Dr. Avnish Jolly,7 June:People are overjoyed and feel they are blessed by Lord Shiva this year; legend has it that Lord Shiva recounted to Ma Parvati the secret of creation in a cave in Amarnath. Unknown to them, a pair of doves eaves dropped on this conversation and having learnt the secret; are reborn again and again, making the cave their eternal abode. Many pilgrims report seeing the dove-pair when they trek the arduous route to pay obeisance before the ice-lingam.
Naturally formed ice Shivlingam at the holy cave shrine of Shri Amarnath in Kashmir has been showing signs of growth for the past few days. This was stated by a spokesman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), while quoting members of the Gujjar team who had earlier also trekked the arduous terrain over glaciers in March to reach the Shrine. This year the ice lingams of Ma Parvati and Shri Ganesh have also formed fully.At least Shivlingam size and girth has not decreased since March 25 when we took the first pictures in the Cave Shrine shared by Mohammad Azam , Gujjar team member was quoted having observed and no pilgrim visited the Cave Shrine ever since we took over the watch and ward here. Adding that the 53 feet wide and seven feet tall second rung of grill fencing has made it impossible for anyone to go near the sanctum sanctorum. He said even the security forces deployed in the cave periphery are being kept at bay and we haven’t allowed anybody to go beyond the first of the three fencings. Shahjehan Dar, who heads a team of 100 workers that has been working on the track and the advanced base camp of Baltal since the past one month, said that the route has been fully cleared and made trek able for pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Governor, Lt. General (Retd) S K Sinha, who heads SASB , on June 5 visited the Cave shrine to take stock of the arrangements made with regard to track clearance and raising of temporary pre-fab structures at Baltal. At the Holy Cave situated at 3,888 meters, the Governor paid obeisance along with his Principal Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, SASB, Dr Arun Kumar. As the puja was in full swing, a pair of pigeons kept on hovering in the sanctum sanctorum over the fully formed magnificent Shivlingam, signifying good omen, the spokesman said.
General Sinha prayed for peace and tranquility in the State and hoped that this pilgrimage, a symbol of Kashmir’s pluralistic ethos, will further cement the bonds of brotherhood. He said the Valley of Sufis and Saints inherits the glorious ethos of tolerance, co-existence and love that makes Kashmir distinct in whole of the country. At Baltal, the Governor had an interaction with the officers of the Civil Administration, Police, Security Forces and the Shrine Board. He discussed all arrangements in details with them.