MUDDULETISWAMI GAVI
15.358300,78.090300
Description
A rock shelter formed by the coping of a cliff, which exposes horizontally layered quartzites (note 1) and containing a small source of water, has been selected as the site of an apparently simple building (DUTT, N V B S 1955: 118 plate 1, figure 3) used as a Hindu temple dedicated to Mudduletiswami. At a closer look, however, »there is no cave at Madduletiswami, but a small temple and a water pool [note 2] formed by a small water drop from a small rivulet. People visit the temple every week end« (M. Narayana Reddy 1996.10.15 personal correspondence). POSITION 1: DUTT, N V B S (1955: 117) positions »Mudduletiswami at 15°22': 78°5'« in the sense of near (±3.6 km) N15°22': E078°05' (Everest 1830). POSITION 2: »Mudduletisami Temple« is indicated next to a spring of water near (±150 m) N15°21'33”: E78°05'25” (Everest 1830) on the Survey of India sheet 57-i/3 (edition 1983) at a spot where the Lotu vagu (stream) reaches the foot of the north-western flank of the Yaganti spur and commences to cut through it. POSITION 3: MURTY, M L K (1975: 133; 1985: 202) indicated »Mudduletiswami Gavi« on location maps near N15°21'20": E78°05'30" (unspecified geodetic datum probably Everest 1830) and does not mention it any more. CULTURAL HISTORY - religious folklore: According to MURTY (1985: 202-203), »the folk parallel for the Brahmanical Narasimha of Ahobilam is Madduleti Narasimha, whose shrine at Madduleti (spelt as Mudduleti in survey maps) was originally a cave. Madduleti Narasimha is a god of the peasants and pastoralists …« JAIN (2004: 10) confirms that the tiger- or lion-headed Narasimha (also: Narasingha, Narsimha, Narsingha) »engenders an aboriginal god … worshipped in the caves and mountains of Orissa and Andhra.«
NOTE 1: DUTT, N V B S (1955: 117) may have meant horizontal or sub-horizontal bedding planes when he explained that »joints are prominent in quartzites as seen in the stream section at Mudduletiswami (15°22': 78°5') and also in shales and limestones at several places.« A few lines later on, however, DUTT, N V B S (1955: 117) associates "joints" expressively with more or less vertical rifts: »Joints in quartites have facilitated the formation of cliffs at the plateau edges, where huge blocks separated by deep narrow rifts caused by widening of joints …« NOTE 2: »Kunda, vernacularly kund, commonly coond (Sanskrit etc.) a pit, a hollow, a shallow pit or pan in which sacrificial fire is lighted, a fire-altar: a square pool or basin of water … the term is also applied to any natural basin in which the water that falls from surrounding heights is collected, forming the source of a river … also to a temporary and artificial well or reservoir for irrigation« (WILSON, H H 1855: 302).
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.9 | YAGANTI SINK, Katikavanikunia | ||
| 5.2 | YERRA ZARI GAVI | ||
| 5.3 | YAGANTI, 2nd (Cave at) | ||
| 5.3 | YAGANTI, 1st (Cave at) | ||
| 5.4 | YAGANTI, 3rd (Cave at) | ||
| 5.5 | Ulavalagondi 2 Crevice | ||
| 5.5 | MOGASARAYANAGONDI CAVE | ||
| 5.9 | YAGANTI SECOND RAVINE CAVE (Foote 1884a: 33) | ||
| 6.0 | YERRA ZARI SPRING & CAVE |