Amarnath yatra: 'Chhari Mubarak' begins journey to cave shrine

The final leg of the Amarnath yatra began on Monday as Mahant Deependra Giri took out the 'Chhari Mubarak', sacred mace of Lord Shiva, from its abode at Dashnami Akhara Temple for its journey to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.

Custodian of the Chhari Mubarak Mahant Giri, accompanied by several sadhus, took out the holy mace early in the morning from the Dashnami Akhara Temple at Budshah Chowk here, under tight security.

"The holy mace will reach Pahalgam tonight and stay there for two nights followed by a night halt at Chandwari on August 6, Sheshnag on August 7 and Panjtarni on August 8 before reaching the holy cave on August 9 which will mark the culmination of the yatra as per scriptures," he said.

The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board on Saturday ended the month-long yatra, one week ahead of the scheduled end, saying the tracks leading to the holy cave needed repairs after being damaged due to heavy rains recently. More than 4.13 lakh pilgrims performed the annual yatra this year.

Giri expressed satisfaction at the large number of pilgrims coming for the yatra this year but urged the authorities to take steps to ensure that the pilgrims can perform the yatra right up to Shravan Purnima, which falls on Raksha Bandhan every year.