The Amarnath Pilgrimage: History and Facts

By Prof. M.L. Koul

M.A. (Engilsh), M.A. (Sanskrit), M.A. (Hindi), B.Ed.

Historically, the worship of Shiva lingam has been a very popular religious practicein Kashmir. The same stands corroborated by Kalhan Pandit who in his monumental work, Rajtarangini, makes a mention of 'vateshwar', an ancient Shiva-lingam worshipped even in his lifetime. A king of Kashmir, Ravana, (1000 B.C) worshipped it as it was believed to predict future occurrences and events through the light emanating from the Sri-cakra engraved on it.1 The king was so devout in his worship of the Shiva-lingam that he consecrated the entire valley of Kashmir to the Matha where-in he worshipped the Shiva-lingam.2 The Mahadev Peak, Dyaneshwar lingam and Sureshwar lingam, known as svayambhu lingams, have been objects of worship for the Hindus of Kashmir. Infact, the interiors of Himalayas possess numerous such lingams and Hindus reverently call them Shiva-dhams. Pilgrimages to the Shiva-dhams have been a regular feature without interruptions.  

The ancient cave of Amarnath known for its icy-lingam that is naturally formed has been a venerable spot of pilgrimage for thousands of years. The icy-lingam waxes and wanes with the waxing and waning of the Moon. It attains its full length form on the night of shravan Purnima. As per the written records the icy-lingam has been nomenclatured as 'amresh', 'amreshwar', 'rasa-lingam', 'siddhi-lingam,' 'buddhi lingam,' 'shuddhi lingam,' 'puratan buddhi lingam' and 'pumsavan lingam.3 The nomenclature of 'amarnath' as is in vogue has been drawn from and owes its genesis to the 'Amarnath Mahatamya', an authentic work on the Amarnath as a holy place of worship.  

As per the 'Amarnath Mahatamya' Shiva in the form of icy-lingam bestowed immortality on gods, devatas and thus he is known as 'amresh' or 'amreshwar'. He delivers his devotees from the pains and pangs of old age and disease soon after they have his 'darshan' and 'Satksatkar' in the formation of icy-lingam. As per the Tantric erudites, He is Amarnath because He commences His ascent from 'ama-kla' to 'purna-kala' and a mere drop from it liberates a pilgrim, a devotee, from age and death and grants him the state of oneness with Supreme consciousness, the same as Shiva. A pilgrim, who in his extreme joyfulness and ecstasy, dances inside the cave, is considered a veritable rudra.

historical records

The references to the holy cave of Amarnath are available in Bringesh Samhita, Nilmat Puran, Amarnath Mahatmaya and Rajtaranginis of Kalhan Pandit, Rajanak Jonraj and Shuk Pandit and other travelogues by foreign travellers.

Bringesh Samhita is a compendium of the Mahatamayas of all the prominent and well known tirthas (holy places) of Kashmir compiled by Bringesh, a scholar of eminence. in Kashmir, we have a galaxy of three persons bearing the same name of Brigesh. One was a gana, an attendant of Shiva, the other was a sage and the third a scholar of eminence. Bringesh, the gana, being an unworldly recluse could not have any cultivated interest in writing and compiling the Mahatamayas. The research scholars hold that initial task of compiling Mahatmayas was taken up by Bringesh who was a known sage and the date for it is supposed to be 5th century A.D. The third Brignesh given to scholarship and scholarly pursuits is supposed to have aptly culminated the work as begun by the second Bringeseh in 12th century A.D.4. The entire work is unfortunately lost and the manuscript available in the Ranbir Library, Jammu, is a truncated version and hence falls short of providing multi-dimensional and authentic information about the culture and mores of ancient Kashmir including the topography of the region.

Mythology

The Bringesh Samhitarelates that Mahakala threatened the gods (devas) with death and destruction and they in all trepidation called on Lord Shiva and humbly entreated Him to protect them from Mahakala's menacing threat of decimation. Shiva in all mercifulness freed them from Mahakala's threat by showering upon them the boon of immortality. Again to seek Shiva's support and protection gods (devas) could not see Him as He was deeply immersed in His devotional and meditative practices. In absolute distress the gods (devas) lifted their hands to supplicate Him to appear before them. Shiva, the merciful, appeared in the formation of an icy-lingam and this is the genesis of the Holy Lingam and subsequent pilgrimage to the holy cave of 'amresh' or 'Amarnath'.

Bringesh Samhita also relates that Kashmir was a vast expanse of water and the sage Kashyap drained the lake for the land to appear. Bringesh, the sage, was scouring the swathes of the valley and discovered the cave wherein an icy-lingam in full length form was standing. Lord Shiva gave him a sceptre for protection of pilgrims which has now taken the form of Chhari Maharaj, the holy mace leading the annual pilgrimage.

As per Amarnath Mahatamya, Parvati, the consort of Shiva, was ultra keen to know in full details the mysteries of life and immortality. Entreating the lord to reveal the mysteries to her, Shiva traversing the tops and ridges of the Himalayas took rest in a cave and disclosed to her all the secrets about life and immortality. Finally Lord transmuted Himself into an icy-lingam.

