GUPTA MAHADEO GUFA

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

An extremely popular natural temple cave, which is represented by a sacred sandstone rift cave passage sacred to Shiva. Due to the landmark's fame and religious importance the physiographically irrelevant item is shown on Survey of India sheet 55-J/07 (1976 edition) at a spot about 9 km along the road south of –>Pachmarhi (from Jaistambha (note 1) linear 6.60 km on 190°) and on the pilgrims route (footpath) from –>Bada Mahadeo Gufa to the huge hill Chauragarh Pahar crowned by the Shiva Mandir, a pilgrim's attraction famous for its huge number of tridents. CAVE DESCRIPTION: An upright rectangular entrance (1 m wide, 4 m high), characterised by an as-large-as-possible sized, rotten ventilator, which silently rusts above the heads of the long queue of waiting visitors, leads to an about 15 m long horizontal rift passage that arrives from the south-east. When I was there, I lacked the patienece required to spent hours in a queue of long standing visitors but was told the temple cave i famous for its natural lingam (possibly a stalagmite speleothem) but – more likely – a phallic sandstone rock. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1828: A crevice or cave in the rocks, about forty-four feet deep (HAMILTON, W 1828, 2: 422) or 13.4 m long. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1936: Glennie, E A (circa 1948 s.a. Mss -Preliminary record- after GUIDE TO PACHMARHI 1936) confused and mixed up Gupta Mahadeo Gufa with Bada Mahadeo Gufa under the header Mahadeo Caves (note the plural): This cave is a natural one with a fairly large opening, from which issues a small stream (i.e. Bada Mahadeo Gufa) but on the other hand The cave only extends about 50 feet [about 15 m] into the hill (i.e. Gupta Mahadeo Gufa). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1969: CRAVEN, S A (1969: 27) follows Glennie and states the Mahadeo Caves (note the plural) are a 50-foot [15.24 m] Hindu shrine but mixes it up with Bada Mahadeo Gufa by misplacing the item at a distance of 5 1/2 miles [8.9 km] from Pachmarhi and 2 1/2 miles [4.0 km] from the Long Chukkar (note2). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1999: The main altar of the temple is tucked inside the mountain and the only way to reach it is by a narrow one way path. Devotees are allowed in, in small groups of five (IRANI, G 1999: 64). CULTURAL HISTORY - human use: The tiny sacred cave is quite popular and suffers from what appears to be several thousand Hindu pilgrims and Indian tourists over the year. Someone or somebody has sponsored a huge ventilator, which, apparently since years in a state beyond repair, threatens to tumble from it's perched location in the upper part of the enrance. The initial attempt to map the cave in the afternoon of 30th December 2000 was thwarted by a not at all moving queue of about 100 barefooted would-be visitors in front of the cave entrance. CAVE LEGEND - snake: Lord Shiva, when persued by the demon Bhasmansur, had to assume the form of a snake to slip through cracks in the rocks to the other side of the mountain (IRANI 1999: 64). According to Tribune News Service (200209.15), however, it is Jata Shankar cave where Shiva is believed to have hidden himself from the demon King Bhasmasur.09.15), however, it is Jata Shankar cave where Shiva is believed to have hidden himself from the demon King Bhasmasur.