The annual pilgrimage to Amarnath caveshrine in Kashmir Himalayas ended on Thursday after the traditional puja was held in the 12,729-foot-high sanctum sanctorum, coinciding with Shravan Purnima.
Nearly 6.5 lakh devotees paid obeisance at one of the most revered places of Hindu worship during the 39-day pilgrimage which began on June 25. Though the yatra passed off peacefully, 88 pilgrims died, mainly after suffering cardiac arrest or due to other medical reasons whereas 42 were killed in accidents, seven of them in the yatra area and the rest elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reports from Amarnath said that a large number of devotes, including saffron-clad sadhus, were chanting religious hymns in the spiritual ambience of the Pahalgam hills as the puja was being performed during the final darshan of the Shivling.
The ritual began with the arrival of Chhari Mubarak or the holy mace of Lord Shiva from Panjtarni, the third and final halting station en route the caveshrine.
Jammu and Kashmir governor Narendra Nath Vohra, who is also chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), and its CEO Navin K. Choudhary also participated in the special puja. The governor prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state, a board spokesman said.
“Shravan Purnima, which coincides with the Raksha Bandhan, witnessed serene religious fervour with the arrival of the Chhari Mubarak after a night halt at Panjtarni,” he said.