Nilmatpuran

Vital to the history of Kashmir Nilmatpuran as a fascinating store-house of socio-cultural materials is the earliest work of 6th century A.D. which carries a reference to the Holy cave of 'Amreshwar.6 It authentically establishes that the cave known for its icy-lingam was well within the active consciousness of general populace in Kashmir . The people of Kashmir in particular and the vast masses of people in Indiain general believe Shiva as the god of mountains laden with layers of white snow. Shiva's consort, Parvati, is the daughter of the Himalayas who got wedded to Shiva who has His abode in the snow-capped mountains. Pilgrimages to the mountains as a home to gods have been an ancient practice of the Hindus. The Hindus of Kashmir as part and parcel of the Indian cultural mosaic shared the same cultural spirit and ethos and made pilgrimages to the mountain peaks and mountainous caves in search of spiritual upliftment and spiritual bliss of peace and ananda.

Amarnath Mahatamaya

Amarnath Mahatamya gives a full and elaborate account of the pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Amarnath. It details out all the holy spots enroute to the Holy cave. It does not only mention the religious merit that a pilgrim earns by bathing and cleansing praxes at various holy spots, but also gives an authentic and credible account of their topography and geographical position. Amarnath Mahatamya has its essential base in the Adi-Purana establishing its original position as a Purana. It was regardedas a standard Mahatamya giving lucid details and exact descriptions in concordance with well recognised literarypractices. The Amarnath Mahatamya certainly has a religious and legendary complexion, yet it is a mine of information on the cultural ethos of Kashmir in those hoary days of yore and also the socially-oriented behavioural indices of aboriginal Hindus of Kashmir.

Kalhan's Rajtarangini (1148-50 A.D.)

Kalhan Pandit, the Herodotus of Kashmir history, has made definitive and categorical references to the Holy cave of Amarnath. In Tarang I of his work, Rajtarangini, he makes a mention of a legend of Naga Sushravas, who had given his daughter in wed-lockto a Brahmin youth for the help he had rendered him in harvesting the crops. But king Nara, the ruler of Chakradhar (Chakdar) near vijyeshwar (vegibror), tried to abduct the young Brahman's youthful Naga wife. This aroused the wrath of Naga Sushruvas, who in all blood and fury, arsoned and destroyed Nara's entire kingdom and put him to death. It was done in all bitter revenge and Naga Sushruvas, perhaps fearing fearful reprisals, carried his son-in-law and his spouse to his own abode, Sushram Naga, now known as Shesh Naga. Kalhan writes, "This place is now located enroute pilgrimage to 'Amreshwar'.

Kalhan Pandit describes the Shesh Naga lake as 'the lake of dazzling whiteness resembling a sea of milk' This authentic account available in Rajtarangini unambiguously buttresses the assertion that the pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Amreshwar must have been much in vogue in Kalhan Pandit's time.

The above-mentioned reference to 'Amreshwar' is not the solitary one that Kalhan Pandit has provided the succeeding generations about Amarnath. He as a historian possessed of an observant eye conveys more credible materials about the cave shrine.

In Tarang II of Rajtarangini Kalhan Pandit conveys that "King Sandimat Aryaraj (34 BC) used to spend the most delightful summer in worshipping linga formed by snow in the regions above the forests."7

It is a clear cut reference to the icy-lingam at Amarnath cave.

In another reference to Amarnath Kalhan Pandit in his Rajtarangini, Tarang VII conveys that Queen suryamati, the spouse of king Ananta "submitted trishuls, banalingas and other sacred emblems in the name of her husband at Amershwar".8

Jonraja's Rajtrangini

In his second Rajtarangini, Jonraj, a fearless historian of Kashmir, writes, 'Sultan Zain-ul-abidin (1420-1470) paid a visit to the sacred tirth of Amarnath while constructing a canal on the left bank of the river Lidder (lambodari)'. 9

Shuka Pandit's Rajtarangini

In his fourth Rajtarangini, also known as Rajavalipataka, Shuka, the disciple of Prajya Bhatt, whose Rajtarangini is lost, gives full length detail of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath. Shuka informs that Akbar who as per history had annexed Kashmir at the pleadings and proddings of two political advisors of Makhdoom Sahib, a Naqshbandi sufi of indigenous origins, anti-shia to his bone-marrow, had made some queries from his governor Yusuf Khan about some political-cum-administrative affairs regarding Kashmir. In his reply to the query made by the emperor he mentions among other things the Amarnath pilgrimage in broad and incisive details. It establishes that the Amarnath pilgrimage was surely in vogue even in the times of Akbar who annexed Kashmir in 1586 A.D.

asif vilas by panditraj jagannath

As reinforced by historical evidences Shah Jehan vandalised temples and other places of worship of Hindus in Kashmir and a shocked foreign traveller, Francios Bernier, writes, 'The doors and pillars were found in some of the idol temples demolished by Shah Jehan and it is impossible to estimate their value.'11 

But the Amarnath pilgrimage continued un-interrupted despite the emperor's vile iconoclastic activities. In his well-known eulogy of Asif Khan, Shah Jehan's father-in-law, a reputed aesthete, Panditraj Jagannath, makes a categoric mention of Amareshwar while giving a poetic description of Nishat garden as laid out by Asif Khan. In his flight of imagination jagannath writes in the ‘Asif vilas’ that ' Indira, king of the galaxy of gods, comes here to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva.'12

Francois Bernier, The french physician 

Francois Bernier, the French physician, accompanied Aurangzeb, the Bigot, when he was on a visit to Kashmir in 1663 A.D. Driven by curiosity and wander-lust he visited Trisandya, Verinag, Achabal, Wular-lake and Sangsafed facing Harmukh and therefrom he pursued 'Journey to a grotto full of wonderful congellations'. 13 It had taken him two days to reach the grotto, which surely is no place other than that of the Holy cave of Amarnath.

