Holy Himalaya. Everest, the highest peak in the world, is here. The whole area is called the Holy Land or Punya Bhoomi. It is a sacred duty for a Hindu to visit Amarnath, Kedarnath and Badrinath at least once in his life.
The distance from Jammu to Pahalgam is 363 km. Pahalgam is 96 km from Srinagar. From Jammu, the Holy Cave of Amarnath is about 410 km. From Pahalkam it is 47 km.
Trekking in the Himalayas would be an amazing experience. As if walking through the sky, devotees often feel the divinity around them.
Amarnath means immortal. It is also the name of Shiva. The cave was found by a Muslim boy named Buta Malik about 400 years ago. One day, while grazing his cattle in the Himalayas, he met a wise man. The sage gave him a bowl full of charcoal. The boy took him home with him. When he got home at night, when he took the bowl, it was full of gold. He immediately returned in search of the sage. At that time he learned about the Sacred Cave of Amarnath. Even today, part of the offerings that devotees pay to Lord Shiva in Amarnath cave go to the heirs of Buta Malik. This cave is a good example of Hindu-Muslim unity.
The ice formation inside the cave gradually grows to form a very large Shiva Linga. On the day of the full moon, the Lingam reaches its maximum height. The height of the Shiva Linga is about 24 feet from the day of the new moon to the day of the full moon.
Exactly on the day of the full moon, two doves appear in the cave, symbolizing Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi, the daughter of the Himalayas.
The legend goes like this. When Shiva was revealing the secrets of the creation of the universe to Parvathi, a pair of pigeons appeared there and overheard the conversation. Every year, on the same full moon day, these two doves appear in the cave without fail.
Even a staunch skeptic will be persuaded to believe that divine sports take place here every year. How could two doves appear on the exact same full moon day in the exact place? And how could the ice reach its maximum height on the full moon day and gradually shrink, but never completely disappear?
The sacred cave stands at an elevation of 12,792 feet. The cave is a symbol of sublimity, serenity and strength. The length, width, and height of this natural sacred cave are 60, 30, and 15 feet respectively.
Coming south we have a Thirukazhukundram, 68 km from Chennai, where two holy eagles appear every day above the temple to worship Lord Shiva. A large number of visitors used to wait there every day to see this miraculous event. The two eagles used to go down to a rock where sweet rice was offered as food.
It is said that these two eagles were actually two risihis, namely Pusha and Vidhadha. After circling the holy mountain, they used to approach the walking priest. Rice balls are offered to the eagles. They eat the rice balls and, after cleaning their beaks in the water kept in a small container nearby, they circle the temple tower again and fly away. Every day, day after day, the event repeats itself. This is happening for the last few centuries.
You have to see these things to believe. Hinduism lives from Cape Comorin to the great Himalayas. There are thousands of miracles that happen every day, even today in Hindu land!
