Talk:Amarnath Temple

Untitled

I've tagged this article, after coming across it and discovering its need for editing. Knowing virtually nothing about Hinduism, I've instead added it to the cleanup list in the Hinduism WikiProject.

-- Sasuke Sarutobi 13:53, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Opinion

The very bottom of this is far from wikipedia standards:

We cannot malign this unique relationship between people as the dogma of Secularism, the one which politicians and governments in India follow. This is human relationship, co-existence, love for each other. This is above all religion. This is humanity!

I'm removing this paragraph:

The fact that is not known much is that the Amarnath is a symbol of Communal Harmony. It is a place where Hindus and Muslims come together and surrender themselves to the god, the nature. It is a fact that there are many Muslims in the region who worship the Ice-linga. It is also said that the first pooja of the year is offered by the Muslims. Apart from this, Muslims set up stalls on the way to the cave and provide free food, tents, water, liquids etc for the (Hindu) pilgrims. Muslims also support the pilgrims by carrying their luggage, providing horses and carrying dholis. Hindu pilgrims seek blessings of the Muslim-saints here. This is very unique in a country which is bleeding under communal tensions.

We Muslims don't worship idols. It is strictly forbidden by Islam. I didn't find any supporting evidence on such behaviour on Google. Whoever wrote that must have played a joke.

The fact is that Muslims in India do visit Hindu holy places, and the vice versa happens as well. Its natural to expect some overlap when you have multiple communities living together in a country.

Maybe the actual worshipping is a little far-fetched, but the rest could be true. After all, money is the true currency of this world, and the Amarnath pilgrimage involves a huge number of people, enough to make it profitable for anyone to set up shop. 202.134.181.117 16:12, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

---

I am pasting again what this moron has deleted--this thing is written here coz this is being followed in INDIA and this PAKISTANI moron doesnt know about it---

thats the reason not a single MUSLIM in INDIA is in AL-QAEDA out of 14 crores-- this shows how degraded ur mentality is and how low ur morale has stooped

INDIAN MUSLIMS dont take every this-and-that against ISLAM and dont use their religion to rape the world peace....kindly take note

---

This article proves how simple things in nature become objects of worship. The priests ( brahmin mafia) then add some false story & it becomes a place of pilgrimage. Entire hinduism is based on such falsehood. --Anirudh777 08:30, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

---

Some Believe that when the linga isn't formed it's a signal of the end of the world.

Scientific Explanation : Global Warming will prevent it from happening and obviously destroy the world. Hindus in my opinion are the smartest religion out there. Every one of our beliefs is backed up with Scientific Significance.

BTW, Global Warming has prevented the Linga from forming this year (Scientists think End of World is inevitable if Global Warming goes at this rate)

Huh, hinduism being based on falsehood. What a load of BS ? Hinduism is based on human discoveries according to its greatest philosopher Vivekananda.

Thank you. Until now, I only had a gut feeling that Hindus (and followers of all religions) were as bull headed as Christians. Now I have evidence. 12.192.132.130 (talk) 17:12, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

---

I have removed the paragraph on Muslims visiting Amaranath and worshiping the shrine as there is no reference regarding it either on the web or in any other source I consulted.

I have improved the English in a couple of places. There is still a lot of room for further improvement but I didnt have the time.

---

i am just back from the amarnath cave yatra (pilgrimage). i saw a number of pony-men, porters and shop owners on the way to the cave that are muslim. Most of those people are locals, and most locals in this region are muslim, so this is quite natural that they provide service and make some money during the yatra.

However, this is not correct: "Muslims set up stalls on the way to the cave and provide free food,". all the "free food kitchens" that i saw on the trail, that they call Langar, are manned by Sikh people from Punjab. Providing free food is a big part of the Sikh religion, and that is one of their way to honor god during the yatra. Yes, they wear turbans, but they are Sikh, not Muslim.

