SRINAGAR/JAMMU, July 22, 2013: While ‘Bhoomi Poojan and Dhwajardhan’ were performed on the occasion of ‘Vyas- Purnima’ today after the silver mace (Chhari Mubarak) of Lord Shiva was taken to Amarnath cave shrine base camp Pahalgam, the Amarnath yatra also touched three lakh mark in last 25 days with 6,422 pilgrims performing darshan of Ice lingam of Lord Shiva till this evening.
According to an official spokesman, 6,422 yatris performed darshan in the holy cave of Lord Shiva situated at an altitude of 3880 metres in Lidder Valley in South Kashmir district of Anantnag today.
He said 2,93,008 pilgrims had performed darshan in the cave shrine till yesterday evening which took the total number to 2,99,430.
Meanwhile, chanting ‘ Bam Bam Bhole’ and other Vedic mantras, the Chhari-Mubarak, (Holy Silver Mace of Lord Shiva) was taken to Amarnath cave shrine base camp, Pahalgam by Mahant of the holy Mace, Dependera Giri Ji Maharaj.
Besides, the Bhoomi Poojan, the Dhwajardhan was also performed in a traditional way at Pahalgam under tight security arrangements.     Spokesman  said the Chhari-Mubarak was taken from Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar early this morning by Mahant Ji, custodian of the Mace, under heavy security bandobast to Pahalgam, about 100 km from Srinagar in South Kashmir.
A good number of Sadhus also joined the Chhari at Pahalgam, where Bhoomi Pujan and Dhwajardhan ceremonies were performed on the occasion of Vyas Purnima which is also known as Guru Purnima.
He said the holy mace returned to Dashnami Akhara later in the day after performing Puja at historic Martand temple at Mattan in Anantnag district.
Besides a large number of Sadhus a sizable number of Kashmiri Pandits accompanied the ‘Chhari Mubarak’ from its abode at Dashnami Akhara in the heart of Srinagar to the base camp where ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ and ‘Dhwajardhan’ (flag hoisting) ceremonies were performed at its resting place.
After performing Chhari-Poojan at Dashnami Akhara here on ‘Nag Panchami’ on August 11, Mahant Ji  will carry the Mace to the Amarnath shrine on Shravan-Purnima on August 21.
The ‘Holy Mace’ will begin its journey from Srinagar to the Amarnath cave shrine on August 16 with night halts at Pahalgam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarani.
At Mattan Mahant Ji accompanied by Tirath Raj Mattan Trust president, M K Yogi and other devotees laid the foundation stone of Shiv Parivar temple.
The spokesman said the yatra is proceeding smoothly and the number of devotees performing darshan in cave shrine which receded during last two days due to disturbances in Kashmir valley and parts of Jammu region picked up today.
He said 2,443 pilgrims left for holy cave from Nunwan- Pahalgam base camp early this morning under tight security arrangements from traditional Chandanwari track. This was in addition to the pilgrims who left via chopper from Pahalgam to Panchtarni, he added.
He said the yatris camping at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni also left for their onwards journey early this morning while 4,095 pilgrims left from Baltal base camp to holy cave via shortest track. All these pilgrims managed to perform Darshan in the holy cave by the evening and were on their return journey to Baltal, spokesman added.
He said the majority of pilgrims who performed darshan in the cave shrine had returned to their home States while the rest were on their way.
The weather enroute to cave shrine was pleasant today and the yatra proceeded smoothly, he added.
Meanwhile, a fresh batch of 1,240 pilgrims left Bhagwati Nagar Jammu base camp for holy cave early this morning under tight security arrangements in a cavalcade of 44 vehicles. They included 950 male, 230 female, 15 children and 45 Sadhus. All these pilgrims had crossed the Jawahar tunnel by the evening and were on their way to their next destinations where from they will leave for their onwards sojourn early tomorrow morning.

Source: Daily Excelsior, DT. July 22, 2013.