Tuesday 13 September 2011

what is the sthala purana (temple history) of AmarNath cave shrine...?

Amarnath is one of the most praised of Hindu temples, dedicated to Lord Shiva.Amarnath caves are one of the more prominent shrines in the Hindu religion. It is situated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.The Amarnath temple is supposed to be 5000 years old and is visited by thousands of Hindu devotees every year. The holy cave of Amarnath is situated inside a steep cliff at an altitude of 4,000 metres.Amarnath situated at an altitude of 3888 m above sea level is about 145 km from Srinagar, the capital of the North Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir.This is the cave that is chosen by Lord Shiva for explaining the secret behind immortality and the creation of the universe to his wife Parvati.Every year, the government of Jammu and Kashmir organizes a yatra to Amarnath in the month of July and August.

The Linga reaches its full size on the full moon day and then begins to wane and disappear on the no moon day.
There are four to five ice formations resembling figures of various deities.
Lord Shiva has revealed the secrets of immortality to his wife Parvati and therefore the place has been named as Amareshwar.
The place is surrounded by the cave and prayers are performed before the Shiva Linga
The cave is located at an altitude of 12,760 feet above sea-level.
Sheshnag Lake The waters of this greenish blue lake are covered with ice till June.
According to the Hindu mythology the sacred snake Sheshnag has seven heads and this is how the place having seven peaks derives its name Sheshnag.

This is The Amarnath Cave Temple which was chosen by Bhole Shankar for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe to Maa Parvati ji. The story goes like this. Centuries ago Maa Parvati asked Shiva to let her know why and when he started wearing the beads of heads ( Mund Mala). Bhole Shankar replied when ever you are born I add one more head in my beads. Maa Parvati said, " My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this ." Bhole Shankar replied that it is due to Amar Katha ."

Maa Parvati insisted that she may be told that secret. For long Shiva continued postponing . Finally on consistent demand from Maa Parvati he made up his mind to tell the immortal secret . He started for lonely place where no living being could listen it. He choose Amarnath Cave. In preparation to that he left his Nandi ( The Bull which he used to ride ) at Pahalgam (Bail gaon). At Chandanwari he released Moon from his hairs (Jataon). At the banks of Lake Sheshnag he released the snakes. He decided to leave his son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Hill ). At Panchtarni, Shivji left the Five Elements behind (Earth , Water, Air , Fire and Sky) which make living being. He is the Lord of these elements. It is believed that as a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world, Shivaa and Maa Parvati had Tandav Dance. After leaving behind all these, Bhole Shankar enters the Holy Amarnath Cave along with Parvati Maa. Lord Shiva takes his Samadhi on the Deer Skin and concentrate . To ensure that no living being is able to hear the Immortal Tale, He created Rudra named Kalagni and ordered him to spread fire to eliminate every living thing in and around the Holy Cave. After this he started narrating the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati. But as a matter of chance one egg which was lying beneath the Deer skin remained protected. It is believed to be non living and more over it was protected by Shiva -Parvati Asan (Bed). The pair of pigeons which were born out of this egg became immortal having listened the secret of immortality (Amar Katha).

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