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Amarnath is one of the holy shrines of the Hindus. Inside the Amarnath Cave lies the ice Shiva Linga (phallus of the Hindu god Shiva) which is visited by the Hindu pilgrims during May to August. The peak rush is during the Shravani Mela in July. The cave with the 'ice-linga' in it was first discovered by a muslim shepherd some 150 years ago. The cave is located in Kashmir and can be accessed from Pahelgam as well as Bal-tal, both places being accessible from Srinagar, the capital town of Kashmir. The distance of the cave from Pahelgam is 36 km and from Bal-tal 16 km. The areas are under the control of the Indian Army and can be visited with their permission. The journey from Bal-tal/Pahelgam can be undertaken either by trekking or by horseback. The cylindrical ice formation resembling shiva-linga which waxes during May to August and gradually wanes thereafter is a stalagmite.

The Amarnath Cave has special significance

   The  Legend about the  importance of Amarnath Cave is as follows :- 

This is The Cave which was chosen by God (Lord Shiva) for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe to his wife the Mother Goddess. The story goes like this. Centuries ago the Mother Goddess asked her husband Lord Shiva (God) to let her know why and when he started wearing the beads of skulls around his neck.(Mund Mala). God (Lord Shiva) replied, "Whenever you are born I add one more skull in my beads". The Mother Goddess said, "My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this". God (Lord Shiva) replied that he has to reveal everything about himself and his existence as he is the only immortal (Amar) and everlasting (Sthanu). This secret teaching about God's (Lord Shiva's) form and characteristics is called the Immortal Story or Amar Katha. The Mother Goddess insisted that she may be told that secret story. For long God (Lord Shiva) continued postponing. Finally on consistent demand from the Mother Goddess, he made up his mind to tell the immortal secret. He started for a lonely place where no living being could listen it. He chose the Amarnath Cave located in Kashmir. In preparation to that He left his mount Nandi ( The Bull which He used to ride )at Pahalgam (Bail gaon). At Chandanwari he removed the Crescent Moon from his matted locks of hair(Jata). At the banks of Lake Sheshnag he released the snakes from his body. He decided to leave his Son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Hill ). At Panjtarni, God (Lord Shiva) left the Five Elements behind (Earth , Water, Air , Fire and Space) which are the building blocks of all animate and inanimate beings. He is the Lord of all these elements. It is believed that as a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world , God (Lord Shiva) and the Mother Goddess did Tandav Dance. After leaving behind all these, God (Lord Shiva) enters the Holy Amarnath Cave along with Mother Goddess. God (Lord Shiva) takes his seat (Samadhi) on the Deer Skin and concentrates. To ensure that no living being is able to hear the Immortal Tale, he created Rudra(The God of Destruction) named Kalagni and ordered him to spread fire to eliminate every living thing in and around the Holy Cave. After this he started narrating the secret of immortality to the Mother Goddess. But as a matter of chance a pair of eggs of a pigeon which were lying beneath the Deer skin remained protected. It is believed to be non living and more over it was protected by God and Goddess Asan (Bed). The pair of pigeons which were born out of these eggs became immortal having listened to the secret of immortality (Amar Katha). Many pilgrims report seeing the pair of pigeons when they trek the arduous route to pay their obeisance before the Ice-Lingam,the symbol of God (Lord Shiva).

Discovery of Holy Cave

The story narrated by people about the discovery of this Holy Cave is of a Gujjar ( shepherd) Buta Malik . He is given the credit of discovering this Holy Cave . Story goes like this , that a saint gave Buta Malik a bag full of Coal. On reaching his home when he opened the bag , to his utter surprise the bag was full of gold coins . This made him overwelmed with joy. He ran to thank the Saint . But, what he found was that the Saint had disappeared . Instead , he found The Holy Cave and Shiv Lingam there in . He announced the discovery of this to the Villagers. Then onwards this has become the sacred place of Pilgrimage .The ancient epics narrate an other story which goes like this. The valley of Kashmir was under water .It was a big lake. Kashyap Rishi drained the water through number of rivers and rivulets . In those days Bhrigu Rishi came that way on a visit to The Himalyas. He was the first to have Darshans of this Holy Cave . When people heard of the Lingam, Amarnath for them became Shiva’s abode and a Centre of pilgrimage . Since then Lacs of devotees perform the pilgrimage through tough terrain and avail eternal happiness.The trek to Amarnath, in the month of sharavan ( July–August) has the devout flock to this incredible shrine, where the image of Shiva, in the form of a Lingam, is formed naturally of an Ice Stalagmite, which waxes and wanes with the Moon's cycle . By its side are fascinating, two more Ice Lingams, that of Maa Parvati and of their son, Ganesha .

• Hindu pilgrimage sites