Amarnath Yatra commencement decided

Pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave in the Himalayas has a long history, one that could be called a model of tolerance and coexistence among the people of various faiths. Three years ago, the issue of pilgrimage to the holy cave was politicized by stakeholders taking recourse to very small and not too serious matters connected with the pilgrimage. The miscreants wanted to create a wedge between two communities by inducing them to adopt confrontational stances. However, fortunately, this did not happen, and after some intervention by saner elements in civil society and the government, the irritants were removed and normal course of pilgrimage was restored. An understanding of sorts was arrived at and stakeholders were happy that an atmosphere of peace and amity was restored. But perhaps this attitude of understanding and mutual respect did not suit the elements with vested interest and each year on the occasion of the beginning of the pilgrimage, some issues are stoked and over-exaggerated just to recreate the atmosphere of controversies and misunderstandings. This time, the controversy was raised about the duration of the pilgrimage and when should it commence. The government and the Shrine Board looked at the entire issue from security point of view and also the feasibility of the track leading to the holy cave, while the organizers of the pilgrimage (NIYAS) wanted that the pilgrimage begins on a date of their choosing and much in advance of the Shravana Purnima, the day on which the lingam in the cave comes of full size and the pilgrims want a darshan of the same. It appeared that postures were getting hardened on either side and the fear was of repetition of earlier stalemate.

But the good news has come in just when we were waiting in wings to advise both sides not to lose their cool. The state government on Monday, in its last-ditch effort, finally succeeded in settling the controversy over the duration of the annual Amarnath yatra. Three senior functionaries of the government flew into Jammu to facilitate talks between the Shrine Board and the contesting groups. During their meeting with the representatives of Baba Amarnath Yatri Niyas (BAYN)--- - an amalgam of several political, religious, social and trade organizations---the government functionaries successfully brought a consensus over the start of annual Amarnath pilgrimage. Talking to the media persons soon after the meeting, the Niyas president Surinder Mohan Aggarwal claimed, "We have reached an agreement with the government that two members of the NIYAS and as many from the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) will perform pratham (first) darshan pooja (pay obeisance) at cave shrine on Jyeshta Purnima that falls on June 15. We were in favour of start of Yatra from Jyeshta Purnima so that pratham darshan are performed. The government agreed to perform pooja on June 15, marking the start of the Yatra." As per the agreement, also approved by the Governor in his capacity as the Chairman of Shrine Board, two members of the NIYAS and as many from the Board would pay symbolic obeisance at cave shrine on June 15, marking the start of pilgrimage.

The news of an agreement on the controversy about the commencement and duration of the pilgrimage has come at proper time to the relief of everybody concerned. This shows that if handled properly and justifiably any ticklish issue can be resolved without causing irritation. It is also a matter of relief to know that the negotiating teams agreed to decide the date of commencement and duration of next year's pilgrimage also so that nothing is left to speculation.

Though an amicable resolution of the matter has been arrived at through the intervention of the government but the fact remains that in a secular democracy, governments normally avoid interfering in religious matters and their dispensation is left to the discretion of accredited religious leaders only. We hope that in future, the Shrine Board will exercise its powers and skills judiciously to resolve any issue relating to the Amarnath Pilgrimage or any other religious function. That is usually safe for the government. We do understand the inevitability of the state government intervening in the issue owing to the awkward history of the Amarnath yatra during past three summers and the disturbed conditions of the State. But as soon as normalcy returns to the valley, we hope the government will have no need to supervene in controversies of religious nature.

Peer Kho Cave Temple Jammu

The Shrine of the Peer Kho Temple is one of the old temples of ‘the City of Temples’. A large number of devotees throng it on Puranmashi, Amavasya and Ekadashi. The important festivals held here are Shivratri, Purnima amd Shravan Puranmashi or Raksha Bandhan. The lingam is located inside a small but peaceful cave embellished with white marble rectangular platform. The black stone lingam is decorated with a copper snake or Naga and a Silver sheet covers the Jallari or Yoni, topped by a copper vessel hanging to pour water continuously on the lingam. The lower part of the body of the lingam and other features are similar to the shrine of Purmandal temple complex and probably belong to the same period of early Dogra regime. The Peer Kho Temple and Peer Mitha are two old temples located in the city of temples. During the reign of Raja Ajaib Dev, for the Saint Siddha Ghareeb Nath entitled Peer, the temple was built in 15th century A.D according to the unconfirmed historical records. The two caves are twenty to thirty feet below the ground level. The Peer Kho cave temple has a lot of reverence among the local people of the old city. ( Historical Temples of Kashmir )


The shrine of Lord Shiva also known as Jamvant cave belongs to an old historic spot. It is located amidst igneous rocks topped by the sedimentary deposit of the River and acacia jungle in Northeast of Jammu city on the side of circular road above the terrace of Tawi River.


