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| Cave shrine was not discovered by a Muslim shepherd | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 8: The holy Cave of Shri Amarnath was not discovered by a Muslim shepherd Juma Malik/Buta Malik/Aadam Malik of Batakot in the Pahalgam area of Kashmir Valley in 1600/1775. The Yatra to the Holy cave was started in ancient times. Those who say that the Holy Cave was discovered by a Muslim shepherd are only distorting history of the Shri Amarnath Yatra and misleading the people for reasons best known to them. Those who are saying so comprise some of the valley-based political personalities and commentators. They are all Muslims. They have sought to tell the people, particularly the Hindus, that it was "Juma Malik" who "discovered" the cave, "when during his peregrination, with his flocks in the mountains, had accidentally came upon it". It is obvious that their view is based on the fact that "since the progeny of Juma Malik used to get substantial share of annual offerings at the Amarnath cave, it could be legitimately claimed that the holy cave was 'discovered' by Juma Malik."
Nobody should endorse this distorted and politically motivated formulation. It is not based on an "authentic and reliable source." It would seem a conjecture when one views this view in the light of the available original sources on the subject, including on the origin of the Yatra and routes of the Shri Amarnath Yatra. A number of historical sources clearly suggest that the "origin of the pilgrimage to the holy cave of Amarnath is not shrouded in any mystery."
According to a Jammu-based historian, "there are a number of ancient texts, historical chronicles and research works which throw ample light on the history/origin of the Amarnath pilgrimage. Some of the most relevant ancient texts, historical chronicles and research works are: Nilmata Purana, which was written in the 6th century; Bhringish Samhita and Amarnatha Mahamatya, which were said to be composed even before the 6th century; Kalhana's seminal historical work Rajatarangini, written during 1148-49; Jonaraja's Zaina Rajatarangini and Suka's Rajatarangini and Pragyabhatta's Rajavali Pitaka; Abul Fazal's Ain-i-Akbbari (Vol. III); French physician Francois Bernier's Travels in Mughal Empire; Charles Ellison Bates's A Gazetteer of Kashmir; Moorcraft William's and George Trebeck's Travels in the Himalayan provinces of Hindustan and the Punjab, in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz and Bokhara; Ved Kumari's Nilmata Purana, Vol. I; and N.K. Zutshi's Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir. It needs to be underlined that while the Kalhana's Rajatarangini covers the period up to 1149, the works of Jonaraja, Suka and Pragyabhatta covers the period up to 1596."
As per the said historian, "all these works suggest that the pilgrimage to the cave of Amareshwar or Amarnath started during ancient times and that it was one of the well-known pilgrimage places in India, which was visited not only by the Hindus of Kashmir, but also from across the country. It would not be out of place to make a brief reference here to what the noted researcher on the historiography of Amarnath cave, M.M. Munshi, wrote recently about the Amarnath pilgrimage (Kashmir Sentinel, Jammu, Vol. 13, July 2008), as also what the website Wikepedia tells about the origin/history of the Amarnath pilgrimage. A reference to what M.M. Munshi has written and what Wikepedia tells has become imperative in the sense that whatever he wrote and the website told is based on authentic sources and the same can be corroborated without any difficulty." (To be continued)
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