In the second reprint of Bernier's Travelogue titled 'Travelsin Mughal Empire,' a noted historian, Vincent A. Smith, writes in his introduction, ' the grotto full of wonderful congellations is the Amarnath cave, where blocks of ice, stalagmites formed by dripping water from the roof, are worshipped by many Hindus, who resort here, as images of Shiva, glaciers surround the......................'14

Kirpa ram dutt and holycave of amarnath (1675 A.D.)

At the behest of Auranzeb his governor in Kashmir , Iftikhar Khan, cruel and theo-fascist, subjected the Kashmiri Pandits to the worst ever persecution and torture for their conversion to Islam. Kashmiri Pandits, five hundred in number, under the astute leadership of Kirpa Ram Dutt, a known Shaivite Scholar, met at the Holy cave of Amarnath to devise a workable strategy to meet the challenge. One of the Pandits at the Holy cave saw Lord Shiva in a dream directing him to call on Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-75A.D) at the village of Anandpur Sahib in the Punjab. It was from the Holy cave of Amaranththat Kirpa Ram Dutta in obedience to the direction of Lord Shiva led the delegation of five hundred Pundits to Guru Tegh Bahadur and rest is history.15

Vigne, a foreign traveller

Vigne, another foreign traveller, paid a visit to Ladakh and Tibet during the times of Maharaja Sher Singh of the Punjab . He made an attempt to visit the Holy cave of Amarnath via the traditional route, but was forced to return from vayuvarjan (vavjan) because of inclement weather. Out of sheer curiosity he met various shades of people, mostly the natives and thus gleaned a lot of relevant material about the pilgrimage to the cave and put it to writing in 1842 A.D. In his reputed travelogue titled as 'Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardu', vigne conveys, 'The ceremony at the cave of Amarnath takes place on the 15th of the Hindu month of Sawan, 28th July............... not only Hindus of Kashmir but those from Hindustan of every rank and caste can be seen, collecting together and travelling up the valley of Liddar (Lambodari) towards the celebrated cave, which from his description must have been the place which Bernier tried to visit but was prevented.'16

What we get from Vigne’s travel account is that pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath was not only a local affair, but would draw a crowd of pilgrims from far and near in the country.

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj (1563-1606 A.d.)

It is a known fact that Guru Arjan Dev Ji Maharaj granted land inAmritsar for the ceremonial departure of Chharhi, the holy mace of lord Shiva, marking the commencement of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath. This gracious act of the Guru Maharaj lends unimpeachable credibility to the fact that pilgrimage to the holy cave was not confined to the natives of Kashmir, but would draw enthusiastic pilgrims from across the country. To earn religious merit many devout Hindus would donate lands and moneys to the religious groups and institutions to provide facilities to the pilgrims bound for the Holy cave of Lord Shiva.

Pandit samsar Chand Koul, a naturalist of Kashmir

In his booklet 'The Mysterious cave of Amarnath', Pandit Sansar Chand Koul, the first ever geographer of Kashmir, author and scholar, informs that 'in 1819 A.D. Pandit Hardas Tiku founded the Chhawni Amarnath at Ram Bagh in Srinagar where saddhus (renunciates) from theplains assembled and where he gave free rations for the journey, both ways from his own private resources".17 The year 1817A.D. as mentioned by Pandit Sansar Chand Koul marks the end of the brutal and tyrannical rule of the Afghans who persecuted Kashmiri Pandits to incredible limits, out-smarting the pains and wounds inflicted on them by the sayyid-sufis from Central-Asian countries.

W. Lawrence's Valley of Kashmir

In his celebrated work 'Valley of Kashmir' Walter Lawrence, the Settlement Commisioner of Kashmir, has not missed to make a mention of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath.

He writes, ‘Puranmashi the full moon of the month of Sawan is the day when pilgrims must reach the distant cave of Amarnath and worship the snow-lingam which gradually melts away after the puranmashi. Strict Hindus both male and female discard their clothes and put on shirts of birch-bark before they enter this cave.................................’ 18.

