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It is also said that during one of his visits to the famous Amarnath ji cave in Kashmir, Lord Shiva had a brief sojourn at the place of present Buddha Amarnath ji temple at Mandi and started revealing to his consort Parvati the mortal secret story of eternal bliss and immortality. The story later got completed at Amarnath ji cave in Kashmir.

Thousands of devotees would throng the holy temple of Buddha Amarnath in border district of Poonch, situated close to the Line of Control. Chanting the holy mantras, the devotees from far off places come to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva in this holy temple which is nestled in the sylvan picturesque surroundings of high mountains of Pir Panjal range which remains covered with snow most of the year.

? Situated twenty five kilometers northeast of Poonch town near Mandi, Buddha Amarnath Temple is an ancient Shiva temple located at the confluence of two gushing streams - the Nallah Gagri and the Pulstaya Nallah. Pulsatya Nallah is also known as Loran Nallah. These two streams make this place more enchanting and present a panorama to the eyes. What is unique about this Shiva Temple is that it is located on the foot hill and not on the hill top and has a Shivling of white stone which is not self made.

The locals believe that Ravan's grand father Pulasta Rishi performed his tapasya here and had a darshan of Lord Shiva. Thus, the Loran Nullah also derives its name from the name of Rishi Pulsatya. So both the places Amarnath in Kashmir Buddha Amarnath in jammu are considered to be equally holy and sacred by the devotees. Few people even say that the pilgrimage to Amarnath cave in Kashmir remains incomplete without a visit to this shrine.

At the temple, Lord Shiva manifests himself in the form of a “Chakmak” white rock unlike other Shiva temples where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of a lingam.Besides this white Shivlingam, this beautiful temple has the ancient idols collected from nearby village. The original temple was built out of one big stone with four doors indicating that the doors are open for all the four varnas. The people of the area say that this shrine is older than of Amarnathji of Kashmir. Before partition, many people used to visit this shrine from areas now occupied by Pakistan.

Even now, this shrine is visited by thousands of people on Raksha Bandhan and Shivratri. On the occasions of Raksha Bandhan, a big festival, known as Buddha Amarnath Ji Mela is held at the temple which is a major draw. Though the devotees in thousands visit the shrine on Shravan Poornima, heavy rush is witnessed throughout the year At Buddha Amarnath ji, the devotees take a dip in a spring which flows beneath the temple for purification and the have darshan as of immortal Lord Shiva and makes offerings. It is believed that Lord Shiva grants wishes to everyone who makes a pilgrimage to Buddha Amarnath.

Earlier there was four holy springs near the temple, at present the water of three springs has been diverted to fourth one, which is on the southern side of the temple. The pilgrims take bath in this holy spring before entering the temple.Road transport is readily available to and from Poonch. Buses,cars,jeeps carrying pilgrims ply on the road regularly. On Raksha Bandhan lots of people visited the shrine. Transport are available for Poonch district regularly which is 225 km from Jammu.

At Buddha Amarnath ji, the devotees take a dip in a spring which flows beneath the temple for purification and then have darshan as of immortal Lord Shiva and makes offerings. It is believed that Lord Shiva grants wishes to everyone who makes a pilgrimage to Buddha Amarnath.

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Archna Gupta is expert in writing articles on spirituality and holy places like Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.she has performed yatra to all religious pilgrimages in India during her tour yatra with Culture Holidays India

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