'Chhari Mubarak' taken to Shankaracharya temple

'Chhari Mubarak', the holy mace of Lord Shiva, was taken to historic Shankaracharya temple on a hillock as part of the annual rituals in connection with the Amarnath Ji Yatra which is scheduled to begin from July 21.

Srinagar: The Chhari Mubarak (holy mace of Lord Shiva) was taken to the Shankaracharya temple here on Monday morning for prayers on the occasion of 'Haryali Amavasya (Shravan Amavasya)'.

The annual Amarnath Ji Yatra 2020 is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Mahant Deependra Giri led a group of sadhus to the temple and performed 'puja'.

"The sound of the conch shell reverberated and charged the whole atmosphere. A sizable number of sadhus and pilgrims who had come from across the country participated in the prayers that lasted more than 90 minutes. Collective prayers were also offered for the peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir," Giri said, adding, "In order to strictly adhere to the Covid-19 protocol only a selected number of Sadhus participated in the prayers."

He further said, "the priests also held collective prayers for the early end of the pandemic so that people across the world can start living their normal life at the earliest."

The mace is carried to different Valley-based temples for religious rituals before it finally arrives at the Amarnath cave on the concluding day of the yatra. Chhari Mubarak will be taken to Sharika Bhawani Temple, Hari Parvat, on Tuesday.

Amarnath yatra, this year, is scheduled to begin from July 21 and end on August 3, for a shortened duration of just 14 days. Every year the yatra, which is conducted and managed by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, would attract lakhs of devotees. Their destination – the Amarnath Cave, is nestled in the high Himalayas in the Pahalgam area of Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The yatra season normally lasted for two months.

Pahalgam is the traditional route for centuries together would attract most of the flow of devotees. However, due to the pandemic, a limited number of pilgrims will be allowed up to the cave, this time from the Sonamarg-Baltal side, a non-traditional and shorter route. This has cast a pall of gloom on the traditional route of Pahalgam.

As per an official order, only 500 devotees will be allowed to make the pilgrimage every day this year. The yatra was abruptly suspended last year as well after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution on August 5.

By that time more than 3,00,000 devotees had already visited the cave, which is located at an altitude of 12,756 feet above the sea level.