Routes to the holycaveof Amarnath

The traditional route to the Holy cave of Amarnath has been via Lidder Valley despite the fact that the cave is situated in the geographical environs of the Sind Valley. The prominent holy spots enroute the traditional path have been elaborately mentioned in the Amarnath Mahatamya. The holy spots other than Anantnag as elaborated in the Mahatamya are :-

Balihar (Baliyar), Vaghashram (Vagahom), Hastikaran (Hasikhan), Chakresh (Chakdhar), Devak (Divakiyar), Harish Chander (Chandanyar), Surya-guha-vat (Sirigofwar), Sakhras (Sakhras), Badoras (Badur), Hyashashishram (Kamalnag), Uttarnag (Wotarnag), Sarlak (Salar), Khilyayan (Balkhyalan), Narayan-Maha-Khetra (Kolar), Mamlak (Mamleeshwar), Bragupati (Pahalgam), Sthanu-ashram (Chandanwor), Giripesh (Pishbal), Sushrumnag (Shishirnag), Vayuvarjan (Vavjan), Pancha-tarni (Panchtarni), Garbagar (Garabyatra), and Amravati (Ombravati).19

After having ritual baths and performing other ritual practices at these holy spots the pilgrim's progress blissfully climaxes at the Holy Cave where the icy-lingam, the transmuted form of Lord Shiva, is standing either in suyambhu form or in full-length form only to bless the pilgrims and grant them deliverance from sickness of the world caused by meshy layers of duality.

The Baltal Route

The Baltal route to the Holy cave of Amarnath is the Sind valley route which has not been popular with the pilgrims, either natives or from various parts of India. The route lies in inhospitable terrain, arduous and difficult, risky and menacing. Thanks to the Border Roads Organisation a negotiable path has been carved out and constructed and in view of the facility a multitude of pilgrims is seen ambling on the path for ‘darshan’ of the Holy icy-lingam. The path remains open for all months of the summer. Distance wise, the Baltal route is shorter than the traditional Pahalgam route.

Route from Zojilla Pass

The Zojilla route to the Holy Cave of Amarnath has been a known route and comparatively the shortest route to the sacred shrine of Shiva. It is just a track that can be trekked on foot and descends near the cave from the Amarnath peak.

Kishtwar - Seru Route

Kishtwar -Seru route has equally been a known route to the Hindus of Kishtwar and other belts of the mountainous region. Kashmiri Pandits, who doggedly refused conversion to Islam during the tyrannical days of Sultan Sikander (1387-1407AD) fled to Kishtwar for shelter and safety, trek the same route to pay obeisance to Shiva in the HolyCave. For them, it is a popular route, though it was already popular with the indigenous population of the region.

Sacki- pantsal route

The geographical studies of the region reveal that Sacki-Pantsal route is also a route leading to the HolyCave. But it has not been much in vogue because of its difficult terrain and weather disasters.

Pigeons in the holycave

A pair of pigeons, present and flying in the cave, drench its chill-cold and weird environs in mystery and mystique. The pilgrims consider it extremely auspicious and feel blessed, thrilled and transported to mystical realms when they catch a mere glimpse of them. The pair of pigeons in the Holy Cavehas been reverentially depicted in the Amarnath Mahatamya as the two messengers of Lord Shiva disseminating His revealed verities and truths to the world of humans for their spiritual upliftment and emancipation.

As per the legend Lord Shiva revealed to His ever-eager consort, Parvati, the mysteries of creation, life and immortality in the Holy Cave of Amarnath. The pair of pigeons, quietly perched in some niche of the cave, overheard the secrets in full details as were revealed to Parvati by Lord Shiva. Having learnt of their presence in the cave, Lord Shiva granted them the boon of immortality and hence their eternal abode in the Lord's cave.

Foreign travellers having found their way into the purlieux of Kashmir have not missed to make a mention of the pair of pigeons in the cave-temple.

Anchored in speculation, waxing eloquent on the topic of pigeons, vigne, a foreign traveller, writes, ‘The dove (pigeon) has always been an emblem of peace, the sublime and preter-natural have always been concomitants of wildness; solitude accompanied by an extra-ordinary degree of remoteness has often been a cause of sanctification. And the wild and gloomy the locality, the better has it been thought qualified to become the peculiar residence of God.’ 20.

Swami Vivekanand onAMarnath cave (1897 A.D.)

Swami Vivekanand, an eloquent and eminent spiritualist of India, paid a visit to the Holy cave and was mystified by the icy-lingam in the Holy cave where Lord Shiva had dwelt upon perennial subjects of creation, life and immortality that have ever been intriguing humankind from the days of its creation. As per his well known biography Swami Vivekanand is reported to have conjectured about how the HolyCavecould have been discovered. The author writes ;-

‘I can well imagine how this cave was first discovered. A party of shepherds, one summer day, must have lost their flocks and wandered here in search of them. What must have been their feeling as they found themselves unexpectedly before this unmelting ice-lingam of white camphor, with the wall itself dripping offerings of water over it for centuries unseen of mortal eyes ? When they came home they whispered to other shepherds in the Valleys how they had suddenly come upon Mahadeva.’ 21

On having entered the cave Swami Vivekananda was overwhelmed with a mystical experience. He had a darshan of Shiva. He called the place religious, inspiring and extremely beautiful. He wove meticulously beautiful poetry about the icy-lingam and its impact on his total psyche.

The tyrannical Rule of Sultan Sikander

Sultan Sikander, who had pawned his soul to a Sayyid-Sufi from Central Asia , Mir Mohammad Hamadani, was not only an iconoclast, but a misanthrope, hater of books, enemy of aesthetics and worst form of Islamist. He issued an atrocious and contemptuous government decree ordering the Kashmiri Hindus to get converted to Islam or flee the native land or get perished. As a result, thousands of Hindus were brutally massacred, thousands got converted and thousands fled the land for shelter.

