Amarnath Cave is situated at a height of 3,888 in Jammu and Kashmir (India). As per Hindu religious beliefs, Amarnath cave is one of the holy places of Lord Shiva. At this place, he revealed the secret of immortality to his beloved wife Parvati (also known as Devi Adhi-Shakti). At first, he was not ready to reveal the secret of immortality to his wife, but after some requests, he was finally ready to tell her the secret. He left Mt. Kailash with his wife and settled down in a cave, which today is known as Amarnath Cave. He left all his belongings behind in order that no one would hear that secret, but there were these two pigeons who listened to the whole story of immortality and became immortal. Even today, when pilgrims visit Amarnath Cave, they sometimes actually see those pigeons in the holy cave.
This is one aspect of the story, and the other one is that after the death of Devi Sati (Shiva's wife), Shiva left Kailash in grief and started wandering in the universe. To free him from this grief, Devi Adhi-Shakti reincarnated as Devi Parvati. In order to marry her beloved husband again, she left her villa and went into the cave where she meditated and worshiped Lord Shiva, so she was accepted as Lord Shiva's wife. After many years of meditation and hard jap, tap, and sadhna, she was finally accepted as Shiva's wife. There were these two pigeons who helped Devi Parvati collect the necessary materials for her worship, so she gave them the blessing of immortality and named the cave Amarnath, which is also known as the abode of love.
The Shri AmarnathJi Shrine Board organises the Amarnath Yatra, which is participated in every year by thousands of pilgrims. Inside the Amarnath Cave, there is a shivling made of ice that can be found. Science claims that it was formed as a result of ice flowing from the cave's roof, but Hindus think the Lord Shiva is there in the form of a Lingam. Not only this, but it is also believed that this lingam expands and contracts according to the phases of the moon, and many devotees come to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva. The journey to Amarnath is very difficult and hard. Before starting the journey, every person needs to register him/herself and then only allow for the journey after a full medical checkup. Every year, the Amarnath yatra starts in the month of June-july because it's the only time when the snow melts down and the paths are cleared. Many people offer free food, clothes, and essential things to the pilgrims. Even the Indian security forces are there to help and give protection too.
Amarnath is not just a holy place where you can see nature's beauty to its full extent. It is the most beautiful place in the world and you must visit it once in a lifetime.
