DANTESHWARI, Dongargarh (Cave of)
21.200000,80.733300
Description
What possibly may consist of a natural, sacred cave or rock shelter (temple cave) is not only said (note 1) to be dedicated to a Hindu goddess identified as Kali »under the name of Danteswari or Mauli … where Meriah or human sacrifices used to be offered« (SMITH, G 1882: 341). ETYMOLOGY: danta (tooth) + ishvari or ishwari (goddess) as, for example, Kali, Durga or any other female shakti; the Supreme Spirit. Dantiwara SMITH, G (1882: 341) Danteswari SMITH, G (1882: 341) Denteswari SHRIVASTAVA, V K (1997) Maoli Mauli SMITH, G (1882: 341). SITUATION 1882: In what was then the »Bastar State« at the place called »Dantiwara, at confluence of the Sankani and Dankani« (SMITH, G 1882: 341). SITUATION 1997: At an inexplicable location (SHRIVASTAVA, V K 1997: 31-33) somewhere at (or in the vicinity of) the town of Dongargarh (note 2), which lies on the western rim of the Chhattisgarh basin (note 3) and not only at a travelling distances of 16 km along the road north-east from Chichola (note 4) but also on the SER (South Eastern Railway), about 100 or 110 km approximately west of Raipur (N22°05': E082°09'), and some 65 km west of Durg (Dooroog, Drug N21°11': E081°17'). CAVE DESCRIPTION: »Cave: Denteswari, Settlement: Dongargarh, God / goddess: goddess, Religion: Hindu, Rocks: Lime Stone, Character: Tribal, Classification: Religion, Tourism« (SHRIVASTAVA, V K 1997: 31-33). CULTURAL HISTORY: The goddess Danteshvari / Danteshwari / Denteshvari / Denteshwari (also: Maoli) is sacred to Gond people and there is sort of an image of her in about each and every village of the vast Chota Nagpur and Jaypur - Jagdalpur plateaus (ELLIOT, W 1854: 21ss, 1863: 3; HOLDICH, T H 1879: 379) if it is only inhabited by Gond people (RAHMANN, R 1936: 81). She is a female goddess or, to be precise, different forms of a female goddess nowadays identified by modern Hindu believers with Kali, and called Danteshvari after her famous sanctuary in the town of Danteshvara / Dantewara (N19°00': E081°20') in the centre of the triangle between the Bastar Hills (N19°15': E081°10'), Bailadila Hills (N18°43': E081°14') and the Dantewara Plateau (N18°55': E081°45'). CULTURAL HISTORY 1882: »Dantiwara, shrine of Kali, under the name of Danteswari or Mauli … where Meriah or human sacrifices used to be offered« (SMITH, G 1882: 341). CULTURAL HISTORY 1879: HOLDICH, T H (1879). CULTURAL HISTORY 1854: ELLIOT, W (1854).
NOTE 1: The only reference to the "cave" dedicated to Denteshwari at Dongargarh, which I ever came across, is from the more often than not quick and easily convinced Prof. V K SHRIVASTAVA (1997), who tends to base concoctions on shattered scrap gleaned from disputable literary sources like tourist information leaflets. NOTE 2: Dongargarh N21°12': E080°44' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) or at N21°11': E080°46' (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 11: 368) is indicated on AMS sheet NF44-10 Gondia (U502 series, 1959 edition) and in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 86 A1). NOTE 3: According to MURTI (1987: 241), the sedimentary rocks deposited on the western margin of the Chhattisgarh basin are faulted against the Chilpi Group of metavolcanics and metasediments and granites. NOTE 4: Chichola (N21°04': E080°40') lies 39 km along the National Highway NH6 west of Raj Nandgaon (Rajnandgaon N21°06': E081°02').
Documents
Bibliography 27/03/2016- Elliott, Walter, 1854, 1863; Holdich, Thomas Hungerford 1879; Rahmann, Rudolf 1936; Shrivastava, V K 1997.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54.4 | MANDHAR BOREHOLE CAVITIES | ||
| 55.3 | MANDHIP KHOL, wet | ||
| 55.5 | MANDHIP KHOL | ||
| 93.4 | KHARUN KARSTIC RESURGENCE | ||
| 94.3 | RAIPUR ARTESIAN SPRING | ||
| 100.4 | BHATGAON BLEBBY CAVE | ||
| 100.4 | BHATGAON BOREHOLE CAVES | ||
| 114.4 | NAWAGAON SINKING, Mangalore River | ||
| 126.6 | KHARORA ARTESIAN SPRING |