The ‘samapan pooja’ to mark the end of this year’s symbolic annual Amarnath yatra was performed at the holy cave on Sunday amid chanting of religious hymns and mantras, an official spokesperson said.
Chief Executive Officer, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), Nitishwar Kumar, prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress, and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesperson said.
The board facilitated the carriage of the holy mace of Lord Shiva — Chhari Mubarak — to the cave shrine. Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the mace, led the procession comprising saints of dashnami akhada’ and also held the Chhari Poojan’ to mark the conclusion of the yatra on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan).
The annual pilgrimage was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic, but the board carried out all traditional religious rituals at the cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas.
The SASB had made arrangements for live telecast of morning and evening ‘aartis’ on TV channels and social media in addition to facilitating virtual pooja, ‘hawan’ and online ‘prasad’ booking.
Around seven to eight million devotees performed the free virtual darshan on Jio TV platform through live streaming on Shri Amarnathji channel, the spokesperson said.
All these steps kept the religious sentiments of the devotees alive, he said.