The Sultan's numerous crimes against humanity are :-

1. He did not permit the Hindus to go to temples to pray and worship.22

2. He did not permit them to blow a conch or tolll a bell.23 

3. He stopped Hindus from performing their religious practices and celebrating their festivals. 24

4. He killed them if they put a tilak-mark on their foreheads.25

5. At the appearance of the new moon, the Hindus were not allowed to worship or take out processions.26 

6. He burnt six mounds (1 mound = 37 kilos) of sacred threads worn by Hindus as a mark of their religious initation only after putting them to cruel death.27 

7. He stopped Hindus from undertaking pilgrimages to all Shivadhams (Amarnath, Sureshwar, Harsheshwar, Dyaneshwar, Mahadev Peak).28 

8. He stopped Hindus from burning their dead.29 

9. He demolished and destroyed the marvellous temples of Martand, Vijyeshwar, Chakrabrat, Tripureshwar, Sureshwari, Varah and many others.30

10. He imposed the hated Jazia (poll-tax) on the Hindus, thus declaring them dhimmis.31 

11. He waged war on the Hindus when Mir Mohammad Hamadani declared them ‘Kafirs at war’.32

12. He burnt books on Hindu knowledge, science, astronomy, astrology, music, dance, poetics and medicine.33 

The worst ever hurricane fury of genocide of the Kashmiri Hindus 34 unleashed by Sultan Sikander and vigorously pursued by Ali Shah and their armies 35 forced Hindus to burn, hang and drown themselves in rivers and wells and jump over steep precipices to protect their religion. The genocide of Hindus acquired a renewed speed and impetus when another wave of Sayyid Sufis led by Sayyid Jalal-ud-din Bukhari 36 entered the borders of Kashmir . The Hindus and their cultural signs and symbols were ruthlessly destroyed the same manner as locusts destroy and devour the lush green paddy fields.

Q-factor in the History of Kashmiri Hindus

Zain-ul-abidin came to the throne of Kashmir in 1420 A.D. In his treatment of and attitude unto the remaining small number of Hindus, not more than proverbial eleven families, the Sultan slavishly followed the marked foot-prints of his predecessors and felt no reason to swerve away from the state policy chalked out by the foreign Sayyid-sufis in choke-hold of state apparatus. The Sultan at the behest of Sayyid-suifs in his court replaced Sanskrit as the official language of court by Persian 37. He showered lavish and unprecedented patronage on the foreign musicians from Khurasan and other Central Asian belts thereby discouraging and disparaging the indigenous trends and shades of music38. His court was under the total siege of foreign Muslim ulema and Sayyid-sufis whose inflow into Kashmir had gained tremendous volume and speed. As he was in the line of foreign usurpers Zain-ul-abidin failed to architect a state that would transcend religious hue and complexion. Encouraging foreign craftsmen to pursue their crafts in Kashmir he dealt a massive blow to indigneous crafts and craftsmen, their jobs being practically stolen by foreign Muslims from distant countries. Sharia-bound the Sultan did not order the execution of a foreign Sayyid-sufi when he murdered a saffron-clad recluse in cold blood. The reason cited was that he was a Sayyid-sufi and hence above law and immune to severe punishment. The state that Zain-ul-abidin assiduously built was an all-round affair of the Muslims from distant lands and people in general though forcible converts to Islam remained deeply mired in despondency and alienation. As social and moral cohesion and bonding had ruptured and shredded the individuals as units in the social fabric were reduced to a state of sheer lawlessness and chaos.

No historian of Kashmir has been precise in citing the date and time when the Sultan developed a fatal boil on his body. All sorts of treatment by a host of foreign physicians was administered to the ailing and wailing Sultan. In all desperation the Sultan was informed of a Hindu physician, Shirya Bhatt by name, who had somehow survived the holocaust and was living in obscurity away from the prying eyes of Muslim marauders.

The Hindu physician was called in. In all Jitters and a chill going down his spine Shriya Bhatt examined the awe-inspiring patient, Zain-ul-abidin, the son of Sikander, the iconoclast and commenced his indigenous treatment. Some days elapsed and lo! the high profile patient showed encouraging signs of turning the corner. He recovered and came to live a normal life. Happy and elated the Sultan sent for the Hindu physician, a native under duress in a gulag and in all generosity asked him to name the beneficence or bountiful reward he would like to have from the Sultan.

What the Hindu physician, Shirya Bhatt, in all humility and supplication asked for as the beneficence or bountiful rewardfrom the Sultan worked as Q-factor in the history of Kashmiri Pandits. A pious and noble soul, altruistic in his world view and harassed to his bone-marrow, Shirya Bhatt shell shocked the Sultan when he asked for naught for himself, but prayed for the return and rehabilitation of multitudes of his compatriots who had fled their native land to avert the Muslim persecution, allowing them to pursue their indigenous form of education and have jobs in government. The Sultan, more or less, chastened by the fatal boil and under a debt of gratitude to the Hindu physician ungrudgingly conceded all what the Hindu physician had supplicated for.