Regarding "It is a fact that there are many Muslims in the region who worship the Ice-linga." - i don't know if this is true. From my observation, most muslim people i saw were just doing business on the yatra trail, and they are not pilgrims.

melted

JULY 2nd, 2007

1. Amarnath Shiva Lingam Melted Completely

NDTV

SRINAGAR, INDIA, July 1, 2007: The CEO of the Amarnath Shrine Board Arun Kumar has said that the main Shiva ingam at Amarnath has melted away. The Shiva Lingam at the Amarnath shrine is formed naturally from ice, and Kumar has said that the melting of the Shiva Lingam was due to environmental reasons. However, Kumar has added that the Ganesh and Parvati lingams on either side of the Shiva Lingam are still there. Earlier the Amarnath yatra resumed on Sunday after bad weather halted the annual pilgrimage. Nearly 13,000 pilgrims are taking part.

Thousands of stranded pilgrims protested the government's alleged failure to provide them food and shelter. Pilgrims were not allowed to proceed from Jammu-base camp due to blockade of a road and bad weather conditions on the Srinagar-Sonamaragh-Baltal and Pahalgam-Chandanwari-Cave routes, they said. It has been raining heavily en route to the cave shrine with extreme cold weather prevailing in the region, they said. Over 10,000 pilgrims from across the country have arrived in the Jammu-base camp as the first batch of the pilgrims was scheduled to leave for the shrine on June 30.

2008 Protests

The article doesn't say who is protesting what or why. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.125.2.18 (talk) 02:28, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Ling doesn't mean Phallus

Hello. Ling literally means phallus. How can there NOT be any reference to this in the article? Even if it is just an explanation as to why this is not the interpretation (if this is the case), there should be SOME mention! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.46.212.51 (talk) 01:19, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

2008 Protests

It seems to me that providing some information on the reasons for the reported protests would be a high quality addition to this section and the article as a whole. Pzavon (talk) 02:34, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

POV and originality

The article lacks NPOV in places and contains original opinions. For instance, the sentence

This latter legend might be alluding to the geological transformation of this region, when the massive sea in this part was compressed by the Indian geological plate to form the Himalayas.

referring to the previous legend that

a Hindu rishi, Kashyap drained the lake of Kashmir and found the cave along with the lingam in it.

cannot be supported by evidence as it is chronologically impossible. (The Himalaya uplift took place over tens of millions of years; the sea disappeared before humans existed.)

I removed this sentence, but the article should be checked by an objective editor. Zaslav (talk) 16:41, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

Terminology like "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir" and much of the text describing Kashmiri Muslims in the Land Controversy article lacks NPOV. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.167.201.205 (talk) 07:17, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

the riots is an internal affair of india and india's view of the 'kashmir province that was annexed by pakisthan in1947' being called pakisthan occupied kashmir is apt..SO, its not non neutral.. anyway since this is not an article discussing the status of PoK..kashmiri muslims have not been maligned anywhere! be specific..removing the tagCityvalyu (talk) 02:48, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

References

split article of "amarnath land row" from "a.. cave" article

i am planning to split the article..expecting responses to my decision.. 'cave' and 'land transfer controversy' are poles apart and the latter is an on going development that is of top most importance to india and kashmir .. will do the move in a day if no response is heard...Cityvalyu (talk) 13:00, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Contradiction

The current version of the article claims both that there is "documentary proof" that

the cave was discovered by a Muslim shepherd of Batakot, Buta Malik, when he lost his flock and found that it had strayed into the sacred spot some 150 years ago,

and that

The exact manner of discovery of the cave is not known

Which of these contradictory claims can be verified in reliable sources? Does anyone have a link to the "documentary proof"? Grover cleveland (talk) 03:45, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

I found another version here: http://www.visit-himalaya.com/himalayan-pilgrimage/amarnath-yatra.html (and also on many other sites)

This theory of some Muslim finding the cave in 1850 is factually incorrect. In travelogue written by G. T. VIGNE, in 1842 mentions in details about shrine of Amar Nath ( Umur Nath) visited by thousands of Hindus. He has mentioned his attempted journey and complete details of the Amarnath. The book name is TRAVELS IN KASHMIR, LADAK, ISKARDO, THE COUNTRIES ADJOINING THE MOUNTAIN-COURSE OF THE INDUS, THE HIMALAYA, NORTH OF THE PANJAB. Published in 1842 which means he must have traveled to Amar Nath a few years before.

