KALI CAVE, Pachmarhi - Jambu Dwip

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A lost sacred rock shelter which occupied (till 29th December 2000) a space of some four or five cubic metres below a fallen sandstone boulder with walled off sides. A low door gave access to the fairly dark chamber with a flat concrete floor. Facing the door, a black coloured, about 0.7 m high statue of Kali or Durga (note 1) was put up. The previous day, she had been garlanded with French marigold blossoms (Tagetes erecta L., in Hindi: genda) and showed her protruding tongue, held a bloody sword, a freshly cut male head. Garlanded with decapitated heads she danced on a corpse. The site of the chapel (sacred shelter) was situated on the right hand side of the footpath descending to –>Jata Shankar Cave and was filled up (6th January 2001) by shoulder shrugging workmen in the course of improving the pilgrims' path. The modern, educated Hindu clientele is obviously not much attracted by shocking aspects of orthodox Hinduism.A lost sacred rock shelter which occupied (till 29th December 2000) a space of some four or five cubic metres below a fallen sandstone boulder with walled off sides. A low door gave access to the fairly dark chamber with a flat concrete floor. Facing the door, a black coloured, about 0.7 m high statue of Kali or Durga (note 1) was put up. The previous day, she had been garlanded with French marigold blossoms (Tagetes erecta L., in Hindi: genda) and showed her protruding tongue, held a bloody sword, a freshly cut male head. Garlanded with decapitated heads she danced on a corpse. The site of the chapel (sacred shelter) was situated on the right hand side of the footpath descending to –>Jata Shankar Cave and was filled up (6th January 2001) by shoulder shrugging workmen in the course of improving the pilgrims' path. The modern, educated Hindu clientele is obviously not much attracted by shocking aspects of orthodox Hinduism.