NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 14, 2025 (Indian Express): Registration for the Amarnath Yatra 2025 has begun. According to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine board, the pilgrimage will be held from July 3 to August 9 this year, and devotees can register online. The Amarnath temple in Jammu and Kashmir is one of the holiest shrines for Hindus, dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Linga form. The Linga is located on Amarnath mountain, in a cave at a height of 12,756 ft, and is blocked by snow most of the year. This is why the yatra, or the pilgrimage to the cave, is organised only once a year. The history of militancy in Kashmir has meant the yatra is conducted amid tight security arrangements. According to Hindu tradition, Amarnath is called so because this is where Lord Shiva revealed the secret of immortality (amaratva in Sanskrit), to his consort Goddess Parvati. Because the amar katha, the tale of immortality, was narrated here, the cave came to be called Amarnath. Amaresha and Amareshvara are other names associated with the place.

The Linga at Amarnath is considered swayambhu, which means it manifested on its own and wasn’t placed there by human hands. A shrine at the site seems to have existed for centuries. The linga is a stalagmite, which are basically structures that rise from the floor of a cave as drippings from the ceiling accumulate. Here, as water drops from the ceiling and freezes, an icy shivling has formed. Lord Amarnath, thus, is also called Baba Barfani. The ice structure changes with the seasons, and it is believed that the linga waxes and wanes with the moon. Today, the government makes arrangements for the trip, but earlier, pilgrims made the arduous journey sustained only by devotion. “It is believed the yatra brings spiritual credit and destroys the negative effects of sins,” Utpal Kaul, a historian from Kashmir, told The Indian Express.

Read more on the history and legends of the Amarnath shrine at source.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/katy-perry-space-tourism-9944010/

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