Mahant Deependra Giri reached the Amarnath cave shrine on August 28, 2026, leading the Chhari Mubarak after a traditional journey through the Himalayas via Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, and Panchtarni, culminating in the final puja on Shravan Purnima.
The 'charri mubarak', carried by around 500 saints led by its custodian, Mahant Deepinder Giri, reached the shrine, 143 km from Srinagar, around 0845 IST.
Mahant Dipendra Giri and a group of sadhus, who carried the Chhari Mubarik, (holy mace of Lord Shiva) were among the first to have the darshan on Tuesday morning.
The Amarnath Yatra has been suspended due to heavy rainfall in the Kashmir Valley. The pilgrimage was halted from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps due to continuous heavy rains, necessitating restoration work on the tracks. A weather advisory has warned of more heavy rain in the region.
The first batch of pilgrims reached Kashmir on Friday for the annual Amarnath Yatra, beginning Saturday, with J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagging off 4,603 yatris in the morning from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu under a tight security cover.
The 43-day Amarnath Yatra 2022 starts on June 30 and concludes on August 11.
Umar Ganie captures glimpses from the Chhari-Mubarak procession as sadhus and devotees begin the final journey to the Amarnath cave shrine.
The two-month old Amarnath pilgrimage concluded on Wednesday with a group of devotees carrying the mace of Lord Shiva to the 3,880 metre high cave shrine in South Kashmir.
In the view of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives and left scores injured, security arrangements for this year's Amarnath pilgrimage has been tightened.
Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the holy mace, accompanied by over 100 'sadhus' reached the shrine with the Charri Mubarak this morning, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board officials said.
No fresh batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims was allowed to leave the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu for Kashmir as a precautionary measure in view of the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on Monday, officials said.
More than a dozen Mountain Rescue Teams assisted thousands of pilgrims during this year's Amarnath pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Monday, as the annual yatra concluded with more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims offering prayers at the cave shrine.
Amid tight security arrangements, the annual Amarnath yatra commenced from Jammu as the first batch of 1,280 pilgrims left for the cave shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas.
Over 1.43 lakh intending pilgrims have registered themselves for this year's Amarnath Yatra beginning from July 2.
Almost 3,000 Border Security Force personnel have been airlifted to Kashmir from New Delhi to guard devotees embarking on the Amarnath yatra, that commences from July 1, and protecting the route.
According to the officials, fresh batches of pilgrims were not allowed to leave Jammu to embark on their yatra due to closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the natural ice Shiva Lingam formation inside the cave shrine last year.
Jammu and Kashmir does not have an elected dispensation since the Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition government fell apart in June 2018.
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Eleven persons, including 10 devotees, have died due to medical reasons during the ongoing pilgrimage to Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
A rescue team recovered the body of Delhi resident Shailendra, 30, from the landslide-hit area along the Baltal route of the pilgrimage on Wednesday, a police official said.
The 37-day annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will commence from June 25, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra said.
More than 8,000 pilgrims on Monday paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine.
On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, Head Priest Mahant Deependra Giri along with sadhus and devotees at the Amareshwar temple in Srinagar offered the traditional Chhari Pujan to the Chhari Mubarak or the holy silver mace of Lord Shiva before leaving for the Amarnath cave to conclude the annual Amarnath Yatra.
This year's yatra will begin on a happy note as the ice lingam has already started forming naturally inside the cave, nearly 13000 ft above sea level.
The 39-day long annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath concluded on Thursday amid traditional prayers at the cave shrine.
The first batch of over 12,000 yatris (pilgrims) left for the cave shrine located at 14,500 feet above the sea level from the two base camps.
In wake of the last year's attack, special gadgets and new and better technology have been used to further strengthen the security.
The encounter broke out when a joint search party of the army and police launched a search operation, based on a specific intelligence, in remote Bihali area of Basantgarh in the district this morning. Reinforcements have been rushed in and a massive search operation is going on despite bad weather.
The annual Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir commences on July 15.
Three to four hundred youths have converged at Sonamarg base camp to clean the hills of poly-bags and other items left by the pilgrims during the one-and-a-half month yatra.
More than 118 Pakistani forward posts and their surveillance system were completely destroyed by the BSF during Operation Sindoor, dealing a major blow to the neighbouring country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.
After Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram would go for polls this year.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
Among the free symbols are walking stick, baby walker, air conditioner, balloon, bangles, wheel barrow, whistle, window, wool and needle, water melon, walnut, wallet, violin, vacuum cleaner and trumpet.
Their enthusiasm evident in the loud chants of 'Bam Bam Bhole'.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday said that the annual yatra to the Holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir should be restricted to just a month instead of 60 days.
An uptick has been noticed in the number of foreign terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir post the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan but the overall strength of militants in the valley is low and can be capped below 200, outgoing CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh said on Thursday.
'With all outlets of public expression virtually choked for the last five years, suppressed anger and frustration is looking for an opening via the ballot box.' 'There is no escape from the inevitability of the 'Engineer Rashid' factor surfacing in a big enough way to upset everyone's applecart,' alerts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