The Sultan to the absolute disapprobation and annoyance of Muslim Ulema and Sayyid-sufis despatched messengers to various parts of the country to spot out exiled Hindus and earnestly urged them to return to their native place. He reduced the quantity of Silver (4 tolas in weight) to be paid as Jazia (poll-tax) by half, but was not gracious enough to withdraw the hateful imposition in full thereby granting them total exemption from the punitive tax.

As the Hindus could not cremate their dead under a despotic decree from the Muslim Sultan called Sikander, they were left with no option but to cremate their dead inside their dwellings and kept the ashes in an urn placed in a space created by removing mud and stone from the main doors of their dwellings. Srivar, a historian of Kashmir, writes that when the Sultan Zain-ul-abidin permitted the severely persecuted Hindus to immerse the ashes of their dead in the Gangabal Lake, ten thousand of them miserably perished in a horrific snow-storm that cruelly hit the upland regions the time they were on a return journey after performing rites and rituals connected with the immersion of ashes40.

Srivar also informs that he as a faithful courtier had to pay tax-money, a monstrosity, for the cremation of his father. When he cheekily brought it to the personal notice of his Sultan in the court, he condescended to reduce the tax money, but was again not magnanimous enough to remit the levey in toto that was punitively imposed on the Hindus by Sultan Sikander41.

The Muslim Sultan, Zain-ul-abidin, as a result of fundamental shift in his attitude permitted the exterminated Hindus to celebrate their religious fairs and festivals, circumambulate around the Sharika Parbat and chant hymns and mantras in high decibel and undertake pilgrimages to their holy spots and Shivadhams42.

It becomes stark clear that pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Amarnath was cruelly stopped by the Muslim ruler Sultan Sikander, from the day he launched a Muslim crusade against the natives and could not be resumed till Zain-ul-abidin suffered a change of heart after the fatal boil that was treated and cured by Shirya Bhatt, who was later included in his court and put in charge of health facilities for the people.

As per the historical archives, Ibrahim Shah II (1552-54 A.D.) granted religious freedom to all. The Hindus were granted freedom of worship only on payment of Jazia (poll-tax). The Hindus made a request for the remittance of the oppressive tax. The Sultan in all hostility replied, ‘How can I who is a Muslim cease to levy tax from the Hindus?’43 

The chak fanatics (1554-85 A.D) who were Shias by faith re-imposed Jazia in full on the Hindus of Kashmir. Any Hindu wearing a sacred thread had to pay an annual tax to the chak rulers. Shuka Pandit, a contemporary historian, makes a comment, ‘The Hindus were overpowered by religious intolerance the same way as the sun is overpowered by the grey sable clouds.’44

By implication what is conveyed by Shuka Pandit is that Hindus performing any religious act including a pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath had to pay a tax to the Muslim rulers.

The Afghans as per all available versions of Kashmir history were barbarous, crude, cruel, ignorant and inhuman. They chopped off every twig from the tree of mercy. The atrocities inflicted on the Hindus of Kashmir by Afghans were unheard of and beat all previous records. They plundered their houses, looted all what they had by way of material possessions, and anybody complaining or resisting was straight-away put to axe or sword. Persecuting and massacring Hindus was designed to exterminate their entire race or achieve their conversion to Islam. The Hindus fled their land of ancestors to the tropical plains of Indiato save themselves from the barbarous Afghans. When Hindus were existentially in peril, how could they have thought of living a pious life of religiosity and performing pilgrimages to the holy spots (tiraths) that they revered and worshipped for spiritual attainments ? The brutal Afghans stopped them from undertaking pilgrimages to well-known Shiva-dhams or even celebrating their auspicious fairs and festivals. They condemned them as manifestations of infidelity and heresy violative of Sunna and Sharia 45.

The people of Kashmir in general heaved a great sigh of relief when the Sikh army from the Punjab expelled the brutal Afghans from the territory of Kashmir. The soothing relief to the Kashmiri Hindus was that all vexatious and oppressive taxes levied on them were mercifully withdrawn in toto and pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath was resumed. It was during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh that the Holy Mace symbolic of Shiva's Mace was stored at Amritsar and pilgrimage to the Holycave of Amarnath would kick-start right from Amritsar .

With the Dogra take over of Kashmir in 1846 A.D. the pilgrimage to the Holy cave assumed a new scale and dimension. The number of pilgrims increased manifold and proper arrangements for safe conduct of yatra were meticulously made. The Dogras managed the shifting of the Holy Mace fromAmritsar to Srinagar where it was stored at Dashnami Akhara where from it is traditionally taken to the Holy cave in a massive procession of devotees, pilgrims, sadhus, sanyasis and general mass of Hindus.

Malikhs of Batakoot

Before discussing the role and status of Maliks of Batakoot it becomes quite imperative to place the Maliks as a generic term in proper historical perspective. It can be gleaned from the pages of Hindu history of Kashmir that the Hindu rulers were extremely vigilant in guarding the frontiers of their kingdom. There were routes and passes that were vulnerable and militarily sensitive and could be used for incursions, surprise raids or full-scale aggressions by the invading hordes. To guard their territories the rulers had set up military-cum watch stations put under the charge of officials designated as dwarpals or dwarpatis. They were also tagged as ‘margeshes’ meaning those who mastered the routes or pathways. These military-cum-watch stations were so fortifiedin terms of men and materials that the marauding armies of Mahmud Ghaznavi failed twice to invadeKashmir and conquer it.

