Lord Shiva's holy mace taken to Shankaracharya temple as part of Amarnath Yatra

Srinagar: Chhari Mubarak -- the saffron-robed holy mace of Lord Shiva --” was taken to the historic Shankaracharya temple here on Thursday for special prayers on the occasion of 'Haryali-Amavasya' (Shravan Amavasya) as per age-old customs.

The Chhari Mubarak Swami Amarnath Ji led by Mahant Deependra Giri was taken to the temple located at Gopadri hills for prayers as part of the ongoing annual Amarnath Yatra.

Giri, the custodian of the mace, said the Chhari Mubarak was taken from its abode at Dashnami Akhara near Lal Chowk here to the temple where a 'pujan' was held.

The sound of conch shells charged the atmosphere and 'pujan' was performed chanting vedic hymns, he said.

The sadhus, who accompanied the holy mace, participated in the pooja as collective prayers were also offered for peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir, Giri added.

He informed that Chhari Mubarak will also be taken to 'Sharika-Bhawani' temple, Hari Parbat here to pay obeisance to the goddess on Friday.

The rituals would be performed for Chhari-Sthapana at Shri Amareshwar temple Dashnami Akhara here on Sunday after which Chhari-Pujan will be performed at the akhara on the occasion of 'Nag-Panchami' on Tuesday, he said.

The Mahant will carry the holy mace to the holy cave shrine to perform pujan and have 'darshan' on the morning of 'Shravan-Purnima' on August 9 after night halts at Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag, and Panchtarani.

The puja at the cave shrine will be followed by 'visarjan' in Lidder river at Pahalgam the next day.