Legend of Amarnath Yatra

According to G. T. VIGNE, the legend was "The ceremony at the Cave of Umur Nath* takes place on the 15th of the Hindu month Sawun (28th of July). Previously to that day not only the Hindus of Kashmir, but those from Hindustan, of every rank and caste, may be seen collecting together, and travelling- up the valley of the Lidur towards this celebrated cave,—which, from his description, must have been the place that Bernier intended to visit, but was prevented.

The origin of Amarnath Yatra dates back to the year 1850 A.D, when a Muslim shepherd from Batakot, named Buta Malik first discovered the cave in which lay enshrined the naturally formed Shivling (a Shivaite Fertility Symbol) made of ice. According to tale, Buta Malik was given a sack of coal by a Sadhu. Upon reaching his home he discovered that the sack, in fact, contained gold. Overjoyed and overcome, Buta Malik rushed back to look for the Sadhu and thank him, but on the spot of their meeting discovered the cave and eventually this became a place of pilgrimage for all believers.

but this seems to contradict: "The shrine is claimed to be over 5,000 years old and forms an important part of ancient Hindu mythology." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.117.146.152 (talk) 00:18, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Amarnath Temple/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Aircorn (talk · contribs) 00:48, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

---

Thank you for the nomination, but I am afraid that the article is a long way off meeting the Good article standards.

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

   The prose consists of too many short sentences and one sentence paragraphs and sections. Words to watch are present, e.g. "breathtaking". The lead should summarise the body not present new information.

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

   References are present, but some are just bare urls. Statements like "are one of the most famous shrines in Hinduism" need references. too many references to WP:PrimarySources and tourism websites that have questionable reliability.

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

   The article reads too much like a travel guide. The route and facilities sections should not be present in a temple article. The location can be described, but not details on how to get there. Very little is actually said about the temple itself i the body of the article.

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

   Don't like controversy sections in any articles, it is much better to integrate the information into other sections.

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

   Sorry just too much work needed at this time. You might want to look at Kataragama temple for further inspiration in getting this to GA standard.

References

Sri Amarnathji Shrine Board

The section called "Organisers" mentions a Yatra Trust and the State Government. However, the land transfer controversy talks of an organisation called Sri Amarnathji Shrine Board. What is the relationship of this organisation to the other two? Is it involved in the organisation of the yatras?

I came here because I found a red link to SASB elsewhere. I thought there must be a section here that could be used for a redirect, but there isn't any. Kautilya3 (talk) 19:16, 6 October 2014 (UTC)

Government reached an agreement to transfer that forest land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. Bladesmulti (talk) 02:06, 7 October 2014 (UTC)

amarnath tax controversy

i take the previlage to edit a very balanced and informed article to include one specific controversy that even rocked central parliament and state assembly. it is very possible that , since now bjp forms govt in j and k , such decision be scrapped, and therefore a mention to this must be available. its unbiased, with govt sources mentioned alongwith india's widely read newspaper. its better if we discuss before , you take any decision of editing and possibly eliminating it. thankyou. waiting for your response. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nurmengrad (talk • contribs) 06:19, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to one external link on Amarnath Temple. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add {{cbignore}} after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add {{nobots|deny=InternetArchiveBot}} to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/20150510211911/http://rajyasabha.gov.in/journals/178/26081996.htm to http://rajyasabha.gov.in/journals/178/26081996.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Y An editor has reviewed this edit and fixed any errors that were found.

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—^{cyberbot II}_{Talk to my owner:Online} 13:39, 12 January 2016 (UTC)

Edits of 12 July

Looking over the edits of July 12, I'm tempted to revert to 11 July as the last stable version. While editors have done some cleanup of these edits, the remaining problems are numerous (MOS, RS, OR, POV, apparent cultural BATTLE problems). Given the extent of the problems and that much of the content falls under discretionary sanctions. I started cleaning up the problems, but I think this needs to be reverted outright. I'll look further to see what can be cleaned up piecemeal. --Ronz (talk) 01:30, 2 November 2017 (UTC)

Looking further, the edits are part of the efforts to create 2017 Amarnath Yatra attack. I think it would be best to revert the initial Yatra section to 11 July, and carefully cleanup of the POV in the entire Yatra section. --Ronz (talk) 01:49, 2 November 2017 (UTC)