Amarnath Shrine Board organises ‘Pratham Pooja’ at holy cave on ‘Jyeshtha Purnima’

Srinagar: Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) organised ‘Pratham Pooja’ at the holy cave on the auspicious occasion of ‘Jyeshtha Purnima’ on Thursday (June 24).

Nitishwar Kumar, CEO of the shrine board, performed the ritual amidst chanting of vedic mantras to “invoke the blessings of Shri Amarnathji”. ‘Hawan’ was also performed on the occasion.

The shrine board has been organising ‘Pratham Pooja’ on Jyeshtha Purnima every year to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva for the peaceful conduct of the annual ‘Yatra’.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2021 has been cancelled, but the shrine board is committed to carry out all religious rituals as per past practice, the CEO said.

“With the blessings of Lord Shiva, who is a source of strength for people during this difficult time, we shall overcome this health crisis and work towards welfare of the mankind,” Kumar said.

He further said in order to respect the religious sentiments of millions of devotees worldwide, SASB has made all the arrangements for carrying out traditional religious rituals at the holy cave.

The SASB would perform morning and evening ‘Arti’ of the ‘Holy Ice Lingam’ at the ‘Holy Cave Shrine’ from June 28 to ‘Shravan Purnima’ on August 22. The timing of the ‘Arti’ would be 6 am to 6.30 am in the morning and 5 pm to 5.30 pm in the evening. The devotees can have ‘Darshan’ through live telecast of morning and evening ‘Arti’.