Search Icon

Amarnath ice 'Shivalingam' melts early

India's Amarnath ice 'Shivalingam,' a stalagmite worshipped by Hindus as the phallus of Lord Shiva, has melted because growing numbers of devotees are generating too much body heat, officials said.

Shiva Lingam
Two images of the Shiva Lingam (Phallus of the Hindu God Lord Shiva) at the Amarnath Cave Credit: Photo: AFP/GETTY

Every year around 400,000 pilgrims make the steep mountain climb to the cave in Kashmir where the 'lingam' waxes until August when it starts to wane.

This year record however numbers of visitors – 620,000 in the last 40 days – and warmer temperatures has caused it to vanish several weeks early.

"The Amarnath cave region witnessed long spells of warmer temperature compared to previous years. This could be one of the reasons for early melting of the ice lingam but another important factor is the 'human induced temperature' around the cave this year.

"On average around 15000-20000 pilgrims visited the cave. Each human being emits some heat from its body effects his nearby environment. There is no doubt that the large numbers of humans in the cave area has increased the melting rate of the lingam," said Sonam Lotus of the Srinagar Meteorological Office.

Pilgrims cooked on open gas stoves in large community kitchens on the slopes outside the cave, which had also raised temperatures, he said.

R. K Goyal of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said he believed the lingam had simply melted because of a warm summer. "The melting of the Shiva Lingam depends on many factors, including the overall temperature in the region," he said.