Pahalgam, Kashmir
The Kashmir Valley was once a large lake and according to Hindu mythology it was called Satisar after Shiva’s first wife, Sati. Brahma’s grandson, the Rishi Kashyapa, was the one who was supposed to have sliced a path in the hills for the water to drain. Today there are any number of Shiva temples in the valley, although the majority of the current population is Muslim. It is also the site of one of the main Shiva pilgrimage routes in early summer when the ice melts. In the Amarnath Cave ice forms each year in the shape of a lingum. The size of the lingum differs from year to year depending on the severity of the winter, but the form remains constant, which is considered a miracle from the god, and that is why tens of thousands of people make the three day trek from Pahalgam to the Holy Cave each year. As this traditional path, which is said to be the one Shiva and Parvati (his second wife) took, is fairly arduous and crosses a 14,000+ ft. pass, the Indian government has opened a milder, but still strenuous, 14 km route from Sonamarg, which lies on the main road connecting Srinagar with Leh in Ladakh. Pahalgam is at the end of its own valley away from the main roads. Outside of the two-month pilgrimage season, it is a quiet small town that is fairly free from litter, unlike most other Indian villages. But this is Kashmir, and while this section is part of India, it really does have it’s own unique culture much the way Sikkim or Ladakh do.
There are a number of stories about Amarnath Cave, but one blog from the Hindu mythology website captures the essence of them:
Sunday, June 24, 2012 http://hindustories.blogspot.in/2012/06/legend-of-amarnath-cave.html
Legend of Amarnath Cave
Once Goddess Parvati urged Lord Shiva to tell the secret of immortality. But he kept postponing the reply. But goddess was adamant to know. Finally Lord Shiva selected the 'Amarnath cave' where the secret of immortality could not be head by anyone. Reaching cave was not easy. To maintain the secrecy He did not want any one to be part of the conversation , so He decided to leave all His belongings before entering the cave. During his journey , at the first point HE asked Nandi(His vehicle, the bull) to wait for him and he proceeded towards cave. That place is known as 'Pahalgaon' which derive its name from the word 'Bailgaon' which means 'the place where bull dwell'. At the second halt , He removed chandrama(the moon) from His head. This place got its name 'Chandanwari'. At the third halt He left His snakes and the place got its name 'Sheshnaag'. Even today the lake of Sheshnaag is unusual green in colour which is the abode of snakes and at night one could see the reflection of precious gem called 'Naagmani' on the surface of lake. At the next stop , He left his son,Ganesha, so the place got its name 'Mahagunus Parvat'. At the fifth halt,Panchtarni, He left the 'panchtatav' (the 5 elements of creation). Finally, they reached the cave. Lord Shiva started narrating the legend of immortality ,'Amar'Katha' to goddess Parvati. But before the completion of story she felt asleep. Incidently, the two birds were listening the story at that time. as a result they become immortal. Even today the two birds can be spotted around the holy cave. Here Lord Shiva is present in the form of shivling in the form of ice. This shivling form itself during the waxing moon and reduce during the waning moon.
Posted by SatyaPal at 6:26 PM
In contrast to the Hindu legend, there are a few differing views on the modern history of the region and one is tempted to say there isn’t one accepted “history” of Kashmir. It does seem, though, that all major sources agree that prior to Muslim rule, there were ancient cultures and religions here, including Hindu, Buddhist, Manichaean, and Nestorian Christian. It was identified in the great Indian epic “The Mahabharata,” by Ptolemy, as well as by early Chinese travelers and writers. The first “history” of the region was the “Nilmata Purana” from about the 6th C CE, but as this is a sacred rather than objective work, it is not a reliable source. After the Middle Ages, there are many more sources that extol the praises of the kings. Since the Muslim rule, in about the 15th C, until partition in 1949, both Hindu and Muslim followers lived fairly peacefully side-by-side. Kashmir was for most of this time its own kingdom and didn’t lose that status until the British, but even then it retained much more autonomy than the other states. When it came to slicing India into Muslim vs. Hindu areas with Partition, Kashmir became one of the leading bones of contention, which it still is. Part of Kashmir is in modern Pakistan and part is in India, and they both want all of it. The people were supposed to be allowed to vote for which country they wanted to be aligned with, or if they wanted to be independent, but that vote was never allowed to happen. As the greater Kashmir political region also includes Ladakh, which is Buddhist and a completely different culture from its Muslim neighbor, any changes will undoubtedly affect them as well. It is a political mess, and the Kashmiri people in India are slightly fed up. Their main grievance right now is the large presence of the Indian army throughout the region, (by some estimates one in three people belong to some kind of military force here) and even yesterday someone was shot in a protest against them in a village about 100 km from Pahalgam. The region now is back on a ‘curfew’, which is different from our understanding of the term. Here is means that locals cannot travel, some roads are entirely closed, and the internet shut down at 10pm.
As with all political strife, it is the common person that suffers the most. An example is that of my hiking guide, Shabhan. Even though he was an excellent student, he had to leave school after the 10th form (they are on the British system) as his father was caught in the political upheavals in the early 1990s. Without his father, the eight-member family needed him to be the bread-winner as women do not work outside the home. There is no industry other than crafts here, so he had to make his way as a hiking and trekking guide and hope there would be enough tourists to keep the family afloat. With all the political insurgencies, however, and the corresponding travel advisories/bans, the one avenue for earning dried up. As he had to find a way to earn money, he went to Dharamsala, the site of the Tibetan Government in Exile, which always has lots of European and American tourists. He lived there for six years, learning English and Western ways, and as soon as the politics in Kashmir settled down, returned home and opened his own trekking company and guesthouse. He still lives hand to mouth depending on tourists for survival, but wouldn’t think of ever leaving this valley again as, “I have fresh water, fresh air, beautiful mountains. I can work or not work as I please. Money comes and goes, but life is for living.” There is wisdom here.