Records Alberuni -

‘They (Hindus) are particularly anxious about the natural strength of their country and therefore take much care to keep a strong-hold upon the entrances and roads leading to it. In consequence it is very difficult to have any commerce with them.......’ 46

It broadly explains how Kashmir resisted going the Islamic way for full six hundred years after the advent of Islam in India.

In the wake of the launch of Muslim crusade against the natives of Kashmir by Sultan Sikander and his Sayyid-sufi mentor from Central Asia, Mir Mohammad Hamadani, the dwarpals, dwarpatis and margeshes like all other hapless segments of Kashmiri Society were coerced, tortured and brutalised to change their indigenous faith. After they got converted merely as statistical Muslims they were renamed as maliks and were allowed to retain their profession or else they were to be de-mobilised. When army was used for whole-sale conversions by Muslim rulers, all the exit routes were totally closed for the fleeing Hindus so that they would not escape the orgy of conversion 47. The same converted Maliks guarding the passes and other exit-points faithfully executed the atrocious writ of the tyrannical rulers.

Maliks as a vital cog in the Muslim state apparatus were tortured, hounded out and made to flee in the aftermath of chaks getting defeated by the mighty Mughal forces. Most of them perished and some survived by hiding themselves in secluded mountainous regions. The surviving ones had no option but to make a truce with the Mughals to earn reprieve. They were permitted to pursue their profession of guarding the routes and ingress-points on mountains girting the valley.

With the advent of Dogras the Maliks lost their professional moorings and utility as they established the same improvised policing methods and techniques that were largely prevalent in the Punjab , perhaps introduced by the Britishers.

Myth of Discovery of the holycaveof Amarnath by a malik

It is a mere myth, a fib, a lie and a fabrication that the Holy cave of Amarnath was discovered by a Malik in1845 A.D. The litany of references and allusions to theHolyCave are so profusely splashed in the historical works and theological literature of Kashmir that in no uncertain terms establish its enormous antiquity. Most of the Muslims rulers as borne out by historical records banned the pilgrimage to the Holy cave or created insurmountable hurdles and difficulties for the pilgrims to undertake the pilgrimage. Sultan sikander banned everything that had a Hindu flavour. Ibrahim Hussain Shah imposed Jazia (poll-tax) on a Hindu to practice his religion including undertaking pilgrimages. Chaks were crude and intolerant fanatics. They used all wild and cruel methods in their armoury to exterminate Hinduism from Kashmir . Afghans were the cruelest of the cruel. Their persecution of Hindus is bone-chilling and beggars description . The pilgrimage to any and all Shiva-dhams became impossible during the barbaric period. The pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath was a continuous affair. All written records amply bear it out and fully buttress it. It got interrupted during the time-periods when indigenous religion, medicine, theology and architecture were decimated. The unrelenting natives under constant onslaught during the Sultanate chunk of history and even during post-Sultanate period resisted and rejected conversion and fled the land of their birth six times48. In the history of Kashmiri Pandits the stark resemblances to the Jewish history of the exoduses and persecution are writ large. The small numbers that survived the Muslim genocide or those who found it wise or expedient to return to their native land from the plains never severed and abandoned their linkages with the hall-marks of their religion and culture. Steely and resilient they continued to pay obeisance to the Holy cave of Icy-Lingamfor spiritual fulfillment and ascendance. This fact is amply reinforced by the calender of the native Hindus, nearly five thousand year old in which the pilgrimage to the Holy cave of Amarnath is included as a day of fasting on account of ‘Shrawan Purnima’, the culminating day of the pilgrimage to the Holy cave.

Association of Maliks with the Amarnath Pilgrimage

As per my personal findings the Maliks of Batakoot are those who proved stubborn beyond limits and failed to reconcile to the Mughal conquest of Kashmir and to avoid annihilation hid themselves at a distant place in the mountainous region away from the gaze of the Mughal soldiers. As they lost their ancestral occupation and had become rudderless and vagrant the Dogra rulers in view of their history harnessed their services as guides to the pilgrims enroute the Holy cave of Amarnath. Over the years they were assigned the additional jobs of maintenance of the rough track, raising of small sheds on the routes and physical safety of the pilgrims. In lieu of their services they were paid a sufficient part of the offerings that the devotees offered to the Icy-Lingam in the Holy cave.

To reinforce my stand-point I refer to W. Lawrence who lucidly mentions that pilgrims on way to Holy cave were joined by Brahmins at Mattan and further up at Batakoot Maliks used to take charge of the pilgrimage. He also adds that Maliks were supposed to keep the track in order, guide or escort the pilgrims and carry sick pilgrims and ensure that nothing was stolen and received one-third of the offerings at the Holy Shrine of Amarnath.

My probe into the affair has led me to an alternate theory that the Malik clan after their conversion to Islam would collect tax money or Jazia (poll-tax) from the native Hindus and the devout pilgrims across the country on a pilgrimage to the holy cave of Amarnath. For most of the Sultanate period barring a short-lived interlude the native Hindus, their religion and its prominent signatures littered over the entire region were under a determined onslaught and decimation. If Hindus were allowed some sort of vague religious freedom, anthema to Islam, they had to pay tax-money or Jazia (Poll-tax) for their religious observances and pilgrimages. As Maliks were stationed at all vulnerable spots, if Amarnath route was one and I believe, it was, they could have been assigned the authority of collecting the hated tax from any Hindu pilgrim, a dhimmi as per Islamic practices.

