Shiva's holy mace leaves for Amarnath

The sacred mace of Lord Shiva -- Chari Mubarak -- which was on Thursday taken by its custodian Swami Deepindra Giri from the Dashnami Akhara temple in the heart of summer capital Srinagar, reached the south Kashmir resort town of Pahalgam on its first halt en route to the Amarnath cave shrine.

It is an age-old tradition to take the holy mace to different temples to perform religious rituals before finally taking it to the holy Amarnath cave on the day of Rakshabandan.

Before its departure from Srinagar, its custodian and other Hindu priests performed the traditional Puja, with chanting of Vedic hymns and burning of incense.

The mace was then taken amid tight security through south Kashmir Anantnag district for its nightly halt at Pahalgam, from where, the custodian and other devotees with carry the mace to its annual destination, the holy Himalayan cave Shrine of Amarnath.

"From Pahalgam, the Chahri Mubarak would be taken in a procession of devotees to the Holy Cave," Giri told newsmen.

"The mace will reach the Holy Cave on August 28 on Shravan Purnima which coincides with the Raksha Bhandan festival. The final Puja would be performed inside the cave early that day to mark the end of this year's annual Yatra," he said.

Image: Holy men carry the sacred mace of Lord Shiva from the Deshnami Akhara temple en route to the Amarnath cave.

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar | Photograph: AFP/Getty Images