The pink, high arched gateway with a white marble stair with a railing leads to the temple complex and into a long verandah, with marble and mosaic flooring, which opens to another entrance on the opposite side from the Pacca Danga via Jullaka Mohalla. The courtyard is flanked by three shikhara on the left side with two of them modern and one ancient. The low round ribbed Gumband or dome is merged with the modern structure with stone finial and an inverted lotus. This serves as the entrance to the cave shrines further cut into the boulder conglomerate deposit of the River Tawi, which were formed due to the successive flooding, and receding of water for centuries. The round domed entrance leading to the caves is embellished with beautiful later Mughal or Dogra style paintings on the ceiling and with floral motifs in the centre of the dome. The pillared arched niches on the periphery of wall and ceiling painted with Dogra style painting is similar to the motifs of Ram Nagar Palace complex in Udhampur District of Jammu province. The colour scheme & the style of paintings prove that the paintings belong to the mid 19th century of Jammu school of painting with emphasis on the indigo colour.


The other rectangular shikharas on either side with brass finials are of recent origin. There is a Devi temple built on the right side of it in the corner of courtyard. It has a white marble miniature temple shrine embellished with beautiful image of a goddess in a glass casing. On right side, there is a series of rooms which serve as the residential quarters for the staff of the temple. The present Mahant of the temple is Peer Rattan Nath who holds the Gadhi or the ownership of the temple.   ( Buddha Amarnath in Jammu )


The round domed entrance leads to a small opening to a low-level passage and bifurcates into the Amar Nath Guffa cave on the right side. The low ceiling channel further leads to Siva shrine or the Amar Nath Cave Siva Temple known as Jamvant Cave after one of the heroes of the famous Indian Epic of the Ramayana. There is another small opening on the left side which goes further downwards to the Nav Durga shrine. It a long grilled temple decorated with life size idols of Lord Rama, Sita, Lord Vishnu and other gods and goddesses. The narrow means of access further extends in a winding manner to a large covered courtyard and further down extends into another small opening to the Nau Devi’s Guffa or Nine Devi’s Cave shrine. The long platform with statues of nine Goddesses in attractive red robes is a wonderful view to behold in a cave shrine. These Nav Devis namely are Shri Mata Shella Puri Devi, Shri Mata Bhadrachani Devi, Shri Mata Chandra Ghanta Devi, Shri Mata Sakandanatha Devi, Shri Mata Kushamandra Devi , Shri Mata Katyani Devi ,Shri Mata Kalarathri Devi, Shri Mata Maha Devi, Shri Mata Siddi Devi.


There is separate passage for entry and exit of the Cave which is excavated into an igneous rock which is twenty feets below the level of the temple. The peaceful, calm and serene place is suitable for spiritual attainment.

The temple courtyard has a Tulsi plant pedestal in the premises, which also indicates fine reflection of the Dogra style of architecture found in Ram Nagar palace at Ram Nagar and at Zorawar Singh Residence cum Palace Complex of Vijaypur in Reasi.


The unique feature of the temple is the Ghoraknath eternal Dhunni or continuous smoke-emitting shrine in the centre of the temple. There is small Samadhi of Shri Peer Shiv Nath as his memorial just opposite the main entrance from Peer Kho Mohalla Side. On the right side of the main entrance, there is a small shrine of Shani Devata. The white metal standing image of Lord Shani is placed on a square platform worshipped by the local people in large numbers on every Saturday. The temple located on the riverbank provides fresh air and beautiful scenery to the visitors. There are many handicrafts and handlooms shops with a variety of crafted souvenirs for the visitors who happen to visit the temple daily on the dead end road of the Peer Kho Mohalla. The whole temple has been built on a high-elevated artificial platform to prevent the flooding of the water of the Tawi River in the rainy season. ( Machail Yatra )


The temple requires more area for parking. The white marble staircase requires to made unslippery by roughing the marble steps otherwise it is dangerous to use in the rainy season. The proper signage at the Circular Road needs improvement for easy access to the temple. The temple also requires some benches for the devotees to take some rest after visiting the temple. The viewing points on the Western side of the temple need to refurished with proper sheds and benches so that visitors take rest and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the River and beyond.

