A few days after the Aamarnath Yatra began, the second batch of Budha Amarnath Yatra pilgrims arrived in the Mandi area of Poonch district on Wednesday. The pilgrims and devotees from all across the country are here to offer prayers at the Swami Budha Amarnath Temple.
While addressing the media on their journey to the Amarnath Temple, one of the pilgrims, Vikram Pariyar, said, “This is an adventurous journey organised by Bajrang Dal. Today, we reached Poonch with around 800 pilgrims from Jammu to visit Baba Budha Amarnath. People here have given us a warm welcome. The arrangements made for the Yatra are commendable and of high quality. Devotees have come from across the states, from Kerala, Meerut, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Assam, and Bengal. All of them salute their service, as cited by the news agency ANI.
Balbir Singh, another pilgrim from Jal Shakti Shri Gurdas Sewa Society, expressed his enthusiasm by saying, “It is heartening to see the second batch of the Baba Budha Amarnath Yatra reach Poonch today. This group, with nearly eleven hundred pilgrims from across India, was warmly welcomed. We wait for this Yatra all year; it feels like a festival for every family here. There is hardly a household in Poonch that does not come out to witness it. This journey reflects the spirit of unity from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.”
The pilgrim who was on his way to start the sacred journey towards the Amarnath Temple added that, “It`s a message of brotherhood and the vision of Shri Shri Mansa Ji Maharaj from our Gurudwara Sahib, Shri Banda Nigali Sahib. We have always welcomed this Yatra with devotion and believe in working together for the country`s peace and prosperity. The arrival of this sacred journey fills us with pride,” as cited by the news agency ANI.
Swami Budha Amarnath Ji mandir is situated between the main belt of the Pir Panchal Range at Rajpura Mandi, which is 25 km to the northeast of Poonch city.
The temple is located on the confluence of two gushing streams, namely Nallah Gagri and Pulsta Nadi. There are four doors in the Mandir, and there is a natural Shivlinga inside the Mandir.
Every year, even during the most challenging weather conditions, thousands of devotees from different parts of the country visit Baba Budha Amarnath Ji before Raksha Bandhan.
(With inputs from ANI)