Shaban took me to Chandanwari, at the beginning of the Amarnath Yatra, so that I could get a feel for it. There were only a few shops left from the hundreds that line the path late May – July, but it was clear from the extensive gates and Disney World type queuing system that it would be as busy then as the Vaishno Devi Yatra is throughout the year. The path follows the Lidder River just at the beginning, and climbs steadily after leaving the rushing waters. The area is magnificent, albeit mostly granite. As I have no interest in immortality, and therefore had no intention of going on the 36 km trek, I chose to do my mini-pilgrimage to the other Shiva Cave, whose path lay about 3km down the road from the Holy Cave. It is the one where Shiva was supposed to have gone off to mediate leaving Parvati at home. It is considered part of the Amarnath complex, but is relatively little known or viewed. I could understand why after the hike over endless tight rocky switchbacks only to find that the government had put a gate over the cave so that one couldn’t go in. The effort to get there was not in vain, however, as the view from the top was spectacular. Lord Shiva chooses his sites well.
On the way down, we passed by the remains of a gypsy camp. There are a number of gypsy groups in the Valley, some who only come in the summer and live in the mountains, and others who live here permanently. The two groups supposedly do not interact all that often. There are also shepherds who have their houses in the mountains, and it is fascinating to see stonewalls between the shepherds’ houses and that of the gypsies. There are clear lines for grazing rights and it seems that the animals, horses, cows, sheep and goats, all know their places as much as the people do. There is a difference in the architecture of the structures between the two groups in that the gypsies had some of their livestock living with them under the same roof, separated by only a couple of boards, whereas the shepherds had the livestock outside. Both used the same kind of mud-dried ovens for heat and cooking off to one side of a common room.
We had tea with shepherds on two separate occasions. They both welcomed us with open arms, chatting away in Kashmiri, but through smiles and hand motions, I was able to communicate with them enough to learn that they would be staying there for another two weeks before returning to the valley for winter; the gypsies had left about a week ago. Their tea was good, quite sweet and luckily steaming hot. As the only water is that which comes from the spring or the rain, there is no way to wash dishes in hot water and consequently there isn’t even any semblance of hygiene or sanitation. The cups are simply washed out in the water that’s there, and one hopes the boiling hot tea kills any unwanted germs.
Today it rained, so we didn’t hike, we rode ponies up the hillsides until it got simply to wet to continue. Shaban had his pheran, brown-grey woolen Kashmiri cape on and amazingly he stayed drier than I did in my raingear. In a short break in the weather we managed to make it to the small Mamal Shiva Temple just outside of town. The following is a description copied from journeymart.com:
Mamal Shiva Temple in Pahalgam is believed to have come into existence during the development of Himalayas. Nestled between the two Himalayan Ranges of Pir Panjal and Zanskar, Mamal Shiva Temple is said to be a witness to Neolithic age humans. It was built by King Jayasimha on the right bank of River Lidder and the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Devotees are welcomed inside the temple by two magnificent pillars. The temple encompasses a pedestal and a Shiva Lingam, with a pure water spring covered by a basin. This pure water spring is natural and makes the view of the temple breathtaking. The spring in the court of the temple is the same spring under which Parvati bathed and had asked Lord Ganesha to safe guard the entrance. Lord Shiva was denied entry by little Ganesha which left him in fury. Shiva in anger decapitated Ganesha and later at the request of Parvati brought him back to life.
The temple is considered to be the oldest temple of Kashmir Valley dating back to 5th century. The legend says that Lord Shiva shifted his throne from Thojwara to Mamaleshwar. Mamal Shiva Temple was ruled both by the Hindu and Mughal Kings during 15th century. This temple also has sculptures that are ancient and depicts other deities. Every morning and evening hymns are sang [sic] and rituals are conducted by the Pandit of the Mamal Shiva Temple.
For such an important event in Hindu history, this is a very modest structure.
Legends do abound in this Valley, and some that I was expecting to find, I didn’t. There are, unfortunately, no Kashmiri fairies or leprechauns cavorting in the green hills. They do have an interesting interpretation of Genesis II, however. I learned that God created mud out of which he made Adam, and out of Adam’s rib he made woman. Ok so far that’s how the story goes, but then there were four children, Cain and Abel and two sisters, one beautiful the other not so much so. The boys weren’t fighting over whose sacrifice was better but over the beautiful sister who both of them wanted. From the story it is clear that, here again, women are supposedly the root of all conflict, which is why they aren’t allowed out of the house. In the four days in town I saw no local women on the streets and not one working in the hotel, only men and boys.
Kashmir is known for its temples, hiking and beautiful scenery. In December this turns into a winter wonderland. There is a ski resort in Gulmarg, a couple of hours from Srinagar, but there is heli-skiing here in Pahalgam. On the days when the weather is too bad for the copter to take off and land, there are the ponies to take the skiers up. The pack ponies take up to six pairs of skis, while the others take the skiers up to a flat meadow, from where the skiers hike up about another 1km to a chute full of fresh powder. When I asked how the ponies with their thin tiny legs could make it up in the snow, I was told that the pony men have laid out more or less permanent paths regardless of how deep the snow gets. So instead of heli-skiing, one goes pony-skiing. The resourcefulness of these people is simply amazing.