Sudhmahadev Mela 2009

The Sudh Mahadev temple is said to be 2800 years old and with a strong mythological connection. The temple houses a natural black marble lingam, the Trident of Lord Shiva and mace believed to be that of Bheema the second Pandava brother. Devak stream flows nearby where people can take a bath before entering the temple. Mysteriously the Devak stream disappears a few kilometers downstream.

Few Kilometers before Sudhmahadev, there is a place Gauri Kund. The spring is sacred to the Hindu devotees, as it is believed that the Goddess Parvati had a bath in the waters of the spring before offering her prayers to the Lord Shiva. It is around 1 km from the road and one has to go by foot. People first visit this place and take bath there and then proceed to Sudhmahadev.

At Sudhmahadev there is a spring known as Pap Nashni Bowli. It is believed that taking bath in it relieves man of all his/her sins. After taking bath one proceeds towards the holy temple of Lord Shiva.

After visiting Sudhmahadev further journey of 8 kms brings you to the enchanting hilly resort of Mantalai. Situated at the top of a hill and having tall trees of Deodar giving fresh and cool air. It is believed that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married there. There is a Shiva temple and beside it a pond. Mantalai was the dream project of Swami Dharender bhramchari to make it as a famous resort for yoga, health and spiritualism but remained incomplete because of his accidental death.

During this three day mela, various arrangements are made by the Department of Tourism to provide facilities to the visitors. Adequate transport facilities are also provided by the govt. agencies from various places. Govt. also make adequate security arrangements and good health facilities are also provided .The various govt. departments put there stalls to provide information about the different schemes for the people. Various cultural programs are also organized; in these the local performers entertain the visitors by showing various local dances and singing folk songs, kud etc.
One can have accommodation in the sarai maintained by the Dharamarth trust, JKTDC provides temporary tented accommodations and beside this few guest houses are also there.

The temporary shops are also established by the people to provide various things and eatables to the visitors. Langars are also arranged by some people to provide free food to the visitors. The famous food items to eat there are Rajmash Chawal with Desi ghee and chatni of pudina and anardana, and paneer dishes. Klari or Klari kulcha is very tasty and one must eat there. Pakoras are also very tasty. Those who love sweets have Jlabis and pure Khoya to eat.Those who love shopping can buy handicraft items from the shop situated near the Shiva temple at Sudhmahadev. It is a great fair which provides lot of joy, entertainment, natural scenery and spiritual experience. So one must have experience of it.

How to reach
Sudhmahadev is 110 kms from Jammu and its altitude is 1225 meters above sea level. Reaching Sudh Mahadev is not a problem as a regular bus service connects it with Jammu. From Jammu, go to Chenani on the Jammu Kashmir National Highway. Then from Chenani take the road towards east and travel for 30 kilometers to reach the Sudhmahadev. One can also come by train up to Udhampur and then can get bus or by hiring private vehicles.

Lalleshwari Lal Ded Kashmiri Shaivite scholar

Lalleshuri (Lal Ded) of Kashmir has invited attention of a number of scholars throughout the world. Her poetic compositions or Vaakhs as they are popularly called are the extempore outpourings of a highly awakened Yogini and exhibit high quality poetry with a deep philosophical content. Here and there we find her personal spiritual experiences unfolded in a simple form besides terse principles of Yoga exemplified with easily graspable day to day activities. Lalleshuri communicated her spiritual teachings in the language of the common man using verbal medium only and the impact was so great that her poetry safely has carried through centuries by memory lane as a divine word with negligible distortion of language. ( Poshmot )

The Vaakhs of Lalleshuri is a vast canvas with varied hues spread over by a great literary artist, a highly awakened Shaivite Yogini and a religious philosopher. Her sayings about the futility of worldly existence and the escape route through the practice of Yoga have received wide recognition and continue as such. She had detached herself completely from the material world and become a wandering ascetic displaying a frightful aura devoid even of her clothes to cover her nakedness. Her poetic compositions were instantly committed to public memory and sung as divine songs to make retribution to God for ones sins. A highly awakened soul, a Yugpursha and a living incarnation of Lord Shiva, she gave out rare gems of Vaakhs in the common man's word showing a clear path towards self realization. She has castigated man time and again for collection of material belongings ignoring the real divine treasure that only is capable to give safe passage through temporal existence. She was shocked to see people enjoying life's glamour which they knew was nothing but an illusion and how eager she was to see people shun the lure of the world. Repeatedly she like a past master preacher stressed upon man not to take the false for the true. She says it was only their ignorance that bound them to the falsehood and thus waste the precious moments of their lives that could otherwise be fruitfully used for higher purpose.

