017 YATRA ATTACK Seven Hindu pilgrims were killed on July 10 in a gun attack returning from Amarnath. There have been conflicting reports about the circumstances of the attack, which India has blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba .