A pilgrim on his way to Amarnath shrine on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Srinagar, July 13
Pilgrims paying obeisance at the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva crossed the two-lakh mark today. An official said as many as 15,444 pilgrims offered prayers at the Amarnath cave today. With this, he said, a total of 2,11,884 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the holy cave since the yatra began from the Baltal route on June 28.

The pilgrimage from the Pahalgam route had started on July 2 as heavy snow earlier postponed the commencement of the yatra. The steeper Baltal route is preferred by those who wish to return to the base camp in a day while the Chandanwari route, which is longer, is preferred by the elderly and the hardcore devotees, who believe that Lord Shiva took the same route to the cave shrine.

This year’s yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 10 on Raksha Bandhan when ‘Charri Mubarak’ (holy mace of Lord Shiva) will arrive at the cave shrine. Amarnath yatra rituals related to ‘Charri Mubarak’ started yesterday only with 'bhoomi pujan’ and ‘dhwajarohan’ on the occasion of Vyas Purnima at Pahalgam in south Kashmir. The holy mace will commence its journey to the cave shrine on August 6. Prior to the journey to the cave shrine, poojan will be held at several local temples. The next ‘Charri Mubarak’ poojan is scheduled on Amavasya (July 26) here at the Shankaracharya Temple.

Officials said three more pilgrims died, all due to heart attacks, taking the death toll of yatris this year to 25.