After performing last rituals, the 44 day-long annual Amarnath Yatra culminated last evening as the Chhari Mubarak, the holy mace of Lord Shiva returned to its permanent abode at Dashnami Akhara Complex, Budshah Chowk in Srinagar. The traditional ‘pujan’ and ‘visarjan’ were performed on the bank of river Lidder in Pahalgam. A large number of Sadhus, pilgrims and few tourists from various parts of the country, joined the pujan. Later, traditional ‘Karri-Pakouri’ Bhandara was organized and ‘Dakshina’ was offered.
Talking to AIR, the Custodian of the Chhari Mubarak, Shri Mahant Deependra Giri Ji said all the arrangements including transportation, accommodation and food for the Sadhus and the general public who had accompanied the Chhari-Mubarak during Swami Amarnathji Yatra,were made by ‘The True Trust’ founded by the Mahant in the year 2004. He expressed gratitude to the State Govt, SASB, security force agencies including J&K Police, people of J&K, particularly Kashmiris, for rendering valuable services in making the Amarnath Yatra-2014 a success. He also lauded the services rendered by teams of the NDRF (National Disaster Rescue Force), MRT (Mountaineering Rescue Team) of the State Police and the SDRF (State Disaster Rescue Team) during the pilgrimage.
This year, over 3.72 lakh devotees had darshan of the Ice Shiv Lingam at the Holy Amarnath Cave situated at an altitude of 13,500 feet in South Kashmir Himalayas.