BHIMPUL, Mana
30.766700,79.491700
Description
The pul (bridge) of Bhima, the strong man of the Pandava brothers, is neither a river cave (RAPER 1810, 1812) nor a natural bridge (KAUR, J 1985) but a dislocated boulder wedged at the head of a 12 m or 15 m high waterfall on the Saraswati (Sarasvati) River. SITUATION: At a walking distance of 4 km north from Badrinath (N30°44': E079°29': 3122 m), just outside the village of Mana (N30°46': E079°29'), and near the –>Vyas Gufa (LONELY PLANET 2005: 437; 2009: 486; 2011: 429). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1810: The Saraswati River can be interpreted to take an underground course through a »rocky cave« situated at a certain »Calapa Gram« (note 1) on the way from Badrinath northwards to »Manah« (Mana): »In an hour and a half we arrived at Calapa Gram, the beauties of which were not perceptible from the opposite side of the river. From the summit of this hill, a large stream, called the Saraswati Nadi, appears to force a passage, through a rocky cavern; whence it descends, with irresistible violence, in a solid compact body, disclosed to the height of forty or fifty ft. [about 12 m or 15 m] The breadth of the cavity may be twenty five or thirty feet [6 or 9 m]; and some large fragments, that have been thrown down by the earthquake, are collected, and wedged in together, at the mouth, through the interstices of which, the water is seen descending from a still greater elevation. At the bottom is a deep bason, or reservoir [note 2], composed of rock, rendered perfectly smooth by the action of the water. From hence the stream flows in a gentle current, between two perpendicular rocky banks, about seventy or eighty feet [21.3 or 24.4 m] in height, and twenty feet [9 m] in width« (RAPER 1810, 1812: 524-525). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1985: »Bhimpul is a natural bridge over the Sarasvati [Saraswati] in the Mana Valley. Associated with the Mahabharata famed Pandava, it is a dramatic sight« (KAUR 1985: 121 legend of photograph 12, top right). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2005: »… Bhima's Rock, a natural rock arch over a river that is said to have been made by Bhima, strongest of the Pandava brothers, whose tale is told in the Mahabharata« (LONELY PLANET 2005: 437; 2009: 486; 2011: 429).
NOTE 1: »Calapa Gram« (RAPER 1810, 1812) is not identified. NOTE 2: Little doubt remains that the »deep bason, or reservoir« (RAPER 1810, 1812: 525) is a stilling basin, a word deriving from "stille" (adjective and adverb), "stillan" (verb), from a base meaning "be fixed, stand" (Old English).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9 | VYASA GUFA, Mana | ||
| 1.0 | GANESH GUFA, Mana | ||
| 1.0 | MUCHUKUND GUFA, Mana | ||
| 1.8 | VASU DHARA (Cave at the) | ||
| 1.9 | BHIMKUND, Badrinath | ||
| 2.0 | Airawat Mahagufa | ||
| 3.8 | GARUR GUFA | ||
| 5.6 | SHAKPADUNGA (Caves at) | ||
| 10.2 | BUJKULI (Caves at) |