SRINIGAR, INDIA, June 25, 2006: After the furor over alleged tampering of the Shivalingam, the Amarnath head priest has kicked up a row in retrospect regarding the date for commencement of the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine. Amarnath head priest and custodian of Lord Siva’s holy mace Mahant Deependra Giri says he will visit Varanasi and Hardwar and consult the Shankaracharyas on the issue of advancing the date of the Yatra by a month before he leads the ‘Charri Mubarak’ (Mace) procession to the cave. “The Yatra as per our religious belief starts on July 11 with ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ and ‘Dhwajarohan’ (ground-breaking ceremonies) but the shrine board advanced the date by a month …It is a very serious issue and early commencement of the pilgrimage has sidelined the religious dates,” he told media persons. He said he would however not deviate from the traditional practice and take the mace to the cave on the scheduled date of August 9 coinciding with Raksha Bandhan. Asked why he did not object to the Shri Amarnath shrine board extending the Yatra to two months despite resistance from the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government in 2005, Giri said there were “two ‘Shravans’ in the Hindu almanac last year and the Yatra progressed as per the religious beliefs.”
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