Amarnath Temple is a Hindu shrine located in the Pahalgam tehsil of the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is a cave situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft),about 168 km from Anantnag city, the district headquarters, 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, reached through either Sonamarg or Pahalgam. It is an important shrine in Hinduism. The cave, located in Sind Valley, is surrounded by glaciers, snowy mountains and is covered with snow most of the year, except for a short period in the summer, when it is open to pilgrims. In 1989, pilgrims numbered between 12,000 and 30,000. In 2011, the numbers reached a peak, crossing 6.3 lakh (630,000) pilgrims. In 2018 pilgrims numbered 2.85 lakh (285,000). The annual pilgrimage varies between 20 and 60 days. The Amarnath cave, abode of the Mahamaya Shakti Pitha, is one of the 51 Shakti Pithas, the temples of the Indian subcontinent that commemorate the location of the fallen body parts of the Hindu deity Sati. Ancient history The book Rajatarangini refers to Krishaanth or Amarnath. It is believed that in the 11th century CE, Queen Suryamati gifted trishulas, banalingas and other sacred emblems to this temple.Rajavalipataka, begun by Prajna Bhatta, contains detailed references to the pilgrimage to Amarnath Cave Temple. In addition, there are further references to this pilgrimage in many other ancient texts. Medieval history Mughal painting depicting Amarnath, c. 1600 The cave and the Shivling find mention in Abu'l Fazl's 16th century work Ain-i-Akbari. According to him, the site attracted many pilgrims. He describes the waxing and waning of the lingam according to the seasons and the moon. François Bernier, a French physician, accompanied Emperor Aurangzeb during his visit to Kashmir in 1663. In his book Travels in Mughal Empire, he provides an account of the places he visited, noting that he was "pursuing journey to a grotto full of wonderful congelations, two days journey from Sangsafed" when he "received intelligence that my Nawab felt very impatient and uneasy on account of my long absence." The "grotto" referenced in this passage is the Amarnath cave — as the editor of the second edition of the English translation of the book, Vincent A. Smith, makes clear in his introduction. He writes: "The grotto full of wonderful congelations 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.... Modern history Painting of devotees in the Amarnath cave temple. Jammu, Pahari, circa mid-19th century In 1895, pilgrims would first travel to Kheer Bhawani for a brief stop. Sustained by free rations from the state, the pilgrims would then travel to Srinagar.From Srinagar, in batches, the pilgrims would then head up Lidder Valley, stopping at locations for holy dips. At Mach Bawan, local Hindus would join them. Maliks of Batkoot were responsible for the route during these years. Sister Nivedita, in Notes of Some Wanderings with the Swami Vivekananda, writes of Swami Vivekananda's visit to the cave in 1898. Title: Samurai Saké Showdown by Darren Curtis URL: https://www.chosic.com/download-audio... Credits: Samura Saké Showdown by Darren Curtis | https://www.darrencurtismusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Santoor and Tabla at Assi Ghat, Varanasi by Samuel Corwin | https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sa... Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Title: Zurna by Sapajou URL: https://www.chosic.com/download-audio... Credits: Zurna by Sapajou |   / sapajoubeats   Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Title: Exotic Plains by Darren Curtis URL: https://www.chosic.com/download-audio... Credits: Exotic Plains by Darren Curtis | https://www.darrencurtismusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Title: Jaipur by ASHUTOSH URL: https://www.chosic.com/download-audio... Credits: Jaipur by ASHUTOSH |   / grandakt   Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...