Lalleshuri was very much dedicated to her Guru. While expressing her gratitude to her Guru in guiding her in all her progress she says that her Guru is both father and mother to her, who made her blind eyes capable to see, her bare body able to wear the celestial garments and thereby discriminate between falsehood and the truth. Lalleshuri has repeatedly described the importance of a teacher in the way to self realization. She says one who develops full faith in his Guru and follows religiously his directions, is able to control all five senses with the help of Gyan Yoga and succeeds in overcoming the sea of ignorance. He is lifted above the gross material world and all worldly events, joys and sorrows, sound immaterial to him. Lalla says in one popular Vaakh--- she asked her GURU a thousand times who was the one who was nameless and beyond comprehension but she didn't get a reply. When she got tired by asking repeatedly and hence helpless she was suddenly satisfied without an answer and understood the truth of life and its creator who was responsible for all creation and still beyond comprehension. The purpose here is to bring home to the seeker that the Guru guides his disciple in all circumstances and the seeker doesn't fall short of guidance in association with him. Lalla says she has washed her body with the Gangajal (water of the sacred Ganges) of the Gura-Shabda (word of her Guru) and thus attained pure salvation while living the same material body

Lalleshuri is a great interpreter of the divine word Aum. She extensively explains the validity of Aum in achieving higher stages in yoga through Pranayama and advancement of self by mastering efficiently the recitation of Aum. She says one who is able to master the recitation of this divine word with the rhythm of his breath without any digression of thought can form an easy bridge between him and the universal consciousness. Lalla says further that she gradually mastered the recitation of Aum in a way that she began feeling a strange sensation and with it her whole ego vanished, and thus detached from the world she was enlightened. At this stage, says Lalleshuri, she closed all the doors of her body i.e. controlled all her physical senses and took to recitation of Aum with the beats of the heart and thus achieved the higher echelons of consciousness. Here she cautions the seeker to inhale and exhale slowly with a particular rhythm such that there is a transformation of self as from a baser metal into gold and no stopping at any stage till the goal is reached. There is always at each stage the danger of being carried away by worldly digressions as these are much overpowering and most misleading. Lalleshuri points to a stage where the seeker gains full control over five senses and to him the world of matter vanishes completely. His soul is released from the bondages of the body and that is liberation. Nothing can be achieved without full control on the material self and ego. Lalleshuri expresses her personal experience in this context. She says she reached perfection by experiencing the bliss of the realization of truth and became the embodiment of celestial gleam through the discipline of yoga. She felt the presence of Lord everywhere and became herself too part of the infinity. She was wonderstruck that she had lost her identity and merged with the supreme. The fully realized yogi ultimately achieves that stage of perfection as Lalla says when Lord Shiva becomes a horse to ride for him, Lord Vishno the saddle and Brahma to hold the stirrups. That indicates the fulfillment of purpose or the ultimate liberation from material bondages.

In her ecstasy of achievement Lalleshuri describes her encounter with the supreme. With her tears of joy she washes the divine feet but feels the divine presence on her head indicating the ultimate success of a yogi. She says on her observation that the lord is without name, form, shape, caste or creed and still the nucleus of the universe, so there is none else worthy to be worshipped. She feels the presence of the lord shining everywhere, she listens to the divine talk and Lalla nowhere, already merged with the supreme. The influence of the lord (Shiva) is everywhere in the cosmos and it is only the human mind that can work to tune it in its favour in its lifetime. Human life is precious as only capable to achieve the highest stage of perfection by being one with the supreme. When human mind is absorbed in worldly affairs it is quite non-receptive to divine influences, alternatively when one is absorbed in meditation and looking within his self it naturally becomes sensitive to divine vibrations by losing interest in material advancement and shunning all egos.

Author JL Bhat