Why in news?
Terrorist recently attacked pilgrims on Amarnath Yatra.
What is the significance of Amaranth yatra?
- The Amaranth cave deep is in the Himalayas in south Kashmir.
- The cave is 3,888 m above sea level, can be reached only on foot or by pony.
- Each year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make the trek up to the shrine.
How the deity in the shrine is formed?
- The ice lingam is formed by a trickle of water from a cleft in the cave’s roof.
- The Shiva lingam gets its full shape in May, after which it begins to melt by August.
- The water freezes as it drips, forming, over time, a tall, smooth ice stalagmite.
- A stalactite is an icicle-shaped formation that hangs from the ceiling of a cave, and is produced by precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the cave ceiling.
- Most stalactites have pointed tips.
- A stalagmite is an upward-growing that have precipitated from water dripping onto the floor of a cave.
- Most stalagmites have rounded or flattened tips.
What are the other pilgrimages in Jammu and Kashmir?
Vaishno Devi
- Vaishno Devi Mandir is a very popular Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu Goddess
- It is located in the Trikuta Mountains of Jammu and Kashmir.
- It is at an altitude of 5200 ft above the sea level.
- The Temple is 13.5 km from Katra.
- Various modes of transportation are available from katra including Ponies, Electric vehicles.
- People who visits Amarnath also visits this shrine.
Shankracharya Temple
- Situated on the Zabarwan Mountain in Srinagar, Kashmir.
- Shankracharya Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
- Visiting this temple involves the devotees to trek to the top of the hill on which it stands, about 1100 feet above the plains.
- Built in 371 BC, the great saint Shankracharya is said to have stayed there during his visit to Kashmir.
Raghunath Temple
- Raghunath Temple is one of the largest temple in North India and is located in Jammu.
- It was built by Maharaja Gulab Singh (founder of the kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir) and his son Ranbir Singh.
- There are seven shrines, each having its own Shikhara, present at the site of the temple.
- Raghunath Temple enshrines many idols of the Hindu gods and goddesses but its presiding deity is Lord Rama.
Source: The Indian Express
