Pilgrimage to Amarnath: A Spiritual Journey in the Himalayas

On Sunday, more than 21,000 devotees made the journey to the sacred ice Shivling inside the Amarnath cave shrine, situated at a height of 3,880 meters in the Himalayas of south Kashmir. Sunday's pilgrimage saw a total attendance of 21,512 pilgrims, according to officials.

The group comprised 15,758 males, 4,723 females, 300 children, 129 sadhus, 17 sadhvis, three transgenders, and 582 security personnel. Over the initial four days of the 38-day yatra, the number of visitors to the shrine has surged to 69,484.

Despite the spiritual significance of the pilgrimage, it has not been without incidents. The number of fatalities has reached three, as a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh, Rakesh Kumar Soni, succumbed to a cardiac arrest. Soni, aged 49, encountered health issues at Baltal and was later declared dead upon arrival at a hospital in Srinagar.

(With inputs from agencies.)