PHATIK SHILA CAVES

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A row of four rectangular entrances (about a metre large and 3 to 4 m above the streambed) look like leading to man-made troglodyte chambers (cave dwelling / underground settlement / souterrain / Erdstall) which have been excavated from semi-consolidated sediments (silt, sand, gravel) exposed in a cliff face above the southern (right) bank of the Mandakini / Paisuni (note 1) in a river bend a short distance downstream from Phatik Shila (note 2) and at a walking distance of one or two kilometre upstream from Janaki Kund (note 3) in the west of Chitrakoot / Chitrakut town (PWD near N25°10'25-: E080°52'10- Everest 1830: 150 m asl). When I was there on 20th December 2000, a ladder would have been required to gain the entrances (windows?) of the apparently troglodyte chambers which did not look like being used while the easily accssible bank of the stream opposite across the entrances was occupied by well-fed urban sectarians lacking any interest in caves. ETYMOLOGY: -Phatik- has been ranslated as rock crystal (note 4)A row of four rectangular entrances (about a metre large and 3 to 4 m above the streambed) look like leading to man-made troglodyte chambers (cave dwelling / underground settlement / souterrain / Erdstall) which have been excavated from semi-consolidated sediments (silt, sand, gravel) exposed in a cliff face above the southern (right) bank of the Mandakini / Paisuni (note 1) in a river bend a short distance downstream from Phatik Shila (note 2) and at a walking distance of one or two kilometre upstream from Janaki Kund (note 3) in the west of Chitrakoot / Chitrakut town (PWD near N25°10'25-: E080°52'10- Everest 1830: 150 m asl). When I was there on 20th December 2000, a ladder would have been required to gain the entrances (windows?) of the apparently troglodyte chambers which did not look like being used while the easily accssible bank of the stream opposite across the entrances was occupied by well-fed urban sectarians lacking any interest in caves. ETYMOLOGY: -Phatik- has been ranslated as rock crystal (note 4)