3 legends surrounding the Amarnath temple
Situated 3888 meters above sea level, among the towering, snow-covered peaks of the high Himalayas, the Amarnath temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. This beautifully located temple is in the Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir. It is open to devotees only during the Shravan months (July to August) of the Hindu calendar, when getting to the sacred cave is less challenging than during the other months. It is also during this time that the sacred Amarnath yatra occurs. Each year 2,000–3,500 pilgrims brave the challenging terrain and rough weather to seek blessings from Amarnath Baba.
It is widely believed that after the Shravan months the Amarnath Shivalinga changes in size with the changing phases of moon. Known as the Amarnath baba or Baba Barfani temple in the Amarnath cave, there are many such myths surrounding this snow-clad shrine. Let's demystify the fog around Amarnath temple.
In this cave Shiva narrated secrets of immortality
According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Parvati implored Lord Shiva to reveal the secrets of his immortality. The Lord obliged by confessing the secrets in a hidden place. The right place he thought of was the mountain cave (Amarnath cave) as only the gods could enter it. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati entered the cave and as Lord Shiva began narration, he asked Parvati to make periodic sounds to signal she was listening. As he kept narrating, he transformed into Atma Lingam, the ice Shiva lingam, that is worshipped today as the Amarnath shrine.
A Muslim shepherd discovered Amarnath
According to local legends, Buta Malik, a Muslim shepherd, first discovered this sacred cave in the summer of 1869. The tale goes like this: While taking his herd through the Himalayas, the shepherd met a saint who gave him a bag full of coal. On his return home, he was astounded to see the coal in the bag had transformed into gold coins. To express his gratitude to the saint, he returned to the spot where he encountered the saint, but he could not find him. The shepherd then saw the cave and entered it to see a white, snow-covered Shivlingam! Three years after this incident, in 1872, the first official pilgrimage to the sacred cave Amarnath began, and Buta Malik accompanied the first pilgrims.
The legend of Amareshwar Mahadev
From a mythological perspective, it is said that Lord Shiva appears in the cave in the form of an ice Shivlingam each year, and this form is known as Amareshwar Mahadev. However, there is more than meets the eye. The dome-shaped Amarnath Shivalingam is actually a stalagmite. Now, a stalagmite is formed when water falls from the cave’s roof and freezes on the floor, causing an upward, vertical ice cone. Accordingly, the Amarnath Shiva lingam forms due to water dribbling from a small crack in the cave’s ceiling. Initially, a small ice bubble appears where the water drips. Over 15 days, this bubble gradually rises to a height of more than two yards, i.e., the Shiva lingam. The two smaller stalagmites that form next to the biggest one are considered Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha.
However, surprisingly, there is no clear scientific explanation to why the stalagmite forms only at a specific spot and not at other places. As you follow the Amaravati River, you will encounter numerous other caves. Snow covers them all, and water drips from the roof continuously, but no Shivlingam is observed in any of these caves. Intriguing, right?