Who is Secular ?

With the eruption of mass frenzy over the diversion of some chunks of forest land at Baltal to Amarnath Shrine Board, some half-baked Mulsim leaders, immature and ill-informed media men and ultra liberals have claimed that the association of Muslims with the pilgrimage is something uniquely secular. Let these worthies be told that it is the Hindus who are ultra secular for having allowed the Muslims to be a part of the pilgrimage and have a share from the offerings. Do Muslims allow the Hindus or for that matter Christians or Jews to be a part of their annual pilgrimage ? It is an established fact that the Hindus have a catholic and tolerant view of the world and are accommodative and assimulative and view God's essence in all men of all faiths. Their tolerant world-view gets established by the vedic dictum - Reality is one, interpretations vary.

If some chunks of people involve themselves in economic activities during the period of pilgrimage to the Holy cave it is absolutely an absurd position to highlight it as basis for orchestration of the secular credentials of that chunk of population. The fact of the matter is that pilgrims on way to the Holy cave duly purchase the services of a chunk of people who happen to be Muslims. It is no charity, it is no benevolence, it is a simple position of purchasing the services of a labourer, a courier, a pony wallah willing to sell his muscle or bodily strength or any other means of assistance to a pilgrim. To colour the pilgrimage as an expression of syncretic culture of Kashmir and to project it as a shining precedent of secularism are mere absurd constructions and far-fetched and irrelevant stipulations. The Kashmiri Pandits who have been hounded out of their native place sufficiently know the worth of syncretic culture of Kashmir and its facade of secular credentials. 

References

1. Kalhan Pandit - Rajtarangini - I, 194

2. ibid - Rajtarangini - I, 195

3. Amarnath Mahatama - St.360-61

4. Prof. N.K. Gurtu - Sri Harseshwara Mahatamya

5. Nilmat-puran - V-1324

6. Kalhan Pandit - Rajtarangini, II, V-267

7. ibid - Rajtarangini, II, V-138

8. ibid - Rajtarangini, VII, V183

9. Jonraj - Second Rajtarangini, VV 1232-33

10. Shuka - Fourth Rajtarangini, V841, vv. 847-49

11. Bernier - Journey to Kashmir , P400

12. Panditraj Jaganath - Asif Vilas

13. Bernier - Travels in Mughal Empire

14. ibid - Travels in Mughal Empire

15. Mohan Lal Koul -Kashmir , wail of a valley atrocity and terror.

16. Vigne - Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh and Iskardu

17. Pt. Samsar Chand Koul - The Mysterious Cave of Amarnath

18. Sir W-Lawrence - Valley of Kashmir

19. Amarnath Mahatamya

20. Vigne - Travels in Kashmir Ladakh and Iskardu

21. Swami Vivekanand - a biography

22. Baharistan -i-Shahi, Taikh-i-Haider Malik, Tarikh-i-Sayyid Ali, Fatuhat-i-Kubriwiya.

23. ibid

24. ibid

25. Hasan - Tarikh-i-Kashmir

26. Fatuhat-i-Kubriwiya, Taikh-i-Sayyid-Ali

27. Hasan-Taikh-i-Kashmir

28. Baharistan-i-shahi, Taufatul-Ahbab

29. Baharistan-i-Shahi, Tarikh-i-Haider Ali, Tarikh-i-Sayyid Ali,

30. Jonraj, Second Rajtarangini, R.C. Kak, Ancient-Monuments of Kashmir

31. Jonraj, Second Rajtarangini (tr.) St. 654

32. Dr. Qayoom, Rafiqui, Sufisim in Kashmir

33. Srivar, Third Rajtarangini, St-655-56

34. Mohan Lal Koul, Kashmir , Past and Present, P-15

35. Pt. Jia Lal Koul, Kilam, History of Kashmir Pandits Srivar, Third Rajtarangini

36. Dr. M.K. Teng places the date after 20 years of Zain-ul-Abidin's rule begining in 1420 A.D.

37. Srivar, Third-Rajtarangini

38. ibid

39. Jonraj, Second Rajtarangini, Baharistan-i-Shahi

40. Srivar, Third Rajtarangini

41. ibid

42. Jonraj, Second Rajtarangini, Baharistan-i-Shahi

43. Shuka Pandit, Fourth Rajtarangini

44. ibid

45. W. Lawrence, Valley of Kashmir, Pt. J.L. Kilam, History of Kashmiri Pandits.

46. Al Beruni, Al-India

47. Jonraj, Second Rajtaranginig, St. 606

48. K.L. Bhan - Seven Exoduses of Kashmiri Pandits

Periodicals, journals, papers

1. M.M. Munshi, Tirtha of Amreshwara, Kashmir sentinal, July, 2008.

2. R.C. Awasthee - The Holy cave of Amarnath Ji, Early Times, Aug. 8.

3. History of the Amarnath Pilgrimage - Source Wikipedia, Kashmir Sentinel, July 2008.