‘Chhari-Sthapana’ ceremony of Lord Shiva’s mace performed at Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar
The puja lasted for about two hours. The Mahadev Gir Dashnami Akhara Trust was founded by the Late Mahant Mahadev Gir in 1957.
The holy mace (Chhari Mubarak) of lord Shiva on Sunday left for the cave shrine of Amarnath from Srinagar’s Amareshwar temple at Dashnami Akhara.
Head priest Mahant Deependra Giri, who is custodian of the holy mace, led a group of sadhus carrying the Chhari Mubarak. The Chhari will halt at Pahalgam and proceed towards the cave shrine on 8 August.
As per the ancient tradition, the holy mace was earlier also taken to the Shankaracharya temple and various other shrines in Srinagar for prayers.
The 43-day pilgrimage will culminate on 11 August coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan when prayers at the cave shrine will be held in presence of the holy mace.
The pilgrimage had started on 30 June but the number of pilgrims now has considerably reduced as the ice lingam in the shrine has melted. Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha had also appealed pilgrims not to come to the shrine after 5 August in view of the adverse weather predictions.
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Fifteen pilgrims had died and several injured few days ago due to a flashflood near the cave shrine.
The yatra managers had anticipated 8 lakh pilgrims to visit the Amarnath shrine, but the number has hardly touched 3 lakh.
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