Amarnath Yatra begins: Thousands of devotees reach cave-shrine amid chants of ‘Bham Bham Boley’

Srinagar: The chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘Bham Bham Boley’ and other Vedic hymns reverberated in Kashmir hills as the first batch of about two thousand pilgrims including saffron clad hermits or sadhus who chose to trek via shorter Baltal route (14-km) reached the Amarnath on Saturday evening to pay obeisance and have the darshan of fully formed natural Shivling or ice-lingam of Lord Shiva inside the revered place of Hindu worship.

With the 52-day-long annual pilgrimage beginning officially on Saturday, most of the devotees who are part of another batch of nearly three thousand pilgrims which had started the arduous journey through rugged mountains from Chandanwari (Pahalgam) basecamp earlier during the day have arrived at Sheshnag, the first halting place along the traditional three-day trek (34-km), a report received here said.

Confirming that the first batch of the pilgrims has safely reached the cave-shrine tucked away in the Kashmir Himalayas at a height of 3,888 metre, a government official here said, “They enthusiastic devotees are waiting to have the darshan of the Shivling and pray at Lord Shiva’s abode.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted the pilgrims at the start of the annual yatra, saying the ‘darshan’ of Lord Shiva is known to infuse immense energy in his followers. “My heartfelt best wishes to all pilgrims on the commencement of the holy Amarnath Yatra. This yatra associated with the darshan of Baba Barfani infuses immense energy in the devotees of Lord Shiva. May all devotees prosper with his blessings. Jai Baba Barfani,” the Prime Minister said in a post on ‘X’ in Hindi.

The first officially escorted convoys of 231 cars and buses carrying 4,603 pilgrims had reached Baltal and Nunwan (Pahalgam) basecamps from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar late Friday afternoon.

The cavalcade was split in two convoys -one with 1,933 pilgrims bound for Baltal and the other with 2,670 pilgrims heading for Nunwan. Already, thousands of pilgrims were camping at Baltal in Ganderbal district and Nunwan, Chandanwari and other places in Pahalgam area of Anantnag district to embark on the 'journey of faith and devotion'. Meanwhile, the second batch of 1,881 pilgrims which had left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp amid tight security on Saturday morning has arrived at Baltal and Nunwan, the officials said.

The J&K government and the officials of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) which manages the affairs of the annual event expect more than half a million pilgrims to visit the cave-shrine during the 52-day-long yatra to be concluded on August 19, coinciding with Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan). More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the cave-shrine last year

The SASB officials said that the pilgrimage began with ‘pratham darshan’ and ‘pooja’ rituals at the cave-shrine early Saturday morning “to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva for the smooth and safe conduct of the pilgrimage”.

In New Delhi, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Modi government is committed to ensuring a safe, smooth and pleasant pilgrimage to Amarnath and is making all possible arrangements to ensure that devotees do not face any inconvenience.

“Shri Amarnath Yatra is an eternal symbol of the traditionalism and continuity of Indian culture. This divine yatra is starting today. I wish all the devotees good luck for the darshan,” Shah wrote on microblogging site ‘X’ in Hindi. He added, ‘“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, our Government is committed to the safe, smooth and pleasant journey of the devotees and the Government has made every possible arrangement to ensure that the devotees do not face any inconvenience. Har Har Mahadev.” End it