Melted or removed? Amarnath lingam gone

THE "MANMADE" Shivlingam at the Amarnath cave has disappeared. While there are allegations that the four-ft-high snow lingam has been removed, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) says it has just melted. With the SASB's inquiry into the reported installation of the artificial lingam in progress, the new development has raised eyebrows.

THE "MANMADE" Shivlingam at the Amarnath cave has disappeared. While there are allegations that the four-ft-high snow lingam has been removed, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) says it has just melted. With the SASB's inquiry into the reported installation of the artificial lingam in progress, the new development has raised eyebrows.

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"Every year, the lingam melts within a month of its formation. This time, too, it has melted," Arun Kumar, SASB's CEO, told the Hindustan Times on Sunday. "It is a natural phenomenon."

Some were, however, not convinced by SASB's version. They said the disappearance of the lingam — like its appearance — was manmade.
Mahant Deepinder Giri, custodian of the holy mace of Lord Shiva that is taken to the shrine every year, wondered how could the lingam melt all of a sudden. He said pilgrims had seen the snow lingam just a couple of days ago.

After visiting the shrine, Rajinder Sharma, president of the Amarnath Yatra Welfare Board, too agreed that the lingam seemed to have been "removed". He said it was a "mischief" played by the SASB to fool the people.

Sharma and Giri have a point. How could the lingam melt when the place had been receiving snowfall and the temperature had dipped below zero degree Celsius? (The yatra too had been suspended for three days because of heavy snowfall.)

Also, as Giri pointed out, the ice icon of Goddess Parvati next to the Shivlingam was intact.